Thinking about Thinking
Why metacognition is important
Anyone who tells you that learning is simple is either lying or ill-informed.
Learning takes effort.
Learning takes time.
Learning takes a range of varied external and internal processes.
This is not simple.
Learning does not happen from external input alone. Just because we ‘taught it’ does not mean our students ‘caught it’.
Think about yourself, how much of what you are told do you remember?
What about how much that you have been curious about, sought information on, moved or acted on, told others about, and practiced?
Remembering is part of the learning process, but it is only one part.
Metacognition is thinking about thinking. It is a skill and it can be taught. It is taught through seeing it done in think alouds, it is taught through practice, it is taught through dialogue.
Metacognition enables us to respond intelligently to situations we find ourselves in, to solve problems, to build resilience. Metacognition builds autonomy, confidence and creativity. Students don’t need to rely on a teacher or others to tell them what to do, they can take independent action, and this has a positive impact on their sense of self efficacy. When we consider our thinking processes consciously we get to know ourselves better, we learn about how we learn best. If we want our young people to operate confidently in the big, wide world then we need to teach them the skills and give them time to practice.
Here are some strategies I use to support my students to develop metacognition:
I teach them about their brains and how we learn
I model curiosity and talk through my thinking out loud
I ask questions to prompt thinking such as ‘what made you say that?’, ‘how did you get to that answer?’
I teach planning strategies and work on how to break down tasks into smaller chucks
We discuss what we can do when we are stuck- building tools and strategies students can use- they can refer to charts and be guided through questioning
What else can we do to help the young people in our world think about their thinking?