Effects of self-regulation scaffolding on online participation and learning outcomes

The aim of this study is to investigate whether an interactive self-regulation scaffolding increases levels of online learners’ self-regulated learning skills, course participation, and learning performance. The intervention utilizes a dialog approach with an intelligent conversational agent to scaffold learners’ self-regulated learning. Fifty-six graduate students participated in this study over a semester and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) an experimental condition where a scaffold was provided through the conversational agent and (2) a control condition where the self-regulated learning information was given, but any scaffolds were not provided. The results revealed that the scaffolded group showed higher self-regulated learning level gains than the control group. Additionally, the relationships between self-regulated learning, course participation, and learning performance were investigated.