3 Ways Teachers Can Use Metacognition in The Classroom

Written By Colēgia

Metacognition is an awareness and understanding of one’s learning processes. Including metacognition in the classroom can be a great tool for teachers to use. It allows them to better understand their students and how they process information. Using metacognitive strategies can be helpful to both teachers and students. Understanding your own learning process though these strategies can help you improve. Here are three ways teachers can use metacognition in the classroom.

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Reflective Writing

Reflective writing is a great strategy when looking to integrate metacognition into your classroom. Having students analyze their own comprehension before, during, and after they complete an assignment can help in many ways. It lets them focus on their own thinking process while completing the task, their understanding of the topic at hand, and their ability to connect what they’ve learned to other courses. Reflective writing activities can look and work differently. One example can be having your students answer a series of prompts that ask them about their personal experiences when finishing the assignment. The questions you ask can vary depending on what you want your students to reflect on, making it an easy and flexible strategy to try in your own classroom.

“Having students analyze their own comprehension before, during, and after they complete an assignment can help in many ways.”

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Assessment Tests

Continuing on a reflective path, assessments are a great metacognitive strategy. Consider giving your students a self-reflective assessment at the beginning of the course or unit. Ask them what they think about a certain topic or about the course or unit in general. Towards the end of the course or unit, ask them the same question and you both can observe how their thinking has changed. Another approach is being more direct, once you’re nearing the end of the course or unit, ask them to list three ways in which their thinking has changed over time. Afterwards, you can have a class discussion about their answers.

“Consider giving your students a self-reflective assessment at the beginning of the course or unit.”

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Share Your Thought Processes

As an educator, you are more than familiar with the subject you are teaching, which is all the more reason to express that in the classroom. Sharing your thought processes can let students get insight into the material. You can do this by thinking aloud whenever you are analyzing something in class. Let students see the way you think and view whatever it is you’re studying. Rather than simply sharing the answer, slowly bring them along with you in the process of getting to that answer. Metacognition is all about self-awareness and reflection, so make sure students aren’t just receiving large amounts of information, but are actually reflecting on what they’re learning and how they are learning it.

Colēgia

Colēgia

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