Metacognition

Metacognition & Self-Directed Learning

Teaching Students How to Learn by Saundra Yancy McGuire

Book Club: Chapters 2-3

Meera Baldeosingh,

Pharm D Candidate 2022

APPE Block 3, Academia

9 Aug 2021

Learning Objectives

• Define metacognition and list metacognitive skills.

• Describe the importance of metacognitive skills in the learning process.

• Compare strategies to help students refine metacognitive skills.

• Develop a plan for implementing at least one of the strategies discussed to help students become self-directed learners.

Open Ended

What study techniques did you employ to get through school?

Open Ended

What is Metacognition?

Thinking About One's Own Thinking

• Assess the task at hand

• Evaluate one's own knowledge and skills

• Plan approach

• Monitor progress

• Adjust strategies as needed

• Influenced by beliefs about intelligence

Benefits of Metacognitive Skills

• Improves resilience

• Ability to self-direct learning

• Promotes higher levels of achievements

• Improves transferable knowledge and skills

• Emotional and social growth

Open Ended

How can metacognitive skills help students become better pharmacists?

Poll

Do you believe that most students possess metacognitive skills?

• Yes

• No

Open Ended

Why do you think students lack metacognitive skills?

Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) 2013 Survey

• 96.8% of participants graduated high school with an A- or B-average

• >50% incoming college Freshmen spent < 6 hours/week doing homework in 12th grade

• >70% of participants felt that their academic ability is above average

What's the Disconnect?

• Teaching to the test

• Verbatim study guides

• Assessment alternatives

• Cross-discipline teaching

Activity Time

Count the Vowels

Open Ended

List as many words/phrases that you can remember.

Memorize the List

Open Ended

List as many words/phrases that you can remember.

Open Ended

What Made the Difference?

Metacognitive Skills: skills that facilitate the reflection and direction of one's thinking

Poll

Which metacognitive skill do you think that most students struggle with?

• Assessing the task at hand

• Evaluating strengths and weaknesses

• Planning approach

• Monitoring progress

• Adjusting strategies as needed

Assessing the Task at Hand

• Be more explicit than you may think necessary

• Tell students what do you do NOT want

• Check students' understanding of the task

• Provide performance criteria with the assignment

Evaluating Strengths & Weaknesses

• Provide formative assessments early on

• Provide the opportunity for self-assessment

Planning an Appropriate Approach

• Have students implement a plan that you provided

• Have students create their own plan

• Make planning the central goal of the assignment

Applying Strategies & Monitoring Progress

• Heuristic approaches

• Guided self-assessments

• Require students to reflect on and annotate their own work

• Peer review

Reflecting On & Adjusting Approach

• Provide activities that require students to reflect on their performances

• Prompt students to analyze effectiveness of study skills

• Present multiple strategies

• Create assignments that focus on strategizing rather than implementation

Promoting Metacognition

• Modeling your metacognitive processes

• Scaffolding

• Address beliefs about intelligence

• Broaden understanding of learning

• Help students set realistic expectations

• Active learning techniques

Scaffolding

• Gradually moving students toward greater independence and understanding during the learning process

• Identifies what the learner can do with or without assistance and the learner cannot do

• Facilitates student success and individualization of instruction

Fill in the Blank

_____________ skills are those that facilitate the direction and reflection of one's own learning.

Multiple Choice

True or False: Most students at the professional school level are adept at metacognition.

• True

• False

Multiple Select

Which of the following is a metacognitive skill? Select all that apply.

• Assessment of Task

• Planning Approach

• Evaluating Strengths & Weaknesses

• Monitoring Progress

• Reflection

Multiple Choice

Which of the following refers to the gradual movement of students towards independence during the learning process?

• Active learning

• Passive learning

• Scaffolding

• Formative assessment

Multiple Choice

True or False: Students' beliefs about intelligence has a large impact on the metacognitive process.

• True

• False

Poll

How confident do you feel in implementing metacognitive strategies in your own teaching?

• Super confident!

• Might need to do some more research...

• Nah, it's not for me.

Open Ended

Name one new metacognitive skill that you learned about today that you would like to try in the future.

References

• McGuire SA. Teach students how to learn: strategies you can incorporate into any course to improve student metacognition, study skills, and motivation. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC. 2015. DOI: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/usf/detail.action?docID=4438661.

• Ambrose SA & Mayer RE. Chapter 7: How do students become self-directed learners? In: How learning works: seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2010. DOI: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/usf/detail.action?docID=529947.

• Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS). TEAL center fact sheet no. 4: metacognitive processes. https://lincs.ed.gov/state-resources/federal-initiatives/teal/guide/metacognitive. 

• University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence. Teaching metacognitive skills. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/metacognitive. 

• Sandercock I. How does active learning support student success? Arizona State University. 2013. https://teachonline.asu.edu/2013/03/how-does-active-learning-support-student-success/.

References (Cont'd)

• Rodin A. The Thinker [image]. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Thinker-sculpture-by-Rodin#/media/1/450280/226379. 

• McDowell Z. Project planning and delivery: steps to get work done faster. Planview Blog. 2020. https://blog.planview.com/project-planning-and-delivery-6-steps-to-get-work-done-faster/.

• Drake Hotline Bling Meme. 2021. https://imgflip.com/i/4oviv4.

• Spongebob Meme. 2019. https://www.memedroid.com/memes/latest/1567211423.

• Sword R. Metacognition in the classroom: benefits and strategies. High Speed Training. 2021. https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/metacognition-in-the-classroom

• Lewis B. Using Bloom's taxonomy for effective learning.Thought Co. 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/blooms-taxonomy-the-incredible-teaching-tool-2081869.