Self-regulated learning in the museum: understanding the relationship of visitor's goals, learning strategies, and appraisals

Self-regulated learning (SRL) in the museum was explored by 2 investigations. The first one investigated 233 visitors on their goals and intended learning strategies by questionnaire before they visited the science museum. Results indicated visitors' learning goals can predict their intended deep-learning strategy. Moreover, visitors can be clustered into 4 groups and their cluster identity can also predict the intended learning strategies. The second investigation asked 244 visitors about their actual learning strategies and motivational appraisals (self-efficacy and control beliefs) after visiting. In all, 5 kinds of learning strategies were found: elaborating, help-seeking, effort-making, reorganizing, and surface-learning. These strategies can further predict their motivational appraisals. The characteristics of SRL in the informal learning context were discussed.