Language and metacognition Sarah Hutchinson (SSENS) Steven Donohue (EMAS)

...the quality of classroom talk has a measurable impact on standards of attainment in English, mathematics and science. Robin Alexander; Improving oracy and classroom talk in English schools: achievements and challenges, 2012 quality

1.Try this one…..no it doesn’t go…..it doesn’t move….try that…..yes..it does a bit….that won’t work…..it’s not metal…..these are the best…..it’s making them go really fast. 2. We tried a pin, a pencil sharpener, some iron filings and a piece of plastic. The magnet didn’t attract the pin, but it did attract the pencil sharpener and the iron filings. It didn’t attract the plastic. 3. Our experiment was to find out what a magnet attracted. We discovered that a magnet attracts some kinds of metal. It attracted the iron filings, but not the pin. It also did not attract things that were not metal. 4. A magnet is a piece of metal which is surrounded by an invisible field of force within it. It is able to pick up a piece of steel or iron because its magnetic field flows into the metal, turning it into a temporary magnet.

1.Try this one…..no it doesn’t go…..it doesn’t move….try that…..yes..it does a bit….that won’t work…..it’s not metal…..these are the best…..it’s making them go really fast. 2. We tried a pin, a pencil sharpener, some iron filings and a piece of plastic. The magnet didn’t attract the pin, but it did attract the pencil sharpener and the iron filings. It didn’t attract the plastic. 3. Our experiment was to find out what a magnet attracted. We discovered that a magnet attracts some kinds of metal. It attracted the iron filings, but not the pin. It also did not attract things that were not metal.

...the quality of classroom talk... modelling context scaffolding

Contexts for quality talk 1. Information gaps Example: a “spot the difference” activity

Contexts for quality talk 2. Text reconstruction Example: a running dictation

Contexts for quality talk 3. Socratic methods Example: a fishbowl

Accountable Talk ®... Seriously responds to and further develops what others in the group have said. It puts forth and demands knowledge that is accurate and relevant to the issue under discussion.... What matters is what students are talking about and how they talk. Michaels, O’Connor, Williams Hall with Resnick; Accountable Talk Sourcebook, University of Pittsburgh, 2010

Metacognition Metacognition - Learning to learn

Why? and-self-regulation-strategies/

Cognition vs. metacognition. Cognitive Metacognitive Strategies used to achieve a particular goal Strategies used to ensure a particular goal has been achieved e.g. Summing columns of numbers e.g. Evaluating whether the correct answer was achieved

Metacognition – learning to learn Metacognitive knowledge Metacognitive Experience Metacognitive goals and tasks. Metacognitive Regulation

Metacognitive knowledge Person knowledge Task knowledge Strategic knowledge Ones beliefs can facilitate or impede performance in learning. I know that I (person variable) have difficulty with word problems (task variable), so I will answer the computational problems first and save the word problems for last (strategy variable).

Metacognitive experience A subjective internal response of an individual to their own metacognitive knowledge, goals or strategies.

Metacognitive goals and tasks The desired outcome of a cognitive venture For successful completion of a goal a pupil will depend on both metacognitive knowledge and experience.

Metacognitive regulation Ensuring a cognitive goal has been met

Metacognitive development Flow of time Self regulation

Metacognitive strategies Did you achieve you cognitive goal? Did you understand? What learning did you engage in? Why? Was this congruent with your learning style? Was this successful? How do you know?

Metacognitive strategies Teaching pupils: Set goals Monitor their learning Evaluate their learning What are you doing in there?

Metacognitive strategies What can you immediately do with your class?

Metacognitive strategies Can you produce a concept map?

Metacognitive strategies

Path of blood flow in circulation Lungs are involved and are the site of oxygen- carbon-dioxide exchange. There is a double pattern of blood flow dubbed the “double loop” or “double path” model. This model includes four separate chambers in the heart as well as a separate loop to and from the lungs. Blood from the right ventricle is pumped into the lungs to be oxygenated, whereas blood from the left ventricle is pumped to the rest of the body to deliver oxygen. Hence, one path transports de-oxygenated blood to receive oxygen, while the other path transports oxygenated blood to deliver oxygen. As pair think of ways you could assess someone's understanding of this paragraph. We would prefer it not to be comprehension questions!

Summary Its all about the quality of talk We can move the register of talk closer to writing by thinking about the context in which it takes place Its helpful to talk about talk Children need to be aware of and monitor their learning Metacognition can be thought of as knowledge, experience, goals and tasks and regulation. Metacognition can be taught.

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