Christopher Wolters

Christopher A. Wolters joined the faculty at The Ohio State University and was appointed to the position of Director of the Walter E. Dennis Learning Center in August 2013. He also is a professor for the Educational Psychology program in the Department of Educational Studies. Prior to coming to Ohio State, he was a faculty member at the University of Houston for 17 years. He earned his PhD in the Combined Program in Educational and Psychology (1996) at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Dr. Wolters has an extensive record of professional service that includes positions on the executive committee for Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association and Division C (Learning and Instruction) of the American Educational Research Association. He is a member of the Editorial Boards for both Educational Psychologist and the Metacognition and Learning.

Dr. Wolters has a substantial record of research and scholarly publications focused on understanding students’ motivation and self-regulated learning, including the development of these processes during adolescence and how they interact to influence students’ academic engagement, learning and achievement. Many of his studies have investigated the strategies students use to actively regulate their cognition, motivation, and behavior, and how these strategies relate to academic performance. His most recent publications include empirical studies examining college students’ self-regulation of their motivation, time management, and chapters describing practical and theoretical aspects of self-regulated learning among college students.

Walter E. Dennis Learning Center

• PhD, Education and Psychology, University of Michigan, 1996
• MA, Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan, 1994
• BA, Psychology, University of Michigan, 1988

• Achievement
• Adolescent and At-Risk Youth
• Cognitive Development
• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Achievement
• Educational Psychology
  • College students
  • Learning
  • Motivation
  • Self-regulation
• Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA)
• Human Development and Family Studies
  • Adolescence
  • Cognitive development

Wolters' expertise is focused on investigating and extending a model of self-regulated learning that can be used to understand and improve students’ engagement, learning and academic achievement. He is particularly interested in motivation as both an influence on students’ self-regulation as well as a target of this process. His work also includes efforts to understand the contextual factors that impact students’ motivation and self-regulation, as well as measurement and validity issues central to these areas of research.

• Hensley, L., Wolters, C. A., Won, S., & Brady, A. (2018). Academic probation, time management, and time use in a college success course. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 48, 105 – 123.
• Kim, Y., Brady, A., & Wolters, C. (2018). Development and validation of the Brief Regulation of Motivation Scale. Learning and Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.12.010
• Wolters, C., & Won, S. (2017). Validity and the use of self-report questionnaires to assess self-regulated learning. In D. Schunk and J. Greene (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance (2nd ed., pp. 307 – 322). New York: Routledge.
• Wolters, C., Won, S., & Hussain, M. (2017). Examining the relations of time management and procrastination within a model of self-regulated learning. Metacognition and Learning.doi: 10.1007/s11409-017-9174-1
• Won, S., Wolters, C., A., & Mueller, S. (2017). Sense of belonging and self-regulated learning: Testing achievement goals as mediators. Journal of Experimental Education. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2016.1277337
• Hoops, L., Yu, S., Backscheider Burridge, A., Wolters, C. (2015). Impact of a student success course on undergraduate academic outcomes. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 45, 123 – 146.
• Wolters, C., & Hoops, L. (2015). Self-regulated learning interventions for motivationally-disengaged college students. In T. Cleary (Ed.), Self-regulated learning interventions with at-risk youth: Enhancing adaptability, performance, and well-being (pp. 67 - 88). Washington, DC: APA Books.
• Wolters, C.A., & Hussain, M. (2015).  Investigating grit and its relations to college students’ self-regulated learning and academic achievement. Metacognition and Learning, 10, 293 – 311.
• Corkin, D., Yu, S., Wolters, C., & Wiesner, M.  (2014). The role of college classroom climate on academic procrastination.  Learning and Individual Differences, 32, 294 – 303.
• Wolters, C., Denton, C., York, M., & Francis, D.  (2013).  Adolescents’ motivation for reading: Group differences and relation to standardized achievement. Reading and Writing. 10.1007/s11145-013-9454-3
• Wolters, C., Fan, W., & Daugherty, S. (2013).  Examining achievement goals and causal attributions together as predictors of academic functioning.  Journal of Experimental Education, 81, 295–321.
• Wolters, C., & Benzon, M.  (2013).  Assessing and predicting college students’ use of strategies for the self-regulation of motivation.  Journal of Experimental Education,81, 199-221.