Using Metacognition To Promote Better Learning
How metacognition can help teachers help students to grow into thoughtful people
Sometimes we just plunge into a situation without thinking about it. If we had stopped to think things might have turned out differently.
Metacognition is the ability to think about thinking.
Thinking about thinking can make life better, easier and more fun.
Expert thinking versus novice thinking
Teachers can easily recognise students who are expert thinkers. There are usually only a few of them in the average class. These students step back and think about how to approach a task before jumping into it. They look at the task from different perspectives before committing themselves to one way of doing it.
Novice thinkers in classrooms tend to look at things in another way.
These students sometimes just jump straight into a task or they take their time putting it off. Feelings take over and they get carried away with the excitement of doing the task in their own way or feelings of dread overwhelm them and they just can’t get started.
Either way, the result tends to be rather shallow and lacking in depth.
Some reasons why it’s good to teach metacogntion
Metacognition plays a key role in education.
It helps students to develop their problem solving skills. Thinking carefully about how to solve a problem means that they have to plan ahead, keeping a checklist of strategies that they think will work, monitor those that do work, and then adjust their strategies as they go through the task.
Whilst students are working on their megacognition skills, they become more independent learners who are able to manage their thought processes well. They learn how to move away from distractions and choose to focus on the task that they are working on without outside help.
Students with strong metacognitive skills tend to do better academically because they process information in a way that helps them to remember it, and then use it to solve problems or answer given questions.
A bird's eye view of a student using metacognition when deciding how to solve a simultaneous equation
Expert students use meta-cognition when deciding how to do a task.
They step back and look at what needs to be done and the best way to do it. They look at some of the paths that they could take to get a good result.
These expert students have many questions running through their minds and they answer each one, keeping an internal commentary of their thinking.
An expert thinker I had in one of my maths classes thought through a problem I had presented to the class out loud. The relevant inner and outer dialogue between me and him went like this.
Me: Stephen, can you solve this system of simultaneous equations?
Stephen: Ok, just give me a minute. Are the values of x and y the same in each equation?
Me: Yes, without that the system of equations would not exist.
Stephen: So x and y have the same values in each equation?
Me: Yes, that’s right.
Stephen: I think I can write x using y or y using x.
Me: Ok that’s one way to approach it. What could you do next?
Stephen: Once I’ve done that I could substitute into each equation and then find the value of the other letter.
Me: And then what?
Stephen: Once I know the value of one letter I could put that into the other equation and find the value of the second letter. Yes that would work.
Me: Are there any other ways of working the values of x and y out?
Stephen: Yes, I can see a better way.
Me: Can you explain that to me?
Stephen: Ok. As the letters in front of x match then I could just subtract the x bits and then subtract the y bits and the number bits, that would give me the value of y, then I could substitute that value into one of the equations to find the x value.
Me; Sounds good. Which way will you try?
Stephen: I think I will try the second way then check it out using the first way.
Me: Sounds great, ok, give it a go and see how you get on.
Metacognition encompasses two key components: metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulation.
Metacognitive knowledge refers to the awareness of cognitive processes and strategies, including understanding what works best for them in different learning situations.
Metacognitive regulation involves the ability to plan, monitor, and adjust one's learning strategies to achieve specific goals.
Stephen was able to do both.
The question is can metacognition be taught? I think it can.
Encouraging Metacognitive Skills in the Classroom
I used to be a form tutor. Each morning I had a group of students who came into be registered and we had time to think about the day ahead. I liked to work with my students to get them into a positive frame of mind so that learning was easier for them. Here are some of the strategies I used during that time.
One morning we watched a you tube video on why it was important to reduce carbon emissions and how that could be done.
Example 1: Reflective Thinking Journals
Me "Today, I want each of you to start a reflective thinking journal. After each lesson, write down what you learned, how you approached the tasks, and what strategies worked or didn't work for you. This will help you become more aware of your thinking processes."
Student: "Sometimes when I take notes while reading I understand what I am writing well. Other times I get distracted easily. I’m not sure why that happens.
Me: "That's great insight! Now, think about what you can do to minimize distractions. Maybe find a quieter place to study or take short breaks to stay focused."
Example 2: Think-Aloud Strategies
Me: "Let's work on reducing our carbon emissions locally. First, I want you to think aloud while planning your approach. Explain your thought process as you go along."
Student: "Okay, I think we should start by identifying the main sources of carbon emissions in our community. We can then brainstorm ideas on how to reduce them."
Me: "Excellent! By verbalizing your thoughts, you can evaluate your reasoning and make adjustments if needed. What do you think is the next step?"
Student: "I think we should research the impact of different activities, like driving and using electricity, on carbon emissions."
Example 3: Group Discussions and Peer Feedback
Me: "In groups, discuss how you would reduce carbon emissions in our school. Share your ideas and provide feedback to each other."
Student 1: "We could start a carpool program to reduce the number of cars coming to school."
Student 2: "That's a good idea! We could also switch to energy-efficient light bulbs and encourage everyone to turn off lights when not in use."
Me: "These are great ideas. By working together and giving feedback, you're using metacognitive strategies to refine your plans and think critically about your actions."
Example 4: Self-Assessment and Goal Setting
Me: "At the end of each week, assess your progress in reducing carbon emissions and set goals for the next week. Think about what strategies were effective and what you can improve."
Student: "This week, I started biking to school instead of taking the bus. It was challenging at first, but I feel good about reducing my carbon footprint."
Me: "That's a great achievement! For next week, think about how you can encourage others to join you. Maybe you can organize a bike-to-school day."
How I used metacognition to help students become expert learners
Although it might look like these students spontaneously used these metacognitive strategies there was a bit of expert thinking I had to do before I gave them the carbon foot print task. My thinking and predictive processes went a bit like this.
Planning
I wanted students to begin by planning their approach to the task carefully. They needed to think about ways in which carbon footprints could be reduced. So I noted things that I could drop into the conversation if they got stuck. For instance transport, how energy is easily used mindlessly at times, how waste is managed and recycled.
I really wanted them to come up with lots of ideas so I decided to step in with ideas if they got stuck.
Monitoring
It was important that students were able to keep track of the ideas and decide which were best to move forward with. So I gave them large pieces of paper,mini whiteboards, access to the internet using i-pads and coloured pens to use to write their ideas down.
How they used these resources was up to them.
What I was interested was how they decided on which ideas to move forward with.
Evaluating
Once they had moved forward with their chosen ideas, I was keen to see how they worked on figuring out which of their ideas would be most successful and why.
So I asked them to reflect on their ideas and how they would measure success.
I also asked them to think about how their original ideas could be improved, and then writing about the process they had used to complete the task.
The power of metacognition for teachers and students
Metacognition is a powerful tool in teaching and learning, enabling students to become more aware of their cognitive processes and develop strategies to improve their learning outcomes.
Students can develop the metacognitive skills needed to approach tasks logically and systematically through reflective thinking, think-aloud strategies, group discussions, and self-assessment.
By encouraging metacognitive skills, teachers can help students become more independent, self-directed learners who are better equipped to tackle real-world challenges.