Dynamics and Independence of Junior High School Students' Mathematical Communication Skills and Self-Regulated Learning in SQ5R-Based Learning

This study is motivated by the low levels of mathematical communication skills and self-regulated learning among junior high school students facing abstract geometric concepts. The objective of this research is to examine the temporal dynamics and structural independence of students' written mathematical communication skills and self-regulated learning through the implementation of an SQ5R-based learning model on the Pythagorean Theorem. The research method applied a descriptive quantitative approach with a Pre-Experimental One-Group Time-Series Design tracking 25 eighth-grade students selected via purposive sampling over five consecutive sessions. Data were collected through daily written essay tests, periodic self-assessment questionnaires, observation logs, and confirmation interviews. The scientific findings revealed that the progression of students' mathematical communication skills is explicitly non-linear, transitioning from a slow initial adaptation phase (N-gain = 0,07) to an accelerated development phase at the third session (N-gain = 0,42), before stabilizing efficiently at subsequent sessions (N-gain = 0,41). Concurrently, the trajectory of self-regulated learning documented an acute cognitive-load-driven self-regulation crisis during the third session where the High category frequency dropped sharply to 8% followed by a robust affective resilience that successfully reached a peak dominance of 72% at the final cycle. Crucially, the global Pearson correlation coefficient uncovered an extremely weak relationship (r_XY= 0,068), empirically proving that cognitive communication and affective self-regulation develop independently within the classroom setting.