ISSUE
09
A publication of the
Centre for University
Teaching
University Teaching
March
2011
“In this rapidly changing
world, the challenge
of teaching is to help
students develop skills
which will not become
obsolete. Metacognitive
strategies are essential
for the twenty-first
century. They will
enable students to
successfully cope
with new situations.”
University level
instructors should
promote and model
effective strategies
in order to “create
a metacognitive
environment which
fosters the development
of good thinkers who
are successful problemsolvers and lifelong
learners.”
Blakey & Spence
(1990)
Metacognition:
Emphasizing an
Awareness of One’s
Own Learning
Processes
Jovan Groen
Centre for University Teaching
What is metacognition?
Defined broadly as thinking about
our thinking, metacognition refers
to our awareness of the cognitive
processes used when engaged in a
learning activity. Most researchers
agree that metacognition is a skill that
can both be taught and learned and is
used principally across the following
situations:
• Keeping track of one’s own
understanding of an issue or set of
issues;
• Organising one’s attention;
• Organising available resources;
• Reviewing one’s own progress.
Resnick (1987)
Without being conscious of it,
we make use of metacognitive
strategies
every
day.
These
strategies essentially boil down to
the following: 1) Setting learning
goals, 2) Planning how these will be
achieved, 3) Monitoring our learning
and 4) Adjusting our strategies as
needed in order to achieve our
learning goals.
As a result of the implications for
learning, interest in this topic has
increased considerably in teaching and
learning communities. The following
suggestions outline how course
instructors can help their students
monitor their learning processes and
better apply their cognitive resources
so that they may become ever more
successful learners.
How do you integrate it in
your teaching?
Three elements to consider when
working toward the development of
your students’ metacognitive skills
are the promotion that learning is
mutable, the presentation of and
discussion about a variety of learning
strategies, and the provision for
opportunities to practice these new
skills (Schraw, 1998; Ormand, 2011).
In order to help
students be more
strategic and
systematic when
tackling a task the
following checklist
may serve as a
guide.
“The study of metacognition
has provided educational
psychologists with insight
about the cognitive processes
involved in learning and what
differentiates
successful
students from their less
successful peers.”
Planning
Livingston (1997)
• What is the nature of
the task?
• What is my goal?
• What kind of information
and strategies do I
need?
• How much time and
resources will I need?
Monitoring
• Do I have a clear
understanding of what I
am doing?
• Does the task make
sense?
• Am I reaching my
goals?
• Do I need to make
changes?
Firstly, consider promoting the idea
that students can learn to become
better learners. Introduce the concept
of metacognition and present the
importance and rationale for the use
of a metacognitive approach. While
students are often equipped with good
strategies to undertake specific tasks,
many of these students have difficulties
successfully completing them. Often
students will associate success (or lack
of success) at a particular task with
ability and not take into account the
impact of the learning strategies used
or their self-regulation.
Evaluating
• Have I reached my
goal?
• What worked?
• What didn’t work?
• Would I do things
differently next time?
Schraw (1998)
Secondly, teach students how to set
learning goals, how to use a variety
of learning strategies, and how to
effectively manage the use of these
strategies. Schraw (1998) outlines
three components of knowledge that
should be discussed with students:
Declarative knowledge which refers to
knowledge about oneself as a learner
and about what factors influence one’s
performance; Procedural knowledge
which refers to knowledge about doing
things, as represented by heuristics and
strategies; and conditional knowledge
which refers to knowing when and
why to use certain metacognitive
strategies. Schraw (1998) continues
by highlighting the importance of
having instructors model their own
metacognitive strategies to their
students. Rather than simply present
and discuss how to perform a task, he
recommends that instructors discuss
how one thinks about and monitors
their performance.
Thirdly, provide students with
opportunities to practice selecting
and implementing productive learning
strategies. Create a comfortable and
constructive learning environment
where students can build their
confidence using these strategies and
see their own ability to learn improve
over time.
Strategies that help develop
student metacognition
The following is a short list of example
activities and exercises that help
students develop a metacognitive
approach to learning (Blakey & Spence,
1990; Lovett, 2008; Ormand, 2011).
Much like the implementation of any
innovative practice, one must take
the time to discuss the rationale for
use and the end goal of the strategies
being implemented. Instructions and
expectations must be clear from the
very start to get the most out of these
experiences.
1. Explicit modelling: Make a point
of explicitly modelling your
own metacogitive skills when
performing a particular task. What
questions do you ask yourself when
approaching a task? How do you
decide what strategies to use? How
do you monitor the efficiency and
effectiveness of the strategy(ies)
you have selected? How do you
evaluate the successful completion
of the task?
2. Review
sessions:
Organize
opportunities for students to
discuss how they learn what they
are learning and share strategies
with one another. While facilitating
these discussions you may suggest
a few strategies of your own.
3. Assignment
wrappers:
Have
students answer self-assessment
questions focusing on the skills
they should be monitoring before
performing a task or an assignment.
Following the completion of the
task, have students revise the
initial assessment and identify the
elements that worked best and
those that didn’t work as well as
planned. Based on the outcome of
this revision, create a plan of action
for the next assignment.
4. Lecture wrappers: Present a
series of learning related tips at
the beginning of a lecture and
ask students to put these tips
into practice during class. Before
concluding the lecture, follow up
with students regarding the use and
effectiveness of the learning tips. An
example by Lovett (2008) outlines
a professor sharing some active
listening tips at the beginning of a
lecture and encouraging students
to identify and take note of the key
points throughout. Near the end of
class the professor then asks the
students to write out and submit
three main points highlighted during
the lecture. Lovett (2008) points
out that regular use of this type of
exercise leads to a refinement of
the skill being practiced. In the case
mentioned above, students became
progressively more accurate in the
identification of the most important
points discussed in class.
5. Pre-test questionnaire: Similar to
the wrapper exercises, administer
a short questionnaire ahead of a
test to help them identify the skills
they should keep in mind while
they carry out this task. Questions
could include: What mark do you
predict you will get on this test?
Do you feel that you are sufficiently
prepared? What learning strategies
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Copyright © 2011 Centre for University Teaching
did you use to prepare? After having
performed this exercise a few times,
students are likely to get better at
predicting their performance and
consequently be better able to refine
their learning strategies.
6.Grade
expectations:
At
the
beginning of your course ask
students to write down their
anticipated mid-term grade for
the course as well as the learning
strategies they will use in order to
achieve this grade. Once mid-term
marks have been distributed to the
students, have them revisit their
submissions to discuss the accuracy
of their predictions and what
changes they might make to their
learning strategies for the reminder
of the course.
No matter the exercise or strategy
used, common questions that will allow
your students to monitor and assess
the quality of their learning include:
• At which steps in the process were
you most/least satisfied with how
you worked?
• What skills
improved?
do
you
feel
you
• In what ways do you feel more
capable?
• What were the main obstacles to
being efficient?
• What will you do differently next
time?
Peirce (2003)
Conclusion
The goal of integrating metacognitive
practices into one’s teaching is to
establish an environment where
students are encouraged to monitor
their learning processes and actively
use strategies that will enable them
to evaluate the effectiveness of their
own learning. By training students to
ask themselves the right questions
they will begin, at an early stage,
to think like practitioners in their
respective fields.
Further Reading
Blakey, E. & Spence, S. (1990). Developing
Metacognition. ERIC Digest. Available at:
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9218/
developing.htm.
Livingston, J. (1997). Metacognition: An
Overview. State University of New York
at Buffalo. Available at: http://www.gse.
buffalo.edu/fas/shuell/cep564/metacog.
htm.
Schraw, G. (1998). Promoting general
metacognitive awareness. Instructional
Science, 26, 113-125.
Taylor, S. (1999). Better learning through
better thinking: Developing students’
metacognitive abilities. Journal of College
Reading and Learning, 30(1), 34-35.
Lovett,
M.C.
(2008).
Teaching
Metacognition. Presentation to the
Educause Learning Initiative Annual
Meeting, 29 January 2008.
Ormand,
C.
(2011).
Teaching
Metacognition.
On
the
Cutting
Edge – Professional Development of
Geoscience Faculty, Carleton College.
Available at: http://serc.carleton.edu/
NAGTWorkshops/metacognition/
teaching_metacognition.html.
Peirce, W. (2003). Metacognition: Study
Strategies, Monitoring, and Motivation.
Available
at:
http://academic.pgcc.
edu/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/metacognition.
htm.
Resnick, L. B. (1987). Education and
learning to think. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press.
Cette publication est aussi disponbile en français.
www.tlss.uOttawa.ca
Copyright © 2011 Centre for University Teaching