Chapter 1 Metacognition

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GEE 103

Ed 105- Facilitating Learner – Centered Teaching with Emphasis on Trainers Methodology (TM) 1

Chapter 1. Metacognition
.

Course Title:
Facilitating Learner – Centered Teaching with Emphasis on Trainers
Methodology (TM) 1

Course No: Ed 105

CHAPTER I METACOGNITION

1. Make a collection of teaching strategies that develop metacognition in


students.
1. Teach students how their brains are wired for growth.
The beliefs that students adopt about learning and
their own brains will affect their performance.
Research shows that when students develop a growth
mindset vs. a fixed mindset, they are more likely to
engage in reflective thinking about how they learn and
grow. Teaching kids about the science of metacognition
can be an empowering tool, helping students to understand how they can
literally grow their own brains.

2. Give students practice recognizing what they don't understand.


The act of being confused and identifying one's lack
of understanding is an important part of developing
self-awareness. Take time at the end of a challenging
class to ask, "What was most confusing about the
material we explored today?" This not only jumpstarts
metacognitive processing, but also creates a classroom
culture that acknowledges confusion as an integral part of learning.
3. Provide opportunities to reflect on coursework.
Higher-order thinking skills are fostered as students
learn to recognize their own cognitive growth.
Questions that help this process might include:

4. Have students keep learning journals.

One way to help students monitor their own thinking is


through the use of personal learning journals. Assign
weekly questions that help students reflect on how
rather than what they learned. Questions might
include:

What was easiest for me to learn this week? Why?


What was most challenging for me to learn? Why?
What study strategies worked well as I prepared for my exam?
What strategies for exam preparation didn't work well? What will I do
differently next time?
What study habits worked best for me? How?
What study habit will I try or improve upon next week?
Encourage creative expression through whatever journal formats work best for
learners, including mind maps, blogs, wikis, diaries, lists, e-tools, etc.

5. Use a "wrapper" to increase students' monitoring skills.


A "wrapper" is a short intervention that surrounds an
existing activity and integrates a metacognitive
practice. Before a lecture, for example, give a few
tips about active listening. Following the lecture, ask
students to write down three key ideas from the
lecture. Afterward, share what you believe to be the
three key ideas and ask students to self-check how closely theirs matched your
intended goals. When used often, this activity not only increases learning, but
also improves metacognitive monitoring skills.

6. Consider essay vs. multiple-choice exams.


Research shows that students use lower-level thinking
skills to prepare for multiple-choice exams, and
higher-level metacognitive skills to prepare for essay
exams. While it is less time consuming to grade
multiple-choice questions, even the addition of several
short essay questions can improve the way students
reflect on their learning to prepare for test taking.

7. Facilitate reflexive thinking.


Reflexivity is the metacognitive process of becoming
aware of our biases -- prejudices that get in the way of
healthy development. Teachers can create a classroom
culture for deeper learning and reflexivity by
encouraging dialogue that challenges human and societal
biases. When students engage in conversations or write
essays on biases and moral dilemmas related to politics, wealth, racism, poverty,
justice, liberty, etc., they learn to "think about their own thinking." They begin
to challenge their own biases and become more flexible and adaptive thinkers.

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