SELF-REGULATED LEARNING IN BLENDED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS. ATTITUDE AS ANTECEDENT VARIABLE

Among the recommendations made by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), one is to highlight the importance of students in their own learning. They must abandon the passive role they have taken over the years. A university degree must now mark the beginning, not the end, of a lifelong learning process. Theories of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) explain how variables such as the cognitive factor, motivation and contextual factors influence the learning process. SRL refers to a student’s active process of learning, and is defined as the deliberate planning and monitoring of cognitive and affective processes involved in the successful completion of academic tasks.

Similarly, another of the main ideas by the EHEA, special emphasis is placed on the use of ICT in university teaching. The use of such technologies allows the introduction of changes in teaching methodology. ICT, in addition to revolutionize the face-to-face methodologies allow us to implement the methodologies on-line (e-learning) and semi on-line (blended learning). Moving from a teaching model based primarily on the student's presence in the classroom, to another model that combines the student's presence in the classroom with on-line learning.

We can understand the attitude towards blended learning, such as predisposition to behave in a manner favourable or unfavourable to this methodology of teaching. In general, the students view the flexible and self-management aspects of blended learning method positively, but with some attitudinal differences. So, the attitude towards blended learning is a construct with potential to facilitate learning within the SRL framework.

Current study, test a model where the blended learning methodology and the attitude towards this, are antecedent factors to students’ SRL strategies. The study was carried out with freshmen and sophomores students in Computer Engineering, University Miguel Hernández, Spain. Students answered a three-page by one-side, self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire included scales from the learning literature.

Results show that attitudes towards blended learning and the use of blended learning methodology are significantly related to the use of SRL strategies. This is an important finding that contributes to understanding how SRL and blended learning can improve university education. The teachers have the possibility of using blended learning methodology to improve SRL strategies. The attitude towards blended learning can be improved by acting on several factors, including: good e-teaching, good e-resources, student interaction and appropriate workload.