Fostering Metacognition to Support Student Learning and Performance

This article by Julie Dangremond Stanton, Amanda J. Sebesta and John Dunlosky “outline the reasons metacognition is critical for learning and summarize relevant research … in … three main areas in which faculty can foster students’ metacognition: supporting student learning strategies (i.e., study skills), encouraging monitoring and control of learning, and promoting social metacognition during group work.” They then “distill insights from key papers into general recommendations for instruction, as well as a special list of four recommendations that instructors can implement in any course.”

CBE Life Sci Educ June 1, 2021 20:fe3

https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-12-0289

Using Ungrading and Metacognition to Foster “Becoming a Learner”

by Matt Recla, PhD, Associate Director of University Foundations at Boise State

This is the 3rd post in the Guest Editor Series, Metacognition, Writing, and Well-Being, Edited by dawn shepherd, PhD, Ti Macklin, PhD, and Heidi Estrem, PhD

Becoming a Learner

When I started teaching a required first-year course years ago, faculty were recommended to include Matthew Sanders’ small text, Becoming a Learner. Though it seemed a distraction from the “real” content of my course, I dutifully added the text. It makes a simple, compelling argument that students should strive to be active learners rather than passive students, exposing common misconceptions about a college education and suggesting helpful corrections. I paired the text with a short assignment to craft three learning goals for the semester, including at least one for our course and at least one for their learning journey more broadly.

I was surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reactions from students. Though assigned at the beginning of the semester, in their reflections on the course months later students still made comments like the following: “I learned so much about myself and what to improve on.” “It really set the tone for the rest of the class.” “It really changed my perspective on how I view my college education.” A few even claimed it was the most valuable part of the course! Reflecting on their past learning experiences and considering concrete goals provided a tool to gain purchase on their educational journey.

I began to wonder, though, whether my teaching techniques and assignments throughout the rest of the course were in harmony with the message of becoming a learner. Sanders exhorts students to be creative and courageous in order to learn (14, 42). Was I helping students do that, or was I penalizing them if they took a risk? He encourages critical thinking and the interconnectedness of learning (15, 35). Was I providing opportunities to make those connections, to reflect on the impact of their learning? These reflections led me to further opportunities for student metacognition. I made two additional changes that, in offering students a greater sense of empowerment in their education, also hopefully contributes to their sense of well-being.

Ungrading

The first change was ungrading, which to my mind was the natural complement to a first-year required course that promotes taking charge of your education. (There are many different ways to ungrade; I was initially guided by Hacking Assessment, and have since benefitted from the edited volume, Ungrading.) I’ve landed for now on a system where students receive no grades until the end of the course. They receive significant feedback on each assignment (based on Mark Barnes’ SE2R feedback approach) from me or a teaching assistant and have unlimited opportunities to revise and resubmit their work. We meet individually with each one of our 100 students at midsemester to hear about their progress and tackle any ongoing challenges. We meet again at semester’s end, and students explain the grade they believe they’ve earned. At least nine times out of ten they assess themselves just as we (instructors) would. When there appear to be gaps in the student’s self-assessment, we have a slightly longer conversation to understand (and rarely, suggest possible corrections to) their rationale.

I have come to see ungrading as part of my own well-being as an educator, as it appropriately shares my responsibility for a student’s grade with them. They are well-positioned to evaluate their performance if I trust them to do so and let them practice. There is a learning curve, and it can at first be frustrating for students who (like myself as a student) are used to finding out “what the teacher wants.” If embraced, though, it encourages for most students more authentic engagement with their learning. Their reflections suggest this augments a feeling of ownership of their education.

Metacognitive Reflection

The second change I adopted is to have students write or record a brief metacognitive reflection along with every major assignment. (My first and last assignments are themselves reflections on their experience, so I don’t assign a reflection on their reflection. That gets confusing for everyone!) The prompt for this brief addendum asks students to think about successes and challenges, both internal and external. (I’ve lost track of the original source for this idea, but I’m grateful!) I show these four areas in a quadrant and invite students to respond to at least one prompt in each area:

Internal

External

Successes

● What did I do to achieve success on this assignment?

● What did I learn from this assessment (in terms of content, skills, and/or about myself)?

● What parts of the assignment worked well for me? Why?

● Where do I think I did best on the assignment or what portion am I particularly proud of?

● Which assignment standards did I meet or exceed? Why do I think so?

Challenges

● What challenges did I face while completing the assignment (outside the assignment itself)?

● How did I overcome those challenges?

● What do I plan to do differently next time as a result?

● What parts of the assignment were most challenging for me to understand? Why?

● How did I overcome those challenges?

● Which assignment standards did I not meet? Why?

Students reflect honestly on their challenges and modestly on their successes. They already may do this internally as they complete their work, but taking the time to record it helps reinforce that intuitive reflection and reveals the interconnectedness of their learning. The reflections often provide helpful context for their work, which may be impacted by any number of factors. In most cases I can affirm their self-assessment and suggest other small shifts as needed. The opportunity for intentional, transparent reflection has induced some “aha!” moments. I’ve seen many students follow through with changes in their time management for future assignments or double-down on areas of skill that were uncovered in reflection, which, because self-generated rather than forced, increases their felt self-efficacy.

Teaching in a COVID (and post-COVID) world

Although I incorporated both of these practices before the global disruptions of the last couple years, I’ve found that both ungrading and metacognitive reflection lend themselves well to teaching in a world unmoored by a pandemic. In the fall semester of 2020 we could see the impacts of a dramatic disruption in students’ learning, transitioning from in-person to primarily or completely virtual. Those impacts have become more pronounced each year since. The flexible design of my course is fairly adaptable to student needs and abilities when they enter the course, and it means that their grade isn’t ruined because they miss something due to unforeseen circumstances.

As they complete assignments and reflect on their progress, I can see them wrestle with the challenges of my course while simultaneously managing their other courses and the numerous obligations of adulthood. When they reflect at the end of the semester and assign themselves a grade, I can see how they comprehensively assess what this small piece of their growth as learners has added up to. I am privileged to work with students with a variety of different experiences and perspectives, and if my classroom provides a space where they can reflect on where they are and continue the lifelong process of becoming learners, I feel that I’ve boosted their well-being and not hindered their journey.

References:

Blum, S. D. (2020). Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead). West Virginia University Press.

Sackstein, S. (2015). Hacking assessment: 10 ways to go gradeless in a traditional grades school. Times 10 Publications.

Sanders, M. L. (2018). Becoming a learner: Realizing the opportunity of education. Macmillan Learning Curriculum Solutions.

Using Metacognition to Scaffold the Development of a Growth Mindset

by Lauren Scharff, PhD, U. S. Air Force Academy,*
Steven Fleisher, PhD, California State University,
Michael Roberts, PhD, DePauw University

It conceptually seems simple… inform students about the positive power of having a growth mindset, and they will shift to having a growth mindset.

If only it were that easy!

Black silhouette of a human head with colored neurons inside it — Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

In reality, even if we (humans) cognitively know something is “good” for us, we may struggle to change our ways of thinking, behaving, and automatic emotional reactions because those have become habits. However, rather than throw up our hands and give up because it’s challenging, in this blog we will model a growth mindset by offering a new strategy to facilitate the transition to a growth mindset. The strategy involves metacognitive refection, specifically the use of awareness-oriented and self-regulation-oriented questions for both students and instructors.

Mindset Overview

To get us all on the same page, let’s first examine “mindset,” a term coined by Carol Dweck (2006). This concept proposes that individuals internalize ways of thinking about their abilities related to intelligence, learning, and academics (or any other skill). These beliefs become internalized based on years of living and hearing commentary about skills (e.g., She’s a born leader! or, You’re so smart! or, They are natural math wizzes!). These internalized beliefs subsequently affect our responses and performance related to those skills.

According to Dweck and others, people fall along a continuum (Figure 1) that ranges from having a fixed mindset (“My skills are innate and can’t be developed”) to having a growth mindset (“My skills can be developed”). Depending on a person’s beliefs about a particular skill, they will respond in predictable ways when a skill requires effort, when it seems challenging, when effort affects performance, and when feedback informs performance. The two-part mindset blog posts in Ed Nuhfer’s guest series (Part 1, and Part 2, 2022) provide evidence that the feedback component is especially influential.

Figure 1. Fixed – growth mindset tendencies. (From https://trainugly.com/portfolio/growth-mindset/)

Metacognition to Support Change

As the opening to this blog pointed out, simply explaining the concept of mindset and the benefits of growth mindset to students is not typically enough to lead students to actually adopt a growth mindset. This lack of change is likely even if students say they see the benefits and want to shift to a greater growth mindset. Thus, we need a process to scaffold the change.

We believe that metacognition offers a process by which to do this. Metacognition not only helps us examine our beliefs, but also provides a guide for one’s subsequent behaviors. More specifically, we believe metacognition involves two key processes, 1) awareness, often gleaned through reflection, and 2) self-regulation, during which the person uses that awareness to adjust their behaviors as needed in order to achieve their targeted goal.

Much research (e.g., Isaacson & Fujita, 2006) has already documented the benefits of students being metacognitive about their learning processes. However, we haven’t seen any other work focus on being metacognitive about one’s mindset.

Further, we know that efforts to develop skills are often more successful when they are more narrowly targeted on specific aspects of a broader construct (e.g., Heft & Scharff, 2017). Thus, rather than encouraging students to simply adopt a general “growth mindset,” or be metacognitive about their general mindset for a task, it would be more productive to target how they think about and respond to the specific component aspects of mindset for that task (e.g., challenge, feedback, failure).

Promoting a Growth Mindset Via Metacognition

Below we offer some example metacognitive reflection questions for students and for instructors that focus on awareness and self-regulation related to the feedback component of mindset. For the full set of questions that target all of the mindset components, please go to our full Mindset Metacognition Questions Resource.

We chose to highlight the component of feedback due to Nuhfer et al.’s findings reported in his 2022 guest series. By targeting the specific aspects of mindset, such as feedback, students might more effectively overcome patterns of thinking that keep them stuck in a fixed mindset.

We also include metacognitive reflection questions for instructors because they are instrumental in establishing a classroom environment that either supports or inhibits growth mindset in students. Instructors’ roles are important – recent research has demonstrated that instructor mindset about student learning abilities can impact student motivation, belongingness, engagement, and grades (Muenks, et al., 2020). Yeager, et al. (2021) additionally showed that mindset interventions for students had more impact if the instructors also display growth mindsets. Thus, we suggest that instructors examine their own behaviors and how those behaviors might discourage or encourage a growth mindset in their students.

Student Questions Related to Feedback

(Self-assessment/awareness) How am I thinking about and responding to feedback that implies I need to make changes or improve?
(Self-assessment/awareness) How am I interacting with the instructor in response to feedback? (emotional regulation; comfort versus frustration)
(Self-regulation) How do I plan to respond to feedback I have / will receive?
(Self-regulation) How might I reasonably seek feedback from peers or the instructor when more is needed?

Instructor Questions Related to Feedback

(Self-assessment/awareness) Are students using my feedback? Are there aspects of content or tone of feedback that may be interacting with students’ mindsets?
(Self-assessment/awareness) Am I appropriately focusing my feedback on student performance (e.g., meeting standards) rather than on students themselves (e.g. their dispositions or aptitudes)?
(Self-regulation) When a student approaches me with a question, what do I signal via my demeanor? Am I demonstrating that engaging with feedback can be a positive experience?
(Self-regulation) What formative assessments might I develop to provide students feedback about their progress and learn to constructively use that feedback to support their growth?

Take-aways and Future Directions

We believe the interconnections between mindset and metacognition can go beyond the use of metacognition to examine aspects of one’s mindset. Students can be metacognitive about the learning process itself, which can interact with mindset by providing realizations that adapting one’s learning strategies can promote success. The belief that one can try new strategies and become more successful is a hallmark of growth mindset.

We hope that you utilize the questions above for yourself and your students. Given the lack of research in this area, your efforts could make a contribution to the larger understanding of how to effectively promote growth mindset in students. (If you investigate, let us know, and we would welcome a blog post so you could share your results.) At the very least, such efforts might help students overcome patterns of thinking that keep them stuck in a fixed mindset, and it might help them more effectively cope with the inevitable challenges that they will face, both in and beyond the academic realm.

References

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

Heft, I. & Scharff, L. (July 2017). Aligning best practices to develop targeted critical thinking skills and habits. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Vol 17(3), pp. 48-67. http://josotl.indiana.edu/article/view/22600

Isaacson, R.M. & Fujita, F. (2006). Metacognitive knowledge monitoring and self-regulated learning: Academic success and reflections on learning. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Vol 6(1), 39-55. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ854910

Muenks, K., Canning, E. A., LaCosse, J., Green, D. J., Zirkel, S., Garcia, J. A., & Murphy, M. C. (2020). Does my professor think my ability can change? Students’ perceptions of their STEM professors’ mindset beliefs predict their psychological vulnerability, engagement, and performance in class. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(11), 2119-2114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000763

Yeager, D.S., Carroll, J.M., Buontempo, J., Cimpian, A., Woody, S., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., Murray, J., Mhatre, P., Kersting, N., Hulleman, C., Kudym, M., Murphy, M., Duckworth, A.L., Walton, G.M., & Dweck, C.S.(2022). Teacher mindsets help explain where a growth-mindset intervention does and doesn’t work. Psychological Science, 33(1), 18-32. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09567976211028984

* The views expressed in this article, book, or presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force Academy, the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Wisdom Gained from a Tree Assignment

by Dr. Anne Gatling, Associate Professor, Chair Education Department, Merrimack College

(Post #4 Integrating Metacognition into Practice Across Campus, Guest Editor Series Edited by Dr. Sarah Benes)

On the first day of class, I greet my new students with “get to know you” games before walking them through the outline of the semester. I am a science educator and my students are either juniors or graduate students preparing to teach early childhood and elementary education majors.

The last assignment I share with my students is a tree study. Out of all of my assignments, the tree study assignment captures their attention in very different ways. Students often say: “Observe a ‘what’, for the whole semester?” They ponder this for a while. I reply, “Yes, observe a tree, any tree, at least once a month for the whole semester.”

You may be wondering what the connection is to metacognition with this assignment. I view the tree study as a “stepping stone” toward building metacognitive skills. Students develop self-awareness and mindfulness, which can both contribute to metacognition. It can be helpful to have multiple “entry points” for students when it comes to developing metacognition and metacognitive skills. While this may be a more “indirect” path, it can be beneficial to address self-awareness and mindfulness on their own and recognize the potential benefits for metacognition as well.

Tree Study Overview

Each month, for this assignment all they need to do is make a prediction of their tree and an additional new task along the way, such as sketch your tree, observe little signs of critters, and/or work to identify it. Little did I know that this assignment would become much more than a simple observation. Yes, the students became aware of their surroundings through the observation of the trees, more in tune with the process of observing how things change over time, but more importantly I see my students becoming more and more aware of themselves and their environment.

Here is an example of one students’ tree sketch.

This assignment is much different than my other assignments in that I don’t require much more than them taking a picture of their adopted tree once a month and making a few general observations and predictions. I try to meet the students where they are. Some dive in and some just skip around with minimal observations. It is ok. There are far too many things that are high stakes, I just let this one be. I honestly have come to a point where I don’t even want to give this assignment a grade.

What have I learned?

However, I didn’t always have this perspective about the assignment. Initially, this assignment was to help students experience a long-term biology observation, closely investigating changes in a tree, identification, tree rubbings, height etc. But over the years I have come to discover that this assignment means so much more to the students, especially now with quarantines etc.

While I initially didn’t think of this assignment in this way, I have come to realize that these students were also building an awareness of how much of their lives aren’t in the moment and are just beginning to build skills to find their place in the world. This has the potential to help them with their emotional regulation and mindfulness.

More recently I have come to realize that these students were also building an awareness of how much they weren’t in the moment and are beginning to build skills to find their place in the world. This has the potential to help them with their emotional regulation and mindfulness.

While I enjoy seeing their tree pictures, sketches and observations throughout the semester, I have come to love their final reflections. Students each find their own way with the assignment, learning patience in waiting for a new bud, or reaching to touch a tree for the first time. Many students mention becoming more aware of, and appreciating, nature and their surroundings and becoming more aware of small changes. As I consider metacognition and its role in this assignment, I see it as a type of proto-metacognition activity.

Student Outcomes

This process of long-term observation has many students learning the importance of patience. Either their tree sprouted much later than others or their predictions missed the mark. Many students become more aware of and gain an appreciation for the subtle changes as well. “I would never have paid any attention to the trees or thought about doing this if it were not for this assignment. I was able to observe how quickly the tree changes and how crazy it is how the trees just do that on their own.”

One student named her tree and a few students even got their friends involved in making observations. Some were able to spy critters they never knew visited their trees via tracks, and even direct observation. Many students mention looking forward to continuing to observe their tree to see how it continues to grow and change and think of a variety of ways to bring a similar type of study to their future students.

In the beginning, I set more expectations, and not every student saw such value in the assignment. Yet, over time I have learned where to give and where to let go and students seem more ready to see where this experience takes them. This final tree study reflection gives students an opportunity to consider how this tree study impacted them and their learning.

Some students have even found a deeper connection to this assignment. One student, a graduate student placed in a challenging classroom, said, “You go about your day-to-day life and never notice the intricate details that nature undergoes during the springtime. Overall, I think that this assignment forced me to take a second and look at the things that surround me every day. I had never really noticed the tree across the street. . . I like that I got to look closer at the things around me and just take a second. I love trees when I am hiking and sometimes feel like I can only get it then, but this assignment showed me that it is right out my front door always.”

Students, especially now since Covid, seem to be making more changes in how they are looking, slowing down in their process of observation. Maybe by developing more self-awareness and a deeper awareness of their surroundings this assignment can contribute to metacognition perhaps in a more indirect way, offering my students different entry points to the field.

I just assigned the fall tree study this week. I will check in each week and yesterday took them to visit the school garden. There I welcomed them to taste some of its bounty and relax in the peaceful lawn under the trees. Just take time.

In closing, I feel one undergraduate truly embraced this experience in her final project. She placed this poem just above her final tree illustration slide.

Here I sit beneath a tree,
Heartbeat strong,
My soul hums free.
Angie Weiland Crosby

A special thank you to Marcia Edson and Jeff Mehigan for their design of the initial tree study.

Helping students become self-directed writers

Dr. Christina Hardway, Professor, Department of Psychology, Merrimack College

(Post #2: Integrating Metacognition into Practice Across Campus, Guest Editor Series Edited by Dr. Sarah Benes)

Helping students to become self-directed learners is, arguably, one of the most important outcomes of education. Self-directed learning is proposed as a circular (and iterative) process. It involves making a plan, monitoring one’s progress, and then making changes or adapting as needed. These behaviors occur within the context of one’s beliefs about learning and abilities to succeed (see figure, adapted from Ambrose, et al., 2010).

Helping students to build better metacognitive skills during their regular coursework is important (see Education Endowment Foundation, 2020). This is, perhaps, because metacognitive knowledge (e.g. cognition about cognition), is a relatively abstract concept. Learning theorists like Jean Piaget suggest that learning concrete concepts occurs before learning abstract principles. For this reason, I believe that it is important to provide students with explicit tasks embedded in their courses so that they can practice these skills in order to build this more abstract and flexible set of metacognitive competencies.

This blog post shares activities and suggestions to help students build more metacognitive skills and become better self-directed learners as they complete a challenging, semester-long writing assignment.

Beliefs and Assumptions

I have taught a writing intensive research methodology course for many years, and the work in this course lends itself to an embedded approach to teaching metacognitive skills. It also presents an opportunity to help students examine their implicit attitudes toward learning and writing. Students come to the classroom with ideas about themselves as writers and may labor under notions like, “I am not a good writer” or “I have to wait until the last minute to start, because that is when I do my best work.” It is within this context that teaching students explicit and concrete ways to self-regulate their learning of the writing process is helpful. Providing activities throughout the semester helps students adjust these beliefs and build better writing practices, which can help them to not only convey their ideas, but also learn from that writing process.

Additionally, the kind of writing required in research courses is often novel for undergraduate students. Many students enrolled in the course are in their second or third semester of college and have never written a long research proposal. Their assumptions about how to approach this task are, therefore, not always aligned with the requirements. Many students also experience anxiety when faced with an assignment like writing an extensive research paper for the first time. As a result, the assignment of writing a long research proposal, as they are asked to do in this course, provides an opportunity to practice the emotional regulation skills required to successfully manage their intellectual endeavors.

Activities to guide the process of self-directed learning

For each phase of this self-directed learning cycle, I include prompts to guide students to explicitly consider their (often) implicit assumptions about the way they work. Each of these activities gives students the opportunity to reflect on their understanding of the writing process and build better metacognitive skills. Sometimes, these activities are presented in a free-writing exercise, and I commonly divide students into smaller groups to discuss their responses and then report back to the group. This sharing allows students to see that their peers often experience the same struggles during the writing process, and they can offer one another advice or support.

Assessing the assignment. With the permission of previous students, I provide examples of completed work to new students, together with my own annotations, highlighting places where and how requirements were met. This gives them a concrete understanding of what to accomplish. Additionally, I provide a detailed rubric that I review with students multiple times so they can continually compare their progress with the final expectations of the assignment.

Evaluating personal resources. I prompt students to evaluate their personal resources as writers, early in the course. To accomplish this, I ask them to reflect on their approach to writing by responding to questions like: “Please tell me a bit about your writing process and a few ways you would like to improve as a writer” (adapted from Dunn, 2011). This reflection invites them to step back from the immediate tasks and see their work as connected to their development as scholars, writers, and learners.

Planning. To help students make appropriate plans for completing a long multi-step assignment, I ask them to develop a concrete work-plan, as well as to discuss these plans with others. Two kinds of conversations can facilitate this process. One set of prompts gives students a chance to make specific plans to complete their work, including questions like, “Identify times you can complete this work” and “How much work will you complete at each time?” The other set of prompts are designed to scaffold their intellectual development. Through small-group conversations, students describe their research ideas to other students, with instructions like this: “Please describe your research interest. This is an opportunity to discuss your research ideas with someone else. Talking through your ideas is a good way to not only receive feedback, but also, it gives you a sense about which things are clear to you and which concepts need more clarification.”

Applying & Monitoring. I also ask students to write drafts of sections of this larger paper and to visit a writing fellow in our College Writing Center to discuss them. To help students monitor their progress, I have asked them to complete reflective activities after tutorial sessions, including questions like, “Please describe what you learned about the writing process in your meeting.” and “Please describe AT LEAST three specific revisions for your paper, based on your meeting with the Writing Fellow.”

Reflecting & Adjusting. Several reflective opportunities embedded in the course help students to adjust their approach to writing.

Peer review reflections: At the more immediate level, I ask students to engage in an intensive peer-review process, whereby they read each others’ papers to provide specific feedback. This process of helping others to improve their writing often provokes them to reflect more broadly on the writing process. I ask students to use the paper’s grading rubric, as well as a series of questions that help them to think about ways to evaluate whether the paper under review meets the criteria. For example, I ask them to notice if they need to re-read a passage to understand the author’s point, as this might indicate revision is warranted. After peer-review, students engage in conversations about what they have learned from the process, and I also ask them to identify at least three specific changes to their papers they should focus on next. By providing this feedback, students must step back and think about what makes writing successful, and our subsequent discussions facilitate the development of metacognitive knowledge.
Personal growth reflections: A second set of reflective activities were suggested by our Writing Center and are designed to help students consider the broader ways in which they have changed as writers. These include questions like, “Please consider the different phases of this assignment and discuss what you have learned about writing. ” and “What are the ways you have improved as a writer? What are some ways that you would like to improve in the future?” This combination of fine-grained, detail-oriented and bigger picture questions is intended to help students develop fundamental metacognitive skills and also a more nuanced understanding of metacognition for their identity as learners and writers.

The self-directed learning cycle is a circular process whereby students bring the skills they learn in one course to their next endeavors. Through this process of sharing and reflecting, they build their metacognitive skills and become more comfortable with their inchoate ideas and compositions. Hopefully, students are then able to transfer these skills into future courses and into their lives outside of academics as well.

References

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.

Dunn, D.S. (2011). A Short Guide to Writing about Psychology (3e). Boston: Pearson Longman.

Education Endowment Foundation (2020). Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning: Guidance Report. Retrieved on July 7, 2021 from https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Metacognition/EEF_Metacognition_and_self-regulated_learning.pdf

Pandemic Pedagogy: Lessons Learned about Fostering Online Metacognitive Conversations to Increase Motivation in Students

by Gina Burkart, Ed.D., Learning Specialist, Clarke University

The 2021 Academic year brought new challenges to education, as teaching and learning quickly moved online. Those who had never taught online received crash courses and hoped for the best. Students found themselves learning either remotely from home or alone in dorm rooms through web conferencing. While online learning offered convenience, the remote and distant nature of the learning often left students and professors feeling isolated from each other. As a professor, I noticed students to be less engaged in discussions and interactions with each other. In online forums, other professors and colleagues complained of the same. As the semester progressed, students’ motivation seemed to plummet.

As the Learning Specialist on campus, I reach out regarding the Academic Concerns raised for students on campus. Academic Concerns are raised by professors through an electronic alert system when students struggle academically or stop attending class. The concerns come to my email and I reach out to the students and cc the students’ advisors and athletic coaches. During the 2020-21 academic year, I observed a large increase in concerns sent for students not submitting assignments, not attending class, and not participating in discussions. Lack of student motivation seemed to underlie many of these trends. As I read articles and discussion boards across the nation, I saw the problem was epidemic.

This blog post describes how I addressed this lack of motivation and engagement by incorporating metacognitive conversations into my work with students for whom Academic Concerns had been raised, and by incorporating similar metacognitive exercises into my Learning Strategies course. The majority of the students in the Learning Strategies course are on academic probation, so they often start with very low motivation. Some had been dismissed but allowed back in to the university on a last chance.

Engaging Struggling Students through Empathy and Metacognitive Conversations

I have been working with college students for over twenty years, and it continues to amaze me how much they crave to be heard. As previously mentioned, the past year, this need for connection and communication was epidemic—so much so that my calendar was full of meetings with students (every 30 minutes) throughout the entire Fall semester. Students wanted to meet and talk—and they often scheduled regular weekly meetings. The other anomaly was they kept the meetings—even on Fridays! These meetings became pivotal to rebuilding their motivation. And, it all began with empathy.

Discussions of the effects of technology on relationships and the importance of empathy in education are not new. Social Psychologist Sherry Turkle has been researching this connection between technology and human relationships since the 1970’s. Most recently she has written about how increased time with technology has negatively impacted our ability to interact with each other. In Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, Turkle (2015) said “Fully present to one another, we learn to listen. It is where we develop the capacity for empathy. . . . And conversation advances self-reflection, the conversations with ourselves . . . . (p. 3).

In meeting with the students, even though it was online, I worked to remove the barrier of technology and make the meeting human by conversing with them as though we were sitting together casually in my office. I asked students how they were doing, the names of their cats and dogs, about their family members, and I told them a little bit about what was going on with me. THEN I asked about what was going on with their courses. I empathized with them a bit and then we moved on to problem solve in a metacognitive conversation. A metacognitive conversation guides students in reflecting on and monitoring their cognitive processes, progress, and performance to build self-efficacy. For example, after empathizing with a student, I asked:

What is causing you to not turn in the assignments?
What might you do about that? How could I help?
What is interfering with you attending class? What might make a difference? How could I help?
How did you study for the test? What is one change you could make?
What if you tried this?
How might I help you?

I found it helpful to ask open-ended questions and let them talk as much as possible. Students really like to be heard. Many are seldom listened to and crave an audience. They also benefit from hearing themselves. Also, I benefit from hearing them talk—as I begin to pick up on themes I can say things like “I heard you say _____ a couple of times. This leads me to believe you tend to _____________.” They often respond with “exactly!” I then offer them some suggestions based on research and show them resources to try.

Together, we form a simple goal for them to implement and accomplish in a week and check on in the next week. I model it and practice it with them. Also, I connect the struggling student with a student Academic Coach who is trained by me. They can continue to work on the goal and engage in further metacognitive conversations. This type of follow up and academic mentoring between students fosters motivation and metacognition, as evidenced by increased class participation, improved GPAs, and attendance.

As Turkle (2021) shared in her latest book The Empathy Diaries “ . . . only shared vulnerability and human empathy allow us to truly understand one another” (xix). Once the students felt heard and understood, they were willing to work with me to solve their problems. In knowing someone else invested in them, they were willing to invest in themselves.

Infusing Metacognition in a Learning Strategies Course

I needed to revisit this lesson in my own teaching in the Spring when I also noticed a lack of student motivation in my own courses—even with the new infused strategies. And, it wasn’t that the students were confused. Over and over, they told me that the course was simple and easy to use and made sense. They demonstrated the ability to find materials and understanding of how to access materials. Yet, assignments were not being turned in. As motivation dwindled, important curriculum would not be studied and articles would go unread. Deadlines continued to be missed. The online chats I had set up with peer mentors for participation were not being attended. Engagement was dismal and grades were plummeting. So, although I already had incorporated some metacognitive strategies into the course, at midterm I attempted to infuse what was working with one/one meetings with students.

This effort began with midterm conferences. I always have had students evaluate themselves on the goals they set at the beginning of the semester and go over how they are progressing in the course. Students have always been amazingly honest. When I did this during the spring 2021 semester, they openly and apologetically shared they were not motivated and were not looking at the curriculum or submitting work. So, we focused on what was causing the lack of motivation.

Since the course curriculum (College Study Strategies) had all the resources they needed to solve the motivation problems, we revisited the resources in the course that they had missed—such as articles, videos, and power points on motivation, procrastination, time management, and so on. We read some together and set goals. I also reopened the deadlines so they could revisit the curriculum they needed and complete the discussions (now that they had purpose and motivation). They admitted they had known where the resources were and how to access them—they said they just had not had motivation to do it. But, after we had discussed how the resources applied to their situation and would help, and set specific goals, they began to appreciate a reason and need to access the materials.

To reinforce the goals set and encourage usage and follow through of the materials, I allowed extra credit to make up missed online chats related to the missed curriculum if students scheduled meetings to discuss the curriculum with an Academic Coach. The Academic Coach reported the meetings to me. The results of behavior changes after midterm conferences were significant. For example, at midterm there were 15 Fs in the course out of 28 students. When I submitted final grades, there were only 5 Fs. One F had changed to an A and 2 Fs had become Bs.

This experience led me to again appreciate the power of metacognitive conversations with students. Specifically, it reinforced how empathy can motivate students—even through technology and in a pandemic.

References

Turkle, S. (2021). The empathy diaries. New York: Penguin Press.

Turkle, S. (2015). Reclaiming conversations: The power of talking in a digital age. New York: Penguin Press.

Image from: https://www.connecttocommunicate.com/

Improving Metacognition By Understanding Cognitive Bias

by Dana Melone, Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School

This school year, I had the unique opportunity to continue to teach the Psychological Sciences as well as a course on Brain Based Study Techniques. As part of the psychology curriculum, I have always had a unit that taught students the various cognitive biases as well as how they impact their lives. In talking with my Study Technique students this year and reading their reflections in class on our lessons and how they are applying them to their classes, I noticed a common trend. They are making these cognitive errors in their own thinking and it was hurting their studying and learning.

I took this bit of anecdotal evidence and had students examine their own biases after their quizzes, exams, and course interactions. My hope was that this process would help them develop awareness of their own biases in their thinking and in turn help guide their future thinking and behaviors. It is not enough to just be metacognitive, but students must also be aware of when they might be relying on a biased interpretation of their studying and learning. The hope is that students will learn to recognize that bias has influenced their thinking and make adjustments as needed.

Targeted Cognitive Biases

There are over 50 cognitive biases that psychologists consider when they examine thinking, but I chose 3 of the biases to have my students examine:

Cognitive Dissonance: Cognitive dissonance occurs when we have a belief and we in turn do something that goes against that belief. That produces internal cognitive discomfort for us, so we develop an excuse to make ourselves feel better. Excuses can be truthful but they can also be non truths we tell ourselves to get over the discomfort. The most common way I saw this occurring with my students was after doing poorly on an exam.The students knew they should be getting help when needed and studying in the right way. When they did not do that thing, they often claimed that the teacher disliked them, they did not have time to use better study techniques, or the test was so hard no one could have passed it.
Self-Serving Bias: This occurs when we attribute good things that happen to us as a result of our own actions and in turn, negative things that happen to us are attributed to an external cause. I saw this with my students in our discussions as well. When students succeeded on a quiz or test they were almost always attributing that to their study method, understanding of the material, and ease of the test. When they did poorly, they talked about the test having things on it they did not study, or that teacher purposely created hard exams, etc.
Overconfidence: This bias occurs when we think we know more than we really do. We overestimate our ability on something. It can occur multiple ways, but my focus was post exam. Students receive a quiz or test score and really think they are about to get a great score. Instead, their score was much lower than they were expecting. I would often see students talk about this in their reflections. They would really think they knew the material and were shocked that they did not score well on the exam.

Overcoming the Biases

Once I realized that students were making these types of cognitive errors, I taught a lesson on the errors and we went over various examples. I then added an analysis of these biases to their weekly reflections of their classwork, test, and quiz outcomes.

Cognitive Dissonance: Think about cognitive dissonance and the three phases: I have a belief, I do something that goes against that belief, I develop an excuse to relieve the discomfort. This class is all about using correct learning, studying, and communicating techniques to improve our learning outcomes. This knowledge about effective learning represents our beliefs. In reflecting on your week, did you engage in behaviors that did not align with those beliefs and then fall victim to this bias? If so, explain. Then describe how you will help yourself overcome this in the future. If you feel you did not fall victim to this bias, provide commentary on how you overcame it with an example from your week.
Self-Serving Bias: Examine your reflection of the week. Choose a positive element from your reflection and explain how others helped to contribute to your success. Choose a negative element from your reflection and explain what you personally could have done differently to help change the outcome.
Overconfidence: Did you have any tests or quizzes this week that produced a lower score than you were expecting? If so, what could you have done differently in your preparation that may have helped you avoid overconfidence?

The goal of adding these questions was to help students think about ways their own cognitive errors may be contributing to their studying, learning, and assessment scores. Metacognition is best when we also incorporate awareness of possible bias and errors in our cognitions. My hope is that students will think about these biases as they move through high school and life, and that in turn they will use that thinking to become better learners in all their courses.

Connecting Emotional Intelligence with Metacognition

by Gina Burkart, Ed.D., Learning Specialist, Clarke University

Emotional intelligence has been receiving lots of attention in the news. In fact, recent research has shown that higher levels of emotional intelligence can lead to salary increases (Rode, Arthaud-Day, Rmaswami, & Howes, 2017). So what exactly is emotional intelligence? It is the ability to recognize, think about, and regulate how one’s thoughts and emotions are impacting one’s behaviors and habits. These characteristics link it with metacognition because it correlates with our ability to think about what we do, how we do it, and how we think about our own thinking and whether or not we even engage in metacognition.

Nuhfer (2017) also addressed this relationship when he explored how affect governs how we think and feel, and determines how we filter the world and operate—thus controlling our success and failure. Additionally, studies are showing that guiding college students in developing emotional intelligence leads to increases in retention and persistence of college students (Mendez, Aronold, Erjavec, & Lopez, 2018-2019). Likewise, research indicates holistic interventions that focus on non-cognitive factors might make the biggest difference in helping students recover academically (Friedlander, Reid, Shupak, & Cribbie, 2007).

Emotional intelligence and metacognition both can be developed through careful curriculum development that allows space in the classroom for both introspective and group work. This blog post shares some examples of collaborative work with our campus learning center – these efforts help students find productive cognitive and emotional strategies that foster new habits and support their success.

Strategies for Embedding Metacognition Linked with Emotional Intelligence into the Classroom

Embedding emotional intelligence and metacognition into a college classroom might seem overwhelming or be perceived as taking time away from necessary content. However, many strategies can be quickly and easily embedded into existing curriculum and increase learning and efficacy of students. Each of the processes I describe below have components to 1) bring awareness to feelings related to academic performance, 2) identify possible strategies, and 3) support emotional self-regulation in enacting strategies.

Journaling based on the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Model

I have found the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Model to be a useful tool to facilitate metacognition and emotional intelligence throughout the semester. The model guides students in knowing self, choosing self, and giving self to establish what is needed or what feelings are occurring, how the student will respond based on what is needed and how he or she is feeling, and why that is the appropriate action.

This model can be used in a variety of courses to assign an easy 5-minute journal prompt at the beginning of each class period. For example, I have students use What, How, and Why to reflect on and write about how they are feeling (aspect of emotional intelligence) and what they are learning on index cards. I collect them immediately after the 5 minutes has passed. During small group work, I quickly read through the cards and write quick suggestions/feedback upon them and then return the cards to the students. It also helps me keep my pulse on how the class is feeling (instructor emotional intelligence). For example, a student might write:

What Feeling: Not confident in class participation, feel anxious
How Respond: More time spent reading the class assignments before class (My comment to student—Great idea! SQ3R would be an efficient and effective strategy to review the chapter 30 minutes before class)
Why: If I am familiar with the material, I will have confidence and participate. My participation grade and learning of the material will improve.

Identifying and Appropriately Responding to Distorted Thoughts

Because emotions are based on thoughts, and thoughts can be inaccurate, I have found it very helpful to teach students about distorted thoughts and how to correct them. I spend two class periods on this in the college study strategy course that I teach. During week three (the week research shows us students decide to leave college) of the College Study Strategy course, I introduce students to different types of distorted thoughts (e.g. overgeneralization – one negative event is seen as a pattern; comparative thinking – you measure yourself by others’ ability even if that comparison may be inaccurate), ask them to share experiences, and then have them record and counter the experiences throughout the week in a response journal. Additionally, I have them identify in a chart examples of distorted thoughts in characters of stories, shows, or movies they have watched. We then discuss them in class the following week. This approach has also been integrated into the Introduction to Physical Therapy course and the Introduction to Nursing course.

I also facilitate workshops on the topic of distorted thoughts, tailoring the content to the course curriculum. Handout 1 can be a helpful resource for facilitating this with students—and can be incorporated into the Six Second model. Additionally, I assign journal reflections based on student self-identified, distorted thoughts that occur throughout the week (See Handout 2).

Summary

In thinking about how to integrate emotional regulation and metacognition strategies into curriculum, it is helpful to recall that people are intrinsically motivated when they have a deeper understanding of self, one aspect of which is the emotional self. Recent research has shown that students with high levels of intrinsic motivation are more productive, persistent, and have higher levels of emotional wellbeing (Froiland, Oros, Smith, & Hirchert, 2012).

Embedding these types of emotional intelligence and metacognition assignments need not be complex or complicated. The more frequently students engage in the process of thinking about what they are doing and feeling, and make adjustments to their practices based on that thinking, the more likely this will become an automatic practice. Actually, making emotional self-regulation quick and routine will make identification and control of emotions a productive habit for the students and professors. And, ultimately, it will increase learning, persistence and carry over into the students’ personal lives and careers.

References

Friedlander, L..J., et al. (2007) Social support, self-esteem, and stress as predictors of adjustment to university among first-year undergraduates. Journal of College Student development, 48(3), 259-274.

Froiland, J. M., Oros, E., Smith, L. & Hirchert, T. (2012). Intrinsic motivation to learn: The nexus between psychological health and academic success. Contemporary School Psychology, 16, 91-101.

Mendez, S., Arnold, C. Erjavec, P., Lopez, L. (2018-2019). Does emotional intelligence predict persistence among students on academic probation? Journal of Student Affairs, 107-117. https://sahe.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/09/SAHE-journal-2019.pdf#page=54

Rode, J. C., Arthaud-Day, M. L., Ramawami, A., Howes, S. (2017). A time-lagged study of emotional intelligence and salary. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 101, 77-89. Retrieved from https://paperdownload.me/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/5535-time-lagged-emotional-intelligence-salary.pdf

Want to Kick Start a Conversation about Metacognition? Assign the Blind Draft

by Amy Ratto Parks, Ph.D., University of Montana

Although many of us feel held in suspense about the state of teaching and learning in the fall, there is one thing I know for sure: I will still be using the Blind Draft assignment. The Blind Draft is a homework assignment that requires students to compose a short draft into a completely blackened computer screen; without any visual cue from the writing, they quickly become aware of their thinking. This single assignment builds classroom community, grounds students in their own minds and bodies, introduces them to a new way of understanding themselves as learners, and kicks off a course-long conversation about metacognition.

Right now, teaching and learning are happening in a remarkably distracting set of circumstances. National and global issues lead us into internet news and social media cultures that have had wide-ranging and varied impacts on teachers and students in Western cultures. Through the visually dominant world inside our screens we are propelled forward (Brockman, 2011) away from our own minds and bodies and into carefully sculpted Instagram lives, snappy Twitter feeds and sharp info graphics. But in order for teaching and learning to happen well, our minds have to move away from the glossy surface and focus on the task at hand. We know that students who are able to monitor their attention by developing skills in attention literacy (Brockman, 2011) also demonstrate strong meta-cognitive awareness and are positioned for a productive learning experience (Tarricone, 2011).

The Blind Draft offers students an initial small step into meeting their own minds as learners. It creates a unique and memorable composing and revision experience that provides a platform for experience-based reflection and conversation about how differently individual student’s minds might respond to novel learning challenges (Yancey, 1998). Those conversations provide an opening into a discussion about how metacognitive concepts help us understand how to navigate writer’s block, writing anxiety, and other common writing barriers. Supporting a sustained conversation about how students respond to writing challenges will help athleticize their attention (Caldwell, 2018), build personal understanding, and help them develop an increased sense of agency (Negretti, 2012) over their own identities and abilities as writers.

The Assignment

One of the most beautiful things about the Blind Draft is the simplicity of its design, however, it does work best with a bit of set up at the start because students immediately question the simplicity.

The set up

Because students focus so carefully on their grades, there is an underlying sense of risk in any work assigned in a class. Therefore, it is important to frame the assignment as an experiment where the goal is to participate in the experiment so that you all will have something interesting to talk about during the next class. You will also want to think of a very (very) general writing prompt such as, write about “you and food” or “you and happiness” for students to respond to in their drafts.

The directions

In general, the work happens in three parts: 1) Students type in response to the prompt without being able to see what they’re typing for 15 minutes. 2) They revise the messy blind draft. 3) They reflect briefly on their own writing behavior You might offer them the following directions:

Step 1: Compose (Note: The blind drafting process works best when typing on a computer)

Set a timer for 15 minutes.
Open and save a blank document. (Note: Saving the document before typing is important because sometimes typing blindly leads one to delete the entire document!)
Make a mental note of the writing prompt.
Turn off or cover the screen.
Type without stopping for 15 minutes.
Print or save document as “blind draft.” (Note: This will be your preference depending on whether you are collecting hard copy or electronic versions. The important thing is simply that they specify which draft was the blind draft and which was the revision. It seems as though that would be obvious, but sometimes it isn’t.)

Step 2: Revise

Revise the draft into 1-2 page essay. (You can keep everything from the first draft or nothing at all and rearrange as you please.)
Print or save document as “revised blind draft.”

Step 3: Reflect

List the kinds of changes you made between drafts.
Did you like this exercise? Hate it? Something in between?
Where did you rest your eyes without a screen to study?
Print or save document as “reflection.”

These instructions often cause laughter or anxiety — or both. Students need reassurance that yes, that first draft will be a terrific and spectacular mess, and that yes, that is the goal; they also appreciate a reminder that the second draft allows them to share a stronger more controlled version of their writing.

Student Responses

It turns out that students either love or hate this assignment; there is very little in between. I begin the discussion of the drafts by asking people to raise their hands if they hated this assignment, then if they loved it, and this initial question is often enough to begin a robust conversation about how differently they engaged with the writing. Why would some people feel constrained by this and other feel liberated? Right from the start, they are plenty baffled by anyone who had an experience that differed from their own.

Specifically, students say similar things about the assignment. Mostly, they notice everything their minds were doing besides writing. The often found themselves asking:

How long is 15 minutes? They report that they fixate on wondering how much time has passed and whether or not they are writing quickly. (In other words, am I doing a good job?)
How much am I writing? They report fixating on how much they have written, even when there is no assigned length requirement. (In other words, am I doing a good job?) They also realize that while they were distracted by the blind writing, they didn’t notice how much they were writing. Some students report writing less than they imagined, but most write more (and often report that they had no idea how often they’re thinking about page length rather than the topic of the writing).
Why did I try to fix the errors? In every class, students will laughingly recount trying to backspace and delete an error – even when they are not sure they made an error. They describe trying to count backward the correct number of letters to fix a spelling mistake even when they realize that it is unlikely that they will have actually corrected the error. (In other words, am I doing a good job?)

Take-away Messages

In a mini-lecture afterward, I explain that:

The human cognitive processes are messy and unpredictable (Flavell, 1976). Therefore, we need to expect a certain amount of confusion or chaos in the learning process. Reinforcing this early in a class helps students normalize challenge and difficulty.
The cognitive processes that inform writing of any kind are also are messy and unpredictable (Flower & Hayes, 1981). Therefore, we also need to leave room for some confusion and chaos in the writing process! This idea normalizes the fact that writing is always challenging and pushes back against the myth that writing is just easy for some people.
The process of writing is not linear – it’s recursive. We don’t just write; we write, re-read, write, re-read (Olive, 2014). Therefore, though we all want to sit down and “hammer out” an essay, strong writing doesn’t happen that way.
Our eyes don’t stay on the words we’re typing; they are skipping back and ahead (de Smet, M. J. R., Leijten, M., & Van Waes, L. (2018). Therefore, if you’re on a first draft and haven’t written much, your eyes keep looking back and ahead at nothing which can induce panic and mental paralysis.
It is important to sometimes “write badly” (Ballenger, 2018). Leaving space for chaos in drafting allows us to become aware of our own mental processes, thoughts and ideas – and can make space for new connections and ideas to come forward.

You might wonder what I do after collecting this assignment since it produces a lot of material at once. Since the goal was the experience of the work, I do not line edit their writing or respond to each draft; instead, I thank them for investing in the experiment and I reinforce how beautifully messy their blind drafts were. The students really do take quite a risk by just turning in something as messy as a blind draft and it is nice to remind them that by turning it in that have confronted the chaos of their own writing minds, and therefore, have already done a good job.

Perhaps more importantly, the Blind Draft assignment helps them develop a sustained awareness of how their minds are working while writing and for many students that extends into their ability to monitor their thinking and behavior while completing other academic tasks (i.e. metacognition).

Works Cited

Ballenger, B. P. (2018). The curious writer. Boston: Pearson.

(2011) Is the internet changing the way we think? The net’s impact on our minds and future. Brockman, John (Ed.) New York, NY. Harper Perennial.

Caldwell, C. (2018). Bodyfulness. Boulder, CO: Shambhala.

de Smet, M. J. R., Leijten, M., & Van Waes, L. (2018). Exploring the Process of Reading During Writing Using Eye Tracking and Keystroke Logging. Written Communication, 35(4), 411–447. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088318788070

Olive, T. (2014). Toward a parallel and cascading model of the writing system: A review of research on writing processes coordination. Journal of Writing Research, 6(2), 173-194. doi:10.17239/jowr-2014.06.02.4

Negretti, R. (2012). Metacognition in student academic writing: A longitudinal study of Metacognitive awareness and its relation to task perception, self-regulation, and evaluation of performance. Written Communication, 29(2), 142–179.

Tarricone, P. (2011). The taxonomy of metacognition. New York: Psychology Press.

Yancey, K.B. (1998). Reflection in the writing classroom. Logan: Utah State University Press.

Facilitating Metacognition in the Classroom: Teaching to the Needs of Your Students

by Gina Burkart, EdD, Learning Specialist, Clarke University

Once instructors understand the strengths and weaknesses of students, they can begin to adapt how they deliver the content of their course in ways that their students will be able to connect with it. This makes self-assessments valuable tools for learning and teaching (Burkart, 2020). Self-Assessments help professors note students’ strengths, weaknesses, and perceptions of self so that they can teach curriculum to the needs of the students. This allows professors to use metacognition in their own teaching, i.e. metacognitive instruction.

Mapping Out a Plan for Teaching and Learning

In my own courses, student assessments guide me in using a chart to map out a plan of how to address students’ needs while teaching the planned curriculum on the syllabus. This allows me to be mindful of my teaching and how it is connecting with students as the semester unfolds. The chart helps me note and monitor my students’ strengths and weaknesses, how these may impact course goals/outcomes and strategies that I will use to help my students adapt to the content demands of the course. See Figure 1 for an example chart.

Likewise, it is also helpful to guide students in using metacognition to create their own learning plans for the semester. Creating learning plans can be an effective activity for the first meeting of the class, while going through the course syllabus.

To facilitate this activity, a professor might hand out the syllabus, give students 5-10 minutes to read through the syllabus, and then have them share responses to the following questions in small groups to more strategically and critically read the syllabus and discuss it with classmates:

What prior reading and writing experiences have shaped you as a learner?
Based on this course syllabus, what challenges do you anticipate?
What strategies and resources will you use to meet these challenges?
What are your goals for this course?
How can you connect the material of this course with your major?
How can we as your learning community support you with your learning and goals? What do you need from us?

The small groups can then be invited to share their responses with the large group and write them on the board. Professors might then take a picture of the board and refer back to it later to use as an informal student assessment to inform teaching.

Finally, students return to small groups to create a more detailed and personalized plan of what they might do in order to find success and meet the outcomes of class. Professors might provide a template of a learning plan that would guide students in going through the syllabus and pulling out key information to create the plan. See Figure 2 for an example student learning plan.

Having these types of activities and discussions at the beginning of a course empowers students, as they realize that they are in charge of their learning. As Biggs and Tang (2011) have recognized, student engagement increases when students feel co-ownership and empowerment in the classroom.

Adaptation for Online Courses

This metacognitive activity can also be adapted in an online course through Voice Thread. Voice Thread allows students to create and upload an interactive, video recording of themselves. I have asked students to respond to the same questions in a 3-5-minute Voice Thread video and to also respond to a classmate’s Voice Thread. Additionally, after completing the Voice Threads, students were required to electronically submit a learning plan based on the syllabus for course credit. Similar to the in-class discussions in the face-to-face class, this activity fosters the metacognitive monitoring process that Flavell (1979) described. As students reflect on the skills necessary for the course outcomes, prior metacognitive knowledge and experiences resurface as goals are set and strategies for achieving the goals are identified and shared. Professors are then also able to monitor the needs of the students and provide feedback related to goals and strategies.

In both instances, students are able to share about their learning in a social setting, which reminds students they are not alone in their learning. This is important because students learn about their own learning and self by reflecting on the learning of others (Mead, 1962/1934; Burkart, 2010).

Assignments and Activities that Continue to Foster Metacognitive Growth throughout the Semester

Professors can continue to foster metacognition throughout the semester by integrating assignments and activities that reinforce reflection on learning, strategies, and goal setting. For example, professors might begin each class period with a 1-minute pre-write where students list main points from the assigned readings, questions they want to discuss in class, and why the material is relevant and important. I often have students do this on an index card, and I collect them and use the cards to guide my teaching during the class. While students are engaged in group work, I quickly go through the cards, award a check, plus, or minus with brief comments (to show I value metacognitive work) and incorporate these into class participation points. Questions that students wanted to discuss in class are then discussed. Sometimes, I pose the questions to the large group for discussion. Other times, I distribute the questions to small groups and assign them to formulate a response for the rest of the class.

Not only does using students’ questions in class show students that they are being listened to, it acknowledges that their questions are valued and their preparatory work outside of class is connected to learning inside the classroom. And, based on their questions and class discussion, I rethink strategies and interventions to help students better access the course materials. As Simmons (2017) noted, this type of participatory pedagogy makes students more aware of their own cognitive processes.

The following is a list of activities that I have used or recommended to faculty to foster student metacognition in the classroom (Burkart, 2019):

1-minute prewrite at the beginning of class
Create or model note-taking and reading that facilitates learning
Model thinking aloud with problem solving, reading, interpreting
Incorporate learning checks
Assign post-test or assignment analysis
Encourage learning material on all levels of learning by assessing and modeling strategies scholars use: concept mapping, reading journals, study/note journals, portfolios
Reward revision, rethinking, growth by awarding points to final products
Use wrappers while teaching
Encourage or arrange study groups
Relate the material to students’ lives and experiences
Create and assign course blogs with prompts that encourage reflection and discussion on goals, use of strategies, and challenges and growth with learning course material
Create group tests/assessments

While monitoring students’ needs and growth throughout the semester, professors can use this list to use metacognition in their own teaching—establish goals and integrate strategies to impact student learning. In turn, this will guide students in reflecting on their learning and increase engagement. Most importantly it provides practice in metacognition that empowers students to take control of their own learning that will carry over into other classes and their personal lives outside of the classroom.

References

Biggs, J. B., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at the university: What the student does. Maidenhead, UK: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.

Burkart, G. (2019). Engaging the unengaged in the college classroom. Faculty workshop—by request, Clarke University, Dubuque, IA.

Burkart, G. (2010, Dec). First-Year College Student Beliefs about Writing Embedded in Online Discourse: An Analysis and Its Implications to Literacy Learning. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA.

Burkart, G. (2010, May). An analysis of online discourse and its application to literacy learning, The Journal of Literacy and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.literacyandtechnology.org/uploads/1/3/6/8/136889/jlt_v11_1.pdf#page=64

Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self, and society: From the standpoint of a social behaviorist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Simmons, N. (2017). Participatory Pedagogy: Inviting Student Metacognition. Retrieved from https://www.improvewithmetacognition.com/developing_student_metacognition_simmons/

Getting to Know Your Students: Using Self-Assessment in the Classroom to Foster Metacognition

by Gina Burkart, EdD, Learning Specialist, Clarke University

The Process of Metacognition

As retention continues to dominate discussions at most universities, metacognition may provide much insight. Flavell’s (1979) early and hallmark work on metacognition defined metacognition as an individual’s reflection on how he or she learns and developed a model to depict the process of this reflection. According to Flavell (1979), metacognition “occurs through the actions and interactions” of “metacognitive knowledge,” “metacognitive experiences,” “goals/tasks,” “actions/strategies” (p. 906). Understanding how the metacognitive process impacts learning is key to developing effective curriculum, helping students learn material, and motivating students to learn.

Self-Assessment to Enhance One-on-one Mentoring

As the Learning Specialist at Clarke University, one of my responsibilities is meeting with, monitoring, and guiding students in finding effective learning strategies. In this role, I meet with students one-on-one, reach out to students who have received student concerns flags raised by professors, create and coordinate academic support (Academic Coaching and Supplemental instruction), collaborate and guide faculty in developing curriculum through workshops and consultations, and hire, train and supervise the Academic Coaches in the Academic Learning, mentor and meet with students placed on Academic Warning and Probation, and teach the College Study Strategy course and courses in the English department.

In working with students who have been placed on probation and warning, I find that students often fail because they lack motivation and purpose. And, commonly, the motivation and purpose have been affected by inaccurate metacognitive knowledge. Flavell’s (1979) model of Cognitive Monitoring offers a schema for understanding how this might occur and how to help students find motivation and purpose and improve their academic standing.

As noted earlier, Flavell (1979) found that our metacognitive knowledge is informed by our metacognitive experiences. Thus, negative experiences or experiences where distorted thought processes created inaccurate metacognitive knowledge about self might result in a lack of purpose or motivation. For example, if a first-year student fails two tests in Biology and compares himself or herself to some classmates who received As, he or she might conclude that he or she is incapable of learning Biology, is not capable of ever becoming a doctor, and should not attend college.

In meeting with the student, I would help the student reflect on how he or she was reading, studying, and taking notes in the Biology course. Additionally, I would help the student reflect on time management and organization strategies. I would also point out the flaw in comparing oneself with others in assessing one’s own abilities. Once the student realizes the flaws of thinking and forms new metacognitive knowledge and experiences, he or she works with me to establish realistic goals and implement new strategies for achieving the goals. Motivation and purpose then quickly improve, and students find success. In some instances students have moved from academic probation to Dean’s List in as little as one semester.

Helping students find success involves helping them discover what they believe about themselves (metacognitive self knowledge), setting goals and finding strategies to achieve the goals. To begin this process, students must first reflect on and assess themselves. As research has shown, unless the self-system is activated, learning will not occur (Mead, 1962/1934; Bandura, 1994; Marzano, 2001; Piaget, 1954; Vygotsky, 1934/1987; Burkart, 2010).

Incorporating Self-Assessment in the College Classroom

In addition to working with students in one-on-one mentoring, I have also found that this type of cognitive monitoring can be fostered in the classroom through the use of self-assessments. As demonstrated by Taraban (2019), self-assessments can be simple or more nuanced depending on the preferences of the professor and the needs of the course curriculum. The self-assessment can be created by the professor or be a nationally normed assessment. Additionally, the assessments can be closely connected to the outcomes of the course and revisited throughout the semester.

I have integrated self-assessments into my own teaching in a variety of ways. For example, in the College Study Strategy course that I teach, I begin the semester with an informal self-assessment by having students rate themselves (5 high and 1 low) in the following course content areas that impact academic performance: reading, time management, organization, test taking, and studying. Additionally, I have them identify strengths and weaknesses in each of these areas and set goals (See Figure 1 for a sample self-assessment and Figure 2 for a sample goal-setting chart).

Students then complete a more formal self-assessment, the nationally normed LASSI (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory). This self-assessment is quick and easy (takes about 10 minutes) and allows students to see how they compare nationally with other students taking the inventory in the following areas: Selecting Main Ideas, Information Processing, Time Management, Self-Testing, Motivation, Concentration, Attitude, Use of Academic Resources, and Test Taking. Students then share their assessments with each other in pairs and large group discussions. In almost all cases, the LASSI and informal assessments match and students find the LASSI results to be accurate. The comparison of data from a nationally normed self-assessment with an informal self-assessment offers students a way for checking the accuracy of their knowledge of self.

These assessments also provide purpose and focus for the course. Class discussion based on the self-assessment establishes buy-in from the students as they see personal need for the course. Additionally, I have found that starting the semester with these assessments frames the course in that I (as the professor) have a better understanding of their skill levels and needs and can connect their assessments to the course curriculum and outcomes.

For example, in Week One when we are going over Time Management and time management strategies, I can refer back to the students’ self-assessments and goals. Asking the students to recall their scores and goals begins the process of cognitive monitoring (Flavell, 1979). It creates purpose and motivation for the students to learn the curriculum I am teaching and integrate it into their courses so that they will begin to develop and apply the new time management strategies in order to achieve their time management goals.

Students are then tasked with implementing the strategies in their courses and asked to display artifacts of the implemented strategies in a midterm and final portfolio that is shared in a personal conference with me. For example, a student may include a long-term planner of the semester with mapped out projects, papers, tests, and athletic games to show that they have started to use macro-level planning for time management. They might also include sample pages from a weekly planner to show prioritized “to-do” lists and items crossed off—micro-level planning.

Students also assess themselves again with the same informal self-assessments at midterm and at the end of the semester. Additionally, they retake the LASSI at the end of the semester and use the self-assessments and artifacts to compile a portfolio that includes a one-page reflection. In the final conference meeting with me, students use the portfolio to demonstrate their growth, as they discuss their goals, strategies used, plans for future goals, and growth.

Integrating Self-Assessment—As a Tool of Metacognition

In assessing themselves, students gain knowledge of what they believe about themselves and how they learn. In reflecting on their assessments and discussing their experiences with me in conferences and with other students in the class, students uncover inaccurate perceptions of self. Additionally, they form goals and learn and develop strategies that positively affect their college learning experience. This sharing of information also allows me, as the professor and Learning Specialist, to also engage in metacognition as I teach and develop curriculum to meet the needs of my students throughout the semester (Burkart, 2017). And while some may question the validity of self-assessments, Nuhfer (2018), found self-assessments to not only be valid but also to be useful tools for both professors and students to monitor learning.

Above I offered examples of how self-assessment is easily integrated into a college study strategy course; however, it can easily be integrated into any course. For example, in teaching literature or writing courses, I create self-assessments unique to that content area and the course outcomes. In literature courses, on the first day of the semester, I ask students to assess themselves in the following areas: critical reading, writing, speaking, time management, and small group work. I also have students read through the syllabus, create goals for each of those areas, and identify strategies they will use to achieve those goals. Additionally, I have them respond to the following questions:

What do you hope to get out of this course? How does it connect with your career and life goals?
How can I help you achieve your goals?
What challenges do you anticipate this semester? What resources are available to help you meet those challenges?
What else do you want me to know about you and what you have going on this semester?

Students share their assessments in small groups. Then, as a large group, we discuss the assessments and the syllabus. I collect the assessments, comment on them, and then return them. Students refer back to them again at midterm and at the end of the semester when they complete synthesis reflections about their growth and achievement of course outcomes.

Benefits of incorporating student self-assessment

The inclusion of these assessments has been helpful in many ways. They have helped students feel that they are listened to by their professor. The assessments also assist me in quickly and easily conducting a needs assessment of my students so that I can reflect upon and adjust my teaching to their needs (i.e. engage in metacognitive instruction).

Most importantly, it encourages students to reflect on their own learning and empowers them to take control of their learning and results in increased motivation and a sense of purpose; this is the power of metacognition and why it matters to retention. When this recursive process activates the self-system (Mead, 1962/1934; Bandura, 1994; Marzano, 2001; Piaget, 1954; Vygotsky, 1934/1987; Burkart, 2010), it develops grit and a growth mindset (Burkart, 2010; Duckworth, 2019; Dweck, 2007). And as Flavell (1979) noted, fostering cognitive monitoring is an important part of learning, as there is “far too little rather than enough or too much cognitive monitoring in this world” (p. 910).

References

Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press. Retrieved from http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/BanEncy.html

Burkart, G. (2017, 3^rd ed). 16 weeks to college success. Kendall Hunt: Dubuque, IA.

Burkart, G. (2017, fall). Using the LASSI to engage metacognitive Strategies that foster a growth mindset in college students placed on academic probation (per request). LASSI in Action. Retrieved from https://www.hhpublishing.com/ap/_assessments/LASSI-in-Action-Articles/LASSI-In-Action-Fall-2017.pdf

Duckworth, A. L., Quirk, A. Gallop, R., Hoyle, R. H., Kelly, D. R., & Matthews, M. D. (2019). Cognitive and noncognitive predictors of success. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(47), 23499-23504. Doi:10.1073/pnas.1910510116.

Dweck, C. (2007). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books.

Flavell, J. (1979). Metacognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive development inquiry. American Psychologist 34(10), 906-9-11.

Marzano, R. J. (2001). Designing a new taxonomy of educational objectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self, and society: From the standpoint of a social behaviorist.

Nuhfer, E. (2018). Measuring metacognitive self-assessment: Can it help us assess higher-order thinking. Improve with Metacognition. Retrieved from

Piaget J. (1959). The language and thought of the child. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.

Taraban, R. (2019). The metacognitive reading strategies questionnaire (MRSQ): Cross-cultural comparisons. Improve with Metacognition. Retrieved from https://www.improvewithmetacognition.com/metacognitive-reading-strategies/

Vygotsky L. S. (1934/1987). Thinking and speech. The collected works of Lev Vygotsky (Vol. 1). New York, NY: Plenum Press.

How do you know you know what you know?

by Patrick Cunningham, Ph.D., Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Metacognition involves monitoring and controlling one’s learning and learning processes, which are vital for skillful learning. In line with this, Tobias and Everson (2009) detail the central role of accurate monitoring in learning effectively and efficiently. Metacognitive monitoring is foundational for metacognitive control through planning for learning, selecting appropriate strategies, and evaluating learning accurately (Tobias & Everson, 2009).

Hierarchy of Metacognitive Control, with Monitoring Knowledge at the bottom, followed by Selecting Strategies, Then Evaluating Learning, with Planning at the top

Figure 1 – Hierarchy of metacognitive regulatory processes. Adapted from Tobias and Everson (2009).

Unfortunately, students can be poor judges of their own learning or fail to engage in the judging of their learning and, therefore, often fail to recognize their need for further engagement with material or take inappropriate actions based on inaccurate judgements of learning (Ehrlinger & Shain, 2014; Winne and Nesbit, 2009). If a student inaccurately assesses their level of understanding, they may erroneously spend time with material that is already well known or they may employ ineffective strategies, such as a rehearsal strategy (e.g., flash cards) to build ROTE memory when they really need to implement an elaborative strategy (e.g., explaining the application of concepts to a new situation) to build richer integration with their current knowledge. This poor judgement extends to students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of their learning processes, as noted in the May 14^th post by Sabrina Badali, Investigating Students’ Beliefs about Effective Study Strategies[. There Badali found that students were more confident in using massed practice over interleaved practice even though they performed worse with massed practice.

Fortunately, we can help our students to develop more accurate self-monitoring skills. The title question is one of my go-to responses to student claims of knowing in the face of poor performance on an assignment or exam. I introduced it in my April 4^th blog post, Where Should I Start with Metacognition? It gently, but directly asks for evidence for knowing. In our work on an NSF grant to develop transferable tools for engaging students in their metacognitive development, my colleagues and I found that students struggle to cite concrete and demonstrable (i.e., objective) evidence for their learning (Cunningham, Matusovich, Hunter, Blackowski, and Bhaduri, 2017). It is important to gently persist. If a student says they “reviewed their notes” or “worked many practice problems,” you can follow up with, “What do you mean by review your notes?” or “Under what conditions were you working the practice problems?” The goal is to learn more about the students’ approach while avoiding making assumptions and helping the student discover any mismatches.

We can also spark monitoring with pedagogies that help students accurately uncover present levels of understanding (Ehrlinger & Shain, 2014). Linda Nilson (2013) provides several good suggestions in her book Creating Self-Regulated Learners. Retrieval practice takes little time and is quite versatile. Over a few minutes a student recalls all that they can about a topic or concept, followed by a short period of review of notes or a section of a book. The whole process can be done individually, or as individual recall followed by pair or group review. Things that are well-known are present with elaborating detail on the list. Less well-known material is present, but in sparse form. Omissions indicate significant gaps in knowledge. The practice is effortful, and students may need encouragement to persist with it.

I have used retrieval practice at the beginning of classes before continuing on with a topic from the previous day. It can also be employed as an end-of-class summary activity. I think the value added is worth the effort. Because of its benefits and compactness, I also encourage students to use retrieval practice as a priming activity before regular homework or study sessions. Using it in class can also lower students’ barriers to using it on their own, because it makes it more familiar and it communicates the value I place on it.

Nilson (2013) also offers “Quick-thinks” and Think Aloud problem -solving. “Quick-thinks” are short lesson breaks and can include “correct the error” in a short piece of work, “compare and contrast”, “reorder the steps”, or other activities. A student can monitor their understanding by comparing to the instructor’s answer or class responses. Think Aloud problem-solving is a pair activity where one student talks through their problem-solving process while the other student listens and provides support, when needed, for example, by prompting the next step or asking a guiding question. Students take turns with the roles. A student’s fluency in solving the problem or providing support indicates deeper learning of the material. If the problem-solving or the support are halting and sparse, then those concepts are less well-known by the student. As my students often study in groups outside of class, I recommend that they have the person struggling with a problem or concept talk through their thinking out loud while the rest of the group provides encouragement and support.

Related to Think Alouds, Chiu and Chi (2014) recommend Explaining to Learn. A fluid explanation with rich descriptions is consistent with deeper understanding. A halting explanation without much detail uncovers a lack of understanding. I have used this in various ways. In one form, I have one half of the class work one problem and the other half work a different problem or a variant of the first. Then I have them form pairs from different groups and explain their solutions to one another. Both students are familiar with the problems, but they have a more detailed experience with one. I also often use this as I help students in class or in my office. I ask them to talk me through their thinking up to the point where they are stuck, and I take the role of the supporter.

The strategies above provide enhancements to student learning in their own right, but they also provide opportunities for metacognitive monitoring – checking their understanding against a standard or seeking objective evidence to gauge their level of understanding. To support these metacognitive outcomes I make sure to explicitly draw students’ attention to the monitoring outcomes when I use pedagogies to support monitoring. I am also transparent about this purpose and encourage students to seek better evidence on their own, so they can truly know what they know.

As you consider adding activities to your course that support accurate self-assessment and monitoring, please see the references for further details. You may also want to check out Dr. Lauren Scharff’s post “Know Cubed” – How do students know if they know what they need to know? In this post Dr. Scharff examines common causes of inaccurate self-assessment and how we might be contributing to it. She also offers strategies we can adopt to support more accurate student self-assessment. Let’s help our student generate credible evidence for knowing the material, so they can make better choices for their learning!

References

Chiu, J. L. & Chi, M. T. H. (2014). Supporting Self-Exlanation in the Classroom. In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.). Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology web site: http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php

Cunningham, P., & Matusovich, H. M., & Hunter, D. N., & Blackowski, S. A., & Bhaduri, S. (2017), Beginning to Understand Student Indicators of Metacognition. Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. https://peer.asee.org/27820

Ehrlinger, J. & Shain, E. A. (2014). How Accuracy in Students’ Self Perceptions Relates to Success in Learning. In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.). Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology web site: http ://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php

Nilson, L. B. (2013). Creating Self-Regulated Learners: Strategies to Strengthen Students’ Self-Awareness and Learning Skills. Stylus Publishing: Sterling, VA.

Tobias, S. & Everson, H. (2009). The Importance of Knowing What You Know: A Knowledge Monitoring Framework for Studying Metacognition in Education. In Hacker, D., Dunlosky, J., & Graesser, A. (Eds.) Handbook of Metacognition in Education. New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 107-127.

Winne, P. & Nesbit, J. (2009). Supporting Self-Regulated Learning with Cognitive Tools. In Hacker, D., Dunlosky, J., & Graesser, A. (Eds.) Handbook of Metacognition in Education. New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 259-277.

Who is Qualified to Teach Metacognition?

In the second post of the “Working with Faculty to Promote Metacognition” guest series, Dr. Nirmal Trivedi discusses several ways he helps a diverse set of instructors with varying metacognition experience integrate the topic into their first-year seminar courses. For his work with first-year seminars, Dr. Trivedi received the 2018 Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminars Award from the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

by Nirmal Trivedi, Ph.D.
Director, First-Year Seminars and Assistant Professor of English
Department of First-Year and Transition Studies
Kennesaw State University

Who is qualified to teach metacognition? If we agree that teaching the concept often results in improved academic performance, shouldn’t all faculty members be trained on how, when, and why metacognition should be embedded into their courses, regardless of content area?

At Kennesaw State University, we’ve had a unique opportunity to redesign our First-Year Seminar course to include a heavy focus on metacognition. This 3-credit academic seminar, which is largely uniform in content and required of most first-time students, serves approximately 3,500 students each fall semester with anywhere between 65-80 part-time and full-time faculty teaching the course. The vast majority of these instructors do not have a background in psychology of human learning, and many have either never taught college students, or have only taught them beyond the first year.

Thankfully, student testimonials reflecting positive experiences with our seminar’s focus on metacognition have served to intrigue those who are new to metacognition and convinced skeptical faculty of the value of teaching the concept and its practice. Recent popularization of the concept by Professor Emerita of Chemical Education, Dr. Sandra McGuire, has helped to demystify the term for students and educators alike. Her two books, Teach Students How to Learn and Teach Yourself How to Learn, written for faculty and students, respectively, provide guidance for the uninitiated. McGuire effectively shows why metacognition is essential for all educators to know and teach. An answer to how one builds a local cohort of metacognition experts without the disciplinary expertise in educational psychology, however, can be elusive.

As someone new to teaching metacognition—a kind of “metacognition convert” myself—I can relate to the need of faculty for a clear rationale for changing teaching methods. In this post, I outline five steps that we have used at KSU to develop faculty to incorporate metacognition into their own teaching. In our First-Year Seminar, we train faculty on how and when to take each of the steps through an initial training session at the beginning of the semester and by providing template assignments with embedded reflection questions that call for metacognitive thinking. This approach has helped us build a growing cohort of local metacognition advocates.

Step 1: Make Student Learning Transparent to Faculty

Most faculty agree that they want to see more engagement in class material from their students. Most want to see their students read carefully, practice their writing skills, and to self-evaluate how and why certain learning strategies work or don’t work. Perhaps most of all, faculty want more time to discuss ideas and less time guessing how much or how little students have learned by the end of each class session.

In our program, we train faculty to make learning transparent by asking students to write two “takeaways” at the end of a class session. The questions are “what are two points you will remember from today’s lecture and what is one question that you still have about the topic?” The exercise demonstrates what students actually remember from a class session. In our faculty training, we incorporate the “takeaways” after each component of the training to showcase how the exercise works and to help the training presenters to clarify their own message. In seeing how the simple metacognitive exercise can assist faculty in their own learning by making learning transparent, faculty begin to ask about how much of what they themselves teach is actually absorbed by their students.

The takeaways also serve as a useful beginning of the next session’s lecture or discussion. Faculty have found that their own class preparation is significantly simplified since they are better informed as to what their students understand and don’t understand. It’s important that these takeaways remain anonymous to allow for authentic student responses.

Step 2: Relate to the Student Experience

We train faculty to respond to the students’ desire to learn deeply by focusing learning outcomes not only on teaching content, but on how to learn the content. For example, we prepare faculty to show their students how to read the course textbook through strategic skimming, annotating, and self-testing. In one component of the training, each faculty member is taught a short lesson about how to read actively (as if the faculty were the students) followed by a series of student testimonials reflecting on the lesson’s impact.

From the student perspective, it matters less that the faculty member is a metacognition expert than if he or she truly cares about their learning. We know how underprepared many students are for college academics, but we often neglect to understand that many students crave to learn and just need appropriate challenge and support. As one student says in a takeaway after an active reading lesson, “why don’t they teach

Student quote: "Why don't they teach this earlier in the school system?"

Step 3: Conduct a Learning Demonstration

Faculty can be students too. In addition to demonstrating how to teach active reading, we introduce metacognition to faculty through common learning experiments such as the “Count the Vowels” Activity,” or a “Levels of Processing” activity. The goal of these exercises is to emphasize how memory is tied to our brain chemistry.

Faculty tend to value the impact of these exercises as they themselves are in the process of mastering the new content.

Step 4: Demonstrate Value of Process Alongside Content

Of course, it is essential that faculty understand that conceptual knowledge about metacognition is distinct from practicing metacognitive techniques (Pintrich, 2002). The distinction makes way for a productive discussion about the amount of content required for each course.

For some time, teaching scholars have been urging faculty to consider how much specific course content is necessary. The Association of American Colleges & Universities, for example, conceptualized their “Essential Learning Outcomes” (ELO) as balancing content knowledge with skill-based actions. With a course like a First-Year Seminar that makes metacognition and its practice very explicit, achieving an ELO like “developing skills for lifelong learning” quite feasible.

Each of our template assignments and rubrics include prompts for students to explain how they learned the material as well as what they have learned.

Step 5: Make the Case for Equity in Learning Skills

Ultimately, teaching students how we learn can bridge the gap between those who have had opportunities to explicitly practice these metacognition techniques in secondary school and those who have never encountered them before. The responsibility of educators is all the more important since even non-experts in learning theory can learn and disseminate the techniques with minimal training. Elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, and practice testing, for example, are among the most impactful learning strategies and least complicated to teach (Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan, & Willingham, 2013).

In sum, faculty may at first feel like they have to learn a new field to teach metacognition. We tell them that they may already be teaching students these skills, and that once they see the scholarly basis for these techniques, they can teach them with confidence. In a post-semester reflection on the impact of incorporating metacognition and its practice for the first time with an assignment, one faculty member made a comment that was echoed by several instructors—that “it made more of a difference to my students than any other assignment I’ve ever taught.”

References

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students’ Learning with Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, 14(1), 4–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266

Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The Role of Metacognitive Knowledge in Learning, Teaching, and Assessing. Theory Into Practice, 41(4), 219–225. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4104_3

How can I help students become more expert learners, so they engage in active learning?

by Stephanie Chasteen, University of Colorado Boulder

“This chapter focuses on helping students engage productively in active learning classrooms by teaching students reflect on their learning and develop productive mindsets towards learning. It is part of a series on helping students engage productively in active learning classrooms.” It includes a list of tangible teaching and student metacognition strategies to use when working with students.

Helping Students Feel Responsible for Their Learning

by Patrick Cunningham, Ph.D., Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

“Dr. C, you really expect your students to do a lot!” I quickly replied, “Yes!” We then engaged in a discussion of things only students can do for their learning. How can we help more of our students recognize their responsibility for their learning? Three strategies I employ include explicit and direct instruction, questioning for self-discovery, and in-class opportunities to practice new learning strategies. Each of these strategies direct students’ focus to things under their control.

Helping our students recognize and embrace their responsibility for their learning requires metacognitive activity. Specifically, it requires building metacognitive knowledge of persons and strategies and engaging in metacognitive regulation through planning for and monitoring learning experiences. Direct instruction and in-class learning strategy practice can expand metacognitive knowledge. Questioning for self-discovery can facilitate students metacognitive monitoring and planning for subsequent learning experiences.

For explicit and direct instruction, I start a discussion within the first two days of class by asking, “What does it mean to learn something?” Most responses include applying and explaining concepts. Good answers, but I press for more depth. In turn I respond, “Apply to what? Explain to whom?” Learning something, they say, means being able to apply concepts to real circumstances. My engineering students also come up with a variety of people or groups of people to explain things to: their grandmother, family members, a cross-functional design team, a boss, peer engineers, marketing/sales professionals, or even customers. These answers are good operational definitions of learning. Next, I talk to my students about the knowledge frameworks that underlie these abilities.

In order to apply concepts to real and diverse circumstances and to explain concepts effectively to a range of audiences we must have many routes to and between the elements of our knowledge and a logical structure of the information. That is, our knowledge frameworks must be well populated, richly interconnected, and meaningfully organized (Ambrose et al., 2010). However, as novices in an area, we start with sparsely populated and isolated knowledge frameworks. I then share with students that they are the only ones who can construct their knowledge frameworks. The population and interconnection of elements depends on what they individually do with the material, in class and out of class. As the instructor, I can create opportunities and experiences for them, but I cannot build their knowledge frameworks for them. Students are responsible for the construction work.

For self-discovery I use guiding questions to help students articulate learning goals, combat the Illusion of Comprehension, and make cause-and-effect linkages between their learning behaviors and outcomes. I may ask, “What goals do you have for your homework/study sessions?” Students often focus on getting assignments done or being “ready” for exams, but these are not directly learning goals. It is helpful here to ask what they want or need to be able to do with the information. Eliciting responses such as: “Apply ____ to ____. Create a ____ using ____. Explain ____.” Now we can ask students to put the pieces together. How does just “getting the homework done” help you know if you can apply/create/explain? We are seeking to help students surface incongruities in their own behavior, and these incongruities are easier to face when you discover them yourself rather than being told they are there.

A specific incongruity that many students struggle with is the Illusion of Comprehension (Svinicki, 2004), which occurs when students confuse familiarity with understanding. It often manifests itself after exams as, “I knew the material, I just couldn’t show you on the exam.” My favorite question for this is, “How did you know you knew the material?” Common responses include looking over notes or old homework, working practice exams, reworking examples and homework problems. But what does it mean to “look over” prior work? How did you work the practice exam? How did you elaborate around the concepts so that you weren’t just reacting to cues in the examples and homework problems? What if the context of the problem changes? It is usually around this point that students begin to realize the mismatch between their perceptions of deep understanding and the reality of their surface learning.

Assignment or exam wrappers are also good tools to help students work out cause-and-effect linkages between what they do to learn material and how they perform. In general, these “wrappers” ask students to reflect on what they did to prepare for the assignment or exam, process instructor feedback or errors, and adjust future study plans.

It is important, once we encourage students to recognize these incongruities, that we also help direct students back to what they can do to make things better. I direct conversations with my students to a variety of learning strategies they can employ, slanted towards elaborative and organizational strategies. We talk about such things as making up problems or questions on their own, explaining solutions to friends, annotating their notes summarizing key points, or doing recall and reviews (retrieval practice).

However, I find that telling them about such strategies often isn’t enough. We trust what is familiar and comfortable – even ineffective and inefficient learning strategies that we have practiced over years of prior educational experiences and for which we have been rewarded. So I implement these unfamiliar, but effective and efficient strategies into my teaching. I want my students to know how to do them and realize that they can do them in their outside of class study time as well.

One way I engage students with new strategies is through constructive review prior to exams. We start with a recall and review exercise. I have students recall as many topics as they can in as much detail as they can for a few minutes – without looking anything up. Then I have students open their notes to add to and refine their lists. After collectively capturing the key elements, I move to having pairs of students work on constructing potential questions or problems for each topic. I also create a discussion forum for students to share their problems and solutions – separately. As they practice with each others’ problems, they can also post responses and any necessary corrections.

In concert, direct instruction, questioning for self-discovery, and in-class opportunities to practice new learning strategies can develop our students’ sense of responsibility for their learning. It even can empower them by giving them the tools to direct their future learning experiences. In the end, whether they recognize it or not, students are responsible for their learning. Let’s help them embrace this responsibility and thrive in their learning!

References

Ambrose, S., Bridges, M., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M., & Norman, M. (2010) How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Svinicki, M. (2004). Learning and Motivation in the Postsecondary Classroom. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Acknowledgements

This blog post is based upon metacognition research supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 1433757 & 1433645. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Next Blog-post:

Overcoming student resistance to engaging in their metacognitive development.

Using Metacognition to Support Graduating High School Seniors with a LD to Prepare and Transition Successfully to College (Part II)

by Mary L. Hebert, PhD
Campus Director, The Regional Center for Learning Disabilities,
Fairleigh Dickinson University

High school commencement ushers forth connotations of caps and gowns, goodbyes to four years of familiar teachers, friends, routine, challenges and successes. While the focus seems to be on completing a phase of one’s life, commencement actually means a beginning or a start. With high school now a chapter completed, the summer months will be spent preparing for the transition to college. ALL students entering college will have similar adjustments. Students with a history of a learning disability however, may benefit from a purposeful, strategic, or more metacognitive plan for the transition.

Students who have had a 504 or Individualized Education Plan (IEP) during their k-12 years, may face concerns that are similar to other students, yet have a heightened sensitivity to things such as academic performance, managing the pace and independence of college life, leaving behind supports and resources that have been familiar and helpful, and wondering where and if resources at college will be available and/or helpful. They will have similar concerns about making new friends like any first year student, but this may be heightened in particular if a student has had social challenges that have accompanied their LD. Students with a history of LD will often express the challenge of finding balance of work, study, time to relax and be social. Findings by Hall and Webster (2008) indicate that college students with LD indicate self-doubt about being able to perform as well as their non-LD college peers. Encouraging an active preparation to foster self-awareness and building strategies of approach will enrich the metacognitive preparation.

In this post, I will continue my series on how we can use metacognitive practices to support LD students during this transition time (see also Part I). Here I will focus on three key areas including academics, social interactions, and finding balance. Prompts in the form of questions are suggested for each area. Metacognition encourages the enrichment of self-awareness through prompts and reflection to create high level critical thinking and concepts that one can apply to a situation and how one functions.

I propose that metacognition can be applied before day one at college and hopefully assist with a more metacognitive approach to the transition prior to stepping onto campus.

Academics:

Most students ponder how college will be different than high school. Students with learning disabilities frequently ponder this more so. College academics will be different. Typically students experience the differences in coursework to be in regard to the degree of independence in preparing and mastering the material and the pace. Students can be encouraged to converse and even better, to list their reflections to prompts which will increase self-awareness about the differences they anticipate and what strategies they might apply to prepare to respond to managing the differences (i.e. encourage metacognition). Prompts that parents, teachers, tutors, and others familiar with the student can consider may include;

How do you think classes will be different in college?
What strategies have you learned in high school that you will bring to college?
What areas do you still have a hard time with?
What resources will there be in college that can help you with these areas?
Have you looked on your college website or reached out for more information for resources you will reach out to for support?
Is there a program on your campus that specifically responds to the needs of students with LD and are do you intend to reach out to this resource?

Supporting a student in answering and reflecting on these prompts will promote a more metacognitive awareness and ultimately help create a plan for the academic tasks of college. It is the student who is least prepared about the differences between high school and college who may face the most difficulty during the transition. Preparation prevents perspiration and is key to the transition.

Social:

If there were one particular common denominator for transitioning first year students, it is the adjustment to their new social arena on campus. No matter who he or she has been friends with or how many or few, they will need to build a new social circle. Supporting an incoming Freshmen to think about and anticipate changes and choices they will have to make will help them adjust and ponder what is going to be important and a priority for them in the adjustment to their social life at college. In preparation to take on the tasks of social adjustment the goal is to enhance the awareness of what skills will be needed to connect with new friends,

For one’s anticipated social adjustment a person familiar and supportive to the student can prompt the student to respond to the following…

How have I been successful in my relationships with peers and authority figures in the past?
Where have I had challenges?
What two areas do I think need to change?
How will these improve how I manage socially?
What activities or interests do I have that may be areas I pursue in college clubs or organizations?
What resources does my new college have that I can use to help me in making social connections?

These and other prompts can channel past experience into helpful reflection, which will not only help a student organize and reflect on challenges in this arena, but also highlight successes and strengths so that these can become a part of a strategy or plan they can put in their college transition ‘toolbox.’

Balance:

Balance is key for us all and truly a never-ending endeavor; however during the first year it is particularly challenging to establish that balance. Students with LD often have a history of structured support in tackling academics, time management, sleep, recreation, etc. College life will usher in a new life of finding a balance more independently. Time management as well as being adequately organized are two of the most commonly discussed issues. They are key factors toward success as well as factors that interfere with it as well. Encourage your student to once again reflect on some prompts to encourage metacognitive reflection and promote a plan of approach. Consider the following:

What is your plan for keeping track of your course work and other commitments (social, clubs, appointments etc)? A traditional planner book? A digital planning system?
What efforts to stay organized have worked in the past? Why/why not?
What has not worked in the past? Why/why not?
How will you fit in sleep, wellness needs, recreation, and other commitments with school work?
What will be challenging in doing this?
What will be the red flags you are having a hard time finding a balance?
What will be your plan of action if you are having a hard time with the balance of college life?
What will be your go to resources on campus and off campus to support you in finding balance?

In conclusion, supportive prompts and reflection will promote awareness, critical thinking, and purposeful planning for these issues in the transition to college. Doing so prior to day one of college is helpful, but it can also be continued as the student enters college and embraces the new realities of college life.

Understanding how one approaches academics is particularly important for a student with a learning disability. This will be key for college wellness and help them navigate the transition. By applying metacognition, the student can be encouraged to not only think about their thinking about these concepts of academics, social development and finding balance but also to discern strategies to apply and increase the value of their perception of capacity to self-manage the challenges ahead. With these skills in hand, self-advocacy is heightened, which is a key element of success for college students with learning disabilities.

Hall, Cathy W. and Raymond E. Webster (2008). Metacognitive and Affective Factors of College Students With and Without Learning Disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. 21 (1)

It shouldn’t be Top Secret – Bloom’s Taxonomy

By Lauren Scharff, Ph.D., U. S. Air Force Academy *

Across the past year or so I have been reminded several times of the following fact: Most students are not aware of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and even if they are aware, they have no clue how or why their awareness of it might benefit them and their learning. Most instructors have heard of at least one version of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and some keep it in mind when designing learning activities and assessments. But, rarely do instructors even mention it to their students.

Why don’t instructors share Bloom’s Taxonomy with their students? Is it a top secret, for instructors only? No! In fact, awareness and use of Bloom’s taxonomy can support metacognitive learning, so students should be let in on the “secret.”

What were the key experiences that led me to this strong stance? Let me share….

In May of 2016, I was fortunate to attend a keynote by Dr. Saundra McGuire at High Point University. In her keynote address and in her book, Teach Students How to Learn (2015), McGuire shared stories of interactions with students as they became aware of Bloom’s Taxonomy and applied it to their learning. She also shared data showing how this coupled with a variety of other metacognitive strategies lead to large increases in student academic success. Her work served as the first “ah ha” moment for me, and I realized that I needed to start more explicitly discussing Bloom’s Taxonomy with my students.

An additional way to highlight Bloom’s Taxonomy and support student metacognitive learning was shared this past October (2017) when Dr. Karl Wirth led a workshop as part of our 9^th Annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Forum at the U. S. Air Force Academy. In his workshop he shared examples of knowledge surveys along with data supporting their use as a powerful learning tool. Knowledge surveys are collections of questions that support student self-assessment of their knowledge, understanding, and skills. When answering the questions, students rate themselves on their ability to answer the question (similar to a confidence rating) rather than fully answering the question. Research shows that most students are able to accurately self-assess (confidence ratings correlate strongly with actual performance; Nuhfer, Fleisher, Cogan, & Gaze, 2017). However, most students do not take the time to carefully self-assess their knowledge and abilities without formal guidance and encouragement to do so. In order to be effective, knowledge surveys need to ask targeted / granular questions rather than global questions. Importantly, knowledge survey questions can span the full range of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Dr. Wirth incorporates best practices by taking the time to explain Bloom’s Taxonomy to his students and explicitly share how his knowledge survey questions target different levels.

Sharing Bloom’s Taxonomy in our classes is a great first step, but ultimately, we hope that students use the taxonomy on their own, applying it to assignments across all their courses. However, just telling them about the taxonomy or explaining how aspects of our course tap into different levels of the taxonomy may not be enough to support their use of the taxonomy beyond our classrooms. In response to this need, and as part of an ongoing Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project at my institution, one of my student co-investigators (Leslie Perez, graduated May 2017), created a workshop handout that walks students through a series of questions that help them apply Bloom’s as a guide for their learning and academic efforts. This handout was also printed in a larger, poster format and is now displayed in the student dorms and the library. Students use the handout by starting in the middle and asking themselves questions about their assignments. Based on their answers, the walk through a path that helps them determine what level of Bloom’s Taxonomy they likely need to target for that assignment. It should help them become more explicitly aware of the learning expectations for their various assignments and support their informed selection of learning strategies, i.e. help them engage in metacognitive learning.

Figure 1. Snapshot of the handout we use to guide students in applying Bloom’s Taxonomy to their learning. (full-sized version here)

As someone who is a strong proponent of metacognitive learning, I have become increasingly convinced that instructors should more often and more explicitly share this taxonomy, and perhaps even more importantly, share how it can be applied by students to raise their awareness of learning expectations for different assignments and guide their choice of learning strategies. I hope this post motivates instructors to share Bloom’s Taxonomy (and other science of learning information) with their students. Feel welcome to use the handout we created.

————

McGuire, S. (2015). Teach Students How to Learn. Stylus Publishing, LLC, Sterling, VA.

Nuhfer, E., Fleisher, S., Cogan, C., Wirth, K., & Gaze, E. (2017). How random noise and a graphical convention subverted behavioral scientists’explanations of self-assessment data: Numeracy underlies better alternatives. Numeracy, 10(1), Article 4. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.10.1.4

* Disclaimer: The views expressed in this document are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U. S. Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U. S. Govt.

Tackling your “Laundry” List through Metacognitive Goal Setting

by Tara Beziat at Auburn University at Montgomery

On almost every to-do list I make these days is the word “Laundry.” With two kiddos and a husband who is an avid exerciser, our laundry quickly piles up. Recently, when I told my husband I had everything washed, I paused and thought about my goal of getting the laundry done. I can never actually get it all done. The goal is too broad and it is not time bound. I paused again and thought here I go again being metacognitive: I have goals; I am monitoring them and seeing if I meet them; I realized I needed to make adjustments. In going through this metacognitive process at home, I realized there were applications in my classroom too. I needed to help my students reframe their goals of “reading the textbook or “studying” and build better plans to reach them.

Backwards Planning

The first thing we need to do with goal setting is to build better plans to reach those goals, which research suggests could involve working backwards from the end state of those goals, (Jooyoung, Lu & Hedgock; 2017). It seems that when we have distant goals that involve many tasks, like a comprehensive exam, mid-term project or final presentation, a variety of issues come into play. Inadvertently, obstacles or “speed bumps” slow down our momentum towards the end goal and leave us discouraged. By starting with the end goal (e.g. comprehensive exam) and working backwards to the present time, we often anticipate these potential hurdles. This type planning also leads to the creation of sub-goals. The relatively immediacy of these sub-goals and then the completion of them leads to greater motivation in meeting the final goal.

What this means in my course is that I need to help students develop a timeline, so they see all of the tasks and activities they need to do to reach their end goals. As we develop this timeline, we will work backwards. As we chart out the plan for success, we can acknowledge potential hurdles that may require them to take more time with one task or even shift their preparation. If a large project is due the Monday after the Iron Bowl, a significant event here in Alabama, they may need to consider when they can work on the project prior to that game. By forecasting these “speed bumps,” and planning out the steps in reverse to reach their ultimate goals.

Set Specific Goals

Schunk (1990) identified specificity as one of the keys in goal setting. When we set specific goals, we can better gauge the amount of time and effort it will take to complete this goal. Specificity also allows for better monitoring, a key component in being metacognitive, and can lead to increased self-efficacy as one meets these goals. So students’ goals of “doing well in the course” or “studying harder” are not specific enough and need to be adjusted. To do well in the course, students need to consider what does this actually mean and what sub-tasks are involved to reach this goal. For example, they need to consider what they need to get on the various quizzes and assignments in the course if they want to have an A. This leads to a discussion about preparing for class, allocating study time and allocating time to assignments for the course. All of these can go on this timeline where we work backwards.

Time-Bound Goals

The proximity of the goal plays a key factor in our motivation (Schunk, 1990). Goals that are proximal are more motivating than distal goals. This again goes back to why it is important to plan backwards. It allows us to set up intermediate proximal goals during the semester so we can reach the distal goals. Students (and even professors) often say they are going to study in the afternoons or they are going to read over the weekend. Invariably, “speed bumps” occur and the studying and reading are pushed aside. By blocking out time in your schedule, just like you block out time to attend class, with start times and end times you are more likely to devoted your undivided attention to the task. Dr. Paul Pacheco-Vega provides great advice about planning and how to set up your calendar to get your tasks done. He even shows how to adjust your schedule for when those speed bumps occur. The key is to set aside time in your calendar but also to be aware of that life may just throw you a curve.

By helping my students reframe their goals and build a backwards timeline of how to accomplish their goals, I increase the chances of my students not only being successful in my course but also in their future courses. I am also helping them become more metacognitive. They are learning metacognitive strategies related to setting goals and monitoring and evaluating their progress toward this goal. As an added benefit this approach may lead to higher self-efficacy and increased learning.

Metacognitive strategies are not just for the classroom or academic environment, they have helped me improve my laundry process too! I have set better goals for my chore of doing laundry. I start with the end goal, to have all of the laundry washed and put away by Monday morning. The “laundry” is limited to the clothes in the hampers on Friday. I then set out to complete one load of laundry on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then I put it away on Monday. This plans leaves lots of room for the numerous unforeseen hurdles in rearing two children under two.

Jooyoung, P., Lu, F., Hedgcock, W. (2017). Forward and Backward Planning and Goal Pursuit. Psychological Science. DOI:10.1177/0956797617715510

Schunk, D. H. (1990). Goal Setting and Self-Efficacy During Self-Regulated Learning. Educational Psychologist, 25(1), 71-86

Mind Mapping: A Technique for Metacognition

by Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, Rusty Carpenter, Eastern Kentucky University

Downloadable

Background

The Provost at Eastern Kentucky University invited Saundra McGuire to speak on metacognition as part of our University’s Provost’s Professional Development Speaker Series. Our unit was tasked with designing related programming both before and after McGuire’s visit. Our aim was to provide a series of effective workshops that prepared the ground for our university’s Quality Enhancement Plan 2.0 on metacognition as a cross-disciplinary tool for cultivating reading skills. The following mind mapping exercise from one of four workshops was taught to over 50 faculty from across campus and the academic ranks. Feedback rated its popularity high and suggested its appropriateness for any level of any discipline with any size class.

Scientific Rationale

The Mind Map, a term invented by Tony Buzan in The Mind Map Book (1993), “is a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlocking the potential of the brain” (9). For that reason, Buzan’s subtitle is How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain’s Untapped Potential. A mind map provides a way for organizing ideas either as they emerge or after the fact. Perhaps the mind map’s greatest strength lies in its appeal to the visual sense.

We chose to share mind mapping with our faculty because according to Brain Rules (2008), rule number ten is “Vision trumps all other senses” (221). For proof, the author, John Medina, cites a key fact: “If information is presented orally, people remember about 10%, tested 72 hours after exposure. That figure goes up to 65% if you add a picture” (234). Because of its visual nature, mind mapping provides a valuable metacognitive tool.

How Mind Mapping Supports Metacognition

Silver (2013) focuses on reflection in general and in particular “the moment of meta in metacognition—that is the moment of standing above or apart from oneself, so to speak, in order to turn one’s attention back upon one’s own mental work” (1). Mind mapping allows thinkers a visual-verbal way to delineate that moment of reflection and in capturing that moment to preserve its structure. Because analysis is one of Bloom’s higher-order learning skills, mind mapping leads to deep thinking, which makes self-regulation easier.

Method

Essentially, a mind map begins with what Gerry Nosich in Learning to Think Things Through (2009) calls a fundamental and powerful concept, “one that can be used to explain or think out a huge body of questions, problems, information, and situations” (105). To create a mind map, place the fundamental and powerful concept (FPC) you wish to explore in the center of a piece of paper and circle it. If at all possible, do something with color or the actual lettering in order to make the FPC even more visual. For instance, if you were to map the major strategies involved in metacognition, metacognition is the FPC, and you might choose to write it as such:

M E T A
Cognition

Increasing the visual effect of the FPC are lines that run to additional circled concepts that support the FPC. These Sputnik-like appendages are what Buzan calls basic ordering ideas, “key concepts within which a host of other concepts can be organized” (p. 84). For example, if you were working with our metacognition example, your lines might radiate out to a host of also-circled metacognitive strategies, such as retrieving, reflection, exam wrappers, growth mindset, and the EIAG process of Event selection-Identification of what happened-Analysis-Generalization of how the present forms future practice (for a fuller explanation see our It Works for Me, Metacognitively, pp. 33-34). And if you wanted to go one step further, you might radiate lines from, for instance, retrieving, to actual retrieving strategies (e.g., flashcards, interleaving, self-quizzing).

Uses for Mind Maps

Mind mapping has many uses for both students and faculty:

Notetaking: mind mapping provides an alternative form of notetaking whether for students or professors participating in committee meetings. It can be done before a class session by the professor, during the session by the student, or afterwards as a way of checking whether the fundamental and powerful concept(s) was taught or understood.
Studying: instead of rereading notes taken, a method destined for failure, try reorganizing them into a mind map or two. Mind mapping not only offers the visual alternative here, but provides retrieval practice, another metacognitive technique.
Assessing: instead of giving a traditional quiz at the start of class or five-minute paper at the end, ask students to produce a mind map of concept X covered in class. This alternative experiment will demonstrate to students a different approach and place another tool in their metacognitive toolbox.
Prioritizing: when items are placed in a mind map, something has to occupy center stage. Lesser items are contained in the radii.

Outcomes

Mind maps are easy, deceptively simplistic, fun, and produce a deep learning experience. Don’t believe it? Stop reading now, take out a piece of paper, and mind map what you just read. We’re willing to bet that if you do so, the result will provide a reflection moment.

References

Buzan, T. (1993). The mind map book: How to use radiant thinking to maximize your brain’s untapped potential. New York: Plume Penguin.

McGuire, S. Y., & McGuire, S. (2015). Teach students how to learn: Strategies you can incorporate into any course to improve student metacognition, study skills, and motivation. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Medina, J. (2008). Brain rules. Seattle: Pear Press.

Nosich, J. (2009). Learning to think things through. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Silver, N. (2013). Reflective pedagogies and the metacognitive turn in college teaching.

In M. Kaplan, N. Silver, D. Lavaque-Manty, & D. Meizlish (Eds.), Using reflection and metacognition to improve student learning (pp. 1-17). Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Sweet, C., Blythe, H., & Carpenter, R. (2016). It Works for Me, Metacognitively. Stillwater, OK: New Forums.

Appendix: How to Use Word to Create a Mind Map

Click Insert.
Click Shapes and select Circle.
Click on desired position, and the circle will appear.
Click on Draw Textbox.
Type desired words in textbox (you may have to enlarge the textbox to accommodate words).
Drag textbox into center of circle.
Repeat as desired.
To connect circles, click Insert Shapes and then Select Line.
Drag Line between circles.

A ‘New Ear’ for Student Writers: Building Awareness of Audience

by Michael Young, Robert Morris University

Downloadable

Motivation and Background:

A fundamental hurdle for most inexperienced writers is gaining a sense of their audience, and how a different consciousness may interpret the words, the organization, and the presentation that they (the writers) use to share ideas. It is different than knowing rules, techniques, or traditions of writing. It requires more than knowledge of the topic about which they are writing. Writers must be aware of their own individual thinking, their own choices, their motivations, and how these could be interpreted or misinterpreted by other people’s ways of thinking. This need for awareness of their own thoughts that could then support their writing efforts, i.e. metacognitive writing, led me to develop a new pedagogical process for the writing classroom that uses active presentations by others to convey audience interpretation.

I used this process for three years in creative writing courses, partially because students were already pursuing genres that often are interpreted orally, but believe it could be applicable to any writing course, especially with the following course characteristics: 1) upper division/at least sophomore level so the students are already somewhat experienced collegiate writers and 2) class size is small, ideally 20 or fewer students. No special materials, other than imagination and the means to convey ideas, are needed for the in-class exercises.

Nuts and Bolts:

This pedagogical process has several steps. To first prepare the students and get them thinking about how an audience might interpret their work, the students are given an initial survey on their then-current process of writing and concept of their potential audience. Consistently, three out of five agreed that they had a “mental picture” of their reader, but it was often no further developed than their college peers or even themselves. Most could not describe their readers any further and some said they had not considered a concept of a readership. Perhaps, for them, they had written only and ever with the teacher, and so a grade, in mind.

The second step involves having canonical examples of their genre, fiction or poetry, interpreted by others. During this step those others give a presentation / reading of the work in a manner that conveys their interpretation of the writing. Those others can be classmates or a more external audience. For example, the first two years I used this process, the others were members of the Forensics Team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, then led by Professor Ann Burnett.

A third step, which has evolved over the years, was to have others present the students’ own writing back to them. This third step was implemented as a cycle. The students wrote their piece (either individually or as a group) and then gave it to others (classmates or external individuals) for interpretation with no additional input from the writers. The presenters would convey their interpretation, which then could be used by the writers to guide their revisions based on a better understanding of possible audience interpretation. If revisions were made, then the cycle of interpretation could be repeated.

Outcomes:

When this was done at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in a project funded by a grant from the university’s Teaching Council, 80% of the collaborative groups elected to revise their texts after hearing them interpreted. They noted the experience of hearing their stories being told by someone else, someone who was sharing their own understandings and insights into the words, heightened an awareness of qualities like the “flow and rhythm” of words or of “trying to make a picture in my head”, and an overall greater attention to what their drafts were able to communicate. For example, the potential hollowness of easy clichés might not have occurred to the writers or a lack of descriptions they had had in mind but which were not articulated were now more evident. Further, the majority of the class reported being much more aware of their own thinking (an aspect of metacognition) and the thinking of others.

By hearing, and sometimes seeing by the use of movements, how another person re-created the writer’s intentions, each writer had the opportunity to perceive how their audience understood what had been written down – in a way, to hear their own thinking – and to questions themselves. Is that what they had wanted someone else to feel, to think or had their expression fallen short of their conception? In other words, the process allowed them to “hear it (their work) with a ‘new ear’” and some of them realized they “should have found another way to get that (sic) message across.” That “new ear”, hopefully, was them more carefully listening to and questioning their own thoughts, i.e. being metacognitive about their own writing.