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Metaphor and metacognition: Alise Shafer Ivey at TEDxSunsetPark

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Metaphor and Metacognition: the mind when pushed to invention Alise is the founder and director of Evergreen Community School in Santa Monica, California. Her work with children over the last 30 years sheds light on not only how children think, but also explores the ways in which the thinking of children generates, illuminates, and inspires dialogue and creativity in adults.

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Summarized by Cindy Perras, M.Ed., OCT
Educational Consultant, LDAO

"Efficient learners use metacognitive strategies but students with learning disabilities tend to lack the skills to direct their own learning. However, once they learn the metacognitive strategies that efficient learners use, students with learning disabilities can apply them in many situations."

Description

In order to be effective learners, students must not only use their memory and the language skills they have internalized, they must also develop their own way of learning. Students who "learn to learn" gain control of their learning process and gradually develop the ability to master their mental processes more effectively. A student's inner language is what enables him/her to develop the high-level cognitive skills associated with metacognition.

According to Pierre Paul Gagné et al. (2009):

"Metacognition enables students to be more active in their learning, i.e., to mobilize all of their resources in order to have successful learning experiences. In order to do this, they must know how they learn and be aware of the steps that are followed and the means that are used to acquire knowledge, solve problems, and perform tasks." [Unofficial translation]

According to the LD Online Glossary (2014), metacognition is the process of "thinking about thinking." For example, good readers use metacognition before reading when they clarify their purpose for reading and preview the text.

So in other words, metacognition is the understanding and awareness of one's own mental or cognitive processes. Here are some examples of metacognition:

A student learns about what things help him or her to remember facts, names, and events.

A student learns about his or her own style of learning.

A student learns about which strategies are most effective for solving problems.

Students become increasingly autonomous in their learning as they become aware of their strengths and weaknesses and understand that being successful depends on the effort they make and the strategies they implement. Their ability to regulate their cognitive processes increases accordingly and their self-image improves. Students with LDS can improve their learning capacity through the use of metacognitive strategies.

According to a number of research studies (Brown et al., 1983, Paris et Lindauer, 1982, Paris et al., 1988 ainsi que Persely et al., 1985), when students are able to manage their own performance on a task, they perform better and their learning is more meaningful than when they are not able to manage it.

To paraphrase Edgar Morin (2014), metacognition involves thinking and reflecting before, during, and after a learning task. Metacognition starts when students think about the strategies they will use to perform a task. Metacognition happens when they choose the most effective strategies and decide for themselves whether the outcome of these strategies meets the standards. The time taken to teach a variety of strategies is very important because students must choose strategies for each task they perform.

Implementing Metacognitive Strategies

According to the Inclusive Schools Network (2014), "Metacognitive strategies refers to methods used to help students understand the way they learn; in other words, it means processes designed for students to 'think' about their 'thinking'." Teachers who use metacognitive strategies can positively impact students who have learning disabilities by helping them to develop an appropriate plan for learning information, which can be memorized and eventually routine. As students become aware of how they learn, they will use these processes to efficiently acquire new information, and consequently, become more independent thinkers. Click here to access the Inclusive Schools Network article on metacognitive strategies.

Many metacognitive strategies are appropriate for use in the classroom, for students with and without LDs, including:

Think-Alouds (for reading comprehenshion and problem solving)

Organizational Tools (such as checklists, rubrics, etc. for solving word problems)

Explicit Teacher Modelling (for math instruction)

In the Info Brief, "Learning How to Learn" (The National Collaborative on Workplace and Disability for Youth [NCWD/Youth], 2014), educators are provided with practical suggestions on strategic learning, compensatory techniques, cognitive and metacoginitve strategies, and literacy programs and learning strategies. Table II illustrates the cognitive and metacognitive strategies.
Click here to access the chart as a PDF. Click here to access the document as a PDF.
Printable LD@school Resources

This student worksheet encourages students to reflect on what they know, what they want to know, how they will find out, and what they have learned when learning about a new topic. Click here to download the student worksheet PDF.

This student worksheet that encourages students to reflect on what they know, what they want to know, how they will find out, and what they still need to learn when learning about a new topic. Click here to download the student worksheet PDF.

This Sample Strategy Evaluation Matrix provides educators with a variety of metacognitive strategies that can be used in the classroom. The chart identifies how to use the strategy, when to use the strategy, and describes what it is used for. Click here to access the Sample Strategy Evaluation Matrix.

Additional Resources

LD@school has created a summary which explores the use of metacognitive strategies in mathematics. Click here to open the LD@School research summary on Verbalization in Math Problem Solving.

LD Online is self-described as a leading website on learning disabilities and ADHD. Click here to access the LD Online website.
Click here to read an article on how metacognitive strategy instruction enhances reading comprehension.
The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth produced an Info Brief entitled, "Learning How to Learn: Successful Transition Models for Educators Working with Youth with Learning Disabilities". Click here to open the Info Brief in PDF.

Questia.com is an online journal search engine. Click here to read an excerpt of the article on Metacognitive Strategies for Students with Learning Disabilities. Note: the full article may be accessed by registering for a free trial membership.

References

Gagné, P. Leblanc, N., Rousseau, A. (2009). Apprendre ...une question de stratégies : Développer les habiletés liées aux fonctions exécutives. Montreal: Les Éditions de la Chenelière.

Fogarty, R. (1994). How to teach for metacognition. Palatine, IL: IRI/Skylight Publishing.

LD Online Glossary (2014). Retrieved July 10, 2014. Accessedfrom http://www.ldonline.org/glossary#M

Learning How to Learn: Successful Transition Models for Educators Working with Youth with Learning Disabilities (2014). Retrieved July 10, 2014 from http://www.ncwd-youth.info/information-brief/learning-how-to-learn

Lerner, J., & Kline, F. (2006). Learning disabilities and related disorders: Characteristics and teaching strategies (10th Ed). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Pohlman, C. Adaptation by Côté, C. (2011). Aider l'élève en difficulté d'apprentissage : Guide pratique pour les parents et les enseignants. Montreal: Les Éditions de la Chenelière.

Winebrenner, S. Adaptation by Demers, D. (2008). Enseigner aux élèves en difficulté en classe régulière. Montreal: Les Éditions de la Chenelière.

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Metacognitive Strategies or "Thinking About My Thinking"

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Summarized by Cindy Perras, M.Ed., OCT Educational Consultant, LDAO "Efficient learners use metacognitive strategies but students with learning disabilities tend to lack the skills to direct their own learning. However, once they learn the metacognitive strategies that efficient learners use, students with learning disabilities can apply them in many situations."

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Metacognition Think Sheets to improve reading comprehension.  TeacherKarma.com

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Metacognition: The Gift That Keeps Giving

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Metacognition: The Gift That Keeps Giving

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Metacognition, or thinking about one's thinking, is key to facilitating lasting learning experiences and developing lifelong learners. Linda Darling-Hammond and her colleagues (2003) identify two types of metacognition: reflection, or "thinking about what we know," and self-regulation, or "managing how we go about learning."

Metacognitive activities can guide students as they:

Identify what they already know

Articulate what they learned

Communicate their knowledge, skills, and abilities to a specific audience, such as a hiring committee

Set goals and monitor their progress

Evaluate and revise their own work

Identify and implement effective learning strategies

Transfer learning from one context to another

Activities that promote metacognition should:

Facilitate equal participation

Ensure students do most of the talking

Take place before, during, and after an experience

Happen in different group configurations (individuals, pairs, small group, large group)

Further Resources

Flavell, John H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906-911.

Darling-Hammond, Linda, Austin, K., Cheung, M., & Martin, D. (2003). Thinking about thinking: Metacognition. The learning classroom: Theory into practice. Stanford University School of Education.

Tanner, Kimberly D. (2012). Promoting student metacognition. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 11(2), 113-120.

* Yancey, Kathleen. (1998). Reflection in the writing classroom. Logan, UT: Utah State UP.

* This book is available for loan through the TLA library.

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Metacognition, or thinking about one's thinking, is key to facilitating lasting learning experiences and developing lifelong learners. Linda Darling-Hammond and her colleagues (2003) identify two types of metacognition: reflection, or "thinking about what we know," and self-regulation, or "managing how we go about learning."

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Teacher Metacognition within the Professional Learning Community

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Teacher Metacognition within the Professional Learning Community

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As the world economy shifts away from manufacturing jobs and towards more creative jobs, there's a consensus among parents, educators, politicians and business leaders that it is crucial students complete their K-12 education with the ability to identify and solve complex problems, think critically about information, work effectively in teams and communicate clearly about their thinking.

That is why we as educators must focus on the 4 C's of 21st Century Learning: Critical Thinking Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity

A number of conditions support the development of a metacognitive classroom environment. Learning environments that are knowledge-centered and learner-centered, and that take into account the role of assessment in learning, lay the foundation for a reflective classroom. "Knowledge-centered" classrooms focus on meaningful, powerful, nontrivial activities.

When students are asked to engage in activities that build on their previous knowledge, challenge them with complex tasks, and require active sense-making, they are more likely to see the utility of being reflective and strategic learners. In such classrooms, students need access to procedural knowledge-How are you going to do this and be successful?-as well as conditional knowledge-When is this going to be useful to you?

When having a "Learner-centered" classroom take into account students' current knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs. If teaching is conceived as constructing a bridge between the subject matter and the student, learner-centered teachers keep a constant eye on both ends of the bridge.

Metacognitive activities that ask students to reflect on what they know, care about and are able to do not only help learners develop an awareness of themselves, but also give learner-centered teachers valuable information for their instruction.

It is important for teachers to give students opportunities to reflect on their learning because it is often difficult for them to realize what they are doing both when they succeed and when they fail. Providing clear constructive feedback is a critical strategy for students to receive in developing their Metacognitive abilities.

For example, if a student writes two essays and gets an "A" on one of them and a "C" on the other, he might not understand what he did on the "A" essay that was different from the "C" essay. Thus, it is important for the teacher to assist the student in reflecting on his own performance by providing timely and personal feedback.

Without this assistance, he will not know how to improve. Metacognition involves taking what we learn in one situation and transforming it into a level of understanding that is much more likely to transfer to another situation.

Developing a culture of metacognition in the classroom-where students are encouraged to develop this kind of awareness-begins with making the purpose of learning activities and the goals for performance clear to students. When students are given feedback with the purpose of redirecting and revising their work rather than simply to assign a grade, they have the opportunity to revisit their work with a greater understanding.

When a teacher provides clear expectations in terms of how she evaluates student work and provides models and examples that give students a sense of the goals they are striving for, students are empowered to take on more responsibility and ownership in their learning. They key to high-quality work is no longer a mystery; expectations and goals are clear. Students are also more motivated to succeed when they can see concrete pathways to improvement.

As teachers, we need to think about how to help students become thoughtful learners in our classrooms. We need to put practices in our classroom which will provide at first the guidance on how followed by the activities and tasks to practice these skills.

If you are interested in this topic you may want to consider the following Teach n' Kids Learn (TKL) Self-Paced online professional development courses.

1. Increasing Student Engagement Planning Outside the Box

2. 21st Century Learning and the 4Cs (Grades K-12)

3. Differentiated Instruction Driven by Assessments (Foundations)

4. Creating Learning Classrooms for Today's Students (Grades K-12)

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Developing A Culture of Metacognition - The Art of Teaching How to Think

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A number of conditions support the development of a metacognitive classroom environment. Learning environments that are knowledge-centered and learner-centered, and that take into account the role of assessment in learning, lay the foundation for a reflective classroom. "Knowledge-centered" classrooms focus on meaningful, powerful, nontrivial activities.

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The Case for Teaching for and with Metacognition

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The Case for Teaching for and with Metacognition

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Good Thinking! — That’s so Meta(cognitive)!