What is Metacognition?

Metacognition involves three interconnected processes:

1. Planning: Setting goals, analyzing task demands, and preparing strategies.
2. Monitoring: Actively assessing comprehension and progress during learning.
3. Evaluating: Reflecting on outcomes to refine future strategies.

In How Learning Works, Lovett et al. (2023) emphasize that metacognition allows students to assess their knowledge and skills, plan their approach, monitor progress, and adjust strategies as needed. This cyclical process transforms students into reflective learners who adapt to challenges and develop lifelong learning habits.

Metacognition also interrelates with other key concepts in this guide:

• Active Learning: By planning and monitoring their engagement, students take a more active role in their education.
• Inquiry-Based Learning: Reflective practices help students generate and refine questions.
• Feedback: Metacognition encourages students to actively incorporate feedback into their learning process.
• Universal Design for Learning: Supporting metacognitive strategies aligns with UDL’s emphasis on providing multiple means of engagement and expression.

Strategies for Fostering Metacognition

1. Planning for Learning

Planning is the foundation of effective learning. As Lovett et al. (2023) explain, expert learners allocate significant time to planning, while novice learners often overlook its importance. Teaching students how to plan enhances their ability to navigate complex tasks and manage their learning.

Ideas for Implementation:

• Use non-graded pre-tests to help students identify what they already know and what they need to learn.
• Have students preview readings and generate guiding questions before class.
• Model expert planning strategies when solving problems or allocating study time.
• Offer structured study plans as part of specifications grading, allowing students to choose pathways that fit their goals.
• Share examples of effective learning strategies specific to your course.

2. Monitoring for Learning

Monitoring involves regularly assessing understanding and progress. This process helps students identify gaps in their knowledge and refine their approach during learning tasks.

Ideas for Implementation:

• Assign reflective “minute papers” or “muddiest point” activities during or after class.
• Encourage the use of metacognitive note-taking techniques, like the Cornell system, which integrates space for questions and summaries.
• Have students generate potential test questions as part of self-assessment.
• Use guided reading questions to reinforce comprehension and promote active reading.
• Incorporate confidence judgments during quizzes, encouraging students to reflect on their certainty and performance.

3. Evaluating Learning

Evaluation closes the metacognitive loop, prompting students to analyze their performance and make adjustments for future tasks. Lovett et al. (2023) emphasize that effective evaluation encourages students to develop resilience and adaptability.

Ideas for Implementation:

• Assign “exam wrappers” that guide students to reflect on their preparation, performance, and strategies for improvement.
• Include reflection components in major assignments, asking students to analyze what worked and what didn’t.
• Ask students to formally respond to feedback, identifying areas for revision and growth.
• Require strategy projects where students outline their approach to a task and evaluate its effectiveness.

Why Metacognition Matters

Metacognition not only fosters academic success but also prepares students for professional and personal challenges. It aligns with principles of active learning by encouraging students to take ownership of their education, and it supports equity by empowering all learners to develop skills for success, regardless of their starting point.

While many students arrive at college with limited metacognitive skills, these can be taught and cultivated (Cohen, 2012; Steiner, 2016). Evidence shows that embedding metacognitive activities into specific courses, rather than teaching them as stand-alone lessons, enhances transferability and impact (Steiner, Dean, Foote, & Goldfine, 2016).