META-COGNITION

Metacognition is thinking about thinking. 

 

It enables learners to understand what they can do already, and what they need to do next.

 

Utilising metacognition in a classroom can take many forms: using success criteria to help students check their work; asking learners to rate how well they understand a topic; and, asking questions that encourage self-reflection. 

 

Metacognition is one of the most powerful strategies that teachers can employ to boost pupil attainment, because of its ability to engage students in their learning process. 

 

By encouraging the learner to consider how much they understand, and what they need to improve on, teachers can enable their students to be more self-regulated in their education. 

 

Metacognitive Strategies 

Here are some metacognitive strategies that you can use in your classroom:

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• • LEARNING INTENTIONS/OBJECTIVES - these should be clear and concise so the children understand WHAT they will be learning.

  • SUCCESS CRITERIA - steps to success help child to know HOW they will achieve their learning goal.

  • SELF-EVALUATION - 'traffic-lighting' work can get children to think about how well they have understood a lesson and whether they need more help or not.

  • WAGOLLs (WHAT A GOOD ONE LOOKS LIKE) - showing children an example of a finished piece of work helps them to know when they will have achieved a skill. 

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The Impact

Many metacognitive strategies, such as success criteria and 'traffic lighting' work, are free - which makes this a high-impact/low-cost tool for teachers to use.