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Metacognition

The prefix ‘meta’ means ‘about’ the thing itself. So, metacognition is ‘cognition about
cognition’, or ‘thinking about one’s thinking’. Metacognition was introduced as a concept by
John H.Flavell. It is a high order thinking because it controls the thinking process involved in
learning. Metacognition is actually idea resource strategies. E.g.

 Recalling the name of a person who was met long time ago.
 Finding the answer of a question in examination after deep thinking.

Metacognition is a process which involves learners’ plan, monitor, evaluate and make
changes to their own learning behaviors. It is way that tells how to learn. Metacognition refers to
high order thinking and needs active awareness and control over cognitive process engaged in
learning. According to Flavell, “meta cognition consist of both metacognitive knowledge and
metacognitive regulation and metacognitive experience.”

The above statement clarifies that metacognition has two dimensions:

 Metacognitive knowledge
 Metacognitive regulation

Metacognitive Knowledge refers to what learners know about the learning. This
includes;

i. the learners’ knowledge of their own cognitive abilities

E.g. I trouble remembering dates

ii. and the learner’s knowledge of the nature of task.

E.g. the ideas in this article are complex.

iii. the learner’s knowledge of different strategies that are available to them and when they
are appropriate to the task

E.g. If I scan the text first it will help me to understand the overall meaning.

Metacognitive Regulation refers to the use of metacognitive strategies, what learners do

about learning. It describes how learners monitor and control their cognitive processes. For
example, a learner might realize that a specific strategy is not achieving the results they want, so
they decide to try a different strategy.

Metacognition Phases
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During the planning phase, learners think about the learning goal the teacher has set and
consider how they will approach the task and which strategies they will use. At this stage, it is
helpful for learners to ask themselves:

‘What am I being asked to do?’

‘Which strategies will I use?’
‘Are there any strategies that I have used before that might be useful?’

During the monitoring phase, learners implement their plan and monitor the progress they are
making towards their learning goal. Students might decide to make changes to the strategies
they are using if these are not working. As students work through the task, it will help them to
ask themselves:

‘Is the strategy that I am using working?’

‘Do I need to try something different?’

During the evaluation phase, students determine how successful the strategy they used was in
helping them to achieve their learning goal. To promote evaluation, students could consider:

‘How well did I do?’

‘What didn’t go well?’ ‘What could I do differently next time?’
‘What went well?’ ‘What other types of problem can I use this strategy for?’

Reflection is a fundamental part of the plan-monitor-evaluate process. Encouraging learners to

self-question throughout the process will support this reflection.

Theories About Metacognition

A theory of metacognitive regulation that is widely cited in the research literature is

Nelson and Narens’ (1990) model of metacognition. This consists of two levels: the object level
and the meta level.

• The object level is where cognitive processes or ‘one’s thinking’ occurs. One example is
decoding text when reading. At the object level, cognitive strategies (e.g. decoding) are used to
help the learner achieve a particular goal (understanding the meaning of the text). This is
cognition.

• The meta level is where ‘thinking about thinking’ takes place. At this higher-order level,
metacognitive strategies are used to make sure the learner reaches the goal they have set. To
continue with the reading example, this would begin with the learner thinking about how well
they have understood the paragraph they have just read. This is termed monitoring. If they are
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happy with their comprehension level they will continue reading. If not, they will perhaps re-read
the paragraph, or decide to use a dictionary to help their understanding. These actions are called
control processes, as they are changing the learner’s cognitive processes or related behaviors,
based on the monitoring feedback. This is metacognition.

Perkins (1992) defined four levels of metacognitive learners: tacit; aware; strategic; reflective.
‘Tacit’ learners are unaware of their metacognitive knowledge. They do not think about any
particular strategies for learning and merely accept if they know something or not. ‘Aware’
learners know about some of the kinds of thinking that they do generating ideas, finding
evidence, etc. – but thinking is not deliberate or planned. ‘Strategic’ learners organise their
thinking by using problem solving, grouping and classifying, evidence seeking, decision making,
etc. They know and apply the strategies that help them learn. ‘Reflective’ learners are not only
strategic about their thinking but they also reflect upon their learning while it is happening,
monitoring the success of any strategies they are using and then changing them as appropriate.