Metacognition and Self-regulation

1. Metacognition and Self-regulation

2. Meta-cognition: Learning how to Learn • Plato first suggested reflecting learning through dialogue; • John Flavell, Stanford University, originated the term in 1979; • means -“thinking about thinking” or “learning how to learn”; • consists of both metacognitive knowledge and experiences.

3. Most Effective Strategies from Education Endowment Teaching and Learning Toolkit • The top effective and economical strategies in closing the attainment gap are: • Feedback • Meta-cognition • Peer tutoring • Collaborative Learning • Social and Emotional Learning • Parental Involvement

4. • Meta-cognition involves thinking about one’s • own cognitive processes; • thinking about one’s thinking, learning, reasoning and • problem solving; • metacognitive strategies are teaching approaches that make learners’ thinking explicit in the classroom; • includes learners being taught how to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning; • • meta-cognition is essential for effective learning in complex situations.

5. Greater student awareness of their thinking processes as they learn, leads to creation of personal goals, sharper focus and deeper self-belief; • self-awareness promotes self-regulation; • simplest approach to developing metacognition is to promote pupils to think and get them to explain to everyone what they are thinking.

6. What are the characteristics of metacognition? Factual information that can be declared, spoken or written e.g.the formula to find the area of a maths shape 2. Procedural process steps e.g. the steps in an experiment 3. Conditional judgement about when to use a skill or technique e.g. which method for subtraction works best

7. Teaching Metacognition Improves Learning • Planning and goal-setting; • monitoring one’s progress; • adapting as needed.

8. 7 Strategies for developing metacognition • Modelling, demonstrating, discussing and chunking information and giving peer feedback; • Using different techniques for planning responses such as pictures, annotated diagrams, charts, concept maps or key words; • Keeping regular learning logs to reflect on thinking and share with others ; • Explaining to others thinking, step by step; • Reflect on learning in cooperative learning group discussions; • Use high order questioning techniques to make critical reflections and analysis of learning; • Develop a ‘growth mindset’

9. Why is meta-cognition important? • Consistently high or very high level of impact on learning; • many studies showing substantial gains equivalent to eight months additional progress in learning; • relatively low implementation cost; • bar is raised for all pupils but reduces the gap between higher and lower attaining pupils; • evidence indicates that it is also particularly helpful for lower attaining pupils.

10. Challenge Questions • Some reflective questions for practitioners or groups of practitioners to use to develop self-evaluation and inform planning. Questions can be customised from How good is our school? (4th edition) to suit different contexts. • To what extent are our metacognitive approaches improving • learning for all? • What strategies are we using to develop resilience • and confidence in our learners to lead their own and • others learning? • To what extent do we critically engage with research, • policy sources and developments in learning and • teaching in relation to meta-cognition?

11. “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think”Albert Einstein • • Metacognitive skills and beliefs about learning have • positive outcomes for learners; • • teaching skills and beliefs of meta-cognition with practice time improves learning; • • simple interventions can have a huge effect size of up to 8 months learning gain.

12. Education Scotland • Denholm House • Almondvale Business Park • Almondvale Way • Livingston EH54 6GA • T +44 (0)141 282 5000 • E enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk • www.educationscotland.gov.uk