MODULE I

METACOGNITION

OBJECTIVE

At the end of the unit, the students are able to:

1. Explain metacognition and apply metacognitive strategies in their own quest
for learning as a novice or expert learner.

The most important goal of education is to teach students how to learn on their
own. It is vital that students acquire the skills of how to learn; and that these skills
enable them to learn not just while they are in school but for a lifetime. This entails a
deeper awareness of how one process information, the ability to evaluate his own
thinking and to think ways to make his own learning process more effective.

ACTIVATING YOUR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Answer the following table. Put a check (/) in the column that best describes
what is true to you.

Always Sometimes Never Your

(10) (5) (0) Score
I exert effort to find out why I need to do a
particular task.
I reward myself when I work.
I see to it that I give myself regular breaks
from works.
I am able to keep my concentration and does
not let my mind “drift away”.
I have always ways of dealing with
distractions.
I am willing to the work I do not enjoy because
I see it as important.
I seek clarification from the teacher about her
expectations and standards.
I go to tutorials to improve my school work.

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Feedback:
• Scores from 55 to 80 mean that you do not appear to have many problems in
getting down to work and keeping to it.
• Scores from 31 to 50 mean that you sometimes get down to work but you can
be distracted, you might not always be certain why you have to work. You
could probably benefit from learning some techniques that help you get down
to work more consistently and keep at it.
• Scores of 30 and below signfy that you really do have problems in getting
down to work. Unless you develop skills in this area you are likely to have
many unsatisfactory experiences as a student throughout your life. You need
to take action.

EXPANDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Metacognition

The term “metacognition” was coined by John Flavell. According to

Flavell(1979, 1987), metacognition consists of both metacognitive knowledge and
metacognitive experiences or regulation. Metacognition, simply put, is “thinking
about thinking” or “learning how to learn”. It refers to higher order thinking which
involves active awareness and control over the cognitive processes engaged in
learning. Metacognitive knowledge refers to acquired knowledge about cognitive
processes, knowledge that can be used to control cognitive processes.

Categories of Metacognitive Knowledge according to John Flavell

1. Person Variables. This includes how one views himself as a learner and
thinker. Knowledge of person variables refers to knowledge about how human
beings learn and process information, as well as individual knowledge of one’s
own learning processes.
2. Task Variables. Knowledge of task variables includes knowledge about the
nature of the task as well as the type of processing demands that it will place
upon the individual. It is about knowing what exactly needs to be
accomplished, gauging its difficulty and knowing the kind of effort it will
demand from you.
3. Strategy Variables. Knowledge of strategy variables involves awareness of the
strategy you are using to learn a topic and evaluating whether this strategy is
effective. If you think your strategy is not working, then you may think of
various strategies and try out one to see if it will help you learn better. Terms
like meta- attention and meta- memory are related to this strategy variables.

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Meta- attention is the awareness of specific strategies so that you can keep
your attention focused on the topic or task at hand. Meta- memory is your
awareness of memory strategies that work best for you.

Practice of Metacognition according to Omrod

1. Knowing the limits of one’s own learning and memory capacities

2. Knowing what learning tasks one can realistically accomplish within a certain
amount of time.
3. Knowing which learning strategies are effective and which are not.
4. Palanning an approach to a learning task that is likely to be successful.
5. Using effective learning strategies to process and learn new material.
6. Monitoring one’s own knowledge and comprehension. In other words, knowing
when information has been successfully learned and when it’s not.
7. Using effective strategies for retrieval of previously stored information.
8. Knowledge is said to be metacognitive if it is keenly used in a purposeful
manner to ensure that a goal is met.

Metacognition according to Huitt

1. What do I know about this subject, topic,issue?

2. Do I know what I need to know?
3. Do I know where I can go to get some information, knowledge?
4. Hw much time will I need to learn this?
5. What are some strategies and tactics that I can use to learn this?
6. Did I understand what I just heard, read or saw?
7. How will I know if I am learning at an appropriate rate?
8. How can I spot an error if I make one?
9. How should I revise my plan if it is not working to my expectations/
satisfaction?

Metacognitive Strategies to Facilitate Learning

The challenge is to integrate more activities that would built the student’s
capacity to reflect on their own characteristics as learners (self- knowledge), the
tasks they are to do (task knowledge) and the strategies that they can use to learn
(strategic knowledge).

1. Have students monitor their own learning and thinking.

2. Teach students study or learning strategies.
a. TQLR- this can be taught to younger students (primary grades). It is a

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metacognitive strategy before listening to a story or presentation.
T is for Tune in. It is first important for the learner himself to be aware
that he is paying attention, and that he is ready to learn.
Q is for Question. The learner is given questions or he thinks of
questions about what he will soon learn.
L is for Listen. The learner then intentionally exerts effor to listen. He
becomes aware if he is momentarily detracted and goes back to listen
again.
R is for Remember. The learner uses ways or strategies to remember
what was learned.

b. PQ4R- this is usually for older students in the intermediate levels and
onwards. This strategy is used to study a unit or chapter.
P –Preview. Scan the whole chapter before delving into each paragraph.
Check out the objectives. Look for outlines or advance organizers that
will give you an idea about the important topics and ideas in the
chapter. Read the summary of the chapter first.
Q- Question. Read the guide questions provided, or think of your own
questions about the topic.
R- Read. Check out sub headings as you read. Pay attention on words
that are printed in bold or italicized. Find out the meaning of words that
are not clear to you. Use a marker or colored pencil to highlight
important words or phrases.
R- Recite. Work on answering the questions you had earlier.
R- Review. Pinpoint topics you may need to go back to read in order to
understand better.
R- Reflect. Think about what you read. Is everything clear to you? What
are the main points you learned? How is this relevant or useful to you?
3. Have students make predictions about information to be presented next based
on what they have read.
4. Have students relate ideas to existing knowledge structures.
5. Have students develop questions; ask questions to themselves, about what is
going on around them.
6. Help students to know when to ask for help.
7. Show students how to transfer knowledge, attitudes, values, skills to other
situation or tasks.

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Novice and Expert Learners

Aspect of Learning Novice Learners Expert Learners

Have limited knowledge Have deeper knowledge
in the different subject in different subject areas
Knowledge in different
areas becase they look for
subject areas
interrelationships in the
things they learn
Satisfied at just First try to understand the
scratching the surface; problem, look for
Problem solving hurriedly gives a solution boundaries,and create a
to the problem mental picture of the
problem
Employ rigid strategies Desing new strategies
Learning/ thinking that may not be that would be appropriate
strategies appropriate to the task at to the task at hand
hand
Attempt to process all Select important
information they receive information to process;
Selectivity in Processing able to breakdown
information to
manageable chunks
Do not examine the Check their errors and
Production of Output quality of their work, nor redirect their efforts to
stop to make revisions maintain quality output

SYNTHESIZING YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Activity # 1

Watch this short video from YouTube sharing how her Grade 2 teacher taught
them about TQLR.
Title : TQLR metacognition in the primary grades
YouTube link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfXdWeAzgCo

• What did you learn from the video? How can you apply this?

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Activity #2

Make your own output: a video, a song, a chant, a poster or question list of any
of the seven strategies discussed in this module. Tell about its purpose, and describe
the video, song or chant.

• Purpose
• Description of your Output
• Expalanation

Activity #3

From the module on Metacognition, I realized that metacognition…

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