The authors assessed the contribution of self-regulated learning strategies (SRL), when combined with problem-solving transfer instruction (L. S. Fuchs et al., 2003), on 3rd-graders' mathematical problem solving. SRL incorporated goal setting and self-evaluation. Problem-solving transfer instruction taught problem-solution methods, the meaning of transfer, and 4 superficial-problem features that change a problem without altering its type or solution; it also prompted metacognitive awareness to transfer. The authors contrasted the effectiveness of transfer plus SRL to the transfer treatment alone and to teacher-designed instruction. Twenty-four 3rd-grade teachers, with 395 students, were assigned randomly to conditions. Treatments were conducted for 16 weeks. Students were pre- and posttested on problem-solving tests and responded to a posttreatment questionnaire tapping self-regulation processes. SRL positively affected performance.

Mathematical problem solving, which requires students to apply knowledge, skills, and strategies to novel problems, is a form of transfer that can be difficult to effect (cf. Bransford & Schwartz, 1999; Mayer, Quilici, & Moreno, 1999). One method to promote mathematical problem solving is to help students regulate their learning; that is, to become more metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviorally active in their own learning (cf. De Corte, Verschaffel, & Eynde, 2000; Zimmerman, 1995). The capacity to self-regulate learning is associated with self-efficacy and intrinsic task interest (Schunk, 1986, 1996; Zimmerman, 1995) as well as academic achievement (e.g., Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990; Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1986, 1988). That self-regulation covaries with academic achievement prompts the question of whether instruction designed to increase student behaviors associated with self-regulated learning strategies (SRL) promotes learning.

Theoretically, the use of SRL should promote learning. Goal setting serves a motivational function, which may mobilize and sustain effort to achieve objectives (Cervone, 1993). When combined with self-evaluation, goal setting serves an informational purpose (Schunk, 1994), whereby students may monitor their progress against a standard and thereby adjust their use...