How Can Metacognition Benefit Students

“How Can Metacognition Benefit Students” In the simplest terms, Metacognition is thinking about thinking. This is the process where students reflect on their learning and what they know. There is good news that studies have shown that metacognition is a teachable skill and is important to many other skill sets such as problem solving and critical thinking.

Several teachers have rethought their teaching strategies. They have noticed that their students ask for help during and after class and their questions range from specific to general about the material, but many students fail to ask questions about their material to themselves and really reflect on their learning.

Because of this there has been a drive to have students develop into independent self regulator learners. Parents and teachers can’t hold their hand outside of school and in college. This requires students to reflect on what they have learned and become critical analysts of their own thought processes.

Many teachers have begun using so-called “Exit tickets”. These force the students to reflect on what they have learned and what about the lesson they still need help with. These are quick and easy for the teachers to implement to help the student develop these skills.

The most effective of these involves students thinking about how what they have learned that day has shaped a new prospective. This is effective because it forces the students to think about their thought processes and that is the key to metacognition skills. It forces the students to think about how they are processing information.

There are other ways that teachers try to develop these skills, especially in group settings. By setting the classroom rule that only individual groups can ask questions during a group discussion, students are forced to consult with the group rather than ask the question directly to a teacher. This introduces a new perspective and helps the student become independent of teacher help.

For high school students, teachers are implementing this by giving feedback to students after formative assessment. They also allow students to speak with them about the feedback, but only specifics. Teachers use this to force students to look at what they did wrong and think about what they need to improve on. This also encourages students to exercise control over their own learning, which makes them more independent.

Evidence suggests that students with good metacognition skills vastly out perform those who lack these skills. And in a modern world these skills are important for students to develop for success in college and beyond.

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