Supporting Self Regulated Learning in Digital and Remote Education

<< Background >>The project was initiated in response to the digital educational challenges that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic which accelerated the digital transformation of education worldwide, exacerbating existing issues within educational systems, particularly concerning schools' digital readiness and capacity. This sudden shift exposed substantial gaps in both teacher and student digital readiness as showed by several studies conducted during the COVID-19 period (Persico et al., 2020; Ranieri et al., 2020).A significant challenge was the lack of teacher competence in designing lessons for digital contexts and supporting students' motivation and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) at a distance. SRL is essential for making students aware of their learning processes and enabling them to autonomously plan their studies. However, data indicate that many teachers were unprepared for this shift. Moreover, a comprehensive model for digital teaching and learning, incorporating appropriate tools and methods, was largely absent. Therefore, to foster a more systemic and successful approach to learning, it is crucial to implement an educational model that supports SRL, ensuring effective and inclusive digital learning, even in emergency situations<< Objectives >>The general goal of SuperRED aimed to enhance the overall quality of the education system by providing methodologies and tools adaptable to various local contexts. The project focused on co-designing knowledge through the promotion of reflective practices to foster SRL. Specifically, SuperRED sought to improve students’ autonomy in managing their own learning processes by utilizing innovative digital tools, designed on purpose, that fostered motivation and engagement, while preserving the inclusive nature of educational opportunities.We aimed to offer educational training to teachers, particularly in effective remote and blended learning, to strengthen their digital competencies in learning design. This helped ensure high-quality, inclusive digital education and better equipped educators to face emerging challenges. By employing a serious-game-based approach, we worked to increase the digital preparedness of the education system. The whole school ecosystem has been addressed to foster a systemic approach addressing intertwined factors, including teachers' pedagogical and technological skills, the availability of digital tools and environments, family circumstances, and the role of evaluation in the learning process.<< Implementation >>The SuperRED project achieved its objectives through several key activities. First, a framework for effective and inclusive digital learning (PR1), focusing on distance learning, was developed through a comprehensive literature review and interviews with teachers and students. This framework explored the context, including needs related to remote teaching, learning design, and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL), to guide the project’s subsequent stages.To support teachers, the SRL-4T tool for Learning Design (PR2) was adapted, providing a digital game-based platform that helps educators design collaborative learning activities. The tool, structured around four key components (task, teams, time, and technology), was enriched to specifically promote SRL, making it a crucial asset for fostering inclusive and effective remote learning environments.For students, the development of an educational app (PR3) aimed at enhancing their SRL skills was another significant outcome. The app empowers students to autonomously manage their learning processes in digital and remote settings, utilising mobile technology to track progress and provide real-time feedback to both students and teachers through learning analytics.The co-design of learning scenarios (PR4) was carried out with active involvement from researchers and teachers. These scenarios, adapted to different national contexts, were tested in classrooms during two pilot phases in each partner school, ensuring their replicability and adaptability. The scenarios, supported by the SRL-4T tool and the educational app, demonstrated how collaborative learning design could address the diverse needs of students in blended and digital learning environments.To ensure the sustainability and broader impact of the project, a Toolkit was developed (PR5), providing practical guidance on the implementation of high-quality digital and distance learning. The Toolkit included a library of best practices validated in the pilot schools, making it a valuable resource for future replication and adaptation in different educational contexts.In addition, the project generated academic outputs (PR6), such as conference presentations, journal articles, SuperRED open access book and involvement with institutional stakeholders. These activities not only disseminated the SuperRED findings but also contributed to the validation and sustainability of the resources, targeting researchers, policymakers, and educational professionals. A cross-cutting PR6, is foreseen, focused on the sharing and promotion and involvement of the stakeholders, especially decision-makers, for the project scaling-up. 3 National ME will aim to disseminate results to a wider audience, the final ME will support the creation of a network of practice for teachers with the potential of being expanded and self.Other relevant, cross-cutting activities have been developed such as the design and implementation of a dedicated web-site (https://www.superred.eu/) where, among the others, the main results of the project have been made available for teachers, researchers and other stakeholders and the set-up of a SuperRED profile on the major social networks for communication and dissemination purposes.<< Results >>The concrete outputs of the project can be summarised in the six project results as declared in the proposal, namely: •PR1 - Framework design for effective and inclusive Digital and Remote Education•PR2 - SRL-4T tool adaptation for Learning Design addressed to the teachers •PR3 - Design and development of an educational app addressing students' Self Regulated Learning•PR4 - Learning scenarios co-design, adaptation to local contexts and test•PR5 - Toolkit for design and implementation of high quality digital and distance learning with a library of best-practices tested and validated in pilot schools•PR6 - Academic papers and involvement of institutional stakeholdersHerafter a comprehensive description of the outputs and how they were achieved is reported.PR1 - Framework design for effective and inclusive Digital and Remote EducationLeading organisation: University of Florence (Italy)SuperRED aimed at developing a framework relevant to the needs of the schoolteachers and students across Europe on the themes of digital and remote education, learning design and SRL. The creation of this framework allowed the monitoring, evaluation and further development of teachers and student’s competences on the project’s themes. A reference framework is therefore needed to draw the set of competences, both for teachers and students, to effectively face the remote/blended teaching and learning, and, more in general, to handle the design and learning processes in different situations.The SuperRED framework has been conceived as a set of indications for teachers for implementing LD and for supporting students’ SRL in different contexts (face to face, remote and blended learning) according to 3 different perspectives: methods and models, technologies, and learning ecologies. The SuperRED Framework has been developed starting from a literature analysis that led to the first draft, followed by the conduction of a survey to further improve the framework, and the final validation of the framework. It has to be highlighted that, at the time of the proposal, there was currently no already available framework for the competences needed for remote/blended teaching and learning, and for the support of student’s autonomy and motivation in remote or blended learning. The need for a more systematic approach, also imposed by the COVID-19 restrictions, requires to move beyond improvisation and take the opportunity to elaborate a conceptual tool useful not only for the emergency situations but also for the daily teacher’s and student’s practices. The SuperRED framework is intended to become a reference tool for the development and strategic planning of teachers’ and student’s competences at national and EU level. The SuperRED framework is also being spread internationally thanks to partner’s existing networks and to those created during the project life. Additionally, the framework is free to use, modify and adapt to suit other schools’ and organisations’ specific needs. Furthermore, this first project result has informed the design and content of the two subsequent project results. Drawing on this framework, the tool for codesign and the app for SRL was created in order to support teachers in efficiently designing and managing remote/blended learning.PR2 - SRL-4T tool adaptation for Learning Design addressed to the teachers Leading organisation: National Research Council (Italy)To support teachers in designing activities and intervention fostering SRL, this output was conceived as an adaptation of the 4T game, an already-existing tool for supporting learning design, developed by ITD-CNR in another Eerasmus+ project, PLEIADE. The 4T game was then enriched on a technological base to release new version called SRL-4Ts game specifically focused on SRL in collaborative learning contexts for inclusion, addressing remote and blended learning.The 4Ts core module supports teachers in conceptualising the design of a collaborative learning activity. In this module of the game, groups of teachers collaborated and engaged in a decision process that starts with the identification of the goals, context, and learning contents of the activity. During the game session, through an iterative process, teachers identify the Tasks to be assigned to students, the composition of the Teams, the Timing of activities, and the Technology to be used (these are the four components of the 4Ts model of learning design; see next section). The end result of a game session using the 4Ts core module was the macro-design of a learning activity that considers the interplay of these aspects.The SRL module was used to examine an already-conceptualised design (macro-design level) with a lens focused on the promotion of students’ SRL, thus leading to a more fine-grained design (micro-design). In this module, teachers competed with each other in the identification of features of the macro design that promote SRL following the prompts suggested by the game. Teachers are also encouraged to provide their own suggestions on how to improve a design so that it’s more effective at fostering SRL. The end result of a session using the SRL module was a micro-design that clearly identified its strengths regarding SRL promotion, as well as provided suggestions to enhance its capacity to foster SRL. The SRL-4Ts game comprised both modules, as they are meant to be played in succession: first, the 4Ts core module to conceptualise a collaborative activity, and subsequently, the SRL module to reflect and improve on its SRL features. However, the two modules can also be used independently, according to the needs and constraints of teacher training events.The SRL-4T tool was the main subject of the first LTTA that was held in Genoa, at the premises of CNR, where 15 teachers from the 3 participating schools have been trained at the use of the SRL-4T tool by exploring the different methodologies and developing some test scenarios. LTTA sessions covered the SuperRED project, Learning Ecologies, and tools like SELFIE and 4Ts for Learning Design. Each day included a theoretical overview in the morning and hands-on practice in the afternoon, with the final day focusing on the SRL theme and SRL-4T tool.PR3 - Design and development of an educational app addressing students' Self Regulated LearningLeading organisation: Technische Univsersiteit Delft (The Netherlands)To support students’ capacity in autonomously regulate their learning processes, also in remote education – that implicitly assumes the support of a digital ecosystem – an educational app (GoaLearn) has been designed and implemented by TUDelft. The app was specifically designed to equip students aged 10-15 with strategies to self-regulate their learning, using mobile technologies to track and support their learning processes autonomously. Additionally, resources were allocated for the iterative testing of the app in different educational settings across partner schools, involving both students and teachers to gather feedback and ensure the app's usability and effectiveness. The app was designed to ensure its adaptability to various school subjects therefore it was released in different languages of the schools partner – and easily adaptable to any other language – ensuring its applicability across diverse educational contexts. To allow a better flexibility GoaLearn app is deployed as a web-based platform with a flexible interface designed to adapt to mobile devices. It has been developed using a Python-based technology stack, primarily relying on the Django framework, and is supported by a MySQL database for data management. The app is configured to run online in production mode, ensuring continuous availability and reliable performance, which is particularly advantageous for younger users or those with limited experience in using such technologies. Additionally, the app’s source code is intended to be released as open-source software once all planned features have been fully implemented and successfully deployed. The app’s primary features are centred around goals and tasks, which form the foundation of the user experience. These components enable students to set specific objectives and participate in activities that promote steady progress toward achieving those goals, making them integral to the overall learning journey.In addition to allowing users to track their goals and tasks individually, the app offers a feature that enables the creation and participation in virtual classes, fostering collaborative learning. This functionality allows multiple students to engage in shared learning environments, where both teachers and students can easily create, join, or leave classes as needed. The process of creating a class is simple: users provide a class title and description, which grants them access to a class dashboard for managing and organising their learning activities.The application offers a variety of additional features aimed at improving the overall user experience, such as a Home page, labelling options, language selection, and a point system. The Home page functions as a central dashboard, giving users a comprehensive overview of all their goals and tasks. It enables users to track their goals based on progress and organise tasks by specific time frames, including those due today, in the next seven days, the next month, or even overdue tasks, regardless of their associated goals. This feature provides users with a clear and organised snapshot of their ongoing activities, helping them manage their time effectively and prioritise tasks more efficiently.PR4 - Learning scenarios co-design, adaptation to local contexts and testLeading organisation: university of Florence (Italy)This output concerns the creation of a portfolio of different learning scenarios, implemented in the three partner schools of the project, and their validation. The University of Florence led the coordination and implementation of the co-design, adaptation, and testing of learning scenarios, across the three partner schools: Bernardus in Belgium, ISA13 in Italy, and EscolaSolc in Catalonia. These schools represented a diverse range of educational contexts, from large secondary schools to comprehensive institutes with students from kindergarten to secondary levels, providing a varied testing ground for the SuperRED approach. The design-based research (DBR) approach was employed, allowing for an iterative process of co-design, implementation, and refinement, which ensured that the educational scenarios were both adaptable and responsive to the specific needs of each school.To implement these activity several co-design workshops were set-up where teachers and researchers worked collaboratively to develop eight distinct educational scenarios tailored to local contexts. These scenarios were designed using the SRL-4T tool developed in PR2 and, in the second cycle of testing, the educational app from PR3, ensuring that the learning activities promoted students’ Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and were aligned with the pedagogical goals of the project. close collaboration between researchers and teachers was crucial for adapting the digital tools and refining the learning scenarios to fit the specific cultural and educational settings of each school.During the first testing cycle, that took place between March and May 2023, involving a total of 10 teachers and a significant number of students across the partner schools, a range of data collection activities were conducted, supported by the grant, to assess the effectiveness of the educational scenarios. Surveys were administered to both teachers and students, capturing their perceptions of the learning process, particularly focusing on teachers’ learning design (LD) skills and students' SRL development. These surveys were a central part of the evaluation framework, allowing for a detailed analysis of how the SuperRED approach impacted both teaching practices and student outcomes. The grant also supported the development of training materials for teachers, which included detailed guides on using the SRL-4T tool and the app, as well as resources for monitoring and improving SRL in their students.The results of the first testing cycle provided valuable insights into the project’s initial impact. Teachers reported a significant improvement in their LD skills, particularly in the planning and authoring phases of lesson design, with an average score of 3.4, which increased to 3.57 in the second cycle after further refinements. Students, on the other hand, demonstrated progress in their SRL, particularly in the performance and self-reflection phases, where notable improvements were observed, especially during the second testing cycle. The first cycle revealed an initial post-implementation score of 2.29 in self-reflection, which rose to 2.72 in the second cycle, indicating a clear enhancement in students' ability to evaluate and refine their learning strategies. These findings necessitated further refinement of the educational scenarios during the summer of 2023, with additional work on digital competence and the adaptation of the learning design tools to better fit the diverse needs of students. The refinement phase, occurred in the Autumn 2023, allowed for the scenarios to be tested again during the 2023-2024 school year, further ensuring their robustness and scalability and also exploiting the GoaLearn app. These adjustments were made based on the feedback collected during the first testing phase and focused on enhancing the digital competences of both teachers and students, as well as improving the ease of scenario implementation in various educational settings.The iterative nature of this process demonstrated sustained improvements over time, particularly in terms of its transferability to different educational contexts. This adaptability was a key focus during the final LTTA in Barcelona in July 2024, where stakeholders reviewed the refined tools and methodologies, providing additional feedback that will be incorporated into the final version of the SuperRED framework. The final refinements and feedback will continue to shape the framework, ensuring that it remains flexible and effective in diverse learning environments. This feedback will also be made available on the project website to further extend its reach and applicability beyond the immediate project partners.PR5 - Toolkit for design and implementation of high quality digital and distance learning with a library of best-practices tested and validated in pilot schoolsLeading organisation: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain)As emphasized by the JRC Report several key factors are affecting digital education infrastructure and teacher competence under the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027. Major challenges included stress from school closures and Emergency Remote Education (ERE) management, along with learning inequalities due to differences in parents' capacity to offer digital and cognitive support. Additionally, the European Data Portal highlighted a concerning trend: 15-year-old students, especially in Italy and Spain, were among the least likely in the EU to have access to a computer for home study.This highlights the need for a quality approach to digital and distance learning required a comprehensive strategy. This strategy needed headmasters and expert teachers to be well-prepared, capable of crisis response, and able to facilitate student transitions between in-person and hybrid learning models, based on lifelong learning ecologies. This concept viewed learning as a continuous process spanning formal, non-formal, and informal situations. Learners were expected to cultivate relationships, search for resources, and participate in activities that developed their skills. The approach was considered beneficial for developing Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and digital readiness.The creation of the Toolkit was conceived along three major objectives:1. School Empowerment:- Implementation of the SELFIE tool for measuring advancement in the learning ecosystem- Assessment of digital competences and infrastructure- Collection of educational research data- Promotion of community awareness about the learning ecosystem2. Learner Development:- Creation of questionnaires to analyze initial learning ecologies- Implementation of ex-ante and ex-post measurements- Development of a longitudinal study tracking learning ecology development over 5 years- Analysis of how participants utilized their capabilities in academic and professional contexts3. Toolkit Creation:- Development of an online Open Educational Resource (OER) based on the three Project Results developed in the project and according to the outcomes of the two pilot phases - Focus on building resilience for distance learning situationsThe toolkit has being published as an OER that could be widely shared across various educational channels. The initiative was expected to benefit not only partner schools but any educational institution interested in developing robust digital education systems.The focus remained on creating an environment where learning ecologies could grow and thrive, supported by teachers' professional development and formal setting designs that facilitated SRL.PR6 - Academic papers and involvement of institutional stakeholdersLeading organisation: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain)To foster a wide adoption of the outputs achieved in the project a relevant part was devoted to the academic dissemination and involvement of stakeholders. The academic publications play a key role in disseminating the knowledge generated by the project, ensuring that the results contribute not only to academic discourse but also to broader societal advancement. By sharing our findings with the scientific community, we ensure that the project’s impact extends beyond the immediate scope, fostering innovation and improving public understanding. Publishing in academic journals and presenting at conferences strengthens the reputation of the project and aligns with the wider dissemination strategy, enabling us to promote our research outcomes effectively.In line with these objectives, publications of SuperRED project were preferrable made available in open access journals and books to ensure broad accessibility. In addition, presenting findings at peer-reviewed conferences is a key dissemination channel. Below, we outline the steps taken to achieve these goals.TASK 1: Preparation phaseDuring this initial phase, project partners were responsible for identifying suitable academic outlets—such as conferences, peer-reviewed journals, and other academic platforms—to share the results of the project. By 30 July 2023, each partner was tasked with identifying relevant conferences and journals, prioritising those held in their respective countries. The partner universities took a leading role in this process:●UniFi and CNR identified conferences in Italy.●UOC focused on conferences in Spain.●Delft University targeted those in the Netherlands.Each partner was required to identify at least one national conference, and relevant journals were also selected to match the project’s themes, ensuring a strategic approach to dissemination.TASK 2: Implementation phase (conference papers)Following the preparation phase, each academic partner committed to producing and delivering at least one conference presentation in their respective countries. These presentations were seen as critical opportunities to engage with the academic community and receive feedback on the project’s progress. Each partner maintained full freedom over their publication strategy, allowing flexibility in terms of authorship and the organisation of contributions. By 30 November 2023, partners were required to share their conference submissions and plans via a shared document , ensuring coordination across the consortium. Although participation in international conferences outside partner countries was encouraged, it was clarified that these would not be covered by project funds.TASK 3: Implementation phase (journal papers)This task focused on the preparation and submission of journal papers, with a particular emphasis on publishing in open access, peer-reviewed journals. Research partners were encouraged to explore specific topics such as the SuperRED framework, the game design, the app development, and the pilot results. Each paper was expected to be based on empirical findings from the project. The deadline for submitting and publishing at least two papers was set for December 2023, and all publications had to meet the criteria of indexed journals (SSCI/ISI or SJR-Scopus Q1 & Q2). A shared document (Journals publication strategy.xlsx) was used to coordinate submissions and ensure a cohesive approach across the consortium.In addition to individual journal papers, partners discussed the potential to publish a special section or issue in a relevant journal. For example, UOC initiated negotiations with the Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (NAER) to include a special section dedicated to SuperRED products. Similarly Dr. D. Persico (Lead of ITD-CNR) as part of the Editorial Advisory Board of Innovations in Education and Teaching International, explored the possibility of publishing a monographic issue, which would likely be completed by the end of 2024.TASK 4: Open dataIn alignment with Open Science principles, all partners committed to making the data generated during the project available as open data. The Erasmus+ SuperRED project committed to Open Science principles by making all its datasets openly accessible. Following the European Commission's guidelines, the project removed traditional barriers like paywalls and institutional restrictions to scientific knowledge.The project's approach focused on several key areas: ensuring all scientific outputs (publications, data, methods, and software) were freely available, facilitating interdisciplinary research, and preventing duplication of efforts. This democratization of knowledge enabled various stakeholders - from scientists to the general public - to engage with research findings.The initiative aligned with broader EU objectives for research transparency and positioned research as a public good. By adopting these Open Science principles, SuperRED contributed to accelerating scientific discovery, improving research quality, and addressing global challenges more efficiently. The project demonstrated that openly shared scientific knowledge could enhance innovation and collaboration while strengthening research integrity through transparency.This commitment to openness ensured that project outcomes would benefit not only direct partners but the entire scientific community, supporting the broader goal of making research more accessible and impactful. TASK 5: Book of resultsDuring the final phase of the project, also exploiting the three-months extension granted by the national Agency, the University of Florence and UOC took the lead in developing a concept for the Book of Results, which would compile the key findings and contributions from the project. The book has been released an open-access publication, available on the project web-site and through the institutional channels of the partners, ensuring maximum visibility and accessibility. This book, alongside the peer-reviewed journal papers and conference presentations, would form the cornerstone of the project’s dissemination strategy, ensuring that the knowledge and innovations generated through SuperRED continue to influence the academic and educational communities well beyond the project’s completion.At the end of the project, 10 publications have been released from the partner research: 5 proceedings of national and international conferences, 1 Presentation at a Conference (full paper is in preparation), 3 articles in international journals and 1 final book. Five of these are open access publications.