In the following Wisdom Within post, Visiting TBI Scholar Dr. Ric Campbell continues his blog series on our faculty’s reflective practice program. This entry explores how three Saint David's teachers collaborated to build "self regulated" students: "expert learners who take increasing control over their learning while participating as respectful, caring members of their classroom learning community."
LEARNING AS DELIBERATE PRACTICE
“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]
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, self-regulated learners are aware when they know a fact or possess a skill and when they do not.” [3]
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.
This began by asking students to evaluate their participation and reflect on their behaviors in class each day using a rubric, which described the basic expectations for a committed and responsive learner. Students responded to these self-assessments positively, assuming responsibility for the quality of their participation in class. What began as reflections on basic classroom behaviors changed over time, becoming reflections on learning in which students assessed the strategies and efforts they were applying to learning challenges.
“I created rubrics for the students to complete at the end of each class. The first rubrics focused on whether or not certain behaviors and tasks were completed. Over time, they evolved into tools for students to set goals and choose specific skills to work on during class.
“By the third quarter I changed focus to helping students reflect on how they learn. Using the same self-assessment rubrics but based on academics and learning-related skills, I encouraged them to think of strategies they used to understand better such as making connections with previous grammar, using cognates, asking questions to the teacher, etc.”
Leo discovered that asking students to assess their own work as learners brought them into the classroom as partners in the work of learning, in which students build their knowledge and skills through their own efforts, and the teacher provides support as a coach and source of expert knowledge.
“With reference to Deci and Ryan's studies of the 'self-regulation of learning' or 'self-determination theory' [5] and Earl and Katz's writings about 'assessment as learning,' [6] I tried to get to the bottom of something in my own practice that has surprised me in how much it seems to motivate students and facilitate real learning. The theory I'm developing begins with the idea that visible-yet-understated, variable or ambiguous progress markers…can draw students into a playful dynamic that lowers social defenses and cultivates collaboration while reinforcing target behaviors and building feelings of competence.
“I believe what really makes a reward system 'transitive' to learning is not concrete prizes or even the energy and excitement they incite; it's the playful, relational dynamic that can emerge as students try to figure out a puzzle their teacher has presented, which satisfies an intrinsic psychological need for 'autonomy, competence, and relatedness.'” [7]
This meant changing practice routines, asking players to be more mindful, as well as developing habits of communication between teammates that were supportive of individual efforts.
“I introduced a two-minute pre-practice meditation inspired by Amy Cuddy's research on presence and the body-mind connection to build mental focus and composure. [8] During this time, players practiced controlled breathing and visualized successful plays, helping them shift into a focused, high-energy mindset before stepping on the court.
“Creating a culture of open dialogue, mutual respect, and peer-led leadership significantly enhanced the team's communication and leadership skills. With structured opportunities and encouragement, our boys developed and demonstrated meaningful leadership behaviors. The team became increasingly comfortable expressing themselves and taking initiative, which improved their coordination during games. What was once intimidating for some became an accessible and shared responsibility among all team members.”
Pedro witnessed the benefits of his new approaches as a teacher and coach as the season progressed. In reflecting on his own learning, he came to see “that when sports are approached with intentionality, they become more than games. They become classrooms for resilience, confidence, and leadership that boys will carry with them long after the final whistle.”
Leo, Catherine, and Pedro collected evidence of the effects of their instructional approaches through classroom observations, looking at the quality of student work, and asking the students to reflect on the effects of these innovations. In a model of what some identify as collaborative action research, this last data set engaged the students in further reflection, while offering the teachers insights into the students’ experiences of these practices.
It is March of 2026 as I write this report, and I have remained in conversation with these teachers. They continue to refine and leverage these practices, expanding the work to all their classes because there is every indication that this emphasis on teaching students to be expert or self-regulated learners has significant impact across every dimension of learning at Saint David’s. These are skills and dispositions that will deepen over time and carry forward into all the learning that school and life have to offer.
[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.
[5] Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67.
[6] Earl, L., & Katz, S. (2006). Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind. Assessment for Learning ,Assessment as Learning, Assessment of Learning. Western and Northern Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Education (WNCP).
[7] Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., & Williams, G. C. (1996). Need Satisfaction and the Self-regulation of Learning. Learning and Individual Differences, 8(3), 165-183.
[8] Cuddy, A. (2015). Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. Little, Brown Spark.
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[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.
[5] Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67.
[6] Earl, L., & Katz, S. (2006). Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind. Assessment for Learning ,Assessment as Learning, Assessment of Learning. Western and Northern Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Education (WNCP).
[7] Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., & Williams, G. C. (1996). Need Satisfaction and the Self-regulation of Learning. Learning and Individual Differences, 8(3), 165-183.
[8] Cuddy, A. (2015). Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. Little, Brown Spark.