1. Weaving metacognition into an introductory biology course
Christelle Sabatier
Santa Clara University

2. Promoting metacognition
Struggling
Willing to reflect.
Limited study strategies.
Emerging
Reflective
Knows what study strategies to use.
Doesn’t always stick to what is best.
Developing
Deeply reflective.
Sets and adjusts study strategies.
Follows through
Awareness – What learning strategies are possible?
Opportunities to reflect – Are learning strategies working?
Control – What learning strategy should I choose?
Struggling
Willing to reflect.
Insufficient metacognitive knowledge.
Emerging
Knows what goals to set.
Difficulty regulating.
Developing
Detailed reflections.
Sets and adjust goals as necessary.
Able to follow through.

3. Problem – Encouraging metacognitive development within the context of an introductory biology course
Tailor activities to the course material.
Don’t take time away from course content.
No one size fits all solutions.
Link to reward structure of the course.
Stanton, Julie Dangremond, Xyanthe N. Neider, Isaura J. Gallegos, and Nicole C. Clark “Differences in Metacognitive Regulation in Introductory Biology Students: When Prompts Are Not Enough.” CBE Life Sciences Education 14 (2). doi: /cbe

4. Solution – Goal setting and guided reflections
Set learning goals
1st assessment
2nd assessment
Final assessment
Guided assessment reflection
Reflect on learning goals
Adjust learning goals

5. Midterm reflection
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Students evaluate their performance on a high stakes assessment.
Questions are categorized based on Bloom’s taxonomy*.
Based on their midterm evaluation, students are asked to reframe their learning goals.
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Midterm performance decreases with increase question cognitive level (n=34). Error bars represent standard error of the mean.
*Crowe, A., C. Dirks, and M. P. Wenderoth “Biology in Bloom: Implementing Bloom’s Taxonomy to Enhance Student Learning in Biology.” Cell Biology Education 7 (4): 368–81. doi: /cbe

6. Sample Exam Question
Below is the structure for the amino acid glutamine:
a. How many carbon atoms are present in the glutamine molecule?
Knowledge
b. Directly on the structure above, circle all elements that are capable of forming hydrogen bonds.
Understand
c. Do you predict that glutamine is solube in water? Provide evidence for your answer based on the structure of the molecule.
Apply

7. Learning goals examples
Practice understanding the class concepts by finding articles and connecting them to the class. Application of the concepts on personal time can help me check in with myself on how I’m doing.
Articulate the ideas that we learn in class to a fellow classmate.
Engage other students who are quieter through asking them questions directly, this will allow more quiet students to share their responses and keep some group members from taking over the discussion.

8. Goal Reflection Examples
I definitely benefit from observing and listening in class, but I thought it might help to be the one in the group who is facilitating conversations and asking questions to help guide our processes of thinking. This definitely made me feel much more engaged and was helpful to really making sure I knew what we were talking about.
There wasn’t great material in the book on population growth models, so I spent some time trying to decipher the math behind growth modeling by coding a quick simulation in MATLAB.
This week was particularly hard for me because I did not get much sleep because of all the general workload I had, but also because the election results were really chaotic. My different feelings came up which were distracting and troublesome. As a result, I was not successful in participating in my small group.

9. Benefits of metacognition activities
Helps tailor support to individual needs of students.
Students who set active goals and write detailed reflections are more likely to be successful on course assessments.
Students who employ metacognitive strategies are more likely to transfer skills to other disciplines.