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This class made me look deeper into team work and how people with diverse skill set set come together to produce an outcome. Whereas, the learning from the experience was rich in terms of adapting to team members working styles, it made me question my own skills of collaboration and learning.

In this class, we also looked deeper into the constructivisim theory and were introduced to the dynamics of meta cognition. It made me think about how I've evolved from being an tacit learner to a reflective one. Even then, on a different day im either one or a combination of these learners personally.

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Metacognition makes me think about myself. I had never seen myself in this way before, as I am trying to do now. This session helped me make connections. I hope to be a good support to my students and to further enhance my teaching practices.

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Afsheen Zehra:I  really enjoyed this class. The exercise of identifying students made the type of learners quite clear.

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Afsheen Zehra:I  really enjoyed this class. The exercise of identifying students made the type of learners quite clear.

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I would request if you can review our first piece and just let us know if we need to refine in the same direction or think it through again

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I really enjoyed this class. The exercise of identifying students made the type of learners quite clear.

I would request if you can review our first piece and just let us know if we need to refine in the same direction or think it through again

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The metacognition session today made me reflect on my own teaching practices. I want to explore more ways to model metacognitive strategies and support my students in developing their own thinking skills.

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https://youtu.be/DqWCJZH8ziQ?si=UDO42a1t-aBEFneF
Interesting how peer assessment helps gain confidence and supports learning

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Peer Assessment: Reflections from Students and Teachers

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I used white chart papers , the group recorded their responses and then they became the teachers , explained it to the learners and answered their queries. Every group did that and they all got a chance. ( Samrah)

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https://youtu.be/DNTNzYKGbYY?feature=shared

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Resources for the videos Assessment for learning and of learning

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Resources for the videos Assessment for learning and of learning

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Dylan William: What do we Mean by Assessment for Learning?

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https://youtu.be/LZHQltfMekA?si=gCC6wNIcoWu5Lu3r

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How to Foster Metacognitive Skills for Independent Learning

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Assessment FOR, OF, AS Learning| Purposes of Assessment|Assessment in Learning

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How can you Analyse Key features that make an effective lesson?

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How can you Analyse Key features that make an effective lesson?

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Provide examples from your classroom practice where one or more of your student have not been motivated to learn.

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Provide examples from your classroom practice where one or more of your student have not been motivated to learn.

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Explain how you attempted to motivate these students, either successfully or unsuccessfully, and in doing so establish the difference between the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

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In order to apply a metacognitive approach, learners need access to:                                                 1.  A set of strategies to use.                                          2. A classroom environment that encourages the learners to use, explore and develop their metacognitive skills.    

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In order to apply a metacognitive approach, learners need access to:                                                 1.  A set of strategies to use.                                          2. A classroom environment that encourages the learners to use, explore and develop their metacognitive skills.    

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What metacognitive strategies mentioned in the Cambridge resource have you used in your classroom?

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Linking student learning issues to an expectation that teachers will address them is likely, however, to lead to blaming and a lack of learning unless teachers are confident that they will be given the support they need to develop more effective practices - UNESCO Report Pg 9

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Linking student learning issues to an expectation that teachers will address them is likely, however, to lead to blaming and a lack of learning unless teachers are confident that they will be given the support they need to develop more effective practices - UNESCO Report Pg 9

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What kind of support would you need in your practice to assist your students?

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Metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is a powerful tool that can enhance learning across various subjects and age groups. Give an example of how you use metacognitive strategies in your classroom scenarios:

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Metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is a powerful tool that can enhance learning across various subjects and age groups. Give an example of how you use metacognitive strategies in your classroom scenarios:

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What are Metacognitive Strategies?

Metacognition is a term used for the methods that can help learners understand how they learn. In other words, metacognition means processes created for the learners to 'think' how they 'think'. Metacognition helps learners in becoming aware of their individual learning experiences and the activities they involve themselves in their paths toward professional and individual growth. Some examples of metacognitive activities include: planning how to perform a learning task, applying appropriate strategies and skills to solve a problem, self-assessment and self-correction as a result of evaluating one's own progress toward completing a task.

Metacognition is beneficial in student learning because it allows learners to reflect on what they know, who they are, what they wish to know, and how they can reach that point. Reflection is an important aspect of learning and teaching. Teachers must be reflective in their practice so that they can keep on growing, continue to meet their students' needs, and evaluate their own growth and skills. It is important to motivate students to practice reflection so that they can build their individual reflective practices and develop metacognitive skills to prepare for their future.

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What is the significance of metacognitive strategies in primary schools?

Metacognitive knowledge must be built at an early age when children are gaining their primary education (Norman, 2016). The process of Metacognition involves a primary student's planning, monitoring, evaluating and making changes to his individual learning behaviour. Although a typical metacognitive approach focuses on enabling a student rather than the instructor to take control of his own learning, in metacognition, the instructor plays an integral role in developing younger learners' metacognitive skills. For transforming primary students into metacognitive, self-regulated learners, the primary teachers must:

1. Set clear objectives of learning;

2. Monitor and demonstrate students' metacognitive skills; and

3. Continually encourage and prompt their students along the way.

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When this sort of cognitive strategy becomes a classroom habit you begin to see the implications for building background knowledge and metacognitive knowledge. This reciprocal relationship becomes apparent as children build their repertoire of study strategies.

How can we use metacognitive strategies in secondary schools?

The use of metacognitive strategies in secondary schools can help enhance secondary students' critical thinking skills, offer them new ways for organizing their thinking in educational tasks, help them distinguish truths and lies told in the media, and teach them about the importance of a growth mindset for success in education and life. The secondary school teachers can apply the following metacognitive strategies to help secondary school students think about their individual thinking processes:

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1. Engage secondary students in critical thinking and the metacognitive process.

2. Demonstrate the way to use metacognitive tools to achieve a learning task.

3. Teach goal-setting in a learning situation.

4. Teach students reflective thinking in a learning situation.

5. Offer opportunities for cognitive growth and higher-level thinking.

6. Highlight the necessity of a growth mindset and how they play a critical role in the development of cognition.

7. Use personal learning journals and reflective questions to change classroom culture.

8. Promote independent learning by equipping pupils with robust learning strategies such as graphic organisers.

9. Make metacognitive practices a school-wide priority.

10. Utilise the Universal Thinking Framework to help secondary school students plan their learning.

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How to develop metacognitive strategies in your classroom

Teachers can develop metacognitive skills in the classroom by offering students the opportunity to implement metacognitive strategies at prime stages of a task. This allows students to improve both their metacognitive abilities and self-awareness to choose an efficient thought process in the future. Somehow, this approach is very much similar to the cycle 'Plan, Do, Review' which has been used by a lot of high-performance sports teams. A useful way is to divide the strategies into the following stages:

Planning Before starting a Task - the mental modelling activity using writers block is a good example of this.

Through planning before starting a task, students are able to perform their effort more efficiently. Effective preparation involves:

1. Thinking about the same type of tasks;

2. Setting clear objectives;

3. Working out the total duration of a task through applying appropriate strategies.

4. Monitoring in the middle of a task

5. Reviewing after completing a task

After the task, students need to spend some time reflecting on what they did well and what they should do differently in future. By doing so, students would develop, progress and learn as much as possible from the experience.

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How do metacognitive strategies advance the learning process?

Imagine a sportswoman is training for a marathon and her target is to run 24 miles. But, it does not mean she is going to step out of her front door and take off with a steady run at top speed. She would create a plan. She would make a training schedule and she would run in different conditions for different periods of time.

Eventually, she would try and run at that marathon-length route. She may initially fail, or she may not fail. But, that trial run will serve as an opportunity for her to assess what she is doing right in her training regimen and what is not right. Then she would modify her training regimen to suit her needs. This is metacognition.

Students do not usually pause to assess if their routine to study or learn is effective. Metacognition can help them advance the learning process by helping them to assess what they are learning. Are they able to retain the information? Do they need to develop strategies to improve their understanding of a topic? When a student is metacognitive, he understands himself as a learner and then he makes strategic choices about how to study and learn with their knowledge in mind.

How do Metacognitive Processes enhance independent learning?

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Is Metacognition a skill or mindset?

Having knowledge of a task will help a student build that all important subject background knowledge. Successful learners invest time in developing procedural knowledge that helps them become independent learners. A metacognitive learner understands that they have control over the situation. Or in other words, with enough of the right sort of thinking any task can be accomplished. Having a range of metacognitive strategies available increases opportunities for learners to develop their independence.

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What is the research behind metacognition?

Metacognition or the concept of "thinking about thinking" and was proposed by John Flavell, who is largely considered as a founding scholar of the field of metacognition. According to Flavell, metacognition is related to one's own understanding of his cognitive processes (or his thinking). Flavell (1979) states that metacognition is the ability to control one's thinking processes in several strategies i.e. planning, monitoring, and adapting (Norman, 2016). Moreover, metacognition is a person's ability to reflect upon the processes tasks one performs and to choose and apply the most suitable strategies needed in one's intercultural interactions.

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Nelson (2021) mentioned that metacognition is a critical part of successful learning. It involves self-reflection and self-regulation of abilities, weaknesses, and the kinds of strategies one creates. Metacognition provides an essential foundation in culturally intelligent leadership as it affects how one thinks about a situation or problem and the strategies one selects to handle a problem or a situation.

A report has been published by The Education Endowment Foundation on metacognition and self-regulated learning. This report gives examples of strategies that can be used with students of all ages to encourage metacognitive and self-regulated learning in the classroom. These strategies are given below.

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Examples of Metacognitive Strategies

Metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is a powerful tool that can enhance learning across various subjects and age groups. Here are nine examples of how metacognitive strategies can be applied in different classroom scenarios:

1. Mathematics (Primary): By using self-questioning techniques, students can solve complex problems. For example, a student might ask themselves, "What is the problem asking?" or "What strategy should I use?" This promotes self-regulation strategies and improves problem-solving skills.

2. Science (Secondary): Encouraging students to create concept maps linking ideas and concepts helps in understanding complex scientific theories. This method fosters connections between existing knowledge and new information, enhancing cognitive skills.

3. Literature (Primary): Teaching students to visualize the story as they read, imagining characters, settings, and events, can deepen comprehension and engagement with the text.

4. History (Secondary): Encouraging students to evaluate historical sources critically, considering bias and perspective, fosters a deeper understanding of historical events and contexts.

5. Language Arts (Primary): Implementing think-aloud strategies where students verbalize their thought process while writing helps them become more aware of their writing strategies, leading to improved writing skills.

6. Physical Education: Utilizing goal-setting and reflection in physical education encourages students to consider their performance, set realistic goals, and reflect on their progress, promoting self-regulation.

7. Art (Secondary): Encouraging students to reflect on their artistic choices and the emotions they want to convey helps them connect more deeply with their work and the audience.

8. Social Studies (Primary): Teaching students to make connections between their lives and the lives of people in different cultures fosters empathy and a broader understanding of the world.

9. Music (Secondary): Encouraging students to analyze their performance, identifying areas for improvement, and setting goals for future practice sessions can lead to significant growth in musical ability.

According to Dr. John Hattie, "Metacognitive strategies can have an effect size of 0.69, which is considered a high impact on student achievement." Furthermore, a study by Bryce et al. shows that explicit instruction in metacognitive strategies can significantly benefit disadvantaged students.

Example: In a cooperative learning environment, a group of secondary students working on a physics project might discuss their understanding of a concept, share different perspectives, and collaboratively decide on the best approach to solve a problem. This process of thinking about their thinking leads to a more profound understanding of the subject.

Key Insights:

Metacognitive thinking enhances learning across subjects.

It promotes self-regulation, critical thinking, and deeper understanding.

Strategies include self-questioning, visualization, reflection, and goal-setting.

Particularly beneficial for disadvantaged students, improving academic learning.

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FAQ's for Busy Teachers

1. What is metacognition?

Cognitive processes are the mental processes that involve one's mental state; this can include memory and attention, the activation of prior knowledge, and the use of cognitive strategies to solve a problem or complete a task.

2. What are the benefits of Metacognition?

Metacognition is the ability to monitor and control one's cognition, which is recognized in many scientific fields as the most important component of academic achievement.

3. Are metacognitive practices a learning strategy?

We describe metacognition as an overarching approach and also a mindset that can be adopted by both teachers and students.

4. What is metacognitive regulation?

Metacognitive regulation is the process of monitoring and controlling one's cognitive processes. It refers to how learners manage their mental activities to achieve the desired outcome.

5. What is the planning phase?

During the initial planning phase, learners think about the learning goal set by the teacher. They then consider how they will approach the task and which strategies they will use. You can see examples of how students can approach this here.

6. What is the central executive?

In psychology, the central executive is the part of the working memory responsible for sequential task management.

7. What is the Zone of Proximal Development?

The zone of proximal development is the range of skills that a learner can successfully accomplish with guidance from an instructor or a more capable peer.

8. What is metacognitive development?

Metacognitive development is the development of thinking processes. It's your ability to examine your own thoughts and make judgments about them.

9. What is a metacognitive approach?

A metacognitive approach typically involves students applying metacognitive strategies to respond to clear and explicit learning goals which have either been set by the teacher or identified by the student themselves.

10. What are the benefits of discussing strategies?

The strategy is crucial to the success of the student. Discussing strategies in class helps students understand what strategies are available to them, how they impact their learning and why they work.

11. What are the benefits of metacognitive teaching?

Metacognitive teaching is one of the best ways to teach by encouraging students to reflect on their own learning. It also has other benefits including promoting independent learning.

12. At what age can children become metacognitive?

Several studies have found that children as young as 18 months demonstrated error-correction strategies, and 5-year-olds who were aware of forgetting. Meanwhile, 3 to 5-year-olds exhibited a wide range of verbal skills.

13. What is a Personal Reflection Journal?

The Personal Reflection Journal is an ongoing process that enables learners to document and reflect on their learning process. Learners keep a journal that captures their thoughts, ideas, and reflections on their learning experiences.

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Education Endowment Foundation (2021) Retrieved from: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/metacognition-and-self-regulated-learning/

Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American psychologist, 34(10), 906.

Marulis, L. M., & Nelson, L. J. (2021). Metacognitive processes and associations to executive function and motivation during a problem-solving task in 3-5-year-olds. Metacognition and Learning, 16(1), 207-231.

Norman, E., & Furnes, B. (2016). The concept of "meta emotion": What is there to learn from research on metacognition?. Emotion Review, 8(2), 187-193.

References

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Metacognitive Strategies in the Classroom

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Introducing metacognitive strategies in your classroom: A teacher's guide for introducing metacognition into daily teaching practice, from research to practice.

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Time, however, is not a sufficient condition for change: teachers also need to have their current practice challenged and to be supported as they make changes. UNESCO Report  Pg 15

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Time, however, is not a sufficient condition for change: teachers also need to have their current practice challenged and to be supported as they make changes. UNESCO Report  Pg 15

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What other factors in your opinion would contribute to your change as a teacher?