{"id":12734,"date":"2020-04-15T16:01:19","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T22:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/?p=12734"},"modified":"2020-05-04T10:58:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T16:58:00","slug":"metacognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/metacognition\/","title":{"rendered":"Metacognition: The Skill That Promotes Advanced Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you stopped to wonder why we\u2019re more likely to make a plan for organizing a social gathering than we are for passing a test? For some students, just the act of attending class and listening to the instructor\u2019s lecture counts as sufficient exam preparation. But just because you\u2019ve heard the information doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ve learned it. Learning is an active process, and honing a skill called \u201cmetacognition\u201d can help you create the best possible opportunity to become a successful student.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is metacognition?<\/span><\/h2>\n

To put it simply, metacognition is \u201cthinking about the way we think.\u201d Most of us use metacognition each day to evaluate our thoughts and feelings without even realizing it. When applied to learning, metacognition can help you not only process what you\u2019re learning, but <\/span>how<\/span><\/i> you\u2019re learning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked in education almost my entire professional life. I\u2019ve worked one-on-one and in groups with every age of student and in every kind of learning environment. And the pattern is clear: too rarely do student learners know how to learn,\u201d said Peter Giebel, an Editor on Peterson\u2019s Content Team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We asked Giebel to explain how metacognition can help students bridge the gaps in their learning and improve their academic performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Metacognition for beginners<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cImagine you\u2019re training for a marathon. Your ultimate goal is to run 23.6 miles. But that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to put on your running shoes, step out your front door, and take off at a dead sprint. You\u2019ll make a plan. You\u2019ll set up a training schedule. You\u2019ll run for different periods of time and in different conditions. Eventually you\u2019ll give that marathon-length route a try. Perhaps you\u2019ll fail, perhaps not. But you\u2019ll take that trial run as an opportunity to evaluate what\u2019s working in your training regimen and what\u2019s not. Then you\u2019ll modify it to suit your needs. In essence, that\u2019s metacognition,\u201d explained Giebel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students rarely pause to evaluate if the routine they\u2019ve developed to learn or study is effective. Using metacognition can help you assess what you\u2019re learning, if you\u2019re retaining the information, and create strategies to improve your understanding of a topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMetacognition is a form of personal awareness. When you\u2019re metacognitive, you know who you are as a learner and then make strategic choices about how to learn and study with that knowledge in mind. That breaks down to three basic steps: plan, monitor, and evaluate your learning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Identifying metacognitive strategies\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen students benefit from metacognitive practices when preparing for the <\/span>ACT<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>SAT,<\/span><\/a> when writing papers, developing projects, when <\/span>preparing for tests<\/span><\/a> and quizzes. The learning situation is practically irrelevant because metacognition goes beyond topics to focus on techniques.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Giebel mentioned, students should be actively engaged in learning the content in order to understand and retain the information. He recommends asking yourself the following questions during the planning, monitoring, and evaluation stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMetacognition creates the opportunities for learning to happen. To jumpstart that process, you can try asking some of the essential questions during the different stages of metacognition:<\/span><\/p>\n

Before learning, take time to <\/span>plan:<\/b><\/p>\n