Metacognition
Metacognition,
in simple terms, means "thinking about thinking." Metacognition is the ability to be aware of your own learning processes, as well as knowing what works best for you. It means being able to recognize whether you are learning the information you are studying, and knowing how to improve your learning.
Many students think about metacognition as their "inner coach," their awareness
and knowledge of how they learn and how they will control the process.
There are three key components to metacognition: Awareness, Knowledge, and Control.
1. Awareness
Awareness involves being attentive about what learning strategy you should use and how to use it. Setting goals for yourself would be a good way to be aware of the tasks you have on hand.
2. Knowledge
Knowledge involves knowing about how you learn under different conditions, for example, when you need to accomplish different types of learning tasks. Having this type of knowledge will help you understand and identify a learning strategy that would suit you best. For example, knowing when you would need to apply a different learning strategy to study vocabulary words, and another strategy to study the human body system is considered knowledge in metacognition.
3. Control
Control is the ability to plan, organize and manage your learning. For example, before preparing for an upcoming test, you might first make a schedule/timeline of studying and set goals. Control also involves monitoring your own progress. You can do this by asking yourself questions like "Have I understood the information I am studying?" or "Am I keeping up with my study plan and goals?" To do this, you must first identify the learning strategy that works best with the information you need to learn.
Self directed learning is the end result of metacognition. Click here to learn more about self directed learning (learning on your own).
Websites Related to this Information
An Overview of Metacognition - An essay describing what metacognition is and different ways it can be applied.
Activity Center
- Are you a visual learner? If you are, this will be for you. Click here to see the Improved Learning Slide Show for a fun, interactive display of this information.
- Take the Metacognition and Improved Learning Strategies online quiz to test your knowledge of the topics.
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