HANDOUT 2

Developing Learners Metacognitive Thinking Skills:

Food or Tho!ght "Hando!t 2#
Fore$ord
To understand better the power of metacognition in the learning process, it is helpful to review aspects of cognition. %ognition may be defined as
the mental process of knowing; the product of mental processes such as perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning in constructing
meaning. "&aragraph '(#
)n teaching learners to !se co*prehension strategies that involve higher order thinking in constr!cting kno$ledge+*eaning, cognition is
enhanced (Fogarty, 1!; "ational #eading $anel, %&&%; $alinscar ' (rown, 1)!*. +uch strategies may include, but are not limited to, Making
%onnections, Asking -!estions, .is!ali/ing, Deter*ining Te0t )*portance, Making )nerences, and S1nthesi/ing. Other strategies incl!de
Monitoring 2 %lari1ing, 3eciprocal Teaching "3T#, Mar/anos strategies, the !se o Mne*onics, etc4 "See Hando!t 54# "'2#
,hile learners can 6e ta!ght to !se co*prehension strategies to enhance cognition and develop higher order thinking, teachers *a1 also
!se those strategies to help learners develop *etacognitive skills+higher order thinking skills (Fogarty, 1!; ,alsh ' +attes, %&&-*. The
difference is in how the strategies are used. "'5#
$er .ourgey (1)*, the dierence is that *etacognitive strategies involve the learner in *onitoring "i4e4, ) $onder i ) need to7# and
eval!ating "i4e4, 8ased on $hat ) kno$ no$, *1 9!dg*ent is7# cognitive activities "i4e4, tr1ing to !nderstand the ele*ents o iction# s+he is
peror*ing. Thereby, these metacognitive strategies improve upon the knowledge/understanding ac0uired through cognitive processing. "':# to
build knowledge but metacognitive strategies enable a learner t
;HAT is *etacognition< Metacognition
1s an a$areness or anal1sis o the learners o$n thinking or learning processes as the learner atte*pts to acco*plish a cognitive goal (i.e.,
comprehension of the author2s purpose or comprehension of how to solve for x, etc.*. First introduced into educational psychology by Flavell in
13, it is a higher order thinking process in which the learner is thinking about his thinking 4 monitoring and evaluating it (5ivingston, 13*.
"'=#
1s a thinking process !sed to control "i4e4, *onitor and eval!ate# cognition in a strategic *anner. +trategies include the learner2s planning
and monitoring cognitive activities and checking/evaluating the outcomes of the planning and monitoring ((rown, 1)3; Fogarty, 1!* 4 all
centering on the cognitive goal toward which the learner is working (i.e., comprehension of the author2s purpose or comprehension of how to solve
for x, etc.*. "'>#
6ay be *odeled 61 teachers in the conte0t o getting learners to appl1 an1 learning+co*prehension strategies ?? !sing think alo!ds 77
including (but not limited to* 6aking 8onnections, 9sking :uestions, ;isualizing, <etermining Te=t 1mportance, 6aking 1nferences,
+ynthesizing, and 6onitoring and 8larifying ($earson, #oehler, <ole, ' <uffy, 1%; ,ilhelm, %&&1*.
)s critical/higher order thinking; however, all critical/higher order thinking is not metacognitive (5ivingston, 133*.
1s at its best when the learner processes $itho!t 6eing pro*pted and deter*ines+*onitors, spontaneo!sl1, strategies that are needed
to 6e s!ccess!l in reaching a cognitive goal4 "See Hando!t =.* ,hile proficient readers e=ercise these metacognitive skills, struggling
readers and younger/ >immature? readers will be dependent upon teachers to develop their metacognitive thinking (9rmbruster, 1)@*.
;H@ is *etacognition i*portant<
#eading comprehension 4 re0uisite to success in learning 77 is not increased by an increase, merely, in reading. Aowever, i learners are ta!ght to
interact strategicall1 $ith te0t thro!gh a host o strategies that the1 can learn to appl1 as needed, cognition is increased ($ressley, ,harton7
6c<onald, 6istretta7Aampston, ' Bchevarria, 1)*.
6etacognitive processing reA!ires practice in solving pro6le*s in conte0t in the acade*ic and all other settings (6ayer, 1)*. To problem
solve in their own learning and to be successful in the classroom and beyond, learners need to 6e proicient in reading across the c!rric!l!*4
$roponents of metacognitive thinking, including 3o6ert Mar/ano "2BB5#, Cohn Hattie "2BBD#, and Harold ;englinsk1 "2BB2#
conc!r that
>,hen students are taught to think about their own thinking, they gain knowledge and control of factors that affect learning77
the self, the task at hand, and strategies to be employed.?
>#esearch strongly suggests persistent, positive effects regardless of student age, achievement level, nationality or ethnicity.?
(Aaving analyzed @- research studies, 6arzano asserts that the primary vehicle for student learning is metacognitive
thinking.*
>6etacognitive skills transfer to other learning situations and are retained over time.?
;HAT are e0a*ples o a teachers *odeling "thinking alo!d# *etacognitive thinking<
Si0 abbreviated e=amples follow (on p. @* that are EFAGGE3ATED TO SHO; %OM&ONENT &A3TS4 The1 are to 6e ta!ght
separatel1 as the need arises to *odel+teach certain strategies or enhanced learning4
%OM&ONENT &A3TS o Metacognition incl!de "a# having and !nderstanding a %ognitive Goal, "6# a plan to acco*plish that
Goal, "c# Sel Monitoring, and "d# Sel Eval!ating "adapted ro* Fogart1, (HH:I N%3EL, (HH=#4 See e0a*ples 6elo$:
%


Teachers Modeling %ognitive GoalC J9s a critical thinker trying to 6e s!ccess!l in !nderstanding the ele*ents o iction,
)D?
Teachers Modeling %hoosing a &lan: J(ased on what 1 know about what 1 need to do, ) a* going to !se the Fra1er Model as *1
Strateg1 K to organi/e *1 tho!ghts, etc4L
Teachers Modeling Sel MonitoringC >12m going to ask *1sel i ) need to clari1 61 going 6ackD.?
Teachers Modeling Sel Eval!atingC >(ased on all that 1 know now, *1 decision is that ) sho!ld !se this Strateg1
$henD.?
(The conte0t+te0t+selection from which the e=amples come is .rifalconi2s The .illage o 3o!nd and SA!are Ho!ses "See Hando!t :4#
%o*prehension Strategies
Teachers Modeling the Use o %o*prehension Strategies to Develop %ritical 2 Metacognitive Thinking
Make %onnections:
5earners connect with
Themselves.
Ether te=ts, concepts.
The $orld4
>9s a critical thinker trying to be successful in understanding the elements of fiction 4 plot, character, setting,
point of view, and theme, ) a* going to ask *1sel i
This te=t reminds me of anything that 1 know aboutF?
This te=t reminds me of what 1 read in %inderella when 1 read the e=position (6ackgro!nd
inor*ation on the characters and stor1C 8inderella2s father married a woman who had two
daughters of her own*F?
This same thing is happening in another locationF?
Ask -!estions:
5earners 0uestion themselves about
The te=t.
Their reactions.
The author2s purpose (or the purpose
of the lesson/chapter*.
>9s a critical thinker trying to be successful in understanding the elements of fiction 4 plot, character, setting,
point of view, and theme, ) a* going to ask *1sel i
5ooking at the pictures and other conte=t clues will help meDF?
1 can represent what 1 envisionF?
The author2s purpose is to communicate a cultural norm/a community norm, based on the picture she
has portrayed to meF?
1 need to clarify by re7reading the entire passage or by reading slowerF ?
<o 1 need to stop and think about each passage before proceedingF?
.is!ali/e:
5earners envision
,hat the characters look like (or what
the mathematical problem looks like*.
The location of events.
The antagonist and protagonist(s*;
>Thinking about the te=t and being successful in my understanding of the elements of fiction, 12m going to ask
myself i ) can envision
,hat the author is describingF?
9 non linguistic representation of GGGGGGGGF?
GGGGGGGGG playing the role ofDin a movie production of thisD.F?
9 location that is similar toDF?
@


(animate or inanimate* The antagonist and the protagonist(s*F?
Aow 1 would represent an inanimate obHect as the antagonistF?
Deter*ine Te0t )*portance
5earners use te=t to
<etermine what is important.
<efine problems.
<etermine solutions, etc.
>To be successful in understanding Dam 1 going to use te=t to help *e deter*ine i (for e=ample*
+howing respect for elders may be important to the author of this selection, based on her portrayal of
the se0uence of who eats first, second, and last at meal timeF?
1 think that the main ideas are GGGGG, GGGGGG, and GGGGF Then, 1 could take those main ideas and
summarize the te=tF
Make )nerences:
5earners (with the use of te=t clues and their
prior knowledge*
9sk 0uestions that lead to conclusions
(i.e., ,hat do the character2s inner
thoughts, conversation, and/or actions
revealF*
6ake predictions based on prior
knowledge.
>From the te=t clues and what the author has portrayed, 1 ask myself i ) can dra$ concl!sions+*ake
predictions
(ased on what the author actually saysDF?
(ased on 1fDthen situations (i.e., ) the people in the village of Tos kept the women and men divided
by round and s0uare houses based on what happened after 6other "aka erupted, thenDF?
(ased on the author2s tone that is accommodating of 6other "akaF?
+uggesting that when the author saysGGGG, s/he means GGGGand by providing
evidence of my thinkingC GGGG, GGGGGGGGGGG, ' GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGF?
S1nthesi/e:
5earners combine prior knowledge
with new learning to form new ideasD.
>(ased on what 1 know now, am 1 going to change my thinking nowF?
>(ased on everything 1 know now, my Hudgment of this te=t/lesson is thatGGGGG.?
>9m 1 going to take this new knowledge about how 1 learn and apply the successful strategies to other learning
tasksF (1 can compare and contrast familiar te=ts with te=ts 1 am studying now to help me understand story
elementsD.*?
HO; is 8loo*s Ta0ono*1 related to *etacognition< 5earners who are routinely e=pected to perform at the higher levels of (loom2s
ta=onomy (whether they are at the prere0uisite, target, or enhanced level relevant to a particular +E5* will have practice in using strategies to
construct meaning. 5earners who routinely e=ercise higher order thinking may already e=ercise metacognitive thinking without being prompted.
1f they do not 4 having routinely applied their learning and having used strategies, they are closer to the process of metacognition. (6etacognition
is addressed by Mar/ano (%&&I* in his New Taxonomy and by Anderson 2 Mrath$ohl (%&&1* in their Revision of Blooms Taxonomy.*
!


;HAT *ight 6e a irst step in a teachers *odeling *etacognition< 9dapted from httpC//www.benchmarkeducation.com/educational7
leader/reading/metacognitive7strategies.html
For the given content area, deter*ine $hich learning strateg1 1o! *ight $ant to !se in *odeling *etacognition K 6ased on The
Learners %ognitive Goal4 9s an e=ample, it may be *ne*onics "in this case or *ath#4 &lease E=cuse My Dear Aunt Sally is a
mnemonic devise used to identify the order of operations with e=ponentsC $arentheses, B=ponents, 6ultiplication ' <ivision, and
9ddition ' +ubtraction.
8hoose a short te=t or section of te=t from which you will model. #ead the te=t and mark locations where you will stop and model
metacognitive thinking.
+hare with the class your purpose by naming the strategy (i.e., visualizing, the use of mnemonics, etc.*. #ead the te=t aloud and at the
designated places, think alo!d pertaining to the goal, the plan, monitoring, and evaluating.
8ontinue with the process until comfortable that learners know your role and theirs. Aave learners respond in an environment that
encourages risk taking. Jou may start with learners responding at the overhead, etc. The goal is spontaneit1 in thinking a6o!t thinking4
HHb1%1%1&
-