Creative Teaching and Learning

Metacognition In Traditional Subjects

Where is metacognitive intervention already being used in education, and what effects is it having? Professor Keith Topping examines several enlightening studies in this first article in our metacognition series.
Secondary school teacher delivering a maths lesson.

Below are some programs and methods relevant to specific subjects already operating in the traditional curriculum.

Science

Science is a very popular subject for metacognitive interventions. Most research relating to metacognition is undertaken in secondary school and (particularly) in higher education.

The most popular intervention is the embedding of metacognitive cues and prompts in ongoing science instruction. Metacognitive cues usually take the form of questions or checklists that students use during activities such as problem-solving, experimentation, inquiry learning, reading science texts, writing reports and reflections or discussing science topics. Planning and monitoring/self-checking are also widely used strategies.

Instructional practices include:

  1. Explicit instruction – practices to visibly and explicitly teach metacognitive knowledge or skills, often involving constructivist practice.
  2. Practice and training – repeated training and practice, providing opportunities for activating and applying metacognitive knowledge and skills in multiple tasks, problems and contexts.
  3. Metacognitive prompts – metacognitive prompts in the form of questions, cues, or probes introduced by the teacher, by student peers, or in a computerised environment, with the aim of fostering metacognitive thinking.
  4. Teacher-led metacognitive discussions – discussions in which teachers talk with their students about their thinking and learning to encourage and develop metacognitive thinking.
  5. Student-led metacognitive discussions – metacognitive discussions led and managed by the learners themselves.
  6. Metacognitive writing – practices such as writing journals, reports or short reflections in which learners reflect on, describe and analyse their thinking and learning.

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