Students think about their thinking and manage their own learning. They set goals, choose strategies, monitor progress, and reflect, getting better at the work of learning itself.
The arc has two movements. Reflection grows deeper and more strategic. And ownership shifts, from the teacher prompting to students initiating on their own. A practice reaches Sustaining when students regulate their learning independently, and all of them do.
Evidence base: self-regulated learning research, metacognition studies, and work on goal-setting and self-monitoring.
Start with the goal
Know strategies for planning, monitoring, and reflecting on learning.
Understand that they can manage and improve how they learn.
Do set goals, monitor progress, and adjust strategies independently.
Equity and BelongingSelf-regulation is teachable, not innate. Naming and modeling these strategies for every student closes gaps that otherwise track with who arrived already knowing how to learn.
Technology and AIAI enhances learning only through critical use and evaluation. Each practice names what that looks like. Treat outputs as drafts, check for accuracy, bias, and false agreement, decide when not to use the tool, protect your own thinking, and disclose how you used it.
Paired practices
1Goal-setting
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Sets one classwide goal.
Has students set a goal with heavy guidance.
Has students set individual goals.
Has students set, track, and revise their own goals.
Student
Work toward a shared goal.
Set a goal with support.
Set an individual goal.
Set and revise their own goals.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to model strong goal statements, then verify they are specific and measurable.
- Ask AI to suggest goal options, then keep the choice with the student.
Student
- Use AI to sharpen a goal, then commit to it themselves.
- Ask AI to check a goal is specific, then own it.
How to measureNote who sets the goal and whether it is revised; student-set, revised goals are Sustaining.
2Strategy selection and planning
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Tells students which steps to use.
Suggests one strategy.
Has students choose among strategies.
Has students plan and switch strategies as needed.
Student
Follow the given steps.
Use the suggested strategy.
Choose a strategy for the task.
Plan and adjust strategies independently.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to surface strategy options for a task type, then verify they fit.
- Ask AI to compare two strategies, then let students choose.
Student
- Use AI to consider strategy options, then choose and plan themselves.
- Ask AI why a strategy stalled, then pick another.
How to measureObserve whether students follow given steps or choose and adjust strategies; independent planning is Sustaining.
3Self-monitoring
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Provides no monitoring routine.
Has students rate confidence when asked.
Has students check progress during work.
Has students monitor and self-correct throughout.
Student
Work without checking themselves.
Rate confidence when prompted.
Check their progress during the task.
Notice and fix problems as they go.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to build a self-monitoring checklist, then verify it targets the goal.
- Ask AI for check-in prompts, then judge their usefulness.
Student
- Use AI to check progress mid-task, then verify the result.
- Ask AI whether they are on track, then judge honestly.
How to measureLook for students checking their own progress during work; continuous self-correction is Sustaining.
4Reflection on learning
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Includes no reflection.
Asks students to recall what they did.
Has students reflect on how their approach worked most lessons.
Has students reflect and name what they will carry forward.
Student
Move on without reflecting.
Recall what they did.
Reflect on how their approach worked.
Apply a reflection insight to the next task.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to generate reflection prompts, then verify they prompt real thinking.
- Ask AI to model a reflection, then judge its depth.
Student
- Use AI to prompt their reflection, then write it themselves.
- Notice if AI reflects for them, and do the thinking instead.
How to measureNote whether and how often students reflect on how their approach worked; applying a reflection to the next task is Sustaining.
5Effort and persistence
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Does not discuss effort.
Asks students to note effort.
Has students link effort to outcomes.
Has students plan where to direct effort.
Student
Do not consider effort.
Note how hard they tried.
Connect effort to their results.
Direct effort to where it matters most.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to design effort-reflection prompts, then verify they avoid empty praise.
- Ask AI for ways to frame productive struggle, then judge them.
Student
- Use AI to reflect on persistence, then plan their own next push.
- Ask AI for a strategy to keep going, then decide whether to use it.
How to measureObserve whether students connect effort to outcomes; directing effort strategically is Sustaining.
6Learning from mistakes
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Marks errors wrong and moves on.
Has students correct errors.
Has students analyze why errors happened.
Has students log error types to prevent them.
Student
See errors marked wrong.
Fix the error.
Explain why the error happened.
Track error patterns to avoid repeating them.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to surface common misconceptions for error analysis, then verify them.
- Ask AI to explain an error type, then judge the explanation.
Student
- Use AI to understand why an answer was wrong, then verify and correct it.
- Ask AI for the reasoning behind a mistake, then judge it.
How to measureNote how errors are handled; marked-wrong is lower, students tracking error patterns is Sustaining.
7Progress tracking
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Keeps all progress data.
Reports progress to students.
Has students track their own progress.
Has students use their data to set next steps.
Student
Have no view of progress.
Are told their progress.
Track their own progress on a chart or log.
Use their data to plan next steps.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to set up a simple progress tracker, then verify it measures the goal.
- Ask AI to visualize progress data, then check it is accurate.
Student
- Use AI to organize their progress data, then interpret it themselves.
- Ask AI what the data suggests, then decide with their teacher.
How to measureLook for a student-kept chart or log used to set next steps; data-driven student tracking is Sustaining.
8Strategy transfer
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Ties a strategy to one task.
Reminds students to reuse a strategy.
Has students apply strategies to similar tasks.
Has students adapt strategies to new tasks.
Student
Use a strategy once.
Reuse it when reminded.
Apply it to similar work.
Adapt it to an unfamiliar task.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to find where a strategy applies elsewhere, then verify the fit.
- Ask AI for a transfer scenario, then judge it.
Student
- Use AI to test a strategy in a new context, then verify the result.
- Ask AI how to adapt a strategy, then decide themselves.
How to measureNote whether a strategy is used once or adapted to new tasks; adapting to unfamiliar tasks is Sustaining.
Planning and setting
Design moves that set up the practices above.
Clarity of the learning goal
Every lesson opens from a clear goal. Emerging: the objective is implicit. Developing: the objective is stated. Embedded: a clear know, understand, and do is shared with success criteria. Sustaining: students can state the goal and criteria in their own words.
Building in reflection
Plans explicit moments for goal-setting, monitoring, and reflection rather than leaving them to chance.
Teaching the strategies
Plans to name and model self-regulation strategies directly, so every student has access to them.
Evidence and measurement
Each practice above carries its own measure. These are the primary evidence sources for the component as a whole.
Evidence for this component
- Student goals, progress trackers, and written reflections.
- Observation of students self-monitoring during work.
- Student error logs or analyses of mistakes.