The Wisdom Within - Building the Expert Learner

In the following Wisdom Within post, Visiting TBI Scholar Dr. Ric Campbell explores how three Saint David's teachers engaged in research and evolved their teaching practice in order to build expert learners - those who are strategic, self-regulated, and reflective:

It’s not what we learn but how we learn it that matters most. Most of us do not remember the majority of facts we learned during years of schooling; the knowledge we needed to pass exams or demonstrate our skills each year. This is not a flaw in the educational process; there’s too much to remember. What should stay with us are ways of thinking and feeling that put us on an upward path of continuous learning. If schooling has served us well, we have learned how to learn, how to be “expert learners,” who are “strategic, self-regulated, and reflective.”[1] 

We certainly value what students remember from their engagement with the many subjects that constitute the comprehensive curriculum at Saint David’s, but we also know that each of these subjects provides students with opportunities to develop deep learning competencies that transfer over time and can be applied across various domains of inquiry.

“In both woodworking and drawing classes, students are encouraged to "trust the process"—approaching projects with patience, care, and intention, following each step methodically. Whether sketching a figure or constructing a wooden object, they learn that success comes not from rushing to the end, but from engaging thoughtfully with every stage of the work. This mindset builds confidence, reinforces discipline, and shows them that mastery is achieved through consistent practice and attention to detail.” – Bernard Adnet

Whether it is woodworking, drawing, mathematics, or Spanish, persistence and attention matter significantly to building knowledge and skills but learning typically begins with a willingness to step out of one’s comfort zone. It is the challenge of learning something new that calls us to take the risk of making and learning from mistakes and pushing through to increasing mastery.

“I chose to investigate how to increase student risk-taking and motivation so students would stretch themselves in language acquisition. The only way to increase their language skills is for them to persevere through frustration. I chose to investigate different ways to boost their motivation and capacity to tackle linguistic tasks.” – Tori Gilbert

“Drawing directly from the research I had explored, I intentionally redesigned math instruction to reflect a more student-centered and inquiry-driven approach. I wanted to create a learning environment where all students felt safe approaching challenges without hesitation, fear of failure, or fear of judgment.” – Joe Gambino

Expertise is not innate but something one develops; it is not an inborn talent but a set of skills and dispositions available to every learner through guided practice. Understanding this from the research[2], three teachers devoted a year to advancing their own expertise with the goal of engaging every student in becoming an expert learner. Art teacher Bernard Adnet, math teacher Joe Gambino, and Spanish teacher Tori Gilbert shared a common core question as the impetus for research and changes in their classroom practices: 

How can we help students become more independent as learners?

The answers to this question in a seventh-grade art class, a fifth-grade math class, and a third-grade Spanish class look somewhat different at first glance but share common principles when we look more closely. In their year of reflective practice, these teachers studied theories from research in the learning sciences and applied them to changes in their teaching practices, collecting data to assess the effects of these changes. Practices that worked were developed further, and other practices were abandoned. In the process, their teaching changed and so did student learning.

In his fifth-grade math class, Joe developed a set of practices that redefined more conventional approaches to math learning. Often, math students are taught procedures that they then apply to practice problems until these procedures become routine, but Joe wanted his students to engage in authentic forms of problem solving that require mathematical reasoning rather than the rote use of set procedures. Joe adopted a new model in which each class began with a challenging problem, building on research by Hiebert, Carpenter, et al.[3]

“I initially presented problems and simply asked students to write down whatever came to mind—without requiring them to solve the problems. The goal was to encourage exploration over correctness, fostering curiosity and resilience. This approach was grounded in the work of Dweck and Leggett[4], whose research highlights how emphasizing effort and learning can prevent the development of helpless responses in students.” – JG 

I visited Joe’s classroom and watched students come into class and quickly settle into their seats, quietly writing down ideas and drawing models of the day’s problem with intentional focus. Joe built on this success to include collaborative problem solving. After five to ten minutes of working through their reasoning independently on paper, students met in small groups: 

“… to discuss their thoughts, noticings, and possible strategies. Inspired by Bell’s research[5] . . . I stepped back during these group discussions, allowing students to take ownership of the conversation. They posed questions to one another, challenged each other's reasoning, and refined their understanding collaboratively. In doing so, students weren’t just receiving mathematical knowledge—they were constructing it together through active engagement and inquiry” – JG

In the course of these discussions, Joe asked students to think about their approaches to a problem, engaging them in purposeful reflection to identify and assess their strategies. Making learning processes explicit through reflection builds a learner’s repertoire of skills and the habits of mind that allow learners to take increasing control of their own learning.

Bernard also leveraged this principle of having students engage with their peers when tackling a challenge. Drawing on research from Brown & Campione[6], Wenger[7], and others, he created learning groups in which three to four students sat at a common table and worked together to solve the drawing challenges that Bernard wanted them to master. In the past, students would raise their hands and ask the teacher to help them through the task, but Bernard stepped away from this role, stepping in only occasionally to ask a guiding question or offer a brief prompt that would move a student forward. Instead, the students were expected to help each other, sharing strategies and demonstrating skills to their peers.

“A key component of this approach is fostering self-regulation and accountability. Before seeking the teacher’s assistance, students are encouraged to analyze their own work, identify challenges, and attempt to resolve them independently. If difficulties persist, they seek help from peers at their table. This structure nurtures a collaborative environment where students support each other and refine their observational skills through dialogue and shared problem-solving. Seventh graders often have a strong desire to socialize—so they might as well talk about art. Over time, this practice builds both confidence and resilience, reinforcing the idea that artistic growth comes through persistence and critical thinking.” – BA 

The evidence of their artwork was clear; every student was advancing their knowledge and skills through collaboration. Learning would begin with the teacher explaining and modeling, but turning the teacher’s instructions into skillfully rendered drawings became a matter of practice guided by peer-to-peer support. The differences in the quality of student work were minimal; expectations were being met.

“By prioritizing self-efficacy, collaboration, and problem-solving, this observational drawing class goes beyond technical skill-building. It creates an environment where students learn to trust their abilities, support one another, and take ownership of their learning—skills that extend far beyond the art room.” – BA 

Bernard made the shift from “teaching as telling” to “learning as productive struggle,” in which the teacher as expert provided models of practice and carefully structured supports, leaving the work of learning to students, who learned from each other as they made and corrected mistakes, offering support to each other as collaborative problem solvers. Consequently, Bernard’s identity as teacher shifted significantly.

“Some boys naturally assume guiding roles when they see a peer struggling; others need encouragement. I have watched students who once performed below expectations rise to the occasion and confidently demonstrate skills they have mastered. These exchanges are deeply positive and affirming. At the same time, classroom energy must be carefully managed. There is a fine line between dynamic collaboration and chaos—the teacher becomes a conductor, guiding the flow while ensuring everyone participates actively.” – BA 

In her work with third-grade students, Tori anticipated a variety of challenges. These were students she knew, having taught them in a first-grade Spanish class. She recognized their needs and the challenges they would face in the increasing demands of the third-grade curriculum.

“I wondered how I was going to help them reach the goals of the more academic work that is typical of Grade Three Spanish, especially the written component. My instincts told me that boosting agency and creating opportunities for small successes would build their confidence and motivation to do what would be the hard work of not giving up when meaning was not immediately obvious in our immersion setting and they had to take risks.” – TG 

In her third-grade Spanish class, Tori continued to build on her many years of experience while studying research that offered promising theories she could apply to her questions. Deci & Ryan’s self-determination theory[8] unlocked some of the puzzles of student motivation by identifying the three foundations of motivation: a sense of agency, competence, and relatedness. 

“To build relatedness, I began each class in the hallway with an emotion check in, a handshake, and a look in the eye. To boost their sense of competence, I publicly recognized when they mastered using a particular language building skill (from a set we co-created) by putting up a photo of them wearing a proficiency king crown that was also sent home after being signed by administration and myself with an ‘atta-boy.’ To ensure an opportunity for autonomy, our first project of the fall was an autobiography where students had flexibility to write beyond the frames they were given and illustrate the pages of their book projects in personalized ways.” – TG 

Pintrich’s work[9] on the role of metacognition as a key factor in self-regulated learning helped her design materials that would promote student reflection. As students worked through a particular challenge, Tori asked them to name strategies that they had successfully used to help them learn, and they created charts that memorialized and made visible helpful learning practices. The students were looking at their own learning processes and naming what worked, with attention to the things that helped them be more independent and advanced their proficiency:

At the end of class, students would complete brief self-reflection surveys, in which they responded to a checklist of descriptions of the actions necessary in building second language fluency to recognize what they had done and what they might have done to be productive learners. Clearly, the students were immersed in learning Spanish AND looking at their learning along the way to notice and name the strategies that were helpful, and to assess the quality of their efforts. Here are some examples:

I am proud of this work on: topic named

* It was hard to do but I stuck with it.

* I took a chance to try and understand something new.

* I made a guess about something based on context/image/cognates.

* I learned something about myself doing it.

It is difficult, maybe impossible, to convey the hours and months of effort each of these teachers dedicated to the work I have briefly described here. This is the third in a series of articles describing the ways that Saint David’s School teachers have engaged in classroom research to advance their learning and the learning of their students. I have been working with schools in the U.S., New Zealand, Palestine, and a dozen African nations for more than a decade. The outcomes for students have been consistently illuminating, but this is the first time I have engaged with so many teachers committed to continuous professional development in a single school. 

Intentional reflective practice is demanding; it is also one of the key elements of The Teaching Boys Initiative at Saint David's School.™ I write this piece at the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year; fourteen teachers have signed on to do this work this year. The total number of teachers participating in reflective practice accounts for almost fifty percent of the faculty. This doesn’t account for all the faculty engaged in other forms of reflective practice during the onboarding process, milestone initiatives, or the twenty teachers who just completed a summer course on how the ways we interact with students impact their effort, self-perception, and learning progress. It is remarkable and I feel fortunate to be a part of TBI, which positions Saint David’s at the leading edge of what all schools should be doing to strengthen the teaching profession. It is nothing more or less than the quality of what happens in classrooms that matters in the learning lives of students.

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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] Ericsson, K. A., & Charness, N. (1994). Expert Performance: Its Structure and Acquisition. American Psychologist, 49(8), 725.

[3] Hiebert, J., Carpenter, T. P., Fennema, E., Fuson, K., Human, P., Murray, H., ... & Wearne, D. (1996). Problem Solving as a Basis for Reform in Curriculum and Instruction: The Case of Mathematics. Educational Researcher, 25(4), 12-21.

[4] Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A Social-cognitive Approach to Motivation and Personality. Psychological Review, 95(2), 256.

[5] Bell, C. V. (2013). Uptake as a Mechanism to Promote Student Learning. Online Submission, 1(4), 217-229.

[6] Brown, A. L., & Palincsar, A. S. (2018). Guided, Cooperative Learning and Individual Knowledge Acquisition. In Knowing, Learning, and Instruction (pp. 393-451). Routledge.

[7] Wenger, E. (2009). A Social Theory of Learning. Contemporary Theories of Learning, 209-218.

[8] 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.

[9] Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The Role of Metacognitive Knowledge in Learning, Teaching, and Assessing. Theory Into Practice, 41(4), 219-225.

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