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English 121: Guide: What you need for class

Modules for each section of English 121

Metacognition Made Easy

What you need for class

METACOGNITION  

Metacognition is a process of thinking about one’s own learning, becoming aware of the essential stages, through which learning takes place. Why is it important to possess this awareness? It is commonly the case that individuals who reflect upon their learning process are more successful learners than others who do not engage in the thinking about the learning. Because students are continuously involved in some type of learning process, the term metacognition is particularly applicable to students.  

The process of metacognition takes place in three distinct stages:  

  1. Planning – understanding the goal of the learning, awareness of the learning outcomes, of specific approaches to the topic in order to fully digest the subject matter.  

Some helpful questions to consider during the planning stage: 

  • What is the task and what am I supposed to learn from it? 

  • Do I have any prior knowledge I can utilize for this task? 

  • What is the due date? How much time do I have to complete this task? 

  1. Monitoring – considering the best learning strategies and utilizing them to maximize the learning potential, comprehension of the topic or subject matter as it is evidenced through practice tests, feedback on completed work. 

Some helpful questions to consider during the monitoring stage: 

  • What information is essential for me to remember? 

  • What should I do with the information I do not understand? 

  • Am I moving in the right direction with the task? 

  • Is my pace appropriate, or should it be adjusted? 

  1. Evaluation – assessing whether the learning outcomes linked to the subject are being met, the results of learning when finished, such as performance on assessments, ease of speaking about the subject matter, combined with modification of the approach if necessary.  

Some helpful questions to consider during the evaluation stage: 

  • Are the results what I expected? 

  • What did I learn from completing this task? 

  • Could I have improved my learning by making any changes in the previous stages? 

  • Is what I learned applicable to any other problems or situations? 

All these steps are encircled by Reflection on the entire process, which should lead to necessary modifications, adjustments, shifts in any of the three steps in order to maximize the learning. Reflecting alone without implementing any changes, even small ones, may not be sufficient to learning from the process.