How Modes of Social Regulation Emerge and Impact Learning from Collaboration

• Applicant: Dr. Sebastian Strauß
• Subject Area: General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 555918338

In collaborative learning, the need for regulation expands from regulating the individual to regulation on a social level. Based on theories of self-regulated learning (Winne & Hadwin, 1998), two further modes of social regulation have been described in the literature: Co-regulation (CoRL) and socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) (e.g. Hadwin et al., 2017), which can be distinguished by the degree of transactivity of the interaction between learners (Järvelä et al., 2021). During CoRL, a learner attempts to influence the cognitions and actions of their partner, thus guiding their collaborative learning process (Grau & Whitebread, 2012). During SSRL, the learning process is collectively regulated by negotiation and mutual reference. Most empirical studies have shown that groups predominantly engage in CoRL and only rarely in SSRL (e.g. Malmberg et al., 2017; Haataja et al., 2022; cf. Zabolotna et al., 2023). In their review of research on SSRL, Panadero and Järvelä (2015), discussed asymmetry between learners as a possible explanation for the emergence of CoRL instead of SSRL. The proposed project seeks to extend our understanding of social regulation in collaborative learning by investigating prerequisites for the emergence of modes of social regulation, sharpening the analytical and empirical distinction between CoRL and SSRL, and using this distinction to investigate their impact on learning outcomes. We seek to attain these goals by conducting laboratory experiments that investigate the effects of two sources of asymmetry between learners on the emergence of the two modes of social regulation. In the initial phase of the project (pilot study), we will develop a coding scheme that allows us to reliably distinguish CoRL and SSRL when analyzing video-recorded interactions. In two laboratory experiments, learners will collaborate in pairs (dyads) in a digital simulation to acquire knowledge about atoms. In Study 1, we vary the composition of the dyad in terms of task-specific prior knowledge such that either both learners have a high level of prior knowledge, both have a low level of prior knowledge, or one learner has a high and the other a low level of prior knowledge. In Study 2, we vary the composition of the dyad with regard to the type of goal that the learners pursue (i.e., learning goal, problem-solving goal, Wirth et al., 2009). In two conditions both learners pursue the same goals, and in the third condition they pursue different goals. For both studies, we expect that the asymmetries lead to a higher proportion of CoRL and a smaller proportion of SSRL compared to dyads with symmetric a composition. In both studies we investigate the relationship between the social regulation modes and individual learning outcomes. The project will conclude in a synthesis that integrates the findings from both studies to discuss existing theories of social regulation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Dr. Nikol Rummel
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Julia Eberle