When the COVID-19 pandemic started and students were forced to learn online a common complaint from parents was ‘making’ their child either initiate, complete, or submit their schoolwork. Approaches to online education during that global health emergency were, for the most part, based more on necessity (i.e., ‘delivering’ instruction) than good practice or research-based pedagogy (i.e., engaging online activities). There is empirical evidence that a key component of success in online courses or programs is the ability to plan, monitor, and evaluate your learning, also known as self-regulation. When self-regulation skills are lacking, students struggle to learn regardless of the environment in which they learn (face-to-face or online). Scholars and researchers have investigated the development and use of self-regulation in children. Individual, contextual, and social factors, including educational and instructional approaches, influence the development and use of self-regulation. Maria Montessori, for example, incorporated self-directed learning as a major focus of her approach to education. However, contemporary educational approaches and policy, at least in the United States, have focused more on the attainment and memorization of ‘facts’ rather than developing skills necessary to learn or think critically about what is learned. This presentation argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the arrested development of student self-regulation. In addition, there may be long-term impacts on the future of online education resulting from this stunted development of self-regulation. These issues and potential interventions and strategies for promoting self-regulation will be discussed.

Keywords: Self-regulation, online, pandemic.