FACILITATING LEARNING

A METACOGNITIVE PROCESS

MODULE 1 – Metacognition
We teach a subject not to produce living libraries on the subject but rather to get the student to take part
in the process of knowledge-getting. Jerome Bruner
Overview:
In your readings, have you encountered the term thinking about thinking? Has this been tackled in other
professional education subjects? Metacognition or thinking about thinking is intentionally the first module
in Facilitating Learner-centered teaching (FLCT) since your clear understanding of it from the onset of this
semester will enable you to apply this basic concept in order to easily absorb the series of lessons along
the course of the semester.
Learning Objectives:
1. Define metacognition
2. Justify the significance of “thinking about thinking” in learning;
3. Explain why metacognition should be intentionally incorporated into instruction;
4. Explain what makes experts in learning stand out among the rest;
5. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how 21st century students learn and how this
impacts learning;
6. Identify strategies for nurturing students’ metacognition that allow them to exercise their agency
in learning; and
7. Create/design significant experiences for students
Try to decipher the connections with metacognition as the major idea as reflected in Figure 1
below.

Metacognition and Teaching Strategies to Develop

"thinking about thinking"

Development Metacognition
Metacognition

Person Variables
Metacognition Task Variables
Knowledge Variables Strategy Variables

Application of
Characteristics of Expert
Metacognition leads one Learners
to be an expert learner
Learners who do not use
Characteristics of Novice
metacognition remain to Learners
be novice learners
Figure 1

LEARNING CONTENT
Watch this video. Follow the link: https://youtu.be/f-4N7OxSMok
If you were to give the meaning of metacognition from your perspective as a learner, what would
it be? John H. Flavell (1979) coined the term and it means people’s awareness of their own learning
experiences and the tasks they are involved in. Thinking about thinking takes place before, during and
after a learning experience. It is an ongoing process that involves reflection and action. Before the
learning task is referred to as pre planning. This answers the following: How will you go about the task?
What worked before? What did not? This uses visualization and reflection. The second is during the
learning experience or the process of planning: What are your plans? What do you need to do? This
means setting goals and standards. How will you do this? Why do you need to do this? This also includes
implementing plans that leads to active monitoring: How are you doing? The third process is post
planning: How can you improve? What can you change? What do you continue? This is otherwise
known as evaluation and revision.
 Metacognition is an important skill for learning because it is associated with positive learning
outcomes that cultivates student agency which is described as the capability and liberty of the student to
do choose what to learn and to visualize how to teach the lesson to enable learning. It refers to setting
advantageous goals; initiating action toward those goals; and regulating to determine whether the
learning outcomes are about to be achieved or not. Being confident that you have the skills and ability to
perform the task (efficacy expectancies) and expecting that your actions will lead to a desired outcome
(outcome expectancies).
As a teacher of the future, how will you teach metacognition to cultivate student agency?
First, you should be student-oriented. How is this made possible? The point of departure for the
course is where the students are, not where the professor is. “…the professor learned (the idea) such a
long time ago that he can no longer understand why somebody has difficulty grasping it .” This is
according to Erik Mazur. As the teacher, the irony of becoming an expert in your field is that “it becomes
not easier to teach because you are unaware of the conceptual difficulties of a beginning learner (E.
Mazur) This is why as the teacher you have to take note that an expert and a novice learn differently.
To determine whether as a learner, one is an expert, first you have to gauge and activate the
extent and nature of your students’ prior knowledge by:
 Administering a diagnostic assessment
 Brainstorming to reveal prior knowledge
 Concept maps/mind mapping
 Looking for patterns of error in students’ work
 Explicitly linking new material to prior knowledge.
Hence as teachers, find ways of connecting what is already inside their heads with ideas, facts, concept
and themes you want them to know.
Second, although students are expected to be self-motivated, the teacher accepts shared
responsibility for a learning experience that is supportive, structured and effective in attaining course
goals. There should be facilitation and reciprocity. This means scaffolding or a carefully designed support.
You have to prepare a conducive learning environment i.e., reciprocal learning, dialectical thinking. In
other words, model good thinking.
Finally, it is important to regard learning from the perspective of your students and this what being
learner-oriented is all about . Everyone treats one another with dignity and respect. Individual differences
are respected, welcomed and supported. This is affective learning. This implies that:
 A conducive/friendly classroom setting.
 Students have the option to ask questions without fear of embarrassment or condemnation; they
are given a high level and respect for their current viewpoint and status.
 Students have a good trusting relationship with the teacher—in other words, learners are looking
to see if the teachers own life reflects the content and usefulness of the teaching: Does he or she
walk the talk?
 Fostering harmonious connection with fellow learners.
Consider that there are also barriers to thinking and learning:
 Fear,
 teacher’s poor expectation/ negative outlook.
 could not understand,
 pacing was too fast,
 first time to encounter topic/subject,
 teacher’s personality- unapproachable,
 teachers talk to the board,
 could grasp subject at once but forget it as quickly,
 not interesting,
 not interested, and the
 subject is easy, exam is difficult
So how should you teach metacognition to cultivate student agency?
 Students participate in establishing goals and objectives
 Broad objectives are provided by the teacher; but students create additional objectives.
  From the onset of the semester, students’ goals are already set then monitoring to check whether
these students are progressing towards these goals. This is important..
 An interactive and supportive learning climate is a must; activities are problem-centered and
student -driven.
There should be active construction of knowledge not passivity of knowledge getting. This is possible
through group work and active participation of everyone is encouraged.
There are two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition which is also termed
metacognitive awareness and the second is regulation of cognition. Three important aspects of
metacognition in terms of knowledge are:
Person Variables. This includes how you view your learning self. For example, you may be
aware that you work more actively if you take a morning bath first rather than starting to work fresh from
bed without taking a bath and that you work better when submission is near the deadline than when
submission is far from the deadline.
Task Variables. Understanding the lesson in terms of its level of difficulty, the strategy that you
have to use to accomplish it as well as the dedication and commitment that you should provide as
demanded are contributors to fulfill the assignment or task. For example, your awareness that it takes
more time for you to read then answer an assignment in research than reading an interview of your
favorite BTS member.
Strategy variables. This pertains to the plan of action that you use to achieve your aim. In this
case if you know your capability as a learner, the problem that you have to solve and the means to find
the right solution then you are already metacognitive. In the process, it likewise entails monitoring and
self-regulation

Construct a matrix to compare a novice from an expert learner after watching this you tube video and
other references as well. Click this link: https://youtu.be/f-4N7OxSMok

Assessment

1. Do a reflection essay on your knowledge and experience past and present on metacognition.
2. Read a research paper on metacognition and connect it with what you have learned from this
module. Use the tabular form for easy reading reflecting the basic parts of a research.

References:

Bilbao, P et al. (2018) The Teaching Profession, Lorimar Publishing, Inc.

Baylongo, et al. ((2012) Special Topics in Education, Lorimar Publishing, Inc.

Lim, L. et al. (2014) The Teaching Profession. Adriana Publishing House

Lucas, R. et al. (2014) Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive, Lorimar Publishing, Inc.

https://youtu.be/f-4N7OxSMok

https://youtu.be/f-4N7OxSMok

https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/what-are-21st-century-skills