What is SRL?

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SRL is a key to success, both in school and in life. When teachers are asked to describe what helps kids succeed and what can cause them to struggle, they rarely just focus on academic skills like reading, writing, and math. They almost always point to skills like focusing attention, following directions, and dealing with challenges and setbacks. These are some of the skills that we’re talking about when we refer to self-regulated learning.

Self-regulated learners also understand their unique strengths and challenges, they have strategies for learning and solving problems, believe that their abilities and skills can grow and change over time, and are willing to try new things and keep going when things get tough. No matter what kids are learning about, who they are learning with, or where they are learning, skills and strategies for self-regulated learning can help. Importantly, research shows that these skills and attitudes can be developed and taught. All it takes is a little bit of practice and, at times, some help from others.  

Using Spirals of Inquiry to Frame SRL 

The Spiral of Inquiry is a framework for professional learning developed by Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser. It emphasizes the ways inquiry-based, collaborative, and self-regulated professional learning can enhance teachers’ capacities to achieve high quality and equitable learning experiences for students.   

The Spiral of Inquiry, like cycles of self-regulation, engages teachers in ongoing, iterative processes of scanning their classrooms to ask themselves what is going on for them and their learners and then choosing a focus that they feel will have the biggest impact for learners. They engage in new professional learning to access new ideas and try out new approaches. Along the way, they observe how students are responding and adjust their teaching and the learning environment as needed. 

Teachers around the world have engaged in Spirals of Inquiry to self-regulate their own teaching and learning and to enhance the quality of learners’ experiences in their contexts.