Associations between technological scaffolding and micro-level processes of self-regulated learning: A workplace study

This paper reports the results of a study of the association of a set of technological scaffolding interventions – implemented in a learning software called Learn-B – with micro-level processes of self-regulated learning in the workplace. The study was conducted in the context of two European organizations, in which the study participants (N = 53) used the learning software Learn-B for two months in their regular activities. Data about perceived usefulness of the technological scaffolding interventions and traces about the events of the actual use of the technological interventions and micro-level processes of self-regulated learning were collected and analyzed. The analysis of the data showed that when directly asked about their own perspectives, the participants tended to rely on their organizational context in their planning phase. The results also indicate that the participants did consider the social context of their organization when planning their learning goals, but it was not found as the most influential factor. The analysis of the trace data revealed a moderate balance between reliance on both social and organizational contexts. The analysis of the theorized contingencies via trace data showed that the participants’ usefulness perceptions of the proposed interventions for their self-regulated processes, poorly matched with their actual learning actions.