“ If schools are going to help all students become expert learners, the metacognitive capabilities of learners must be acknowledged, cultivated, and exploited. Students must be actively engaged in their own learning and knowledge building; they must be able to effectively direct their personal quest for knowledge and skills, to judge for themselves whether they understand, and to know what to do when they need more information.” 1
Perhaps the two most important outcomes of learning across the rich and varied curriculum at Saint David’ s School are the development of moral character and the thinking capacities and dispositions that define critical and creative thinking. These two dimensions of learning are often intertwined. This is especially true when we consider the fact that learning is the product of social interactions that require attention to and concern for one’ s fellow learners. 2
For teachers, this presents a complex challenge. We must plan for learning and implement practices to build expert learners, who know how to take increasing control over their learning while participating as respectful, caring members of their classroom learning community.
During the 2024-2025 school year, Leonor( Leo) Brenes( Spanish Teacher), Catherine Milligan( English and Art History Teacher), and Pedro Morales( Director of Athletics, Teacher, and Coach) worked together to answer questions about how to best advance the learning of the seventh grade students they shared in common. Each of them uniquely defined their inquiry work:
Leo: How do we increase the quality and quantity of productive student engagement in our classrooms?
Catherine: How can teachers use a system of play involving extrinsic motivators to ensure that all students can " enter the arena " of a challenging lesson and find their way to curiosity, confidence, competence, and intrinsic motivation?
Pedro: How can I help my basketball team become better communicators and display positive leadership?
During the first months of this yearlong inquiry, these teachers studied relevant research and began rethinking and adapting their practices, applying theories from research and the wisdom gleaned from their years of experience. They converged on the concept of self-regulation as a focus of their work; it is a well-defined and recognized characteristic of expert learners( Ertmer & Newby, 1996).
“ At one time or another, we have all observed self-regulated learners. They approach educational tasks with confidence, diligence, and resourcefulness. Perhaps most importantly, selfregulated learners are aware when they know a fact or possess a skill and when they do not.” 3
Leo Brenes’ inquiry explored how to increase the quality and quantity of productive student engagement in our classrooms.
But the question of how self-regulation gets taught or learned is not so clearly spelled out in the educational literature. It is far more complicated than providing students with an explanation or a model of the various behaviors and dispositions that define self-regulation. Instruction, in the didactic sense, was not the answer. What emerged for each of these teachers was an idea that students must be positioned to be reflective, to see themselves as learners, to identify the attributes of successful learning, recognize areas of growth, and to become increasingly intentional in developing their skills and dispositions as learners.
In the language of the learning sciences, two things seem essential. First, that the path to becoming self-regulated or expert learners requires deliberate practice. 4 Second, that deliberate practice depends on increasing self-awareness or metacognition.
For Leo, this meant asking students to assess themselves. She hoped this would“ promote key skills such as inquiry, curiosity, communication, and independent thinking. I was also curious to see how this increased self-awareness might influence classroom behavior and engagement.”
1. Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J.( 1996). The Expert Learner: Strategic, Self-regulated, and Reflective. Instructional Science, 24( 1), 1-24. 2. Lave, J.( 1996). Teaching, as Learning, in Practice. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 3( 3), 149-164. 3. Zimmerman, B. J.( 1990). Self-regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: An Overview. Educational Psychologist, 25( 1), 3-17. 4. Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C.( 1993). The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance. Psychological Review, 100( 3), 363.
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