A Scoping Review on Concepts and Interventions of Socially Shared Metacognitive Regulation (SSMR)

In order to grasp learning in collaborative learning environments, it is insufficient to solely focus on the individual regulation of learning. The quality of learning in groups also depends on shared regulation. Jointly regulating a group’s learning process towards a shared learning goal is defined as socially shared metacognitive regulation (SSMR). The literature presents evidence that SSMR enhances learning performance. At the same time, however, there is confusion regarding the definition and understanding of SSMR in both research and practice. Due to the proliferation of social regulation research in the past decades, the concept of SSMR is used increasingly throughout educational sciences literature. Notwithstanding the number of studies, there is a lack of common theoretical constructs, operationalizations, measurements, and interventions to elicit SSMR processes. Various conceptualizations of SSMR have resulted in inconsistencies within research and difficulties to generalize across studies. An overview of SSMR concepts is needed to obtain a framework for the constructs and operationalizations and to improve theoretical understanding. This paper presentation provides an inventory and analysis of the theoretical constructs and their operational definitions in the field of SSMR. Further, it offers clarity into the terminology used in the field, identifies gaps in the literature, and points to future directions for research and instructional guidelines for supporting SSMR in educational settings. First, SSMR interventions from previous research are reported. Subsequently, five frameworks of SSMR were analyzed and empirical findings of SSMR elicitation are presented.