Our Metacognition Resources: A Look Inside

We thought it might be useful to put this gallery of all our resource previews! That way you can get a glimpse at all our metacognition teaching resources and metacognitive strategies... These whole-school metacognition resources, activities & strategies will transform your students into reflective and self-regulating learners! Download them right away!

Metacognition is the awareness and understanding of thought itself; for a student to engage in metacognition is for them to plan, monitor, evaluate and/or regulate their own thinking with a view to enhancing learning or problem-solving. Brown (1983) states that metacognition is “knowledge about executive control systems” and the “evaluation (of) cognitive states such as self-appraisal and self-management” whilst Wilson (1998) regards metacognition as knowledge and awareness of thinking processes and strategies (together with the ability to evaluate and organise these processes). Kluwe (1982) brought further definition to the concept of metacognition, describing activities referred to as metacognitive:

‘(a) the thinking subject has some knowledge about his own thinking and that of other persons; and

(b) the thinking subject may monitor and regulate the course of his own thinking, i.e. may act as the causal agent of his own thinking’.

In comparison to other students, students using their metacognitive skills effectively are those who are more aware of their strengths and weaknesses and strive to improve their learning skills further (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 1999). “Cognitive strategies are used to help an individual achieve a particular goal (e.g., understanding a text) while metacognitive strategies are used to ensure that the goal has been reached (e.g., quizzing oneself to evaluate one's understanding of that text). Metacognitive experiences usually precede or follow a cognitive activity. They often occur when cognitions fail, such as the recognition that one did not understand what one just read.” (Livingston, 1977).

References

Bransford, John D., Brown Ann L., and Cocking Rodney R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Livingston, Jennifer A. (1977), Metacognition: An Overview