Educate to Self-Regulate

In this episode of Educate to Self-Regulate, Nidean Dickson and Dr Shyam Barr explore how task value—understanding the why behind learning—drives both motivation and self-regulation.

Drawing on recent research and classroom experience, we unpack why "poor motivation equals poor self-regulation" and offer practical strategies educators can use immediately.

In this episode, you'll learn:
✔️ Three actionable task value strategies—"What's My Why," "For Future Me," and cost-benefit analysis—that build internal motivation.
✔️ Why competence beliefs matter: students avoid tasks due to low ability beliefs, not just lack of meaning. Address both to intervene effectively.
✔️ How to design learning so students see skills as lifelong and transferable—the key to genuine engagement.

The complexity of motivational beliefs—and how they interact—is what separates surface compliance from genuine self-regulated learning. Master this, and you're creating learners who own their growth.

Tune in now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts!
Watch the full episode on YouTube.

Download "Motivating Self-Regulation: Utility Value, Interest Development, and the Potential for Intervention" here.
Remember to subscribe to Educate to Self-Regulate to receive updates on future episodes. Join the @edtoselfreg community as we share our personal and professional experiences, insights, and actionable tips for boosting self-regulated learning for yourself and your students.

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In this episode of Educate to Self-Regulate, Nidean Dickson and I (Dr Shyam Barr) celebrate the podcast's milestone 45th episode and dive into Carl Hendrick's UNESCO paper on Responsive Teaching.

We share self-regulation stories from busy terms—my reflections from the Thought Leader Series Queensland workshops with Dr Amy Berry, and Nidean's classroom refinements to self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies—and link responsive tactics to real teacher practice amid explicit instruction debates.

In this episode, you'll learn:

✔️ How to do Responsive Teaching: Adapt to student evidence with 10 tactics (e.g., prior knowledge checks, retrieval, modeling, feedback).
✔️ Teacher SRL in action: Plan-monitor-evaluate for agency; data over assumptions ("good intentions aren't enough").
✔️ How to win in the classroom: Nidean's religion lesson—true/false routines, peer feedback ("listen for what you don't have"), "process over product" busts myths.
✔️ Key teaching shifts: Slow down to speed up; "Why this?" for purpose; high support + expectations = lifelong learners.

True responsive teaching—decisions over assumptions—creates self-regulated learners who own their growth. Tune in now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts!

Watch the full episode on YouTube

Dive into Carl Hendrick's Responsive Teaching: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000397538
Remember to subscribe to Educate to Self-Regulate to receive updates on future episodes. Join the @edtoselfreg community as we share our personal and professional experiences, insights, and actionable tips for boosting self-regulated learning for yourself and your students.

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Share your thoughts with us on Instagram or Twitter: @edtoselfreg

In this episode of Educate to Self-Regulate, I'm joined by my friend and co-host Nidean Dickson to explore an important question for today’s classrooms:

How do we move from thinking routines and good questions to genuine self-regulated learning and authentic engagement?

Many classrooms appear engaged on the surface. Students follow routines, raise their hands, and complete tasks. But this visible participation can sometimes become ritual compliance — behaviour that looks productive but lacks cognitive depth.

In this episode, you'll learn:

✔️ The difference between compliance and authentic engagement
✔️ Why engagement depends on metacognition, interest, and self-control
✔️ How thinking routines can become transferable learning strategies — and avoid “strategy stripping” by teaching students how and why to use them
✔️ The NEMO-T Framework — Name, Explain, Model, Opportunity, Time for reflection, and Transfer

True engagement comes when students can understand and regulate their own learning.

Listen on Spotify and Apple podcasts
Watch the full episode on YouTube

Resources & Mentions
Zaretta Hammond and Dr Ron Ritchhart Interview 
Dr Amy Berry — The Engagement Model
Wong et al. (2021) — Predictors of engagement in mathematics
 
Remember to subscribe to Educate to Self-Regulate to receive updates on future episodes. Join the @edtoselfreg community as we share our personal and professional experiences, insights, and actionable tips for boosting self-regulated learning for yourself and your students.

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Share your thoughts with us on Instagram or Twitter: @edtoselfreg

Hello everyone! Welcome to 2026.
In this episode of Educate to Self-Regulate, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my annual reflection process—how I review 2025, set intentional goals for 2026, and even choose one guiding word for the year.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
✔️ How to reflect on the past year to gain clarity and insight
✔️ How to set intentional goals that guide your teaching and leadership
✔️ How to choose one guiding word to frame your year and daily actions

From carving out clarity amid chaos to turning reflection into daily action, this episode is packed with practical strategies for educators and leaders who want to start the year mentally recharged and intentional.

Tune in now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and discover how to make 2026 your most intentional year yet. Your next-level teaching starts here!
Watch the full conversation on YouTube
Remember to subscribe to Educate to Self-Regulate to receive updates on future episodes. Join the @edtoselfreg community as we share our personal and professional experiences, insights, and actionable tips for boosting self-regulated learning for yourself and your students.

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Share your thoughts with us on Instagram or Twitter: @edtoselfreg

In this final episode of Educate to Self-Regulate for the year, and my first solo episode, I’m diving into one of the most important phases of self-regulated learning: Metacognitive self-reflection.

As we wrap up 2025, I’m unpacking:
• Why planning–monitoring–evaluating really matters
• How metacognitive prompts can deepen your own learning
• Practical tools like PMI, SWOT, and Start–Stop–Continue to guide more meaningful reflection
• What this year taught me through the podcast, from AI as a metacognitive partner to Queenwood’s smart study approach, strategy-building in primary classrooms, learning journals, and long-form conversations with researchers
• What’s coming in 2026

I’m also sharing two strategies I’m leaning on as we enter the break:
✔️ Show up to rest the same way you show up to training
✔️ Recalibrating meditation as a non-negotiable part of my routine

Wherever you are, I hope this episode helps you pause, reflect, and set yourself up for a strong 2026.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Watch the full episode on Youtube
Remember to subscribe to Educate to Self-Regulate to receive updates on future episodes. Join the @edtoselfreg community as we share our personal and professional experiences, insights, and actionable tips for boosting self-regulated learning for yourself and your students.

Love this Episode? Have questions?
Share your thoughts with us on Instagram or Twitter: @edtoselfreg