I teach metacognition to my Stanford students by starting with exercises that help them develop an awareness of how, where, and why they are directing their attention online (“self-monitoring strategies”). This presentation, summarized here (with a link to the slides and podcast of the original) talks about the importance of teaching metacognition to improve learning.
This webpage is a summary, written by Carol Ormand, of Marsha Lovett's presentation at the 2008 Educause Learning Initiative conference. Dr. Lovett's slides and a podcast of her presentation can be accessed via the conference website. (more info)
“Metacognition is a critically important, yet often overlooked component of learning. Effective learning involves planning and goal-setting, monitoring one's progress, and adapting as needed. All of these activities are metacognitive in nature. By teaching students these skills – all of which can be learned – we can improve student learning. There are three critical steps to teaching metacognition:
- Teaching students that their ability to learn is mutable
- Teaching planning and goal-setting
- Giving students ample opportunities to practice monitoring their learning and adapting as necessary”
