Metacognition
EDU 330: Educational Psychology
Daniel Moos, PhD
Let’s Review: The IPT Model
(1) 2 minute summary of model
(2) Identify one concrete implication (what does this
theory suggest about what teachers can do to improve
student learning?)
What is Metacognition?
Case Studies Tanner, 2012
Imagine two high school students from your class
meet with you after school one day. Both
students:
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Rarely miss class.
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Submit every assignments on time.
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Appear eager and interested in work for your
class.
What is Metacognition?
Case Studies, cont Tanner, 2012
Student #1
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Expresses happiness that the test was on a Monday,
because that allowed a lot of time to prepare the previous
weekend.
Started studying after work on Saturday evening and did
not go out with friends that night.
Reread assigned textbook material/ made flashcards of the
bold words in the text.
Feels that she should have done well on the test because
she studied all Saturday night and all day on Sunday.
Wants you to know that she studied really hard, so she
should get a good grade on the exam.
What is Metacognition?
Case Studies, cont Tanner, 2012
Student #2
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Reviewed readings each evening after class.
Compared ideas from the readings with the information
presented in class to see how they were similar and
different.
Identified places in which things seemed not to agree
and/or were confusing; kept a list of confusions.
Brought them to weekly study group with peers from her
course lab section.
Actively seeks out your help and feedback to ask you
about a couple of things that were still confusing.
What is Metacognition?

Cognition refers to…
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The manner in which information is processed
(the way in which students process, store,
retrieve, manipulate knowledge)
Metacogntion refers to…

Knowledge about these operations and how they
may be best used to achieve a learning goal
Metacognition in Theory
Metacognition in Reality (I)
Not just another “education” buzz word…
We know it is incredibly important in learning…
•Over
35 years of research (Flavell, 1979, 1987s)
Knowledge-of-person variables
 Individual understanding (are you better at math or
English?)
Knowledge-of-task variables
 Knowledge of tasks (which tasks take you longer to
complete?)
Knowledge-of-strategy variables
 Knowledge of effective strategies (which strategies are
most effective for you?)
Metacognition in Reality (II)
Not just another “education” buzz word…
We know it is incredibly important in learning…
•Supported
in diverse areas of research: Cognitive
Psychology, Educational Psychology, Learning Sciences
•Personal commitment and consistency of findings:
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28 of my 30 published journal articles are based on studies
that used metacognition to explain learning
Statistically significantly predicted learning outcomes
•Accessible
instructional strategies for supporting
metacognition
Metacognitive Support (I)
Exit Cards
I understand….
I do NOT understand….
Metacognitive Support (II)
SRL prompts
Many students (of all ages) do not self-regulate their
learning
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Planning Questions (before learning): What do you
already know about ______?
Monitoring questions (during learning): What have
you learned so far? What questions do you have
and/or is there anything you do not feel like you
understand?
Reflection (after learning): What did you learn about
_______?
Metacognitive Support (III)
KWL Charts
Provide opportunities for students to express:
what they know (K);
want to know (W);
have learned (L)
Metacognitive Support (IV)
Metacognitive Note-taking
Dynamic interplay between content & understanding
Metacognitive Support (V)
Wrappers
Surrounds existing assignment/activity and encourages metacognition
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Lecture wrappers: 3 important points
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Exam wrappers: Predict exam performance, describe
study strategies; reflect and modify
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Homework wrappers: Predict difficulty, reflect and modify
Age trends in Metacognition
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Young Elementary (6 yr olds)
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Young Elementary (7 yr olds)
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Do know: Familiar items easier to remember, small set of
information easier to recall
Do not know: Limit to amount one can recall
Do know: Interest, familiarity, and story length affect
comprehension and recall
Do not know: Effect of how ideas are sequenced, time of
test should affect study time
Elementary (9 yr olds)
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Do know: Recall is limited (younger children overestimate
how much they can store and retrieve in STM)
Begin to understand when they know something well
enough to pass a memory test (younger children choose to
study something they had already seen)
Metacognitive Support:
Discussion
(1) Of these strategies that support metacognition, which one
do you think would be most effective for your developmental
group/content area? Why? How would you modify it to better
meet the needs of your students?
(2) Any other strategies that can be used to support and
develop students’ ‘thinking about thinking”?