Abstract
Reflection on the process of learning is believed to be an essential ingredient in the development of expert learners. By employing reflective thinking skills to evaluate the results of one's own learning efforts, awareness of effective learning strategies can be increased and ways to use these strategies in other learning situations can be understood. This article describes how expert learners use the knowledge they have gained of themselves as learners, of task requirements, and of specific strategy use to deliberately select, control, and monitor strategies needed to achieve desired learning goals. We present a model of expert learning which illustrates how learners' metacognitive knowledge of cognitive, motivational, and environmental strategies is translated into regulatory control of the learning process through ongoing reflective thinking. Finally, we discuss the implications that the concept of expert learning has for instructional practices.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AlexanderP. A. & JudyE. (1988). The interaction of domain specific and strategic knowledge in academic performance. Review of Educational Research 58: 375–404.
AndersonJ. (1985). Cognitive Psychology and Its Implications (2nd ed.). New York: Freeman.
BakerL. (1984). Children's effective use of multiple standards for evaluating their comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology 76: 588–597.
BerlinerD. C. (1994). Expertise: The wonder of exemplary performances, in J. N.Mangerieri & C. CollinsBlock, eds., Creating Powerful Thinking in Teachers and Students: Diverse Perspectives (pp. 161–186). Orlando: Harcourt Brace.
BeyerB. K. (1987). Practical Strategies for the Teaching of Thinking. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
BoudD., KeoghR. & WalkerD. (eds.) (1985). Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning. New York: Nichols.
BorkowskiJ., CarrM., RellingerE. & PressleyM. (1990). Self-regulated cognition: Interdependence of metacognition, attributions, and self-esteem, in B. F.Jones & L.Idol, eds., Dimensions of Thinking and Cognitive Instruction (pp. 53–92). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
BransfordJ. D. & VyeN. J. (1989). A perspective on cognitive research and its implications for instruction, in L. B.Resnick & L. E.Klopfer, eds., Towards the Thinking Curriculum: Current Cognitive Research (pp. 173–205). Alexandria, WV: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
BrownA. L., BransfordJ. D., FerraraR. A. & CampioneJ. D. (1983). Learning, remembering, and understanding, in P. H.Mussen, ed., Handbook of Child Psychology, Vol. 3: Cognitive Development (pp. 77–166). New York: Wiley.
BrownA. L., CampioneJ. C., WebberL. S. & McGillyK. (1992). Interactive learning environments: A new look at assessment and instruction, in B. R.Gifford & M. C.O'Conner, eds., Changing Assessments: Alternative Views of Aptitude, Achievement, and Instruction (pp. 121–211). Boston: Kluwer Academic.
BrownA. L. & DeLoacheJ. S. (1978). Skills, plans, and self-regulation, in R.Siegler, ed., Children's Thinking: What Develops? Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
BruerJ. T. (1993). The mind's journey from novice to expert. American Educator 17(2): 6–46.
BruerJ. T. (1994). Schools for Thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT.
CandyP., Harri-AugsteinS. & ThomasL. (1985). Reflection and the self-organized learner: A model of learning conversations, in D.Boud, R.Keogh & D.Walker, eds., Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning (pp. 100–115). New York: Nichols.
ChiM., GlaserR. & FarrM. J. (eds.) (1988). The Nature of Expertise. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
DerryS. J. (1990). Learning strategies for acquiring useful knowledge, in B. F.Jones & L.Idol, eds., Dimensions of Thinking and Cognitive Instruction (pp. 347–379). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
DerryS. J. & MurphyD. A. (1986). Designing systems that train learning ability: From theory to practice. Review of Educational Research 36: 1–39.
DeweyJ. (1933). How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process. Boston: Heath.
DriscollM. P. (1994). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
GagneR. M. (1994). Learning outcomes and their effects: Useful categories of human performance. American Psychologist 39: 377–385.
GallM. D., GallJ. P., JacobsenD. R. & BullockT. L. (1990). Tools for Learning: A Guide to Teaching Study Skills. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
GarciaT. & PintrichP. R. (1994). Self-regulation of methods, in B.Zimmerman & D.Schunk, eds., Self-regulated Learning: Issues and Applications (pp. 127–153). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
GlaserR. & ChiM. (1988). Overview, in M.Chi, R.Glaser & FarrM. J., eds., The Nature of Expertise (pp. xv-xxviii). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
GrimmettP. P. (1988). The nature of reflection and Schon's conception in perspective, in P. P.Grimmett & G. L.Erickson, eds., Reflection in Teacher Education (pp. 5–15). New York: Teachers College.
HoustonW. R. & CliftR. T. (1990). The potential for research contributions to reflective practice, in R. T.Clift, W. R.Houston & M. C.Pugach, eds., Encouraging Reflective Practice in Education: An Analysis of Issues and Programs (pp. 208–222). New York: Teachers College.
HoustonW. R., CliftR. T. & PugachM. C. (eds.) (1990). Encouraging Reflective Practice in Education: An Analysis of Issues and Programs. New York: Teachers College.
JonesB. F. & IdolL. (eds.) (1990). Dimensions of Thinking and Cognitive Instruction. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
KennedyM. (1987). Inexact sciences: Professional education and the development of expertise, in E. Z.Rothkoph, ed., Review of Research in Education, Vol. 14, Washington D.C.: American Education Research Association.
LindnerR. W. & HarrisB. (1992). Self-regulated learning: Its assessment and instructional implications. Educational Research Quarterly 16(2): 29–36.
Palinscar, A. S. & Brown, A. L. (1989). Instruction for self-regulated reading, in L. B. Resnick & L. E. Klopfer, eds., Toward the Thinking Curriculum: Current Cognitive Research (pp. 19–39). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
ParisS. G., LipsonM. Y. & WixconK. K. (1983). Becoming a strategic reader. Contemporary Educational Psychology 8: 293–316.
ParisS. G. & NewmanR. S. (1990). Developmental aspects of self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist 25: 87–102.
ParisS. G. & WinogradP. (1990). How metacognition can promote academic learning and instruction, in B. F.Jones & L.Idol, eds., Dimensions of Thinking and Cognitive Instruction (pp. 15–51). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
PressleyM., BorkowskiJ. G. & SchneiderW. (1987). Cognitive strategies: Good strategy users coordinate metacognition and knowledge. Annals of Child Development 4: 89–129.
RafothM. A., LealL. & DeFaboL. (1993). Strategies for Learning and Remembering: Study Skills Across the Curriculum. Washington DC: National Education Association.
SchmittM. C. & NewbyT. J. (1986). Metacognition: Relevance to instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development 9(4): 29–33.
SchonD. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner. New York: Basic Books.
SchonD. A. (1987). Educating the Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
SchonD. A. (1988). Coaching reflective teaching, in P. P.Grimmett & G. L.Erickson, eds., Reflection in Teacher Education (pp. 19–29). New York: Teachers College.
SchunkD. H. (1991a). Goal setting and self-evaluation: A social cognitive perspective on self-regulation. Advances in Motivation and Achievement 7: 85–113.
SchunkD. H. (1991b). Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. New York: Macmillan.
SimonsP. R. J. (1993). Constructive learning: the role of the learner, in T. M.Duffy, J.Lowyck & D. H.Jonassen, eds., Designing Environments for Constructive Learning (pp. 291–313). New York: Springer-Verlag.
SmithR. M. (1991). How people become effective learners. Adult Learning 2(6): 11–13.
SteinB. S., BransfordJ. D., FranksJ. J., VyeN. J. & PerfettoG. A. (1982). Differences in judgments of learning difficulty. Journal of Experimental Psychology 111: 406–413.
SwansonH. L., O'ConnorJ. E. & CooneyJ. B. (1990). An information-processing analysis of expert and novice teachers' problem solving. American Educational Research Journal 27: 533–556.
Vermunt, D. H. M. (1989). The Interplay between Internal and External Regulation of Learning, and the Design of Process-Oriented Instruction. Paper presented at the conference of the European Association of Research on Learning and Instruction, Madrid, Spain.
vonWrightJ. (1992). Reflections on reflection. Learning and Instruction: The Journal of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction 2(1): 59–68.
WaltersJ., SeidelS. & GardnerH. (1994). Children as reflective practitioners: Bringing metacognition to the classroom, in J. N.Mangerieri & C. CollinsBlock, eds., Creating Powerful Thinking in Teachers and Students: Diverse Perspectives (pp. 289–303). Orlando: Harcourt Brace.
WeinsteinC. E. & VanMater StoneG. (1993). Broadening our conception of general education: The self-regulated learner. New Directions for Community Colleges 21(1): 31–39.
WilsonB. & ColeP. (1991). A review of cognitive teaching models. Educational Technology Research and Development 39(4): 47–64.
WinogradP. & ParisS. G. (1989). A cognitive and motivational agenda for reading instruction. Educational Leadership 46(4): 30–36.
ZimmermanB. J. (1986). Development of self-regulated learning: What are the key subprocesses? Contemporary Educational Psychology 16: 307–313.
ZimmermanB. J. (1990). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: An overview. Educational Psychologist 25(1): 3–17.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ertmer, P.A., Newby, T.J. The expert learner: Strategic, self-regulated, and reflective. Instr Sci 24, 1–24 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00156001
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00156001