Although higher education requires students to self-direct their learning, their metacognitive regulation is often insufficient for adequate self-regulation. Collaborative learning (CL) has shown to be effective in fostering both students’ self- and socially shared metacognitive regulation (SSMR). The latter refers to a joint and reciprocal engagement of multiple collaborative learners in
regulating each other’s and the group’s learning. Although SSMR is assumed to advance collaborative and individual students’ learning, international research and theoretical models on SSMR are still in their infancy. By putting forward methodological and empirical studies on SSMR in an authentic university setting, the present proposal aims at advancing this emerging research field. In a first, methodological, phase the focus will be on innovative instrument development, aimed at (a) identifying quality differences in SSMR, and (b) depicting SSMR-processes by means of Social Network Analysis (SNA). In a second, empirical, phase the effects of SSMR on individual students’ and groups’ performance will be studied. Additionally, characteristics of CL-participants, CL-groups, and the CL-setting in view of students’ adoption of SSMR, will be investigated. The proposal implies pioneering contributions to a more comprehensive theory on SSMR, allows taking empirical SSMR-studies to a next level, and provides input to design instructional interventions adequately fostering SSMR.