Introduction
Metacognition, or the awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes, is an essential skill for academic success. Metacognitive strategies help learners to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning, leading to improved performance and deeper understanding of the material. In the context of religious studies, metacognition can be particularly valuable, as it allows students to reflect on their own beliefs and assumptions, and to better understand the perspectives of others. In this article, we will explore what metacognition is, what metacognitive strategies are, and how teachers of religious studies can enhance metacognition in their students.
An example of metacognition in Religious Education
A religious studies teacher can use metacognition in a lesson on comparative religions. Here's an example:
Before the Lesson: At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher can ask students to write down what they already know about the religions being studied, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. This allows students to activate their prior knowledge and set a baseline for their understanding of the material.
During the Lesson: As the teacher presents information on each religion, they can use metacognitive strategies to help students better understand the material. For example, the teacher can pause periodically to ask students to reflect on what they've just learned and how it relates to what they already know. The teacher can also ask students to take notes on key concepts and ideas, encouraging them to monitor their own understanding of the material.
After the Lesson: After the lesson, the teacher can ask students to reflect on their learning by answering questions such as "What was the most important thing you learned today?" and "What questions do you still have about the religions we studied?" This allows students to evaluate their own performance and identify areas for improvement.
By using metacognitive strategies in this way, the religious studies teacher can help students to deepen their understanding of the material, reflect on their own beliefs and assumptions, and better understand the perspectives of others. The teacher can also model and reinforce the use of metacognitive strategies, which can help students develop these skills and apply them in future learning experiences.
Ten Metacognitive Strategies for Your Lessons!
1. Use of ‘Lesson Wrappers’
‘Lesson wrappers’ (a.k.a. ‘cognitive wrappers’ or ‘metacognitive wrappers’) are student reflection activities that take place at the start and end of lessons.
Typically the start-of-lesson reflections focus on readiness to learn, planning for learning, anticipating lesson content, monitoring current progress, and evaluating learning so far. End-of-lesson reflections might focus on evaluation: students evaluate their progress (their learning) and, crucially, evaluate the effectiveness of their approach to learning; end-of-lesson reflections may also involve target-setting and planning for future improvement.
We’ve made ten printable lesson wrapper worksheets (download here) as well as a PowerPoint ‘Virtual lesson Wrapper’ (download here) which will allow you to implement this metacognitive strategy without draining your printing budget!
2. Use of Metacognitive Questions Teachers should role-model metacognitive questions by ‘thinking out loud’. For example: “What would be the best way for me to approach this task?” or “which strategies have I used in the past to get the most out of such activities?”. Moreover, teachers should ask students metacognitive reflection questions.
We’ve made a FREE set of downloadable metacognition questioning prompt cards which you can get here.
3. Use of Assessment Wrappers
When doing formative assessments, it is useful to engage students in metacognitive reflection before and after engaging in the assessment work: this metacognitive strategy is known as an ‘assessment wrapper’.
You can download our engaging printable assessment wrapper worksheets (download here) or save on paper and printing-costs by using our ‘virtual assessment wrapper’ (download here) PowerPoint which contains fifty metacognitive reflection activities that can be used when doing formative assessments!
4. Workbook Enhancers & Tracking Worksheets
A long-term metacognitive strategy you might want to try involves enhancing student workbooks with inlays and/or metacognitive tracking & monitoring worksheets.
Our metacognitive workbook enhancer worksheets (download here) are designed to go in the front and back of student workbooks. The included worksheets (that should be permanently glued into exercise books) cover the following topics:
· 'Are You Stuck?' - Use the following metacognitive questions to help you complete your task before asking a teacher for help...
·'Finished Early!?' - Take a moment to reflect on the following metacognitive questions...
· 'Are You Stuck?' - Use the metacognitive cycle to help you complete your task before asking your teacher for help...
· Metacognition Extension Tasks - A list of extension tasks that students can work on in the back of their exercise books if they find themselves having finished learning activities before other students (perfect for high-ability students in mixed-ability classes!)
· Important Theories for Boosting Learning Power - Big pedagogical ideas explained clearly and simply for students (Metacognition, Self-Regulated Learning, Independent Learning, Active Learning, Growth Mindset, Learning Styles & Learning Power)
5. DIRT – Dedicated Improvement & Reflection Time DIRT stands for Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time, and it refers to a specific time set aside in the classroom for students to reflect on their learning, receive feedback, and set targets for improvement. This practice encourages students to think critically about their learning and progress, which in turn helps them identify areas where they need further support or clarification.
By engaging in DIRT, students can take ownership of their learning and develop self-regulation skills that are essential for lifelong learning. Teachers who make time for student reflection in their lessons can help their students become more self-aware, motivated, and independent learners, ultimately leading to better academic outcomes.
Dedicated Improvement & Reflection Time can be enhanced by using our DIRT Worksheet Collection (download here)
6. Using Metacognition With Videos & Documentaries
How can teachers engage students in metacognitive reflections when using videos and documentaries in lessons? Try using metacognitive questions both at the start, end, and during the videos!
For example, before starting the video you might ask “How can we learn as much as possible from this video?”, “What is the best way to take notes when watching videos?”, “What state of mind is best for learning from documentaries?”.
During the video you might ask: “How can I learn more from this video?”, “What am I doing with my mind that helps me to learn as much as possible from this documentary?”, “Why do some people learn a lot from documentaries whilst others learn less?”
At the end of the video or documentary you might ask: “How effective was my own approach to learning from this video?”, “How might I learn more from documentaries in the future?”, “What obstacles to learning did I face when watching this video?”
Our ‘Learning More From Videos with Metacognition’ tool (download here) uses metacognitive questioning to enhance learning when students are watching educational videos or documentaries in lessons. It is suitable for teachers of all subjects and is applicable to video-learning activities on any topic: it should be used to enhance metacognition when students are learning from a video or documentary in lessons.
7. Metacognitive ‘Thunks’ & Reflection Questions
It’s a good idea to bring metacognitive reflections into your lessons by using discussion and debate prompts that trigger student reflections on how to learn best, how to boost learning, and which learning strategies are most effective. Consider the following approaches:
8. Using Discussion Activities
A. Think, Pair, Share - We encourage the use of ‘Think, Pair, Share’ discussions that refer to topics related to learning, learning strategies, and how to boost learning power. You can download a FREE set of questions in a handy PowerPoint here – the resources serves as a great starter activity! Alternatively, you can download a more comprehensive PowerPoint (with over 300 metacognitive reflection questions!) with our ‘Think, Pair, Share Discussion Generator’ (download here)
B. ‘Metacognitive Thunks’ (download here) – metacognitive thunks are deep, thought-provoking, metacognitive reflection questions that encourage students to think deeply about the nature of learning, knowledge, and how they learn best.
C. Debate Activities – debates are an incredibly engaging learning activity that push students to think deeply about the topic at hand,