Metacognition: Teaching Students How to Learn

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 METACOGNITION: TEACHING STUDENTS HOW TO LEARN

On this page, we will cover:

1. What is Metacognition?
2. Why is it Important to Talk about Metacognition with Students?
3. How can I Help Students Develop Metacognitive Skills?
4. When Should I Implement an Intervention?
5. Does the Intervention Work?
6. Additional Resources
7. References

 

What is metacognition?

Metacognition is the ability to think about our own thinking. For a learner, this means having awareness about one's own thought processes and having the power to recognize whether one is understanding the material or just memorizing it. Metacognition is recognizing that different study strategies are best suited for different types of learning. For example, flashcards work well for memorizing terms, but are less effective in understanding concepts. Metacognition also includes understanding the environments and situations in which one learns best.

 

Why is it important to talk about metacognition with students?

Some students are already practicing metacognitive skills, whether they know it or not. Some students learned this in high school, while others began practicing in University 100, and some have arrived in college never having learned how to learn. Often students are putting a lot of time and energy into study skills that do not actually lead to learning. It is important for our students to maintain a growth mindset and realize that metacognitive skills can be developed over time with practice. Students arrive with different backgrounds and different expectations for how learning happens, perhaps not understanding the role they need to play in their own learning. Specifically teaching students about metacognition, especially in introductory classes, increases equity in learning experiences and outcomes.

 

How can I help students develop metacognitive skills?

Several CSUN faculty members teach metacognition to their students by staging an intervention, developed by Dr. Saundra McGuire at Louisiana State University. This intervention is aimed at student success and focuses on the differences between studying and learning. The goal is to teach students how to study better, rather than just harder, focusing on quality over quantity. The intervention includes an explanation and demonstration of metacognition, different study skills, and how learning happens at different levels (e.g., Bloom’s taxonomy). The resources provided below include slides from CSUN faculty members that you are free to use or modify.

 

When should I implement an intervention?

The recommendation is to implement an intervention partway into the semester—after the first midterm, a few quizzes, or feedback on a large assignment. It is at this time that students may be most anxious about their grade in the course and searching for changes they can make to improve their study habits. Especially in introductory courses, students often arrive with metacognitive skills that were effective in high school, but do not translate well to college courses. It is only after receiving lower grades than expected that students begin to recognize this issue, but instructors that are ready to provide help and guidance at that time are in a great position to make huge changes in students’ college careers.

 

Does the intervention work?

Many CSUN faculty who have attempted this intervention note that students are grateful for the information and report it as one of their favorite classes of the semester. Data from several semesters of an introductory biology class indicate that students who change their learning practice following this intervention receive an average of one letter grade higher scores in the course. Casey terHorst’s favorite success story is of a student who failed the class, but retook it the following semester when he first implemented the metacognition intervention. The student changed her approach to learning and received an A in the course. Moreover, the same student had just failed her first exam in a different class, and after changing her study techniques, received a B+ in that class.

 

Additional Resources

Examples of Metacognition Interventions

• Slides modified by CSUN faculty members
  • Jeanne Robertson (Biology) Links to an external site.
  • Example video Links to an external site. of implementation in Casey terHorst’s CSUN Biology course

Study Tips to Share with Students

• Learning Strategies Inventory — an activity to guide dialogue with students about study techniques
• Retrieval practice helps you access the information stored in your brain - Video Links to an external site.
• Interleaving is the practice of studying multiple topics to keep your brain focused - Video Links to an external site.
• Spaced practice is the practice of spreading studying across multiple days instead of cramming for an exam - Video Links to an external site.
• Elaboration is the practice of asking how and why questions to improve learning and retention - Video Links to an external site.
• Concrete examples is the practice of using specific examples to understand concrete ideas - Video Links to an external site.
• Dual coding is the practice of combining words with images - Video Links to an external site.
• Dr. Saundra McGuire talks about The Study Cycle - Video Links to an external site. 
• CSUN's Learning Resource Center has more study tips videos to help them in multiple areas

 

References

McGuire, S. Y. (2015). Teach students how to learn. Stylus.