EDU 330: Educational Psychology Daniel Moos, PhD Metacognition EDU 330: Educational Psychology Daniel Moos, PhD

Let’s Review: The IPT Model (1) 2 minute summary of model (2) Identify one concrete implication (what does this theory suggest about what teachers can do to improve student learning?)

What is Metacognition? Case Studies Tanner, 2012 Imagine two high school students from your class meet with you after school one day. Both students: Rarely miss class. Submit every assignments on time. Appear eager and interested in work for your class.

What is Metacognition? Case Studies, cont Tanner, 2012 Student #1 Expresses happiness that the test was on a Monday, because that allowed a lot of time to prepare the previous weekend. Started studying after work on Saturday evening and did not go out with friends that night. Reread assigned textbook material/ made flashcards of the bold words in the text. Feels that she should have done well on the test because she studied all Saturday night and all day on Sunday. Wants you to know that she studied really hard, so she should get a good grade on the exam.

What is Metacognition? Case Studies, cont Tanner, 2012 Student #2 Reviewed readings each evening after class. Compared ideas from the readings with the information presented in class to see how they were similar and different. Identified places in which things seemed not to agree and/or were confusing; kept a list of confusions. Brought them to weekly study group with peers from her course lab section. Actively seeks out your help and feedback to ask you about a couple of things that were still confusing.

What is Metacognition? Cognition refers to… Metacogntion refers to… The manner in which information is processed (the way in which students process, store, retrieve, manipulate knowledge) Metacogntion refers to… Knowledge about these operations and how they may be best used to achieve a learning goal 8

Metacognition in Theory

Metacognition in Reality (I) Not just another “education” buzz word… We know it is incredibly important in learning… Over 35 years of research (Flavell, 1979, 1987s) Knowledge-of-person variables Individual understanding (are you better at math or English?) Knowledge-of-task variables Knowledge of tasks (which tasks take you longer to complete?) Knowledge-of-strategy variables Knowledge of effective strategies (which strategies are most effective for you?)

Metacognition in Reality (II) Not just another “education” buzz word… We know it is incredibly important in learning… Supported in diverse areas of research: Cognitive Psychology, Educational Psychology, Learning Sciences Personal commitment and consistency of findings: 28 of my 30 published journal articles are based on studies that used metacognition to explain learning Statistically significantly predicted learning outcomes Accessible instructional strategies for supporting metacognition

Metacognitive Support (I) Exit Cards I understand…. I do NOT understand….

Metacognitive Support (II) SRL prompts Many students (of all ages) do not self-regulate their learning Planning Questions (before learning): What do you already know about ______? Monitoring questions (during learning): What have you learned so far? What questions do you have and/or is there anything you do not feel like you understand? Reflection (after learning): What did you learn about _______?

Metacognitive Support (III) KWL Charts Provide opportunities for students to express: what they know (K); want to know (W); have learned (L)

Metacognitive Support (IV) Metacognitive Note-taking Dynamic interplay between content & understanding

Metacognitive Support (V) Wrappers Surrounds existing assignment/activity and encourages metacognition Lecture wrappers: 3 important points Exam wrappers: Predict exam performance, describe study strategies; reflect and modify Homework wrappers: Predict difficulty, reflect and modify

Age trends in Metacognition Young Elementary (6 yr olds) Do know: Familiar items easier to remember, small set of information easier to recall Do not know: Limit to amount one can recall Young Elementary (7 yr olds) Do know: Interest, familiarity, and story length affect comprehension and recall Do not know: Effect of how ideas are sequenced, time of test should affect study time Elementary (9 yr olds) Do know: Recall is limited (younger children overestimate how much they can store and retrieve in STM) Begin to understand when they know something well enough to pass a memory test (younger children choose to study something they had already seen) 13

Metacognitive Support: Discussion (1) Of these strategies that support metacognition, which one do you think would be most effective for your developmental group/content area? Why? How would you modify it to better meet the needs of your students? (2) Any other strategies that can be used to support and develop students’ ‘thinking about thinking”?