Explicit Instruction of Metacognitive Skills

In “The Boss of My Brain”, Wilson and Conyers (2014) explore how explicit instruction of metacognitive skills affects students’ ownership of their learning. The authors state that students with metacognitive strategies (students with the ability to monitor their own thinking and learning), ask several questions:

“What are my learning goals?
How am I going to learn this?
How will I double-check that I have it right?
How does this new content fit in with what I already know?
How well do I know this?
Can I apply this new knowledge or skill in other subject areas or situations?” (Wilson & Conyers, 2014)

These key questions help students as they learn new content or develop deeper understanding of any content.

Wilson and Conyers (2014) suggest that two reasons many schools do not teach metacognitive strategies is because the schools are focused on memorizing facts for multiple choice standardized tests, and because teachers feel like they don’t have any time to incorporate this instruction into an already full schedule. However, the authors predict that with the deeper levels of thinking required by the Common Core State Standards, researchers and educators may see an increase in metacognitive skill development throughout new curricula. The article provides suggestions for explicit instruction of metacognitive skills across age groups. For example, while primary school learners may benefit from a lesson where they “plan, do, and redo”, middle school learners may learn best from a lesson where they discover how to recognize and manage their stress. (Wilson & Conyers, 2014)

Metacognitive skill development is critical to the self-evaluation component of my research study. Wilson and Conyers (2014) suggest that lessons about the neuroplasticity of the brain and students’ abilities to change their brain as they learn new information and skills are key to metacognitive skill development. Students must believe that they can change their brain and adjust their thinking as they work to meet their goals (Wilson & Conyers, 2014). During my research study, I may want to incorporate lessons on neuroplasticity to help increase students motivation. I may also want to explicitly teach students in my study how self-evaluation and metacognitive skills can help them become innovators and better problem solvers, critical 21st century skills that will will be applicable to all future learning and careers.

Reference

Wilson, D., & Conyers, M. (2014, October). The boss of my brain.Educational Leadership,72(2). Retrieved November 6, 2018, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct14/vol72/num02/%C2%A3The-Boss-of-My-Brain%C2%A3.aspx