Metacognition How we learn Explanation & Modeling Teaching for Understanding Explanation & Modeling How we learn Author’s Craft Background Knowledge Purpose Setting Active Learning Organizing Discussion Writing

1. The responsibilities of the teacher 2. Assisting the learner in understanding the metacognitive process. 3. Background Knowledge 3. Purpose Setting 3. Active Learning 4. Discussion 4. Writing 3. Organization 3. The Author’s Craft 2. Explanation and Modeling 2. Teaching for Understanding

1. The responsibilities of the learner 2. Metacognition 3. Background Knowledge 3. Purpose Setting 3. Active Learning 4. Discussion 4. Writing 3. Organization 3. The Author’s Craft 2. Using metacognition to learn independently PP-4

An Awareness of One's Own Metacognition An Awareness of One's Own Learning Process 1.Knowing if I understand. 2. Knowing what to do if I don’t.

A marlup was poving his kump A marlup was poving his kump. Parmily a narg horped some whev in his kump. “Why did vump horp whev in my frinkle kump?” the marlup jufd the narg. “Er’m muvvily trungy,” the narg grupped. “Er horped norpled whev in your kump. Do vump pove your kump frinkle?” 1. What did the narg horp in the marlup’s kump? 2. What did the marlup juf the narg? 3. How trungy was the narg? 4. What did the narg ask the marlup?

Congratulations! You just passed a quiz on total nonsense! What strategies did you use? Learners can complete worksheets successfully with no actual understanding. What is the problem with that?????

Definition of Metacognition A person is metacognitive if he knows when he is understanding what he is reading and knows when he is not understanding what he is reading. If he is not understanding, he knows what to do about it by fix-up strategies. PP-17

Is John metacognitive or non-metacognitive? Metacognitive or Not? 2. John has always been a very poor test taker. In science class, the teacher uses lots of activities to help the students learn the material. When test day comes, John did not study at home, and figures he will flunk the test like he always does. However, as he answers the questions, the activities and projects done in class come to mind and he is able to answer the questions. He is surprised when he gets a B on the test, the best grade he has ever gotten on a test. Is John metacognitive or non-metacognitive? 4. Jim’s grandfather is a cattle rancher, and Jim spends every summer working on the ranch. When Jim studies cattle ranching in 7th grade, he finds that he already knows much of the information. The night before the test on cattle ranching, Jim studies the dates and history that he didn’t know before but doesn’t spend any time studying the things he already knows. He does a good job on the test. Is Jim metacognitive or non-metacognitive? 1.Sally’s mother asks her if she has any homework. When Sally says she has a test in Social Studies, her mother asks her if she has studied. Sally says, “Sure. I read the chapter over a couple of times. I know this stuff.” When Sally gets her test back, she has done very poorly. Is Sally metacognitive or non-metacognitive? 3.Sean has found that rewriting notes in his own words is a good study strategy for him. The night before the health test, he took the notes the teacher gave them in class and rewrote them. He got an A on the test. Is Sean metacognitive or non-metacognitive?

If you don’t know you don’t know, you think you know. If you don’t know you know, you think you don’t know. Knots R.D. Laing

Background Knowledge Integrating new information with prior knowledge lies at the heart of metacognition and comprehension. Learners need to share background knowledge and experiences. Learners need to discover their misconceptions. Learners need to make connections between newly learned information and their prior knowledge so they can understand what they’ve just learned. PP-6b

Purpose Setting Setting a purpose for reading or listening impacts what one remembers. (Pickard & Anderson, 1977) Reading for a specific purpose positively affects comprehension. (Narvaez, 2002) PP-7b

Active Learning Learning occurs when learners actively process information through Writing Discussing Organizing PP-10b

Discussion: an active, constructive, and social process for learning. Recitation - I R E I: Teacher Initiates talk by asking a question. R: Student Responds. E: Teacher Evaluates the response. VS. Instructional Conversations Learners initiate own inquiries and respond to one another.

Writing An integral part of all learning. encourages active learning. clarifies thinking. forces organization. provides processing time. PP-13b

Frequently we may think we understand something when we only recognize it; we confuse familiarity with understanding. This becomes obvious when we have to explain it in writing. From: Sandra Z. Keith, “Writing for Educational Objectives in a Calculus Course,” Using Writing to Teach Mathematics, edited by Andrew Sterrett, MAA Notes No.16

Organization and Learning Effective organization is student owned and student generated. Learning and memory depend on transforming information.

The more organized- the better remembered.

Research Conclusions: Author's Craft Research Conclusions: Better written texts = More effective learning tools Knowledge of structure = Improved comprehension Authors, especially in expository writing, help the reader understand the main ideas and details. The harder the material the more we need to elicit and add to our background knowledge before reading.

Metacognition How we learn Explanation & Modeling Teaching for Understanding Explanation & Modeling How we learn Author’s Craft Background Knowledge Purpose Setting Active Learning Organizing Discussion Writing

Three-Minute Pause Meet in groups of 3-5. Summarize key points. Add own thoughts. Ask clarifying questions. PP-9 Project CRISSSM 2004