What Is Metacognition?
Metacognition is the process of thinking about your own thinking.
For example, if you are a student who is struggling with a math problem, metacognition would include recognizing that you are having trouble solving it and then taking steps to try and solve it.
Metacognition also includes being able to compare your current learning style and approach to something new — such as trying to understand what reading a textbook is like versus reading an article online.
Why Is Metacognition Important?
Metacognition is important because it is the ability to think about thinking. It is the ability to reflect on your knowledge, skills, and abilities in order to improve your learning.
Metacognition is especially important in education because it helps students learn how to learn. Students need to understand how they learn best, what studying techniques work best for them, and how they can improve their study habits.
The ability to think about thinking also helps students become more autonomous learners — they can set goals, monitor their own progress toward those goals, evaluate their success or failure at achieving those goals, and adjust their strategies accordingly.
How Can Educators Teach Metacognition?
Educators know that teaching students how to think about their thinking is an important part of the educational process. Metacognition is the ability to monitor, control and evaluate our own thinking processes. It is a skill that students need for real-world success.
When students are able to monitor their own learning, they are better able to manage their thinking and become more effective learners in the classroom. When educators work with students on metacognitive skills, they help them learn how to identify their strengths and weaknesses as learners so they can improve over time.
Educators can teach metacognition in a number of ways. One way is by making sure that students are aware of their own learning styles, and then trying to help them identify which teaching methods work best for them. This can be done through a variety of methods, including testing and observation. Another way educators can teach metacognition is by helping students learn how to monitor their own understanding of a particular concept or skill. They should also be able to recognize when something does not make sense or when they do not understand it well enough yet. Educators can also help students learn how to evaluate their own progress on different tasks so that they know when they need more help with something or if they are ready for the next step in their learning process.
Educators who want their students to become more metacognitive should try using different techniques during class time so that each student has an opportunity to practice these skills with different types of materials or activities before moving on to something else entirely (such as group work). They should also encourage students who seem interested in becoming better at this type of thinking about whether or not they would like any additional support from outside sources (such as tutoring services or local libraries).
