Metacognition

The purpose of this article was to inform teachers how to get students to use metacognition in the classroom. Metacognition is the process used to plan, monitor, and assess one’s understanding and performance. This may seem complex for young children, but I think some students are already doing it without knowing what it is. Students aware of their strengths and weaknesses are able to expand on their knowledge. If you asked students in my room about their strengths and weaknesses many of them would be able to tell you. Others might be a little bit cocky. Some may know, but aren’t sure of the steps they should take to make their weaknesses become strengths.

Some people are unaware when they lack intellectual and social skills. This reminds me of some of special education students. Of course they haven’t been told any of this, but I’m not sure some of them know they have a learning disability or don’t behave socially like other students. When people can’t produce the right answers, they’re unable to tell when anyone else is right or wrong. I think this could contribute to participation rates among students due to self-doubt.

Some effective strategies I could use in my classroom are asking the students what was most confusing about a lesson (especially in math). Also in math, I could model how to approach a question: what I would do first, how to check my work, and what I should do when I think I’m done. In regards to spelling tests, I liked the exam wrappers idea. Students reflect on their preparation strategies and adapt them looking forward to the next exam. Students could talk with their peers to see how and when they study their words in order to increase their scores. The article mentioned it shouldn’t be a process where some students “get it” and some “don’t.” I completely agree with this statement. I also think I do a  decent job of integrating short answer questions with multiple choice questions. This requires higher cognition. Teachers are constantly reflecting on their practice so I believe many of us think about the changes we need to make to meet student’s needs.