META-COGNITION

Cognition

Cognition is the scientific term referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, including thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem solving.

Metacognition : Metacognition is knowledge and understanding of our own cognitive processes and abilities and those of others, as well as regulation of these processes.

Metacognition refers to one's knowledge concerning one's own cognitive processes or anything related to them, e.g., the learning-relevant properties of information or data. For example, I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; if it strikes me that I should double check C before accepting it as fact. (Flavell, 1976)

Metacognition: awareness or analysis of one's own learning or thinking processes. Metacognition also includes self-regulation—the ability to orchestrate one's learning: to plan, monitor success, and correct errors when appropriate—all necessary for effective intentional learning… Metacognition also refers to the ability to reflect on one's own performance. (National Research Council, 2000)

Metacognition is "cognition about cognition", "thinking about thinking", or "knowing about knowing". It comes from the root word "meta",meaning beyond. It can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving.

Metacognition refers to higher order thinking which involves active control over the cognitive processes engaged in learning. Activities such as planning how to approach a given learning task, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating progress toward the completion of a task are metacognitive in nature.

The two components of metacognition : Schraw, 1998

1. Knowledge of cognition has three components:knowledge of the factors that influence one’s own performance; knowing different types of strategies to use for learning; knowing what strategy to use for a specific learning situation.

2. Regulation of cognition involves: setting goals and planning; monitoring and controlling learning; and evaluating one’s own regulation (assessing results and strategies used).

KNOWLEDGE OF COGNITION

It contains three types of Knowledge

Declarative Knowledge : refers to knowledge about oneself as a learner and about what factors can influence one's performance Declarative knowledge can also be referred to as "world knowledge.

1.     The factual knowledge the learner needs before being able to process or use critical thinking related to the topic

2.     Knowing about, what, or that

3.     Knowledge of one’s skills, intellectual resources, and abilities as a learner

4.     Students can obtain knowledge through presentations, demonstrations, discussions.

Procedural Knowledge : refers to knowledge about doing things. This type of knowledge is displayed as heuristics and strategies. A high degree of procedural knowledge can allow individuals to perform tasks more automatically. This is achieved through a large variety of strategies that can be accessed more efficiently

1.     The application of knowledge for the purposes of  completing a procedure or process

2.     Knowledge about how to implement learning procedures  (e.g. strategies)

3.     Requires students know the process as well as when to apply process in various situations

4.     Students can obtain knowledge through discovery, cooperative learning, and problem solving

Conditional Knowledge: refers to knowing when and why to use declarative and procedural knowledge. It allows students to allocate their resources when using strategies. This in turn allows the strategies to become more effective

1.     The determination under what circumstances specific processes or skills should transfer

2.     Knowledge about when and why to use learning  procedures

3.     Application of declarative and procedural knowledge with certain conditions presented

4.     Students can obtain knowledge through simulation

REGULATION OF COGNITION

1.     Planning: Planning, goal setting, and allocating resources prior to learning

2.     Information Management Strategies: Skills and strategy sequences used to process information more efficiently (e.g., organizing, elaborating, summarizing, selective focusing).

3.     Comprehension Monitoring: refers to one's awareness of comprehension and task performance  Assessment of one’s learning or strategy use.

4.     Debugging Strategies :Strategies used to correct comprehension and performance  errors.

5.     Evaluation : : refers to appraising the final product of a task and the efficiency at which the task was performed. This can include re-evaluating strategies that were used Analysis of performance and strategy effectiveness after a learning episode.

Metacognition Skills

Successful learners typically use metacognitive strategies whenever they learn. But they may fail to use the best strategy for each type of learning situation. Here are some metacognitive strategies that will sound familiar to you:

1.     1.Knowing your limits. Knowing the limits of your own memory for a particular task and creating a means of external support.

2.     2.Self-Monitoring. Self-monitoring your learning strategy, such as concept mapping, and then adapting the strategy if it isn’t effective.

3.     Modify. Noticing whether you comprehend something you just read and then modifying your approach if you did not comprehend it.

4.     Skimming. Choosing to skim subheadings of unimportant information to get to the information you need.

5.     Rehearsing. Repeatedly rehearsing a skill in order to gain proficiency (i.e. practice) 6. Self-Tests. Periodically doing self-tests to see how well you learned something.

Metacognitive strategies

Metacognitive strategies facilitate learning how to learn. You can incorporate these, as appropriate, into your own learning strategy.

1.     Ask Questions. Asking questions allows learners to reflect on their own learning processes and strategies. It also allows for enhance comprehension

2.     Foster Self-Reflection. Critically analyze your own assumptions and how these assumptions have influenced your learning.

3.     Adopt Autonomous Learning. Challenge how you learn information. Is it the most efficient and effective way of learning? If not try new strategies as a trial and error experiment until you find a strategy that works for you.

4.     Find a Mentor. Many people learn best by interacting with peers who are slightly more advanced. Look for opportunities to observe the proficient use of a skill by a mentor, ask questions and learn from their learning experiences.

5.     Find a Group: Cooperative problem solving can enhance metacognitive strategies by discussing possible approaches with group members and learning from each other. This can be an excellent way of testing your knowledge on a given subject.

6.     Think Aloud. Report your thoughts while performing a difficult task. Discover any potential errors in thinking to address any sabotaging thoughts or language while learning new information.

7.     Self-Explanation. Talking aloud while learning new information can help you improve your comprehension of a difficult subject and bring to light your gaps in retention.

8.     Be ok with Making Errors. You are given the opportunity to make errors while learning. Allow yourself to make mistakes as learning is about the process of getting to know information, not the arrival at knowing information perfectly.