Key points
References:
Theory of mind and metacognition in younger children by CENGAGE learning
Meta-cognition – Cultivating Reflection to Help Students Become Self-Directed Learners. It's very practical and provides steps and strategies using "reflection" as a foundation.
Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI)
Metacognition – Thinking about One’s Thinking
Videos:
Learning how to Learn: Barbara Oakley TedXTalk
Thinking about Thinking – It’s Meta-cognition – by Doctor Saundra McGuire
Brief Intro to Metacognition
What if we taught kids how to think instead of what to think?
- Professor Barbara Oakley talks to top specialists in various fields and identifies two learning modes; the focused mode and diffused mode. She uses the analogy of the pinball machine to explain that when solving a new problem you need to go back and forth between both modes. She also talks about considering new perspectives.
- Professor Oakley says that when asking colleagues about how they learned to learn, many of them said that they just stumbled on their techniques more or less by themselves.
- Although learning techniques may be changing as technology changes, repetition appears to remain as important as ever.
- A number of my peers are going “back to school” after many years absence, and it seems many of us are facing the challenge of re-learning how to learn. Many of us went to school (University or College) in the pre-internet and are learning how to learn (and teach) using different technologies. As our student grapple with learning new skills, we are learning a whole set of learning skills to impart our knowledge.
- Metacognition is "cognition about cognition", "thinking about thinking", or "knowing about knowing". It comes from the root word "meta", meaning beyond.[1] It can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving
- We as teachers have a big role in getting our students to think about their thinking
- As students face an ever-increasing demand on their attention in an ever-broadening world available for consideration, an important part of helping them think for themselves is helping them think about their own thinking
- Self-regulated learners are successful because they control their learning environment.
- Would it be wise to introduce meta-cognition and reflective thinking practices earlier on (ie. before University/College) so that students are better equipped
- “Younger children do demonstrate rudimentary knowledge of metacogntive and metamemory strategies but as they get older, they learn to allocate cognitive resources more strategically and develop more sophisticated ways of using and monitoring their strategies" (Holland and Kurts (1997) as cited in Cengage Learning Australia, 2010).
- Teaching your students to practice reflection in a variety of ways can facilitate more effective and fulfilling metacognition
- One key point that resonates with me is that the process of meta-cognition as a form of reflection is not a "static form"
- “Metacognitive practices help students become aware of their strengths and weaknesses as learners, writers, readers, test-takers, group members, etc. A key element is recognizing the limit of one’s knowledge or ability and then figuring out how to expand that knowledge or extend the ability. Those who know their strengths and weaknesses in these areas will be more likely to “actively monitor their learning strategies and resources and assess their readiness for particular tasks and performances” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, p. 67)
- Learning strategies that work for math may be different from those applied in the study of a foreign language (Price-Mitchel, 2015)
- Self-regulated learners:
- -Are aware of their strengths and weaknesses
- -Utilize metacognitive strategies, for example, questioning one`s learning and monitoring one`s learning, to approach academic tasks
- -Attribute their success or failure to factors within their control
- A good explanation for the distinction between self-directed vs self-regulated learning: a student who is self-directed is engaged and can usually take a topic and run with it. If they are not self-regulated then they may not be able to hand in assignments on time or find time management an impediment
- Students who are self-regulated learners believe that opportunities to take on challenging tasks, practice their learning, develop a deep understanding of subject matter, and exert effort will give rise to academic success (Perry et al., 2006)
References:
- Cengage Learning Australia. 2010. Theory of mind and metacognition in younger children. Educational Psychology for Teaching and Learning (3rd ed.)
- Holland, J.M., Kurtz, C. (1997). Metamemory develpment. In Cowan & Hulme (Eds.), The development of memory in childhood (pp.275-300). East Sussex: Psychology Press.
- Price-Mitchel, M. (2015). Metacognition: Nurturing Self-Awareness in the Classroom. Downloaded fromhttp://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-metacognition-in-classroom-marilyn-price-mitchell
Theory of mind and metacognition in younger children by CENGAGE learning
Meta-cognition – Cultivating Reflection to Help Students Become Self-Directed Learners. It's very practical and provides steps and strategies using "reflection" as a foundation.
Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI)
Metacognition – Thinking about One’s Thinking
Videos:
Learning how to Learn: Barbara Oakley TedXTalk
Thinking about Thinking – It’s Meta-cognition – by Doctor Saundra McGuire
Brief Intro to Metacognition
What if we taught kids how to think instead of what to think?