Metacognitive Strategies: Are you using them in your Classroom? Clay Rasmussen Penée Stewart Weber State University ISETL Conference October 14, 2016

What is Metacognition? Thinking about one’s own thinking (Flavel, 1976) Knowledge and beliefs about one’s own cognitive processes, as well as conscious attempts to engage in behaviors and thought processes that increase learning and memory (Ormrod, 2012) Looking in at your own thinking (Woolfolk, 2013) Monitoring and regulating thought (Wilson and Conyers, 2016)

Why Metacognition? Found to be a strong predictor of academic success (Hattie, 2009). When students are encouraged to be more metacognitive, they frequently outperform students who are not taught to use metacognitive skills (Joseph, 2009). People differ in how well and how quickly they learn in part because of differences in metacognitive skills (Pellegrino & Hilton, 2012).

Example of metacognitive lessons Writing writing rubric Science

The Wellcome Trust in the United Kingdom just published a report on a very interesting study on metacognition — Metacognition – I know (or don’t know) that I know. It’s apparently one of the few studies done on the topic with MRI’s. They were able to identify metacognition with a small part of the brain. Here’s the most interesting part of the report: The findings, published in ‘Science’ in September 2010, linked the complex high-level process of metacognition to a small part of the brain. The study was the first to show that physical brain differences between people are linked to their level of self-awareness or metacognition. Intriguingly, the anterior prefrontal cortex is also one of the few parts of the brain with anatomical properties that are unique to humans and fundamentally different from our closest relatives, the great apes. It seems introspection might be unique to humans. “At this stage, we don’t know whether this area develops as we get better at reflecting on our thoughts, or whether people are better at introspection if their prefrontal cortex is more developed in the first place,” says Steve.

Additional questions added to the final rubric What did I do especially well on this writing assignment? Where am I still struggling in the writing process? What could I do to improve my performance in the future?

KWL Know: What do you know about (this topic)? Want: What do you want to know about (this topic)? Learn: What have you learned about (this topic)? Reflect – How has my thinking changed since I started learning about this topic? What did I learn about how I learn? What can I do differently to learn more next time?

How to convert current strategies into metacognitive strategies….

  0-15 Pts 16-34 Pts 35-50 Pts Metacognitive skill Thoroughness of material covered. Brief overview of chapter Brief overview of chapter with some emphasis on one or two topics. Brief overview of all materials but a strong emphasis on all major points. Go into greater depth on 1 or 2 of the topics  I thought about what was most important to include and why I thought that. Presentation Very dry presentation. Lecture was the only medium used to present material. Moderately interesting. A mixture of lecture and one activity was used to present materials. Very interesting. Class activity and interaction used throughout.  I was able to self analyze the level of engagement as I taught and made adjustments as needed. Science Demonstration/Experiment The demonstration did not demonstrate the concepts covered in the chapter There was some sound reason for the demonstration but it only slightly helped us understand the topics from the chapter. The demonstration greatly helped students see the principles covered in the chapter come to life.  I thought before doing the demonstration about the potentially confusing parts of the presentation.

Guided Notes Metacognitive Prompts to ask yourself: Before “what do I already know about this?” During “Am I on track with where I should be?” After “What did I learn and what am I still confused about?” “What could I do differently to learn better next time?”

Mind Maps After drawing the mind map, ask the following questions: Why do I think this idea is related to this idea? What new questions about the content did I think of as I created the mind map? What concepts or relationships are still confusing?

Pre-assessments After taking the pre-assessment and getting feedback, ask the following questions: What do I already know about this topic that I can build on as I learn? What did I think I knew that I realize I don’t really understand yet?

Post-assessments After taking the post-assessment and getting feedback, ask the following questions: What are 3 ways my thinking has changed about this topic? What could I do differently to learn even more next time? Guided

Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Shraw & Dennison, 1994). Planning – Questions I need to ask myself before beginning a task. Monitoring – Questions I need to ask myself while doing a task. Evaluation – Questions I need to ask myself after I am finished with the task to make judgments about the outcome of my learning.

Pair Share Activity Think of a strategy you currently use in your classroom. Plan How could you make the strategy more metacognitive?

Monitor What other changes could I make to the strategy to make it more metacognitive? Share with another partner the strategy and any additional metacognitive changes

Evaluate Can I do this with other strategies I use? If so, which and how? If not, what else do I need to learn to be able to modify my strategies to make them more metacognitive?

Metacognition is at the heart of learning and purposefully regulating one’s learning is at the heart of metacognition “To make an individual metacognitively aware is to ensure that the individual has learned how to learn” (Tanner, 2012)