Meta-Cognition

I want to take another look at the lesson that Moira, Diana and Wil worked on--on the train ride home, I was thinking about a way to make evident metacognition as the lesson proceeds.

I believe that metacognition is something that everyone is doing all the time (as my illustration will hopefully point out). What isn't automatic is student use of the metacognitive process--this is a habit that we teach and hopefully get to run in the background (a delightful soundtrack!).

In the lesson that Moira and Diane presented (thanks for starting this discussion!) they were teaching a science lesson--for the sake of this discussion let's narrow it to the lesson on the ecosystem that they spoke about in class. The three part lesson goes like this:

I. "What are the first three words that come to mind when I say ecosystem."

     Think/pair/share your words

     Write a story about your personal experience with an ecosystem using the words.

    Come up with a class understanding of what an ecosystem is.

  II. "What in your story is congruent with this definition?" or "Analyze your story with this definition in  mind."

     or "What in your story illustrates this definition?"

"Partner up and write a story with your partner's three words."

III.  Do I need to go back through the task to fill in any "blanks" in my understanding?  How might I appy this line of thinking to other content/problems?

Now for imagination time! We are teaching this class to a group of 30, we're going to crawl inside one their heads. The lesson begins, teacher gives the first direction. Sallie Sue (our student with the flip top head) is listening to the directions. She tries to think of the first three words but she is distracted by the two students who are sitting behind her --she doubles her concentration and filters out their voices--her self awareness (I'm getting distracted and I need to focus and ignore them--is metacognition.). She comes up with three words, "green, water, fit." Her partner comes up with, "bugs, plants, water." Upon hearing bugs, Sallie Sue begins thinking about a trip that she took to the Insectarium last year and she starts to think about how her experiences there might help her understand what an ecosystem is. (She is being metacognitive, thinking about her thoughts and how she could use them to advance her understanding of the word ecosystem.)

We could keep analyzing each step of the assignment, but then this post would get really long. What I hope the story so far illustrates is a difference between cognition and metacognition. In metacognition you think about what you know, what you are doing, and what your cognitive and/or affective state is.

The unconscious dialogue that is metacognition is always happening in the background. What we need to do as educators is help students take the time to make this dialogue evident between their cognitive unconscious and their conscious (storyteller for the BBI folks). So, when Sallie Sue registers a distraction in the room, she identifies it, acknowledges that it will get in the way of her learning, and takes steps to proceed in a way that makes learning possible for her--she is thinking about how she thinks. When she flashes to the field trip, AND thinks about how those experiences/thoughts might help her with the current task she is being metacognitive.

So why don't I think that asking questions like "what else do you want to learn about ecosystems?" or "what blanks do I need to go back and fill in?" necessarily trigger metacognition? If I give you the directions to bake a cake and ask you what else you want to know or what blanks you need filled in to feel ready to proceed with the cake baking---You won't necessarily be thinking about your thinking, you might just be engaged in a cognitive activity. Asking how baking powder works in the recipe is a cognitive skill question, not a metacognitive analysis.

Inquiry Learning Forum at Indiana University.

It's free, I'm waiting for my membership to be processed (48 hours)--so haven't gotten to play in the site yet.

 Alison’s lesson was a powerful tool to get us to have students subconsciously draw out the essence of learning for the individual.  Story is innate behavior for humans, so the notion of telling a narrative is calming.  The additional instructions that told us the narrative would not be read out loud or shared, made it easier to be more personal.  Those are essential parts of the instructions.  That she told us later of her own concerns about wording the instructions correctly (to the point of writing out exactly what she wanted to say) indicates their importance. 

I note the similarity to Paul’s lesson yesterday, accessing the subconscious.  It is clearly an important aspect of getting to the root of the (any??) problem/situation.

The second activity, analytically looking at the narrative to discern what you needed for learning in that singular environment was very powerful.  Do I need all of those attributes every time I learn, doubt it, but it would be interesting to identify which, if any, I do.

The final activity of identifying what the teacher needed to give to me to be successful in that situation was another important tool of self-analysis.

I certainly plan on adapting this lesson for my own classes.

I was familiar about meta-cognition before entering teaching as a second career.  Once I understood what meta-xxx meant it seems to make understanding similar terms easier.  I always felt that reflecting about one's own thinking is good.  I try to encourage and foster the students to think about their own thinking.  It helps each student learn about him/herself, but also helps me learn about the students and adapt the lesson.  I also try to get the students to be critical consumers and producers of the information that they come across.  I also encourage  my students to question (maybe doubt) everything I say.  This way they have to formulate true understaning and lasting meaning.

Metacognition is very open-ended and the results can be all over.  I believe a good teacher will utilize this as valuable input, but it takes a lot of work and time to truly incorporate this feedback.

1. I first heard of metacognition in Psychology class. I then encountered it in teacher training courses, as they encouraged us to become teachers who foster students awareness and ownership of learning.  Now as a teacher completeing her ninth year, metacognition is not a word I readily use in my everyday vocabulary but I practice it in my classroom. I want my students to think about what works for them and what doesn't.  I want them to think about tools and strategies they need to employ to learn. I want them to become lifelong learners and without self awareness can they?  I believe that inquiry Instruction promptes metacognition. After all it their own questions that drives instruction. It is ther knowledge of  their learning style that allows them to choose the medium in which to show what they learned. In order to develop a classroom of Inquiry and to develop metacognitive skills  a teacher has to build a community of trust and safety. Students have to feel comfortable and safe enough to take risk and take charge of their learning. It requires a teacher to be patient and challenged. A teacher cannot be afraid to give up the reigns and allow the kids to move into the driver seat. It is challenging, but it is rewarding for students and teachers.
2. I find it interesting that colleges train teachers to use inquiry and to foster metacognition skills in their classrooms, but that school districts don't encourage it.  Philadelphia is so standard driven and test oriented that they make it almost impossible to do inquiry.

I first encountered metacognition in my education courses in college.  We also talk about it as a staff when we work on curriculum, managment, etc...  Metacognition describes how your conscious thought can actively monitor, strategize, and revise your thinking as you think. 

I don't think that metacognition is directly related to inquiry.  I think metacognition is something valuable for teachers to be aware of, to allow space for, and to teach strategies about.  Allowing space for self-reflection (metacognition) is important for all kinds of approaches to teaching, including inquiry. 

Lesson learned...my dad would not allow me to take my driving test until he was satisfied that I knew how to drive successfully on the Wissahickon and Lincoln Drives.  So, once I mastered handling his 1974 Buick Electra 225, he cautiously yet willingly began letting me drive on the drives, as thus I was able and allowed to take my driving test.

How I see my parents: as Godly, protective, the authority w/o being authoritative, working, providing, fun, strick, family oriented, independent, ...

How I see myself as a learner in relation to and as a product of my parents:  I had no other choice than to learn because that was my parents expectation for and of me, which they instilled in me to have for and of myself.  I believe I am a life long learner and career education because of the emphasis my parents placed on the value and advantages of Education and the doors a solid education unlocks, allowing the world to unfold to me.

Teachers needs to be for me:  protective, informed, prepared, on point, in charge, assistive, creative, fun, engaging, allowable, transparent, adaptive, supportive, willing to explore and willing to allow me to explore.

My insight to metacognition as a career educator:  many learners learn in many ways.

I do and would continue to use Allison's activity as an opener for my class and as a tool to see what kind of learners they are.  I would also use it  as a map for me to guide how I teach. 

Allison gave a better understanding of an old idea that was naturally engrained in me from birth.

I define Metacognition as the active adaptation of what we learn as we learn.

I first heard of metacognition in college but I did not necessarily remember the name, only the practice of. I think it is vitally important that we reflect on our work over and over, consistently and constantly revising. I guess that is what I like about science it is ever changing and constantly in need of updates! It keeps me thinking and changing. I guess my biggest question still is how do we encourage the lazy learner to push themselves to do their best not just stop where they think; you want them to be?

 I first learned about metacognition in graduate school.  We were asked to do a "moon journal" where we recorded nightly thoughts about the everwaxing and waning moon.  I was never really sure where the "moon" came in...I suppose it was just a starting point for our own thought processes.  This is an example of where I would have liked to see a clear objective on a learning goal before or afterhand.  It would have given me a connection between the activity and the end goal.  Anyway, within the moon journal, we thought about our thinking.  It does relate to the Inquiry Institurte in that we are being asked to take the time to meaningfully reflect on our own learning.  This enables us to reveal fallacies in our thinking and determines directions for new growth.  Metacognition helps with more than just content...it defines your learning strengths/tools that you can draw upon to make learning happen. 

There is not necessarily anything still unclear about metacognition for me, I would, however, like to learn more.  Allison's lesson was a wonderful application to my own metacognitive awareness of how I learn.  It did model metacognition in a linear way for me.  I do wonder how I could specifically apply her format to particular content area rather than a philosophy. 

Do I appear to be "unenlightened" because I keep coming back to "core content"? I am really searching for a balance between content and inquiry here.  There just seems to be a disconnect between the two, like there is a missing step needed to marry the best teaching practices to required content.

As always, I would appreciate your feedback.

Should they just be the essential questions or should they go a little deeper for each day/topic?  As long as the students can engage in the activity with a clear purpose in mind to see how the activity is moving toward the learning goal.  it is always good to periodically stop students and ask them to explain why they are completing a particular assignment.   This ensures that they are able to connect the assignment to the objective.

Having choices is what allows people to thrive and survive.  If you are only taught one way, then you do not know how to adapt.  What happens when that"one" way runs out, comes to an end or doesn't work..... they sink.

Choices provide you with options, to freestyle, doggy paddle, back stroke or float.

Deidre

I find the "preparing students for the world" to be a very interesting concept -- and, to me, it has many facets.  Personally, I was prepared by the "listen to your superiors" or "never question authority."  That was the way my high school basically, if even unconsciously, prepared its students.  My parents, though, prepared me by telling me to question everything that I don't understand or that I think can be done better.  So, is there a right way to prepare students for the "real world"?  What is the "real world" that we want to prepare them for: tangible success, desire to learn more, desire to please, etc?  Perhaps if we are preparing them for life-long learning as "reality", as this class has suggested, we should be encouraging the questioning aspect rather than the obeying aspect.  As a sidenote, I don't believe that 'disobeying' necessarily means 'disrespectful.'  I think this is particularly important to encourage in school: questioning respectfully, disagreeing respectfully, arguing with the intention of learning more rather than instigating anger. 

In the past year, I've had 2 out of 8 classes that are lecture style.  My other classes have been discussion/forum based.  Many liberal arts colleges are shifting toward this spectrum of education, which seems to foster the idea of inquiry.

However, it was brought up that the job of teachers is to prepare their students for college 'lectures.'  Are we okay with saying "that's the way it is?"  Do we learn by doing this?  Has society ever created anything new by just saying "that's the way it is?"  Invention doesn't come about from saying that phrase, and neither does innovation.  It seems that, while that is the majority of how it is, that majority is changeable.  We change everyday.  Should we be encouraging students to accept "that's the way it is" or to question and say.. "that's not the only way it can be?"

Before we get into metacognition, I have a question that has been bothering me....

Does everyone agree that posting concrete and clear objectives prior to an activity does not refute inquiry goals?  I ask this with the idea that students are able engage in the activity with a clear purpose to allow them to see how the inquiry activity connects to the content.  So, how specific should the objectives be before inquiry begins?

Thanks for your thoughts:)