Evidence

Effective teachers understand the value of teaching metacognition

According to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), there is a strong body of research that demonstrates the importance of metacognition and self-regulation for effective pupil learning. The EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit rates metacognition and self-regulation as a “high-impact, low-cost approach to improving the outcomes of disadvantaged learners” (EEF, 2019).

What is metacognition?

Metacognition is about the ways learners monitor and purposefully direct their learning.

For example, having decided that a particular cognitive strategy for memorisation is likely to be successful, a pupil then monitors whether it has indeed been successful and then deliberately changes (or not) their memorisation method based on that evidence.

By metacognitive strategies, we mean the strategies we use to monitor or control our cognition, such as checking that our memorisation technique was accurate or selecting the most appropriate cognitive strategy for the task we are undertaking.

Education Endowment Foundation metacognition and self-regulated learning guidance report (2017)

Effective metacognitive strategies get learners to think about their own learning more explicitly, usually by teaching them to:

• Set goals.
• Monitor their learning.
• Evaluate their own academic progress.

A simple way to think about metacognitive strategies is how well a pupil is able to recall learned processes to solve challenges. For example, if a pupil is reading and comes across an unfamiliar word, they might have learned the following strategy they can employ:

• Break the word down.
• Read the sentence again and consider the context.
• Consider what definition would make sense.
• Look up the definition to check they are right.

This strategy can be drawn upon any time a pupil comes across an unfamiliar word. Metacognitive thinking such as this helps pupils work out what is effective and what isn’t. Explicitly teaching metacognition not only helps the pupils with individual tasks but also helps them become more efficient learners who are able to make more progress.

Education Endowment Foundation (2018) Improving Secondary Science Guidance Report

You explored how pupils learn in Block 2. Metacognitive strategies will help your pupils to become aware of how their learning is going. When new content enters their working memory, they are consciously processing new material. This process can be monitored through metacognitive approaches, such as asking:

• “Do I know what this word means?”
• “Do I need to change my approach here?”

This helps pupils to identify what they know and, importantly, what they do not know.

Consider the following example:

• What does Freya do which suggests she is a successful self-regulated learner?
• What is the impact of her metacognitive strategies?
• Why are these important?

Example

Freya fiddled with her pencil case. Every Friday, she would experience a quiet dread when facing the weekly spelling test.

This week, though, she felt more confident than before. After a couple of weeks characterised by annoying mistakes, she had worked hard in readiness for this week’s test. She had devised two of her own mnemonics and she had practised her “le” ending words, as well as “surprise’ with an ‘r’”, repeatedly.

As Mr Thomas began the spelling test, Freya listened hard. She knew that sometimes she would feel a little pressure when her teacher moved quickly onto the next spelling, but that this week she would listen carefully and remember what she had practised. One or two words were no doubt tricky, but Freya had weighed up her options each time and she was utterly confident of her success.

Before Mr Thomas had a chance to cycle through the correct spellings, Freya sat up straight, with a smile lighting up her face, fueled by quiet satisfaction. She had already thought about her new spelling routine and how she would stick to it next week too.

Let’s take a closer look at Freya’s process. She:

• Utilised cognitive strategies, like using mnemonics and doing some self-testing practice at home.
• Used metacognitive strategies to plan her spelling practice, recognising why using a mnemonic was the right tool for the job, whilst monitoring her own difficulties with time pressures during the test.
• Drew on motivational strategies to engage in repeated practice and to persevere during a pressured challenge.

(EEF, 2017)

Freya has been taught these strategies, rather than acquiring them by chance, and is therefore able to employ them effectively. It is likely that she has gone through a few different processes and this has become a repertoire she can draw on. As the example demonstrates, her confidence increases which will be of benefit in future tasks. So how should we go about teaching metacognitive strategies to our pupils?

• Make sure pupils know what they are and why they are important. Muijs & Reynolds (2018) tell us that “pupils need to know why they are learning metacognitive skills, otherwise they lack the motivation to use them”.
• Teach metacognition explicitly. The EEF (2017) suggest that we should “explicitly teach pupils metacognitive strategies, including how to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning.” A series of steps — beginning with activating prior knowledge and leading to independent practice before ending in structured reflection — can be applied to different subjects, ages and contents.
• Embed metacognition within subject teaching. Muijs & Reynolds (2017) also suggest that “metacognition shouldn’t be taught as a standalone skill, or in separate lessons, but needs to be embedded in subject teaching.” This is because the strategies are often task or subject specific.
• Make sure pupils have strategies “to hand”. Remind pupils to use the strategies you have taught them and use questioning and feedback to push them towards better use of them.

The table below shows how teachers can help reinforce metacognition and reflection by prompting pupils in this way, using the example of drawing or painting a self-portrait in art:

Plan

Why?

This encourages pupils to think about the purpose of their learning and about how they will go about the task. Pupils need to understand the goal, activate relevant prior knowledge, select appropriate strategies, and consider how to allocate their effort.

How?

What resources do I need to carry out a self-portrait? Have I done a self-portrait before and was it successful? What have I learned from the examples we looked at earlier? Where do I start and what viewpoint will I use? Do I need a line guide to keep my features in proportion?

Monitor

How?

This emphasises the need, whilst undertaking the task, for pupils to assess the progress they are making. This could include self-testing and self-questioning activities and then making changes to their chosen strategies.

Why?

Am I doing well? Do I need any different techniques to improve my self-portrait? Are all of my facial features in proportion? Am I finding this challenging? Is there anything I need to stop and change to improve my self-portrait?

Evaluate

Why?

This appraises the effectiveness of their plan and its implementation.

How?

How did I do? Did my line guide strategy work? Was it the right viewpoint to choose? How would I do a better self-portrait next time? Are there other perspectives, viewpoints or techniques I would like to try or find out about?

(Adapted from Education Endowment Foundation (2017) Metacognition and Self-regulated learning Guidance Report. [Online] Accessible from: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/)

References

Education Endowment Foundation (2017) Metacognition and Self-regulated learning Guidance Report. [Online] Accessible from: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/

Education Endowment Foundation (2018) Improving Secondary Science Guidance Report. [Online] Accessible from: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/

Muijs, D., & Reynolds, D. (2017) Effective teaching: Evidence and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.