Critical Reflection 10

Metacognition

Niall Ó Connaibh G00334074

“Too often, we teach students what to think but not how to think”

- (Ferlazzo, 2014)

Metacognition is a term which “refers to a student’s ability to be aware of what they are
thinking about and choosing a helpful thought process”, (InnerDrive, 2006). Metacognition
encapsulates students’ ability to analyse how they think, have high self-awareness and
control of their own thoughts and choose an appropriate and helpful strategy for the task at
hand, (InnerDrive, 2006). Research has proven that metacognition is one of the most
effective and cost efficient ways to help pupils make improvements in their learning.
Evidence has revealed that when students use metacognitive strategies, they improve in a
range of subjects, including the STEM subjects.
Through further research, I have found that Metacognition is divided into two types;
 Metacognitive knowledge - this refers to one’s awareness about what one does or does not
know. It is similar to knowing your strengths, weaknesses and any gaps in your knowledge,
(InnerDrive, 2006).
 Metacognitive regulation - refers to the different strategies students use to manage their
thoughts and emotions. This includes how well students plan, monitor and evaluate their
performance, (InnerDrive, 2006).

Having completed my final block of School Placement, I feel that as a result of all the
opportunities I received to teach within the education system, that I have developed skills and
knowledge which will carry me in to the future as a perspective teacher. I believe my ability to
teach at second level has improved significantly since my first placement two years ago.
Throughout School Placement 4, I was required to self-assess both my teaching and learning on
a daily and weekly basis, to identify any challenges I faced and to suggest improvements for
future teaching. In other words, I was employing Metacognition to monitor my teaching
methods in order to improve as a teacher.

An area I reflected predominantly on during my daily reflections was maintaining student

interest and attention. I found that the students’ attention levels wavered more easily during
theory lessons causing them to become somewhat disconnected from the learning. As this
behaviour was also observed and commented upon by my tutor in his report, I was invariably
prompted to engage in metacognitive regulation thus resulting in the reflection of the lesson
plans and their subsequent delivery. I questioned why the resources I employed were not
sufficient in creating and maintaining interest levels among my students. I looked critically at my
teaching style for that particular lesson. In conclusion, I devised new lessons plans incorporating
varied resources and strategies which I believed were more students centred and ICT based e.g.
Inquiry Based Learning, Think Pair Share and more student involvement in active demonstrations
 using stimulus objects at the beginning of class and educational videos for recapping of new
learning.

Another challenge I encountered during SP4 relates to the assessment of new learning. I used a
variety of assessment techniques initially at the beginning of placement. After correcting one
particular summative assessment, I was disappointed to discover that some students
demonstrated low levels of content understanding. After the next lesson, I decided to employ
the ‘Traffic Light System’ thus engaging my students in Metacognition whereby they self-
assessed their understanding of the lesson content. This exercise provided me with the
necessary feedback which directed the following lesson. The follow- up summative assessment
resulted in higher grades and a greater understanding of lesson content. This experiment further
proves that Metacognition is one of the most effective and cost efficient ways to help pupils
make improvements in their learning, (InnerDrive, 2006).

Now that my SP4 is concluded I am extremely aware that, although I have learned much in
terms of teaching strategies and techniques my learning journey has just begun. In retrospect,
since SP2, I have been given the opportunity to teach in three different school types with
students coming from different backgrounds and home environments which has required me to
adapt my teaching style accordingly. Teaching is also a learning process and a good teacher will
constantly review and critically evaluate through Metacognition on his/her teaching methods
and strive to keep informed of best teaching practices for the benefit of his/her students.

Bibliography
Ferlazzo, L. (2014, October 29). QUOTE OF THE DAY: ON METACOGNITION. Retrieved February 18,
2019, from larryferlazzo.edublogs.org: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2014/10/29/quote-
of-the-day-on-metacognition/

InnerDrive. (2006). WHAT IS METACOGNITION? Retrieved February 18, 2019, from

blog.innerdrive.co.uk: https://blog.innerdrive.co.uk/what-is-metacognition