1. How to use evidence to support disadvantaged students Meta-cognition and self-regulation
Professor Steve Higgins,
School of Education, Durham University
@profstig

2. Overview Why meta-cognition and self-regulated learning?
Evidence from the Sutton Trust/EEF Toolkit
Applying evidence from research
What is meta-cognition?
A simple model
Some practical strategies
A more complex model
Some challenges

3. Best bets (on average) from the Sutton Trust/EEF Toolkit
EEF Project
Best bets (on average) from the Sutton Trust/EEF Toolkit

5. Meta-cognition and self-regulation
Meta-cognition: explicit strategies to
Plan…
Monitor…
Evaluate… your own learning
Self-regulation
External to internal regulation
“Scaffolding” learning (and dismantling the ‘scaffold’)
Aim is to become automatic
Includes managing motivation/ perseverance

6. A simple model of meta-cognition
Strategies to plan
Key steps/ clear goal/ visualisation
Notes/ diagrams
Strategies to monitor
Keeping on track – where will the tricky bits be?
Comprehension monitoring
Progress check – keeping on track
Strategies to review
Check criteria (outcome)
What worked/ didn’t work (process)
What to take forward

7. Making planning explicit
Clear objectives/ targets
Understood and explainable by learners
Strategies for planning
Talk partners, identifying key steps, visualisation, brainstorming
Tools
Diagrams/ maps/ flow charts, tree diagrams/ storyboards

8. Monitoring Use the plan – identify the ‘tricky’ bits
Identify how to deal with these?
What do you need to keep in mind?
Self or peer questioning strategies
Use ‘buddying’
Reminders
‘Keep on track’ mats/ organisers

9. Reviewing
Hard to make effective Review prior to starting next time? Strategies to improve – focus on process as well as outcome Effective time to talk…

10. Creating learning skills so that…
Planning … Monitoring … Reviewing … become habits…

11. Key messages about SRL and metacognition: Dignath et al. (2008)
Social-cognitive theories - most effective base
A focus on strategy training and selection
Cognitive - elaboration and problem solving techniques
Metacognitive – planning, monitoring strategies
Conative/ motivational - planning and feedback strategies
Group work is challenging –primary school pupils in particular need support/training.

12. Key messages about SRL and meta-cognition: Haller et al
Key messages about SRL and meta-cognition: Haller et al. 1988; Chui 1998
Reading comprehension (9-11 year olds, in small groups)
Explicit teaching of self-questioning strategies
Metacognitive approaches more effective with low attainers – explicit strategies
Less intensive programmes more effective than more intensive.

13. ‘Self-Regulated Strategy Development’ (SRSD)
EEF Project – based on US research Calderdale Excellence Partnership (23 schools: Y6 & Y7) Focus on writing Average 9 months additional progress Greater impact for FSM Now being examined at scale

14. What is SRSD? Six step process
Activate and develop background knowledge (e.g. content, genre)
Discuss it (e.g. strategies, effort, goals, monitoring)
Model it (planning, monitoring evaluating, effort)
Memorise it (mnemonics, acronyms)
Support it (cues, prompts, planners, mats, organisers - FADED)
Independent performance (NO cues, prompts, etc.)

16. The ‘Zone of proximal development’
Things you can do with help
Things you can’t do
Things you can do

17. The ‘Goldilocks zone’ for meta-cognitive development
Things you can do with help
Things you can’t do
Things you can do

18. A more complex model
Being meta-cognitive as a process of thinking to learn
From explicit and effortful to routine and automatic
Being meta-cognitive about different kinds of thinking
E.g. more and less complex (higher and lower order - Bloom)

19. From “meta” to automatic…
conscious
control
habitual thinking
automatic thinking
autonomic nervous system

20. Thinking about what kind of thinking?
Meta-cognition: strategic & reflective thinking
Engagement with and the management of thinking/learning supported by value-grounded thinking (including critically reflective thinking)
Cognitive skills
Information-gathering
Experiencing, recognising and recalling
Comprehending messages and recorded information
Building understanding
Development of meaning (e.g. by elaborating, representing or sharing ideas)
Working with patterns and rules
Concept formation
Organising ideas
Productive thinking
Reasoning
Understanding causal relationships
Systematic enquiry
Problem solving
Creative thinking
Adapted from Moseley et al. 2005
Moseley, D., Baumfield, V., Elliott, J., Higgins, S., Miller, J. and Newton D. P. (2005) Frameworks for thinking: a handbook for teaching and learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

21. Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy

22. Key Questions for MC & SR

23. Why does it work?
Teaching strategies to succeed Makes the process of learning explicit Promotes talk about strategies for learning Learners take ownership of the strategies Learners work out how/when to choose and apply different strategies

24. Some challenges (1) Getting the task difficulty right
Too difficult – overload
Too easy – no need for a strategy
Getting the level of strategic support right
Too complex/ too many – overload
Too simple – doesn’t help

25. Some challenges (2) Time What to focus on?
Time to talk and make explicit
Time to review so that it feeds forward
Time to embed/ habituate
What to focus on?
Diagnosing need
‘Thorny’ problems
Correcting/ re-learning

26. Using evidence to support disadvantaged students
1. Use the evidence as a starting point for discussion
2. Dig deeper into what the evidence actually says
3. Understand the ‘active ingredients’ of implementation