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Two studies were conducted to examine the effect of prompting self-regulation, an intervention designed to improve learning from technology-delivered instruction. In Study 1, trainees who were prompted to self-regulate gradually improved their declarative and procedural knowledge over time, relative to the other conditions, whereas test scores declined over time for trainees who were not prompted to self-regulate. In Study 2, basic performance remained stable over time and strategic performance improved over time for trainees who were prompted to self-regulate, relative to the other conditions, whereas performance declined over time for trainees who were not prompted to self-regulate. Trainees' cognitive ability moderated the effect of the prompts on basic performance and task-specific self-efficacy moderated the effect of the prompts on strategic performance. Prompting self-regulation resulted in stronger performance gains over time for trainees with higher ability or higher self-efficacy. These results demonstrate prompting self-regulation improved performance over time, relative to the other conditions, in both online, work-related training and laboratory settings. The results are consistent with theory suggesting self-regulation is a dynamic process that has a gradual effect on performance and highlight the importance of using a within-subjects design in self-regulation research.
Self-regulation may be employees' most essential asset (Porath & Bateman, 2006) and is crucial for learning from technology-delivered instruction (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002a). Self-regulation is a process that enables individuals to guide their goal-directed activities over time and across changing circumstances, including the modulation of thought, affect, and behavior (Karoly, 1993). Technology-delivered instruction tends to provide trainees with more control over their learning experience than traditional classroom instruction (Sitzmann, Kraiger, Stewart, & Wisher, 2006), and failure to self-regulate may be one reason trainees frequently make poor instructional use of the control they are given (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002a; DeRouin, Fritzsche, & Salas, 2005; Kraiger & Jerden, 2007). Often trainees do not accurately assess their current knowledge levels, do not devote enough effort to training, and make poor decisions about learning, resulting in deficiencies in performance (Brown, 2001; DeRouin et al., 2005; Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989; Sitzmann, Ely, Brown, & Bauer, in press). Thus, research is needed to identify strategies to assist trainees in effective self-regulation during technology-delivered instruction.
One strategy involves the use of prompts or questions designed to encourage self-regulatory activities, such...