Dr. Phil Winne is Distinguished SFU Professor of Education and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Canadian Psychological Association. As well, he formerly served as a two-term Tier I Canada Research Chair. These recognitions highlight contributions Dr. Winne has made to the field of educational psychology and recognize his research impact. Dr. Winne’s prolific career has spanned nearly five decades focusing on educational psychology, self-regulated learning, metacognition, and learning analytics. In 2019, Dr. Winne was inducted as a Fellow to the Academy of Social Sciences by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), Canada’s highest academic honour. Most recently, Dr. Winne was awarded the 2023 Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Psychological Contributions to Education by Division 15 – Educational Psychology of the American Psychological Association. This is among the most prestigious awards given to living educational psychologists for their substantial, career-long achievements and contributions to the field.
A recipient of multiple honours and much recognition over his distinguished career, Dr. Winne is an educational psychologist and scholar who has made many substantial contributions to educational research and, specifically, educational psychology. His research focuses on self-regulated learning (SRL), cognition, metacognition, learning science, and learning analytics, but he is recognized in particular for his contribution to SRL. His work has advanced understandings about how students engage with and manage their learning processes, and how technology can support and enhance those processes to improve learning outcomes. Dr. Winne’s research has strongly influenced educators’ approaches to teaching and learning, and offers practical implications for designing effective learning environments and assessment methods.
Significantly impacting SRL theories is Winne and Hadwin’s model of SRL. It sets out how learning unfolds over four pivotal phases: task definition, goal setting and planning, studying tactics, and adaptations to metacognition (Winne & Hadwin, 1998). This model has served as a framework for many researchers and practitioners delving into the intricacies of the learning phenomena, and helped researchers examine metacognitive processes during learning tasks. In a world of fast-changing digital technology, where learners can be more active in controlling and managing their learning, SRL models such as Winne and Hadwin’s guides designs for learning environments tailored to each learner’s needs as well as each phase of learning.
Learning analytics is another one of Dr. Winne’s main research topics. Software he and his research colleagues designed, nStudy (Winne et al. 2019), is an innovative online learning tool. It logs trace data as learners pursue everyday studying activities online. Analyses of these data support developing learning analytics that can guide learners toward productive SRL and help instructional designers tune learning activites. At the same time, data nStudy gathers an extend learning science (Winne, 2022). Development of nStudy was guided by contemporary cognitive, metacognitive, and motivation theories within the learning science framework. It serves as an example of how big data gathered through technology can effectively support learners, instructors and advances in learning science.
Dr. Winne has published more than 200 research journal articles, books, and book chapters on topics such as SRL, cognitive and metacognitive processes, learning analytics, the role of motivation in learning. Among his most impactful publications, the chapter co-authored with Dr. Nancy Perry, “Measuring self-regulated learning” (Handbook of Self-Regulation, 2000) has been cited more than 4,540 times. The chapter described, critiqued, and forecasted the measurement of SRL and its components of metacognition, motivation, and strategic action. The concepts, frameworks, and methodologies discussed in this chapter—particularly seven measurement protocols—have been adapted by many researchers and used as a foundation for new methods. Moreover, these protocols provided educators with a roadmap to consider how measures of students’ SRL can be gathered and validly interpreted.
In the Faculty of Education, Dr. Winne has played a pivotal role as a mentor. Embarking on a journey towards a doctoral degree is a challenging experience for many, requiring dedication, perseverance, and guidance. Understanding this, Dr. Winne has greatly influenced and supported his graduate students’ academic success and personal growth. His mentorship goes beyond knowledge transfer; he also nurtures the personal skill development essential researcher character by curiosity, critical thinking, and resilience. He was the inaugural winner of the Mentorship Award, given by the Canadian Committee of Graduate Students in Education/Canadian Society for the Study of Education for “a member of CSSE who supports and encourages graduate students in education and for valuable contributions as a mentor in educational research.” As his students attest, his mentorship has significantly enriched their academic experiences.
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