Setting the Stage for Self-Regulated Learning Instruction and Metacognition Instruction in Musical Practice

Over the last two decades, the concept of self-regulated learning (SRL) has guided scientific approaches to understand successful learning in different fields. Self-regulatory processes were shown to explain achievement differences in students, and SRL may effectively improve achievement in students of different proficiency levels (Zimmerman and Schunk, 2011). Self-regulation refers to " self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals " (Zimmerman, 2000, p. 14). Three interacting learning phases have been described: forethought (characterized by goal setting, strategic planning, self-beliefs), performance phase (with the application of strategies, self-observation), and self-reflection (including self-evaluation, attribution, self-reaction). Self-regulated actions and processes include feedback-loops on the personal, behavioral, and environmental level (Zimmerman, 2000). In the educational literature, the terms SRL and metacognition are sometimes used interchangeably (Dinsmore et al., 2008). Although there is a common conceptual core, metacognition and self-regulation are different constructs with different roots. Metacognition was originally referred to as knowledge about and regulation of one's cognitive activities in learning processes (Veenman and van Hout-Wolters, 2006). Central components are metacognitive knowledge, i.e., one's knowledge or beliefs about the interactions between person, task, and strategy characteristics, and metacognitive skills, i.e., the knowledge required for the regulation of and control over one's learning activities (Brown, 1978; Flavell, 1979; Veenman and Spaans, 2005). Metacognition plays a crucial role in successful learning. A large review study based on a meta-analysis of 179 sources identified metacognition as having the strongest influence on school learning (followed by classroom management, quantity of instruction, and social student/teacher interaction) among 30 potential predictor variables (Wang et al., 1990). As a consequence, metacognitive processes are of great interest for pedagogy in various domains. While there is a wide body of literature on SRL and metacognition in academic disciplines, a limited number of studies have been published on SRL and metacognition in musical practice. Based on findings in advanced music students, S.G. Nielsen proposed a cyclical model which identified the student's problem beliefs, strategy use, self-evaluation, and their interrelations as core elements of successful musical practice (Nielsen, 2001). In this model, the different steps and decisions in the practice process are modulated through metacognitive knowledge and regulation.