8 Owning Our Learning ExperiencesJacob Ammentorp LundiSto.docx

8 Owning Our Learning Experiences
Jacob Ammentorp Lund/iStock/Thinkstock
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the
following:
• Describe metacognition and how it is developed.
• Explain strategies that can be used to support metacognitive
development.
• Identify challenges of measuring metacognition in aging
populations.
• Explain the relationship between metacognition and self-
regulated learning.
• Describe self-regulated learning strategies.
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resale or redistribution.
262
Introduction

Introduction
Have you ever:
• set personal goals for a long- or short-term project?
• reflected on the best strategies and steps to accomplish your
goals?
• identified behaviors that were hindering successful knowledge
acquisition?
• adjusted information to better fit your learning preferences?
• evaluated your personal strategies for learning?
These questions represent how an awareness of one’s own
learning can be used to support
knowledge acquisition. They highlight the roles of self-analysis
and self-correction in the pro-
cess for increased learning success, which is addressed in
discussions about metacognition and
self-regulation. Research has suggested that each of these
variables supports the processes for
increased awareness of our own abilities, needs, and subsequent
successes. Metacognition is
the ability to be aware of and regulate one’s thought processes.
Self-regulation is the process
of monitoring and managing one’s thoughts and behaviors and,
as mentioned in Chapter 5, is
a key variable associated with some motivational theories. As
these two definitions suggest,
metacognition and self-regulation are intertwined in that one
must first develop an honest self-
awareness, before successful self-monitoring can take place. For
example, when one begins to
learn something new, it is important to reflect on one’s goals
and what variables might affect
the process and one’s subsequent success. Some people might
find that sounds are distracting

when they are working. Others might find it difficult to
remember verbal instructions and are
more comfortable with written guidance. In both of these
examples, if the learners are more
aware of what they can do to support their personal success
(e.g., studying in a quiet area or
reading through documented instructions), then they can
increase their likelihood of success-
ful knowledge acquisition.
Steiner (2014) has indicated that a successfully self-aware adult
learner is one who:
• has an independent self-concept;
• can direct their own learning;
• has accumulated a reservoir of life experiences that can be a
resource;
• has learning needs closely related to changing social roles;
• is problem-centered and interested in immediate application of
knowledge; and
• is internally, rather than externally, motivated to learn. (para.
2)
If one does not have self-awareness skills, thinking can be
distorted by self-deception—a
thought process that can lead to misinformation, which can
create miscommunications
and inaccurate learning. Adults with less developed self-
awareness can often display
self-deception. (See Applying Skeptical Inquiry: Self-Deception
to learn more about self-
deception studies conducted by Dr. Cortney Warren.) This
distorted thinking negatively
affects cognitive awareness, causing individuals to potentially
avoid negative feelings and
emotions. A lack of self-awareness can affect one’s behaviors

and often leads to feedback
avoidance, which then affects what is attended to during
information processing (Steiner,
2014). In addition, this distorted thinking can support the
development of inaccurate
memories. (Remember the discussion about false memory
development in Chapter 3?) It’s
easy to say that we are self-aware, but, as you read this chapter,
you might find that true
self-awareness is more complex.
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Introduction
How self-aware do you think you are? Are you self-
aware in every area of your life and regarding all
your behaviors? Self-awareness is a concept that
may be more difficult to accommodate to your
own knowledge about learning because it directly
affects, and questions, your current mindsets. But if
we are more aware of our metacognition and self-
regulation processes, we can begin to understand
how these areas can affect successful knowledge
acquisition.
The topics covered in this chapter will also help
you put the information provided in the previ-
ous chapters into perspective, elaborating on how

learners can improve their learning efficiency. In
the previous chapters, you discovered that associa-
tions, responses to stimuli, memory development,
cognitive processes, emotions, our attentiveness,
our learning preferences, and even intelligence (IQ,
EI, and MI) can all affect how we learn and how we
learn most effectively. Prior discussions have even
mentioned specific connections to self-awareness
(sections 2.3, 2.4, 5.4, 6.3, and 7.3), metacognition (5.1, 5.4,
and 6.3), and self-regulation (sec-
tions 5.1, 5.4, 7.1, and 7.3). However, knowing how to blend
these ideas into learning strate-
gies can be more difficult. The topics in this chapter will help
you improve your understand-
ing and application of metacognition and self-regulation. An
increased awareness about how
you think, what you know, and what you have learned will help
you apply information about
learning to your personal and professional life in a more
effective and fulfilling way.
Rawpixel/iStock/Thinkstock
Do you regularly use a planner or
organizer to remember due dates and
future events or to keep track of a to-do
list? Do you learn more effectively in a
quiet or a busy environment? Tracking
how you learn, remember information,
or regulate your time is important for
developing self-awareness skills.
Applying Skeptical Inquiry: Self-Deception
Dr. Cortney Warren, the author of Lies We Tell Ourselves: The
Psychology of Self-Deception

(2014), discusses an interesting perspective, explaining how and
why humans lie to
themselves. The content suggests that recognizing and
acknowledging our self-deceptive
tendencies can help us change and grow—to take responsibility
for our actions and make
better choices. This awareness can also influence your goals to
become a metacognitive and
self-regulated learner. Watch Dr. Warren’s TEDx Talk, “Honest
Liars—The Psychology of Self-
Deception,” to learn more about self-deception.
https://youtu.be/YpEeSa6zBTE
Questions
1. Does Dr. Warren’s talk induce any “aha” moments when you
reflect on your own self-
talk? Your own rationales?
2. Do you have behaviors that are consistent or inconsistent
with something you
learned as a child?
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https://youtu.be/YpEeSa6zBTE
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Section 8.1 Metacognition

8.1 Metacognition
Have you ever intentionally wondered about how you think,
process, or strategize? If so, you have
been applying metacognition, a key component for becoming a
self-regulated learner (Harris &
Graham, 1999; Schraw, Crippen, & Hartley, 2006; Zimmerman,
2002; Zimmerman, Bonner, &
Kovach, 2002). The word metacognition is composed of two
parts: meta- and cognition. Meta-
has numerous meanings, but in this case, it refers to an acute
analysis of something; cogni-
tion refers to the process of knowledge acquisition involving
thoughts, experiences, and senses
(which we discussed in Chapters 2, 3, and 4). Thus,
metacognition represents thinking about thinking at
a deeper, more critical level.
Flavell (1976) defined metacognition broadly as
“one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive
processes or anything related to them” (p. 232).
When an individual is applying metacognition suc-
cessfully, this suggests that he or she is exercising an
awareness and management of his or her own cog-
nitive processes. When a person manages his or her
cognitive processing, which may include awareness
of performance or the application of strategies, he or
she is applying metacognitive regulation. For exam-
ple, when members of a football team view a video
of the previous night’s game, they often critically consider what
they did well, what should be
improved, and what did not work at all, so that the team can
improve its performance at the
next game. The same could be said about other learning
contexts. When a person performs a
learned task and considers what processes were applied, what
was successful or not success-

ful, and which strategies did not work, these analyses provide
the learner with opportunities to
determine what he or she can do to more effectively support his
or her learning outcomes.
You can use these descriptions of metacognition to hypothesize
about what learners can do to
be more aware of their own metacognitions. What does it mean
to be aware? How can learn-
ers become more knowledgeable about how they utilize
attention, memory, perception, and
thinking when learning? For example, if you noticed that you
had more difficulty understanding
the information about cognitivism than behaviorism, then you
are applying metacognition. Or
maybe you noticed that the presence of background noise while
you were reading the content
about cognitivism negatively affected the attention you needed
to retain the information that
you were reading. This is also an example of metacognition.
However, research has suggested
that such metacognitive judgments, or personal evaluations of
one’s own learning, can be
inaccurate at times (Kratzig & Arbuthnott, 2006). Thus,
skeptical inquiry about metacognition,
with an acute awareness of possible self-deceptions, and how it
does or does not support effec-
tive learning is essential. (Dr. Saundra McGuire provides a brief
description of metacognition in
Reinforcing Your Understanding: Thinking About Thinking.)
Over the last decade, researchers have studied the use of
metacognition in many domains, such
as academic performance (Coutinho, 2008), child development
(Wellman, 1985), and nursing
management (Jang, Ryu, Kim, Chung, & Kim, 2007). The series

of excerpts in this section is from
Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock
Evaluating how you learned and
processed certain information or a
specific task is using metacognition.
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Darling-Hammond, Austin, Cheung, and Martin (2016). These
authors further explain the con-
cept of metacognition and discuss two distinct areas:
metacognitive regulation and metacogni-
tive knowledge. In addition, they explain how metacognition
relates to learning and the strate-
gies that can be employed to support our learning.
Reinforcing Your Understanding: Thinking About Thinking
Dr. Saundra McGuire, vice chancellor for learning, teaching,
and retention at Louisiana State
University, discusses metacognition. She explains what it is,
why it is important, and how to
use the strategy of metacognition, which allows you to analyze
what you’re doing and how
you’re thinking about it, in your own knowledge acquisition.

https://youtu.be/P_b44JaBQ-Q
Excerpts from “Thinking About Thinking: Metacognition”
By L. Darling-Hammond, K. Austin, M. Cheung, and D. Martin
“Going Meta”
[. . .] Simply put, metacognition means “thinking about one’s
own thinking.” There are two
aspects of metacognition: (1) reflection—thinking about what
we know, and (2) self-regu-
lation—managing how we go about learning. Taken together,
these processes make up an
important aspect of learning and development. Developing these
metacognitive abilities is
not simply about becoming reflective learners, but about
acquiring specific learning strate-
gies as well.
Research has shown that one of the key traits good problem-
solvers possess is highly devel-
oped metacognitive skills. They know how to recognize flaws or
gaps in their own thinking,
articulate their thought processes, and revise their efforts
(Brown, Bransford, Ferrara, & Cam-
pione, 1983). As adults, we actively engage in these skills in
our everyday thinking. We decide
what method to use to solve a problem or when to ask for help.
We use metacognitive skills to
help us decide which elements we understand and which we do
not understand. In short, we
direct our own learning. Students and novices often lack these
skills or fail to recognize when
to use them (Flavell & Wellman, 1977). As educators, it is
important for us to help foster the
development of metacognitive skills in students. These are

skills that will help students learn
how to learn.
Sometimes people use the phrase “going meta” when talking
about metacognition, referring
to the process of stepping back to see what you are doing, as if
you were someone else observ-
ing it. “Going meta” means becoming an audience for your own
performance—in this case,
your own intellectual performance. When a person is learning to
play golf, for example, see-
ing a videotape of her own swing can help her to understand
what she is doing well and what
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she is doing poorly. Typically, we do not know what we are
doing when we do it, but it is very
hard to improve a process that we are engaged in if we do not
have a sense of what we are
doing in the moment. Even a skilled professional ballet dancer
relies on mirrors to help him
understand what he looks like and what he is doing as he
dances. He has to be able to see
his performance as others might see it before he can begin to
improve it. The ability to view
our own performance is particularly useful when we learn

physical skills. However, cognitive
work is often invisible and cannot be directly observed.
How do we help students become thoughtful about their own
performance as they are learn-
ing to reason about mathematics and history? The challenge is
helping students learn how to
“go meta” in regard to thought processes that are not directly
visible in order to improve their
cognitive performances. [. . .]
Early Ideas About Metacognition
Although the word metacognition did not come into common
use until the 1970s, when it was
introduced by psychologist John Flavell, the notion of reflecting
about one’s thinking can be
found in writings dating back to Plato, who emphasized the
importance of reflecting through
dialogue. John Dewey, often considered the father of
progressive education, viewed reflection
as a central part of active learning. Dewey observed:
As long as our activity glides smoothly along from one thing to
another . . .
there is no call for reflection. Difficulty or obstruction in the
way of reaching a
belief brings us, however, to a pause. In the suspense of
uncertainty, we meta-
phorically climb a tree; we try to find some standpoint from
which we may
survey additional facts and, getting a more commanding view of
the situation,
decide how the facts stand related to one another. (Dewey,
1933, p. 14)
Both Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky described the role of

metacognition in cognitive develop-
ment. In his research with 7- to 11-year-olds, Piaget
demonstrated children’s ability to verbal-
ize the processes they used in completing a task and the ways in
which they were aware of
their thinking. He called this awareness “consciousness of
cognizance,” which maps closely to
our notion of metacognition. Vygotsky further explored these
ideas in his research about the
child’s “inner voice,” or the process of verbalizing internal
thoughts as a way to make sense
of something. Articulating internal thoughts out loud not only
helps a student learn, but can
demonstrate an awareness of the learning process—both
important aspects of metacognition
as we define it today. [. . .]
Two Components of Metacognition
Metacognition is most commonly broken down into two distinct
but interrelated areas. John
Flavell, one of the first researchers in metacognition and
memory, defined these two areas
as metacognitive knowledge—awareness of one’s thinking—and
metacognitive regulation—
the ability to manage one’s own thinking processes. These two
components are used together
to inform learning theory.
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Metacognitive Knowledge—Reflecting on What We Know
Students have thoughts, notions, and intuitions about their own
knowledge and thinking. Fla-
vell (1979) describes three kinds of metacognitive knowledge:
• Awareness of knowledge—understanding what one knows,
what one does not know,
and what one wants to know. (“I know that I understand that
plants need sunlight
but I do not know why.”) This category may also include an
awareness of others’
knowledge. (“I know that Sarah understands long division, so
I’ll ask her to explain
this problem to me.”)
• Awareness of thinking—understanding cognitive tasks and the
nature of what is
required to complete them. (“I know that reading this newspaper
article will be
easier for me than reading my textbook.”)
• Awareness of thinking strategies—understanding approaches
to directing learn-
ing. (“I am having difficulty reading this article. I should
summarize what I just read
before going on.”) [. . .]
Metacognitive Regulation—Directing Our Learning
When a student has information about her thinking
(metacognitive knowledge), she is able
to use this information to direct or regulate her learning. This
kind of metacognition is also
referred to as executive control. Just as a business executive

manages and oversees activi-
ties in a company, executive control can be thought of as
managing and overseeing one’s own
thinking. For example, if an individual who performs poorly on
a task evaluates his or her
behaviors to understand why the desired result was not
achieved, then he or she could use
this analysis to create a plan to improve the behaviors.
Metacognitive regulation involves the ability to
think strategically and to problem solve, plan,
set goals, organize ideas, and evaluate what
is known and not known. It also involves the
ability to teach to others and make the think-
ing process visible.
Ann Brown and her colleagues (1983) describe
three ways we direct our own learning:
• Planning approaches to tasks—iden-
tifying the problem, choosing strate-
gies, organizing our thoughts, and
predicting outcomes;
• Monitoring activities during learn-
ing—testing, revising, and evaluating
the effectiveness of our strategies; and
• Checking outcomes—evaluating the
outcomes against specific criteria of
efficiency and effectiveness.
Ibrakovic/iStock/Thinkstock
A student who reflects on what she learned
or how she performed on an exam could
use metacognitive regulation to determine

her next steps. For example, if she failed an
exam, she could hire a tutor or carve out
more study time to better prepare for the
next test.
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Learning how to be mindful of one’s process and how to think
strategically about a task can
make problem solving more efficient. The strategic essay writer
knows how to plan his central
thesis and supporting points, rather than simply writing
thoughts in a stream of conscious-
ness, just as the strategic mathematics student is able to step
back and consider different
approaches to a problem, rather than trying all the possible
numbers that might give a cor-
rect answer. Such learners are accustomed to monitoring their
work as they are working: “Am
I making my points clear and understandable?” “Am I getting
closer to a solution or farther
away?” They also look back on their work to evaluate their own
success: “Have I convinced
my reader?” “Does this solution make sense?” Learning how to
monitor one’s own thinking
process can enable the learner to self-correct, rather than always
relying on others to be the

audience and sounding board for one’s work. [. . .]
Good metacognitive thinkers are also good intentional learners.
That is, they are able to direct
their learning in the proper ways to build understanding. They
know when to use strategies
and how to use them (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989). They are
able to redirect the normal
frustration that occurs when things are confusing or are not
initially productive into further
learning and research strategies. Teachers can help students
become intentional learners by
helping them manage uncertainty, redirect their efforts
productively, and persevere when
they get frustrated. Teachers can do this by modeling and
discussing aloud their thinking pro-
cess when they themselves approach uncertain tasks (“I am
thinking I could try this approach
or that approach. Let’s see what happens if I try this one”), as
well as what they do when they
hit a snag or dead end. They can also monitor students as they
work to catch them at points
when they need encouragement or are becoming frustrated and
need a new strategy. The
ability to work strategically can be taught and must be learned
if students are to succeed at
being self-directed learners throughout their lives. [. . .]
Strategies for Learning
To have increased success, students must become more aware
about how to incorporate
active reflection in their learning. They must observe and
scaffold the processes of reflec-
tion, questioning, evaluating, and other thinking strategies that
may not come naturally. The
strategies below include opportunities to reflect on learning and

to learn to regulate or direct
one’s work:
• Predicting outcomes—Predicting helps learners to better
understand what kinds of
information they might need to successfully solve a problem.
Prediction also helps
learners compare their initial thoughts with the final outcomes
of a problem or
experiment.
• Evaluating work—Learners should review their work and
determine where the
strengths and weaknesses are in their work and their thinking. [.
. .]
• Self-assessing—Learners should reflect on their learning and
determine how well
they have learned something or how their skills have developed.
• Self-questioning—Learners should use questions to check
their own knowledge
as they are learning. When they have learned to ask questions
(of themselves or of
others) while they work, they intentionally direct their thinking
and clarify the areas
where they need assistance.
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• Selecting strategies—Learners should determine which
strategies are useful for
a given task. Strategy selection may depend on understanding
one’s own learning
style and strengths as well as understanding the features of a
problem.
• Using directed or selective thinking—Learners should choose
consciously to follow a
specific line of thinking or structured approach in order to find
an answer.
• Using discourse—Learners should discuss ideas with each
other and their teacher,
trainer, or mentor. This process makes thinking more concrete
and helps them to
learn to ask questions, identify gaps in their own knowledge,
and learn from others’
thoughts and ideas.
• Critiquing—Learners should provide feedback to their peers
about their work in a
constructive way. This process allows those who are giving
feedback to practice ver-
balizing their own thinking and those who are receiving
feedback to improve their
own thinking process and performance.
• Revising—Learners should return to their work after receiving
feedback. This
opportunity allows them to update their thinking and to check
their use of learning
strategies. [. . .]

Source: Darling-Hammond, L., Austin, K., Cheung, M., &
Martin, D. (2016). Thinking about
thinking: Metacognition. The Learning Classroom: Theory Into
Practice. Used with permission
by Annenberg Learner: www.learner.org
A deeper understanding of metacognition can
help us better understand how we learn and
identify strategies that can lead to more effec-
tive learning. As with constructivism frame-
works (Chapter 5), metacognition offers strate-
gies to support the learner by giving him or her
more autonomy and a sense of efficacy during
the learning process. However, one cannot just
say “I know about metacognitive skills” and see
improvement in his or her learning process.
One must purposefully use strategies (e.g., iden-
tify one’s goals, increase discourse about the
learning components, or self-evaluate the fac-
tors that could better support one’s learning).
The next step is to practice using such skills.
For example, if a new employee effectively self-
evaluates the successes and challenges that
occur during each work day, he or she would
be more apt to also consider what variables
may have affected these situations, supporting
the increased application of the behaviors that
offered him or her the most success (e.g., making sales calls
first thing in the morning rather than
in the afternoon to support his or her physiological preference
for mornings). As the employee
continues to practice self-evaluation, it becomes a natural part
of his or her cognitive process-
ing. Applying Skeptical Inquiry: Do You Effectively Utilize

Metacognition? encourages you to
start thinking about how you can use metacognition more
intentionally. In section 8.2, we will
discover the ways in which we can apply and encourage others
to apply metacognitive skills.
Monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Thinkstock
One way to increase success in learning is
to instigate or participate in discussion,
whether it’s with classmates, a teacher,
coworkers, or family members. Asking
questions and gaining insights from different
people can help a person discover something
new or change the way he or she thinks
about a topic.
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www.learner.org
270
Section 8.2 Applied Metacognition
8.2 Applied Metacognition
Although metacognition must be honed by the learner, it’s a
skill that can be taught to chil-
dren, coworkers, students, or even clients. This indicates that
one’s metacognition can change.
Learning how to help yourself and others develop this skill is
just as important as understand-
ing what metacognition is from a broader perspective. How

might you apply metacognition
in your life?
Applying Skeptical Inquiry: Do You Effectively Utilize
Metacognition?
Consider the information you just read about metacognition.
Now ask yourself the following
questions about the content:
Reflection and Collaboration
In your own words, what do you think about what self-regulated
learning and
metacognition tell us about learning more effectively?
Self-Reflection
If someone told you that metacognition was not a valid
construct for learning
more effectively, how might you defend what you know to be
true?
Why does metacognition make sense or not make sense to you?
Reasoning
Why should you assume that self-regulatory learning will
improve learning
effectiveness?
How could you prove that becoming self-aware can improve
your ability to
learn successfully?
Analysis

What evidence might prove to you that self-regulation does not
promote
effective learning?
Connections
What real-life events could be applicable to self-awareness
deception?
What ideas about self-awareness, self-regulated learning, and
metacognition
make most sense to you?
Learners who are metacognitive will often ask themselves these
types of reflective,
reasoning, analysis, and connection questions when they are
learning new information.
Questions
1. Did you ask yourself these questions as you read the material,
before you tried this
exercise?
2. Why might asking yourself questions as you read be
beneficial for your learning?
3. In what ways could you better apply metacognition to your
own learning practices?
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271
Darling-Hammond and colleagues (2016) have suggested that
we “become more efficient and
powerful in our learning” through the utilization of
metacognition (p. 159). As mentioned in
section 8.1, we use metacognition when we
• predict outcomes
• evaluate work
• self-assess
• self-question
• select strategies
• think selectively
• discourse
• critique
• revise
The next series of excerpts is from Darling-Hammond, Austin,
Cheung, and Martin (2016). The
content provides strategies for helping children develop
metacognitive skills and discusses how
metacognition can be used in classroom environments. Though
young learners are the focus in
these excerpts, the discussions demonstrate how these skills can
be encouraged by facilitators
of learning, whether the facilitator is a teacher, parent,
counselor, or trainer. The reading also
clarifies that “going meta” is an intentional practice. The
learner must invoke the process, but a
guide can help the learner develop and successfully apply the
practice, affecting his or her ability
to become a self-regulated learner, which will be discussed

further in section 8.3.
Excerpts from “Thinking About Thinking: Metacognition”
By L. Darling-Hammond, K. Austin, M. Cheung, and D. Martin
[. . .] Metacognitive strategies help us become more efficient
and powerful in our learning
because they help us to find information, evaluate when we
need additional resources, and
understand when to apply different approaches to problems.
When children begin to master
these strategies—and learn when, how, and why to use them—
they are able to learn more
effectively and intentionally (Brown, 1997). These strategies
grow increasingly flexible and
useful the more they are used and understood. How and when do
these strategies develop?
Development of Metacognitive Strategies in Children
Research suggests that metacognitive capabilities develop over
time and depend upon a
knowledge base (Brown & DeLoache, 1978). Without
knowledge of the domain of mathemat-
ics, for instance, young children would have difficulty directing
their thinking about how to
solve a mathematical word problem. Young children build their
knowledge base through con-
crete experiences with physical materials that they manipulate.
When language is used to
describe their experiences (“Oh look, you have two stones. Now
you have three!”) children
develop concepts that, with feedback and instruction, aggregate
into more systematic knowl-
edge. In areas in which children do have a knowledge base, they
are quite capable of regulat-
ing their thinking in a variety of ways.

Before they learn metacognitive strategies, children do not use
tactics like planning their work
or monitoring their own problem solving. They do not realize
that they can use strategies
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and shortcuts to help them solve problems. This is
not to say that young children do not have meta-
cognitive capabilities. A classic research example
involves 3-year-olds who were asked to remember
which cup a toy was placed under. Children were
able to spontaneously use a number of strategies,
like placing a hand on the cup, or moving the cups
around to help them remember the location. They
were able to use strategies to help them think and
remember, evidence that even very young children
can be purposeful in their activity (Wellman, Ritter,
& Flavell, 1975).
The more children learn about general strategies for
learning in specific contexts, the better they become
at using them across domains. As John Bransford
and colleagues observe, “The broader the range of
strategies that children know and can appreciate
where they apply, the more precisely they can shape their

approaches to the demands of a
particular circumstance” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000,
p. 100). [. . .]
A Culture of Metacognition in the Classroom
A number of conditions support a metacognitive classroom
environment. Learning environ-
ments that are knowledge-centered and learner-centered, and
that take into account the
role of assessment in learning, lay the foundation for a
reflective classroom (Bransford et al.,
2000). Knowledge-centered classrooms focus on meaningful,
powerful, nontrivial activi-
ties. When students are asked to engage in activities that build
on their previous knowledge,
challenge them with complex tasks, and require active sense-
making (decision-making
based on situational awareness), they are more likely to see the
utility of being reflective and
strategic learners. In such classrooms, students need access to
procedural knowledge—How
are you going to do this and be successful?—as well as
conditional knowledge—When is this
going to be useful to you?
Learner-centered classrooms take into account students’ current
knowledge, skills, atti-
tudes, and beliefs:
If teaching is conceived as constructing a bridge between the
subject mat-
ter and the student, learner-centered teachers keep a constant
eye on both
ends of the bridge. The teachers attempt to get a sense of what
students know
and can do as well as their interests and passions—what each

student knows,
cares about, is able to do, and wants to do. (Bransford et al.,
2000, p. 136)
Metacognitive activities that ask students to reflect on what
they know, care about, and are
able to do not only help learners develop an awareness of
themselves, but also give learner-
centered teachers valuable information for their instruction.
It is important for teachers to give students opportunities to
reflect on their learning
because it is often difficult for them to realize what they are
doing both when they succeed
LeventKonuk/iStock/Thinkstock
Children learn in tangible ways before
they develop metacognitive strategies.
Counting blocks or practicing
memorization helps children develop
learning strategies.
maj83688_09_c08_261-290.indd 272 8/31/17 3:19 PM
273
and when they fail. If a person hits a golf ball and he sees the
ball has landed 2 feet to the
left of the tee, he has good evidence that there was something

wrong with his swing. But he
still needs some way of analyzing and looking at his swing, or
he will not learn how to hit
the ball so that it goes 200 yards and straight down the middle.
Similarly, if a student writes
two essays and gets an A on one of them and a C on the other,
he might not understand
what he did on the A essay that was different from the C essay.
Thus, it is important for the
teacher to assist the student in reflecting on his own
performance. Without this assistance,
he will not know how to improve. Metacognition involves
taking what we learn in one situ-
ation and transforming it into a level of understanding that is
much more likely to transfer
to another situation.
Developing a culture of metacognition in the classroom—where
students are encouraged
to develop this kind of awareness—begins with making the
purpose of learning activities
and the goals for performance clear to students. Most of us
would not leave for a trip with-
out having some sense of our destination. Our destination
affects how we prepare, what
we pack, and the kind of experience we want to have. However,
in schools, it is often more
apparent to the teacher than to her students why they are
learning something. A teacher can
encourage students to “go meta” in their learning by informing
her students what the jour-
ney is about, why they are taking this journey, what she expects
of them, and what tools they
will need to help them get there successfully and enjoy the
experience.

Assessment based on clear standards and criteria
is critical to this process. Formative assessment—
opportunities for immediate feedback in the midst
of an activity—is one way to help students learn
from their learning. Students as well as teachers
can provide such feedback. As students engage
in activities and projects that require metacogni-
tive thinking, they need frequent feedback about
whether or not their thinking is effective and use-
ful to their learning. Self-assessment, peer assess-
ment, and teacher assessment using rubrics that
describe the essential elements of a strong per-
formance can give students concrete and specific
information about their work, which helps them
further direct their own learning and deepen their
understanding (Brown et al., 1983).
Self-assessments serve multiple purposes. Not only do they give
students practice in reflect-
ing on their own work, they also help teachers learn about how
to help their students. As
a teacher listens to his students’ thinking about how they are
learning and where they are
struggling, the teacher has the opportunity to think critically
about how to improve his own
teaching so as to support the students’ immediate needs. Brigid
Barron and her colleagues
observe:
An emphasis on self-assessment helps students to develop the
ability to moni-
tor their own understanding and to find resources to deepen it
when neces-
sary. . . . Learners get opportunities to test their mettle, to see
how they are
doing and to revise their learning process as necessary. Without

these assess-
ment opportunities, the quality of learning can be
disappointing—yet, [too
Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock
In the learner-centered classroom,
teachers give students prompt feedback,
encourage them while they learn, and
emphasize reflection on what was
learned.
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274
often] this is not discovered until the end of the project when it
is too late to
change and revise the process. (Barron et al., 1998, p. 284)
Metacognitive learning is supported by a culture that
encourages and recognizes the impor-
tance of revision. When students are given feedback with the
purpose of redirecting and
revising their work—rather than simply to assign a grade—they
have the opportunity to
revisit their work with a greater understanding. When a teacher
provides clear expectations
in terms of how she evaluates student work and provides models
and examples that give

students a sense of the goals they are striving for, students are
empowered to take on more
responsibility and ownership in their learning. The key to high-
quality work is no longer a
mystery; expectations and goals are clear. Students are also
more motivated to succeed when
they can see concrete pathways to improvement.
Many of the metacognitive skills described here are used when
working with others. When
students collaborate and interact with one another, they must
regulate the ways they explain
what they know and also be aware of their classmates’
knowledge. Students must ask such
questions as, “What do you know that I don’t know?” or “How
can I explain what I know to you
so you will understand?” Classroom activities that encourage
such exchanges, like group dis-
cussions, group problem solving, or reciprocal teaching, can
provide opportunities for mak-
ing internal thoughts external and building metacognitive
awareness. [. . .]
Classroom activities that call on these metacognitive strategies
take many forms and vary
depending on the topic. Generally, however, activities like
journaling (where students keep a
journal in which they reflect on what they understand, what they
are learning, and what they
do not understand), process reflection (where students reflect on
their process of learning,
including what worked and what did not work for them), or self-
assessment (where students
assess their own work against standards or criteria for quality)
are all ways of activating
metacognitive skills. They all require that students consider

their own thinking and how they
acquired their knowledge. [. . .]
Teachers can model thinking strategies by reflecting on their
own processes as learners. They
can make transparent for students the processes they themselves
use and can ask students to
display and discuss their own learning strategies for the class.
For example, by demonstrating
on a screen how to examine a microbe under a microscope and
by talking aloud about his pro-
cess, a biology teacher can make visible processes that would
not be obvious from observa-
tion alone. Similarly, by the teacher asking lab teams to brief
the class on their processes and
findings, students can get access to many different approaches,
which can provide different
“hooks” into the material.
It is also important for teachers to reflect on their own teaching
with their students and with
other teachers. Modeling reflective processes such as thinking
aloud about strategic decisions
(“Should we move on to the next topic, or have we not yet fully
explored this one?”), evalu-
ating one’s own work (“How well did I structure those
groups?”), and making underlying
thoughts visible (“Here’s how I thought about grading these
papers.”) contributes to a climate
of “going meta” on everyday tasks. [. . .]
Source: Darling-Hammond, L., Austin, K., Cheung, M., &
Martin, D. (2016). Thinking about
thinking: Metacognition. The Learning Classroom: Theory Into
Practice. Used with permission
by Annenberg Learner: www.learner.org

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www.learner.org
275
Metacognition and Aging
In the previous section, we discussed variables that affect
metacognitive development in chil-
dren, but what happens during the aging process? The effects of
aging are all too often obvious
to loved ones and friends of older adults, but what does the
research suggest about changes in
metacognition that might occur as we age? There have been
numerous studies about metacog-
nition in relation to a person’s life span (Hertzog & Hultsch,
2000). Older adults are of special
interest among researchers because such individuals are
susceptible to memory degeneration
(Hertzog & Dunlosky, 2011). In addition, there is evidence that
older adults are often overcon-
fident in their abilities (Dodson, Bawa, & Krueger, 2007;
Hansson, Rönnlund, Juslin, & Nilsson,
2008). Investigations strive to find ways to counteract such age-
related phenomena.
The study of judgments of learning is one area of interest
among researchers who evaluate con-
nections between the aging process and metacognition

(Dunlosky & Metcalfe, 2009; Hertzog,
Dunlosky, Powell-Moman, & Kidder, 2002; Robinson, Hertzog,
& Dunlosky, 2006). Judgments of
learning (JOLs) are individuals’ personal evaluations of how
well they learned. For example,
if a person is asked upon graduation if he or she is prepared to
work in the field of psychology,
his or her judgment about this readiness may or may not be
accurate. In fact, research has
suggested that an individual’s ability to successfully encode
information is the moderator of
successful JOLs (Hertzog, Dunlosky, Robinson, & Kidder,
2003). Further research has suggested
that, when compared with younger adults, older adults have
similar abilities to recall informa-
tion (Haber, 2012; Halamish, McGillivray, & Castel, 2011).
These opposing findings reflect how
difficult it can be to identify clear details about degenerative,
age-related cognitive processing.
The next series of excerpt s is from Palmer, David, and Fleming
(2014). The authors consider how
metacognitive regulation and knowledge might change as we
age.
Excerpts from “Effects of Age on Metacognitive Efficiency”
By E. C. Palmer, A. S. David, and S. M. Fleming
Effects of Aging
[. . .] There is some debate as to whether metacognition changes
as we age. On the one hand,
we might expect greater life experience leads to more accurate
self-knowledge and greater
metacognitive efficiency. On the other hand, convergent
evidence has revealed a specific neu-

ral basis for metacognitive efficiency in the human prefrontal
and parietal cortex (Fleming,
Huijgen, & Dolan, 2012; Fleming, Weil, Nagy, Dolan, & Rees,
2010; McCurdy et al., 2013; Rou-
nis, Maniscalco, Rothwell, Passingham, & Lau, 2010;
Yokoyama et al., 2010) regions of the
brain, which are also highly susceptible to aging-related atrophy
(Raz et al., 2005; Resnick,
Pham, Kraut, Zonderman, & Davatzikos, 2003), and therefore
metacognitive efficiency may
be expected to decrease as we age. Such a hypothesis is
consistent with reports that lack of
awareness of cognitive, physical, and perceptual abilities in
healthy older adults can be prob-
lematic in everyday life. Hertzog and Hultsch (2000)
demonstrated that there are notable
changes in self-appraisal as we age, and these tend to center on
inaccuracies regarding beliefs
about cognitive ability and control over cognition. Older adults
tend to demonstrate increased
overconfidence compared to actual performance when compared
to younger adults (Dodson
et al., 2007; Hansson et al., 2008). For example, when older
adults between the ages of 65
and 91 years old were asked about their driving abilities, 85%
of the drivers in this age range
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276

rated themselves as “good” or “excellent” drivers despite an
increased frequency of accidents
(Ross, Dodson, Edwards, Ackerman, & Ball, 2012).
However, the literature on laboratory measures of metacognition
such as confidence judg-
ments and JOLs has shown mixed results. Some studies reveal
stable or even improved
accuracy of confidence ratings with age for general knowledge
(Dodson et al., 2007; Pliske
& Mutter, 1996), problem solving (Vukman, 2005), or memory
recall tasks (Lachman, Lach-
man, & Thronesbery, 1979). Similarly, studies investigating
JOLs, FOKs (feelings of knowing),
and “judgments of forgetting” have found that older adults’
predictions of recall or recogni-
tion were as good as those of younger adults (Eakin, Hertzog, &
Harris, 2014; Haber, 2012;
Halamish et al., 2011). In contrast, other studies report
significant age differences in the
accuracy of confidence judgments about learning of emotional
information (Tauber & Dun-
losky, 2012), study-time allocation (Froger, Sacher, Gaudouen,
Isingrini, & Taconnat, 2011),
and recall and recognition (Bender & Raz, 2012; Dodson et al.,
2007; Huff, Meade, & Hutchi-
son, 2011; Kelley & Sahakyan, 2003; Pansky, Goldsmith,
Koriat, & Pearlman-Avnion, 2009;
Perrotin, Isingrini, Souchay, Clarys, & Taconnat, 2006;
Soderstrom, McCabe, & Rhodes, 2012;
Souchay, Isingrini, & Espagnet, 2000; Souchay, Moulin, Clarys,
Taconnat, & Isingrini, 2007;
Toth, Daniels, & Solinger, 2011; Wong, Cramer, & Gallo,
2012). [. . .]

In many of these studies it has proven
difficult to disassociate metacognitive
accuracy from age-related changes in per-
formance. Common measures of metacog-
nitive accuracy [. . .] are affected by task
performance (Masson & Rotello, 2009),
potentially confounding changes in meta-
cognition with age with changes in perfor-
mance. For example, if two individuals, A
and B, have identical metacognitive ability,
but A performs better than B on the primary
task, A’s metacognition score will appear
higher than B’s due to this performance
confound. (In other words, it may not be a
reduced metacognitive ability, as much as
it is another variable associated with aging
such as poor eyesight or memory deficits.)
Accordingly, Daniels, Toth, and Hertzog
(2009) found that older adults had lower accuracy of immediate
JOLs for predicting old/new
item recognition, but reasoned that this may reflect age-related
memory deficits as opposed
to deficits in metacognition. [. . .]
Research has also drawn conceptual similarities between
characteristics of memory metacog-
nition and executive functions (Fernandez-Duque, Baird, &
Posner, 2000; Pannu & Kaszniak,
2005; Shimamura, 1995; Souchay et al., 2000). Executive
functions, or the processes con-
trolled by the central executive system (discussed in Chapter 3),
include attentional selection,
updating, and attention switching. In particular it has been
suggested that any age-related
decline in metacognition may be due to executive limitations

associated with aging (Souchay
& Isingrini, 2004), such as working memory impairment. Again,
however, results from initial
studies examining this issue are mixed. [. . .]
Jacoblund/iStock/Thinkstock
It is difficult to prove if metacognition increases
or decreases with age. Some assume that as we
acquire more knowledge throughout a lifetime,
self-awareness grows with it.
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277
Perceptual Metacognitive Efficiency
Our own research (Hertzog & Dunlosky, 2011) investigates the
effects of age on metacognitive
efficiency in healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 84. We
found that perceptual meta-
cognitive efficiency declined with age, despite task performance
being controlled to ensure
all participants performed with the same accuracy. In other
words, older adults were less
efficient at introspecting about whether they are performing
well or badly on a perceptual task
than younger adults. This result is consistent with previous
observations of a weaker match
between beliefs and abilities in older adults (Hultsch,

MacDonald, Hunter, Levy-Bencheton,
& Strauss, 2000; Ross et al., 2012) and age-related differences
in the accuracy of confidence
judgments (Bender & Raz, 2012; Dodson et al., 2007; Huff et
al., 2011; Kelley & Sahakyan,
2003; Pansky et al., 2009; Perrotin et al., 2006; Soderstrom et
al., 2012; Souchay et al., 2000,
2007; Toth et al., 2011; Wong et al., 2012). However, many
previous studies did not control for
the influence of task performance on measures of
metacognition. This is particularly critical
when studying aging as metacognitive ability may be difficult to
distill from other age-related
changes in cognitive abilities. [. . .]
We suggest, based on our research, that there is age-related
decline in perceptual metacognitive
efficiency (one’s belief about their efficiency) while controlling
for age-related differences in
task performance and executive function. [. . .] Quantifying
changes in metacognition with age
is critical for an understanding of higher-order cognitive
functions in an aging population, espe-
cially as deficits in metacognitive monitoring may lead to
impaired control of behavior (Koriat
& Goldsmith, 1996). Aging-associated diseases such as
Alzheimer’s are accompanied by meta-
cognitive deficits that may lead to non-adherence to treatment
and impaired decision making
(Cosentino, 2014). Our results, when combined with previous
research in adolescents (Weil et
al., 2013), reveal a non-linear relationship between age and
perceptual metacognitive efficiency,
increasing during adolescence, plateauing in early adulthood,
and declining in older age.

Source: Adapted from Palmer, E. C., David, A. S., & Fleming,
S. M. (2014). Effects of age on meta-
cognitive efficiency. Consciousness and Cognition, 28(100),
151–160. Published by Elsevier.
In the first series of excerpts, Darling-Hammond and colleagues
(2016) suggested beneficial
metacognitive strategies, as applied to children and in the
classroom. An understanding of how
such strategies effectively support learning in this setting can
also facilitate our understanding
of how best to support learners in similar contexts.
In the second series of excerpts, Palmer and colleagues (2014)
emphasized the difficulty of mea-
suring metacognitive functioning as one ages. They suggested
that older adults may perform
as well as or better than younger adults in some areas. However,
their findings also indicated
that older adults may potentially experience declined
perceptions about how well or poorly they
perform on a task (also referred to as perceptual metacognitive
efficiency). For example, if two
people, one age 40 and the other age 75, were each asked about
how well they did at putting
together a puzzle, the older adult might perceive that he did
poorly, when in actuality he put
the puzzle together more efficiently than the 40-year-old.
However, we should continue to apply
our own skeptical inquiry and consider whether related factors
might influence metacognition.
(Although only a speculation based on information that we
learned in Chapter 6, is it possible
that an individual’s sense of confidence or efficacy while
completing a task might be affected by
physiological or psychological deterioration, rather than the

metacognitive accuracy alone?) See
Applying Skeptical Inquiry: Aging, Knowledge Acquisition, and
Decision Making to consider
some of the other research findings associated with age-related
changes that can affect learning.
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278
Researchers have identified several reasons why metacognition
is a significant element of knowl-
edge acquisition and learning. For example, a developed
metacognition supports executive func-
tioning, including cognition and information processing. Other
findings include the following:
• Metacognition may compensate for IQ and experiences,
improving one’s ability to learn
successfully (Swanson, 1990).
• Metacognition is a core component of information processing
models of self-regulation
(Butler & Winne, 1995; Winne, 2001).
• Metacognitive monitoring skills support the development of
human expertise in gen-
eral (Glaser & Chi, 1988).

• Metacognition develops positive self-efficacy, which then
positively affects performance
(Coutinho, 2008).
• Metacognition is an underlying factor in, and predictor of,
academic success as defined
by grade point average in college students with learning
disabilities (Ruban, 2000;
Trainin & Swanson, 2005).
Applying Skeptical Inquiry: Aging, Knowledge Acquisition,
and Decision Making
Research on the effects of aging on knowledge acquisition has
diverse findings, and these
findings can help us better understand the range of potential
considerations and causes of
age-related changes on learning. For example:
• Salthouse has suggested that older adults process information
less quickly than
younger adults (1992, 1994).
• Cohen (1996), Kausler (1990), and Salthouse, McGuthry, and
Hambrick (1999) all
have suggested that there are age-related deficits in explicit
memory and learning.
• Some research has suggested that specific types of processing
are affected by age,
but others are not (Chen, 2002; Chen, 2004; Chen & Blanchard-
Fields, 2000).
• Reyna (2004) has suggested that older adults have a decreased
need for some
cognitive tools based on their increased ability to utilize

affective information in
decision making.
It is apparent that a multitude of variables can influence the
process of learning for older
adults, which can make our goal of understanding learning an
even more complex task.
The following lecture is presented by Dr. Thad Polk, University
of Michigan. Dr. Polk researches
cognition using functional MRI, computational modeling, and
behavioral experimentation. His
work considers how cognition is affected by aging, experience,
and genetics. Watch the video of
Dr. Polk’s lecture, “Aging: It’s Not What You Think,” for more
information.
https://youtu.be/wrTIS0uKg6o
Questions
1. Are you surprised by Dr. Polk’s findings? Why or why not?
2. Do these findings suggest the existence of a potential bias
about aging adults today?
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https://youtu.be/wrTIS0uKg6o
279
Section 8.3 Self-Regulated Learning

• Metacognition is important for developing critical thinking
skills (Ku & Ho, 2010).
• Metacognition is related to overall academic success for
college students (Hall, Smith,
& Chia, 2008; Md. Yunus & Ali, 2008; Nietfeld, Cao, &
Osborne, 2005; Schleifer & Dull,
2009; Uwazurike, 2010).
• Accurate metacognition leads to improved self-regulation that,
in turn, positively
affects performance (Thiede, Anderson, & Therriault, 2003).
Several of the items in this list spotlight the connections
between metacognition and self-
regulation, which will be discussed in the next section.
Metacognition influences executive
functioning (cognitive effectiveness), self-regulation,
constructivist-based frameworks, and
motivation. In addition, the reliance of self-regulation
development on effective metacogni-
tion suggests the importance of bridging the different
theoretical frameworks (e.g., cognitiv-
ism, constructivism, and humanism) in the endeavor to better
understand how we learn.
8.3 Self-Regulated Learning
Pioneered by Dr. Barry Zimmerman, self-regulated learning
theory (SRL) suggests that
strategies that are based on cognitive science can be used to
encourage learners to take owner-
ship of their learning experiences. SRL has been studied widely
since the 1970s (Paris & Wino-
grad, 2001), but it is often a misunderstood element in the
holistic approach to learning because

some mistakenly consider it a mental ability or even a skill
(Zimmerman et al., 2002). However,
Zimmerman et al. (2002) have suggested that self-regulation is
a set of behaviors monitored by
a self-directive process. When successfully implemented,
learners can transform, through guided
practice and feedback (Paris & Paris, 2001), their psychological
and intellectual abilities into
applicable skills (Zimmerman et al., 2002).
Self-regulated learning is thus the pro-
cess of setting, monitoring, regulating, and
attaining goals through cognition, meta-
cognition, and motivation. According to
Schraw et al. (2006), self-regulated learn-
ing is governed by three components:
• Cognition—Includes the skills
essential to encode, memorize,
and recall information (see Chap-
ters 2 and 3)
• Metacognition—Includes the
skills that assist learners in identi-
fying, understanding, and moni-
toring their cognitive processes
(see sections 8.1 and 8.2)
• Motivation—Includes the beliefs
(e.g., self-efficacy) that can affect
the use of cognitive and metacog-
nitive skills (see section 6.4)
Monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Thinkstock
Self-regulated learning is key to processing
and retaining information. If group study and

discussion are what help you learn, then it is
important to set aside time and plan accordingly
with other people. If you have recently begun
learning a new hobby, you might set a realistic
goal and schedule time to practice.
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280
However, other researchers have suggested that these three
components are not exclusive and
posit that self-regulated learning includes a variety of
interacting components:
• Some researchers have suggested that cognitive,
metacognitive, motivational, behav-
ioral, and environmental elements are associated with self-
regulation (Butler & Winne,
1995; Zimmerman, 2000).
• Some researchers have suggested that self-regulated learning
also includes goal set-
ting and identification, self-monitoring, self-instruction,
strategy development, and
self-reinforcement (Harris & Graham, 1999; Schraw et al.,
2006; Zimmerman, 2002).
A self-regulated learner is an individual who has developed the

ability to understand and
regulate his or her learning behaviors and environments. Self-
regulated learners have identi-
fied the goals they would like to achieve and the strategies that
support the meeting of this goal
(Paris & Paris, 2001). This takes the form of diverse strategies
and self-monitoring techniques
(e.g., managing emotions, taking notes, time management, and
the use of tools and resources
such as graphic organizers, audio assistive technology, and
asking for assistance from peers or
instructors). It’s also suggested that self-regulated learners are
those who find a way to have
success even when they experience negative learning
conditions.
Research has provided evidence that self-regulation can be
taught and learned, increasing the
motivation and success of the learner (Zimmerman & Schunk,
2001). The following excerpts are
from Zimmerman (2002). The discussions provide more
information about the nature of self-
regulation, the processes involved, and how it is utilized.
Whether you are a learner, instructor,
trainer, or counselor, a better understanding of self-regulation
and how to integrate it more
effectively can help you improve learning experiences for
yourself and others. As you read, be
mindful that a learner who is able to self-regulate effectively
must first employ metacognitive
knowledge and regulation.
Excerpts from “Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An
Overview”
By B. J. Zimmerman

Developing Lifelong Habits
Self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic
performance skill; rather it is the self-
directive process by which learners transform their mental
abilities into academic skills.
Learning is viewed as an activity that students do for
themselves in a proactive way rather
than as a covert event that happens to them in reaction to
teaching. Self-regulation refers
to self-generated thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are
oriented to attaining goals (Zim-
merman, 2000). These learners are proactive in their efforts to
learn because they are aware
of their strengths and limitations and because they are guided
by personally set goals and
task-related strategies, such as using an arithmetic addition
strategy to check the accuracy
of solutions to subtraction problems. These learners monitor
their behavior in terms of their
goals and self-reflect on their increasing effectiveness. This
enhances their self-satisfaction
and motivation to continue to improve their methods of
learning. Because of their superior
motivation and adaptive learning methods, self-regulated
students are more likely not only to
succeed academically but to view their futures optimistically. [.
. .]
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281
Self-regulation of learning involves more than detailed
knowledge of a skill; it involves the
self-awareness, self-motivation, and behavioral skill to
implement that knowledge appropri-
ately. For example, there is evidence (Cleary & Zimmerman,
2000) that experts differ from
non-experts in their application of knowledge at crucial times
during learning performances,
such as correcting specific deficiencies in technique.
Contemporary research tells us that self-regulation of learning
is not a single personal trait
that individual students either possess or lack. Instead, it
involves the selective use of specific
processes that must be personally adapted to each learning task.
The component skills include:
a) Setting specific proximal goals for oneself
b) Adopting powerful strategies for attaining the goals
c) Monitoring one’s performance selectively for signs of
progress
d) Restructuring one’s physical and social context to make it
compatible with one’s
goals
e) Managing one’s time use efficiently
f ) Self-evaluating one’s methods
g) Attributing causation to results
h) Adapting future methods
A student’s level of learning has been found to vary based on
the presence or absence of these

key self-regulatory processes (Schunk & Zimmerman, 1994,
1998).
Contemporary research reveals that the self-motivated quality of
self-regulated learners
depends on several underlying beliefs, including perceived
efficacy and intrinsic interest. [. . .]
For example, experts spend approximately four hours each day
in study and practice and find
these activities highly motivating. They vary their methods of
study and practice in order to
discover new strategies for self-improvement. With such diverse
skills as chess, sports, and
music, the quantity of an individual’s studying and practicing is
a strong predictor of his or
her level of expertise. There is also evidence that the quality of
practicing and studying epi-
sodes is highly predictive of a learner’s level of skill
(Zimmerman & Kitsantas, 1997, 1999).
However, few beginners in a new discipline immediately derive
powerful self-motivational ben-
efits, and they may easily lose interest if they are not socially
encouraged and guided, as most
music teachers will readily attest (McPherson & Zimmerman, in
press). Fortunately, the moti-
vation of novices can be greatly enhanced when and if they use
high-quality self-regulatory
processes, such as close self-monitoring. Students who have the
capabilities to detect subtle
progress in learning will increase their levels of self-
satisfaction and their beliefs in their per-
sonal efficacy to perform at a high level of skill (Schunk,
1983). Clearly, their motivation does
not stem from the task itself, but rather from their use of self-
regulatory processes, such as self-

monitoring, and the effects of these processes on their self-
beliefs.
Structure and Function of Self-Regulatory Processes
This brings us to the essential question of how does a learner’s
use of specific learning pro-
cesses, level of self-awareness, and motivational beliefs
combine to produce self-regulated
learners? Social learning psychologists view the structure of
self-regulatory processes in
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282
terms of three cyclical phases. The forethought phase refers to
processes and beliefs that
occur before efforts to learn, the performance phase refers to
processes that occur during
behavioral implementation, and the self-reflection phase refers
to processes that occur after
each learning effort. The processes that have been studied in
each phase to date are shown in
Figure 8.1, and the function of each process will be described
next (Zimmerman, 2000).
Figure 8.1: Phases and sub-processes of self-regulation
The self-regulatory process includes three phases: forethought,

performance, and self-reflection. Each
phase also includes two sub-processes.
Adapted from “Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An
Overview,” by B. J. Zimmerman, 2002, Theory Into Practice,
41(2), 67. doi:10.1207/
s15430421tip4102_2. Francis & Taylor, Ltd. Copyright © 2002
Routledge.
Performance phase
Self-control
Imagery
Self-instruction
Attention focusing
Task strategies
Self-observation
Self-recording
Self-experimentation
Self-reflection phase
Self-judgment
Self-evaluation
Causal attribution
Self-reaction
Self-satisfaction/affect
Adaptive/defensive

Forethought phase
Task analysis
Goal planning
Strategic planning
Self-motivation
beliefs
Self-efficacy
Outcome expectations
Intrinsic interest/value
Learning goal orientation
Forethought Phase
There are two major classes of forethought phase processes:
task analysis and self-motivation.
Task analysis involves goal setting and strategic planning.
There is considerable evidence of
increased academic success by learners who set specific
proximal goals for themselves, such
as memorizing a word list for a spelling test, and by learners
who plan to use spelling strate-
gies, such as segmenting words into syllables.
Self-motivation stems from learners’ beliefs about learning,
such as self-efficacy beliefs
about having the personal capability to learn and outcome
expectations about personal con-
sequences of learning (Bandura, 1997). For example, students
who feel self-efficacious about
learning to divide fractions and expect to use this knowledge to
pass a college entrance exam

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283
are more motivated to learn in a self-regulated fashion. Intrinsic
interest refers to the stu-
dents’ valuing of the task skill for its own merits, and learning
goal orientation refers to valu-
ing the process of learning for its own merits. Students who find
the subject matter of history,
for example, interesting and enjoy increasing their mastery of it
are more motivated to learn
in a self-regulated fashion.
Performance Phase
Performance phase processes fall into two major classes: self-
control and self-observation.
Self-control refers to the deployment of specific methods or
strategies that were selected
during the forethought phase. Among the key types of self-
control methods that have been
studied to date are the use of imagery, self-instruction, attention
focusing, and task strategies.
For example, in learning the Spanish word pan for “bread,” an
English-speaking girl could
form an image of a bread pan or self-instruct using the phrase
“bread pan.” She could also
locate her place of study away from distracting noises so she
could control her attention bet-

ter. For a task strategy, she could group the Spanish word pan
with associated words for foods.
Self-observation refers to self-recording personal events or self-
experimentation to find out
the cause of these events. For example, students are often asked
to self-record their time use to
make them aware of how much time they spend studying. A boy
may notice that when he stud-
ied alone, he finished his homework more quickly than when
studying with a friend. To test
this hypothesis, the boy could conduct a self-experiment in
which he studied parallel lessons
alone and in the presence of his friend to see whether his friend
was an asset or a liability. Self-
monitoring, a covert form of self-observation, refers to one’s
cognitive tracking of personal
functioning, such as the frequency of failing to capitalize words
when writing an essay.
Self-Reflection Phase
There are two major classes of self-reflection phase
processes: self-judgment and self-reaction. Self-
judgment is the act of evaluating one’s behaviors,
and two forms of self-judgment are considered
here. One form of self-judgment, self-evaluation,
refers to comparisons of self-observed perfor-
mances against some standard, such as one’s prior
performance, another person’s performance, or an
absolute standard of performance. Another form
of self-judgment involves causal attribution, which
refers to beliefs about the cause of one’s errors or
successes, such as a score on a mathematics test.
Attributing a poor score to limitations in fixed abil-
ity can be very damaging motivationally because it
implies that efforts to improve on a future test will

not be effective. In contrast, attributing a poor math
score to controllable processes, such as the use of
the wrong solution strategy, will sustain motivation
because it implies that a different strategy may lead
to success.
Wavebreakmedia/iStock/Thinkstock
Part of self-judgment is causal
attribution, which can be either
positive or negative. For example, after
an interview, a job candidate finds
out she didn’t receive the position.
She could attribute this either to her
amateur ability as a worker or to her
interview skills or work experience.
The latter two options are controllable
and are positive attributions because
the candidate can actively practice and
change them.
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284
Self-reaction is the act of providing one’s self with both
positive and negative reinforcement.
One form of self-reaction involves feelings of self-satisfaction
and positive affect regarding
one’s performance. Increases in self-satisfaction enhance

motivation, whereas decreases in
self-satisfaction undermine further efforts to learn (Schunk,
2001). Self-reactions also take
the form of adaptive/defensive responses. Defensive reactions
refer to efforts to protect one’s
self-image by withdrawing or avoiding opportunities to learn
and perform, such as dropping a
course or being absent for a test. In contrast, adaptive reactions
refer to adjustments designed
to increase the effectiveness of one’s method of learning, such
as discarding or modifying an
ineffective learning strategy.
This view of self-regulation is cyclical in that self-reflections
from prior efforts to learn affect
subsequent forethought processes (e.g., self-dissatisfaction will
lead to lower levels of self-
efficacy and diminished effort during subsequent learning)
(Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994).
In support of this cyclical view of self-regulation, high
correlations were found among learn-
ers’ use of forethought, performance, and self-reflection phase
processes (Zimmerman &
Kitsantas, 1999). For example, students who set specific
proximal goals are more likely to
self-observe their performance in these areas, are more likely to
achieve in the target area,
and will display higher levels of self-efficacy than students who
do not set goals (Bandura &
Schunk, 1981). Other studies have revealed that experts display
significantly higher levels of
self-regulatory processes during practice efforts than novices
(Cleary & Zimmerman, 2000).
Novice Versus Expert
The self-regulation profile of novices is very distinctive from

that of experts. Novices fail to
engage in high-quality forethought and instead attempt to self-
regulate their learning reac-
tively. That is, they fail to set specific goals or to self-monitor
systematically, and as a result,
they tend to rely on comparisons with the performance of others
to judge their learning effec-
tiveness. Because typically other learners are also progressing,
their performance represents
a constantly increasing criterion of success that is very difficult
to surpass. Furthermore,
learners who make comparative self-evaluations are prompted to
attribute causation to abil-
ity deficiencies (which are also normative in nature), and this
will produce lower personal
satisfaction and prompt defensive reactions.
In contrast, the self-regulation profile of experts reveals they
display high levels of self-
motivation and set hierarchical goals for themselves with
process goals leading to out-
come goals in succession, such as dividing a formal essay into
an introduction, a body, and
a conclusion. Experts plan learning efforts using powerful
strategies and self-observe their
effects, such as a visual organizer for filling in key information
(Zimmerman & Risemberg,
1997). They self-evaluate their performance against their
personal goals rather than other
learners’ performance, and they make strategy (or method)
attributions instead of ability
attributions. This leads to greater personal satisfaction with
their learning progress and
further efforts to improve their performance. Together these
self-reactions enhance vari-
ous self-motivational beliefs of experts, such as self-efficacy,

outcome expectations, learn-
ing goal orientation, and intrinsic interest.
Knowing the differences in the structure and function of self-
regulatory processes between
experts and novices has enabled researchers to formulate
intervention programs in schools
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285
for children who display lower levels of self-regulatory
development (Schunk & Zimmerman,
1998). [. . .]
Contrary to a commonly held belief, self-regulated learning is
not asocial in nature and ori-
gin. Each self-regulatory process or belief, such as goal setting,
strategy use, and self-evalua-
tion, can be learned from instruction and modeling by parents,
teachers, coaches, and peers.
In fact, self-regulated students seek out help from others to
improve their learning. What
defines them as “self-regulated” is not their reliance on socially
isolated methods of learning,
but rather their personal initiative, perseverance, and adoptive
skill. Self-regulated students
focus on how they activate, alter, and sustain specific learning

practices in social as well as sol-
itary contexts. In an era when these essential qualities for
lifelong learning are distressingly
absent in many students, teaching self-regulated learning
processes is especially relevant.
Source: Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated
Learner: An Overview. Theory
Into Practice. Francis & Taylor, Ltd. Copyright © 2002
Routledge.
Self-regulation suggests that learners can be as successful as
they choose to be when they have
the knowledge to apply strategies that support information
processing in the most effective and
efficient way. As suggested, applying self-regulation
intentionally supports the effort of develop-
ment from novice to expert. This intentionality also applies
when practicing each phase of the
self-regulatory process (forethought, performance, and self-
reflection). This process provides
the opportunity for a learner to be more engaged and
autonomous in his or her performances,
behavior modifications, and outcomes. See Reinforcing Your
Understanding: Tips for Regulat-
ing Your Learning to learn specific self-regulation strategies
that you can apply in your online
education courses.
Consider how this information will apply to your present or
future endeavors: Will you train
employees? Counsel children or adults? Support geriatric
programs? Raise children? Volunteer
for a nonprofit? The content about self-regulation appropriately
completes this text because it
suggests that, in the end, the learner will be the one to decide

what he or she believes and what
is applicable, whether you are the learner or you are responsible
for guiding other learners. It is
up to the learner to discover more information, evaluate the
findings, and consider the implica-
tions. Whatever your path, a developed understanding about
how we learn and how we learn
more effectively can help you and those you instruct throughout
the learning process.
Reinforcing Your Understanding: Tips for Regulating Your
Learning
Myron Dembo is the author of Motivation and Learning
Strategies for College Success: A Focus
on Self-Regulated Learning and a now-retired professor of
educational psychology at the
University of Southern California’s Rossier School of
Education. Time management and goal
setting are just two of the challenges that students might face
when learning new material.
In the video provided, Dembo discusses online learning and
suggests behaviors that support
self-regulation and increased performance for distance learners.
https://youtu.be/weSFo3Jk0qU
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https://youtu.be/weSFo3Jk0qU
286

Summary & Resources
Summary & Resources
Chapter Summary
Metacognition and self-regulation are two areas of learning
psychology that suggest that
behaviors can effectively increase our personal success in
knowledge acquisition. These
variables are not fixed; they can be developed and strengthened
throughout life (Darling-
Hammond et al., 2016). Self-awareness is essential to both
metacognition and self-regulation.
A crucial part of this chapter is identifying how we can connect
the metacognition and self-
regulation strategies with the information that was introduced in
other areas of the text. For
example, how might self-regulation and metacognition support
the associations of meaning
you acquire, your memory development, or your construction of
knowledge?
The benefits of developing one’s metacognition and becoming a
self-regulated learner tap
into much of the content we have considered in this text. The
learning process is physiologi-
cal, psychological, biological, and complex. The psychology of
learning encompasses differ-
ent ideologies for testing, different perspectives about
applicability, and diverse scholarly
opinions about the validity of one theory, model, or framework
over another.
It is essential to understand the more traditional theoretical
frameworks, such as behavior-

ism, and the key role cognition has in better understanding how
we learn. From these key
theories, numerous other models and variables have been
identified, each building off one
another and encouraging us to ask more questions about what
affects successful learn-
ing. For example, constructivism suggests that reality is
perceived and that knowledge is
not knowledge unless it has an attached meaning that aligns
with one’s context or culture.
Models based on humanistic ideologies spotlight the roles of
motivation and attention to
the whole person, including individual needs, learning
preferences, and goals. Each of these
frameworks adds a dimension to the field of learning and offers
us knowledge that we can
use to increase our own success and to support others.
Understanding how we learn, from a holistic perspective, has
many advantages that affect
not only how we as individuals learn, but also how we more
successfully train, counsel, par-
ent, and instruct others. In discussions about behavioral analysis
(behaviorism), we learned
that our awareness of environmental stimuli, reinforcers, and
associations can affect our
learning behaviors. In discussions about cognitivism, we
learned that memory development
and successful information processing are affected by our
attention, perceptions, emotions,
processing ability, schema development, chunking, and
cognitive mapping. Details about
constructivism encouraged us to consider how culture, diversity,
and experience can mold
our interpretations and constructions of our knowledge. The
ideas suggested by humanism

remind us of the importance of personal motivation, goal
setting, and preferential learning,
which might each affect the learning process. These findings
can be effectively monitored,
developed, and improved through the application of self-
regulation and metacognitive
strategies.
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287
Summary & Resources
Key Ideas
• Metacognition is an individual’s awareness and management
of his or her thoughts
and thinking processes.
• Metacognitive regulations support highly developed
metacognitive skills.
• Metacognition suggests that an individual has control of, or
autonomy over, his or
her own learning.
• Effective metacognitive regulation includes intentional
planning, self-monitoring,
and self-development.
• Perceptual metacognitive efficiency is a learner’s perceptions
about the effectiveness

of his or her own learning capabilities.
• Self-regulation develops psychological and intellectual
abilities into usable skills that
can be used to attain more effective learning.
• Self-regulation can be developed and is not a personal trait
that individual learners
either possess or lack.
• A low level of self-awareness increases the likelihood for self-
deception.
• Self-deception can result in false memory development and
reduced cognitive
awareness, which can affect learning.
• Self-regulated learning is supported by three components:
cognition, metacognition,
and motivation.
• Self-regulated learning includes goal setting and
identification, self-monitoring, self-
instruction, strategy development, and self-reinforcement.
• Learners can use self-reinforcers and self-reactions to develop
their behaviors that
support learning.
Additional Resources
Metacognition and self-regulation are models for learning that
promote efficiency based on
cognition and information processing. Through self-
management and awareness of one’s
own weaknesses and strengths, learners can have the potential
to exercise more control

over and improve their learning experiences. Visit the following
resources to further your
understanding of the topics that were introduced in this chapter.
Some resources may also
be accessible via your university library.
Metacognition
• “Metacognition and Student Learning” from The Chronicle of
Higher Education:
http://www.chronicle.com/article/MetacognitionStudent/130327
• Manasia, L. and Pârvan, A. (2014). Challenging adult learning
and work experience
through metacognitive reflection. A case study approach. Social
and Behavioral Sci-
ences, 142(14). 447–453. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science
/article/pii/S1877042814046229
• Khezrlou, T. S. (2012). The relationship between cognitive
and metacognitive
strategies, age, and level of education. The Reading Matrix,
12(1). Retrieved from
http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/april_2012/khezrlou.pdf
• Baker, L. (1989). Metacognition, comprehension monitoring,
and the adult reader.
Educational Psychology Review, 1(1), 3.
doi:10.1007/BF01326548
maj83688_09_c08_261-290.indd 287 8/31/17 3:19 PM

http://www.chronicle.com/article/MetacognitionStudent/130327
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S18770428140
46229
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S18770428140
46229
http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/april_2012/khezrlou.pdf
288
Summary & Resources
Key Terms
executive control The ability to use what
an individual knows about his or her own
thinking to direct or regulate his or her
learning.
executive functions The processes con-
trolled by the central executive system that
regulate information processing, including
attentional selection, updating, and atten-
tion switching.
forethought phase One of three phases
associated with self-regulatory processes;
includes processes that occur before
efforts to learn, such as task analysis and
self-motivation.
judgments of learning (JOLs) An indi-
vidual’s evaluations of how well he or she
learned something.
knowledge-centered classrooms Learn-
ing environments that focus on activities

that are meaningful and build on learners’
previous knowledge, include complex tasks,
and require active decision making.
learner-centered classrooms Learning
environments that focus on learners’ current
knowledge, skills, attitudes, and interests to
build learning and reflection skills.
metacognition The ability to be aware of
and regulate one’s thought processes.
metacognitive judgments Personal evalu-
ations of one’s own learning.
metacognitive knowledge One’s aware-
ness of what one knows or doesn’t know,
what one wants to know, what one needs to
think about to complete a task, and how to
manage one’s own learning.
metacognitive skills Thought processes
that support one’s ability to plan, set goals,
and then sustain, monitor, and manage the
progress of tasks.
performance phase One of three phases
includes processes that occur during
efforts to learn, such as self-control and
self-observation.
self-control The ability to manage one’s
emotions, desires, and behaviors; a process
associated with the performance phase.

self-judgment The act of evaluating one’s
own behaviors; a process associated with
the self-reflection phase.
self-motivation The act of doing something
based on one’s own enthusiasms, goals,
or interests, without being pressured by
others; a process associated with the fore-
thought phase.
Self-Regulated Learning
• Florez, I. R. (2011). Developing young children’s self-
regulation through everyday
experiences. Young Children, 72(3), 46–51. Retrieved from
https://www.naeyc.org
/files/yc/file/201107/Self-
Regulation_Florez_OnlineJuly2011.pdf
• Weimer, M. (2010, July). What it means to be a self-regulated
learner. Faculty Focus.
Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-
and-learning
/what-it-means-to-be-a-self-regulated-learner/
maj83688_09_c08_261-290.indd 288 8/31/17 3:19 PM
https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/201107/Self-
https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/201107/Self-
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-
learning/what-it-means-to-be-a-self-regulated-learner/

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-
learning/what-it-means-to-be-a-self-regulated-learner/
289
Summary & Resources
self-observation An unbiased assessment
of one’s attitudes, reactions, and thought
processes; a process associated with the
performance phase.
self-reaction The act of supplying one’s self
with both positive and negative reinforce-
ment; a process associated with the self-
reflection phase.
self-reflection phase One of three phases
includes processes that occur after learn-
ing efforts, such as self-judgment and
self-reaction.
self-regulated learner An individual who
has developed the ability to understand and
regulate his or her learning behaviors and
environments to promote more effective
learning.
self-regulated learning The process of
setting, monitoring, regulating, and attaining
goals through the use of cognition, metacog-
nition, and motivation.
self-regulated learning theory (SRL) Sug-

gests that strategies based on cognitive
science can be used to encourage learners
to take ownership of their learning expe-
riences; instructors use feedback to help
engage learners in the learning process.
sense-making The process of making deci-
sions based on one’s situational awareness
during complex or ambiguous tasks.
task analysis The process of evaluating a
task and then setting goals and making plans
to attain success; a process associated with
the forethought phase.
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7 Evolving Frameworks
iLexx/iStock/Thinkstock
Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the
following:
• Describe how intelligence is defined and the debates
associated with such definitions.
• Discuss the pros and cons of intelligence assessments.
• List some of the factors considered when studying
intelligence.
• Explain how Gardner’s model of multiple intelligences might
indicate specific learning preferences.
• Describe the strategies suggested to support multiple
intelligences.
• Apply emotional intelligence development strategies to real-
life situations.
• Discuss the implications of learning styles and how they can
influence knowledge acquisition.
• Identify how technology can affect the learning process.
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222
Introduction

Introduction
Have you ever:
• questioned your own ability to learn effectively?
• been told or believed that we all learn differently?
• experienced moments when learning seemed easier or more
difficult to you?
• questioned the validity of intelligence scores?
• believed that an instructor, friend, or family member did not
think you were capable
of success?
If you answered yes to any of these ques-
tions, the information in this chapter may
help explain why. As mentioned in the Intro-
duction, evolving frameworks are those that
continue to be tested, questioned, expanded,
and critiqued. Scholars suggest that success-
ful learning is affected by multiple variables
such as intellect, emotional development,
learning preferences or styles, and whether
advances in technology support effective
learning (Gardner, 2011a, 2011b; Jonassen,
Howland, Marra, & Crismond, 2008; Wicks,
Nakisher & Grimm, 2016; Ormrod, 2008;
Sternberg, 2015). This chapter discusses
the roles of these variables in learning but
emphasizes that these variables and their
connections with learning are still being researched. By
including information about evolving
frameworks, this chapter’s discussions aim to support a more
holistic understanding of learn-
ing and learning effectiveness. Each framework also offers
different explanations about what

aptitudes are, or are not, related to learning.
Specifically, as outlined in this text, intelligence is defined as
the ability to acquire, adapt,
understand, and use knowledge. But this definition may differ
from person to person. The
word intelligence has taken on different meanings as academics
explore additional ways to
identify, measure, and define it, which you will learn more
about in this chapter. Definitions
of intelligence have continued to evolve as researchers bring to
light new findings and ideas
about information processing, knowledge acquisition, and the
effects of motivation, aging,
emotions, and culture. Some researchers now suggest a more
comprehensive view of intel-
ligence by identifying different types of intelligence.
From a physiological point of view, learning involves specific
cognitive processes. Most
human beings can learn. Without this ability, humanity would
not survive. Learning happens
whether we learn through basic associations that occur through
stimulus-response mecha-
nisms (behaviorism) or through active engagement of our
attention to develop knowledge
(cognitivism). It is this truth that guides the field of psychology
to understand more about
learning. When used appropriately, evolving frameworks, such
as an awareness of one’s
learning style or emotional development and the application of
technological tools, can all be
used to support and even enhance learning.
Creatas/Creatas/Thinkstock
Understanding how you process information

and respond to certain situations is
important to understanding how you learn.
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223
Section 7.1 Intelligence and Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
7.1 Intelligence and Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Human intelligence has been studied since the early 1900s. But
what is intelligence? Is it about
knowing the right answers or how to think more abstractly?
How do we measure intelligence?
French psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon were
two of the earliest to design an
intelligence test: the Binet-Simon intelligence scale. The French
government was looking
for a method that could allow it to more easily identify children
with learning disabilities, and
the Binet-Simon intelligence scale was the result. (Lewis
Terman of Stanford University later
adapted this assessment for use in the United States.) The scale
was based on experiments that
identified the average performance levels of a range of age-
based groups, and Binet and Simon
created a mathematical formula that could be used to specify an
individual’s intelligence quo-
tient (IQ): mental age (determined by an assessment) divided by
chronological age and then
multiplied by 100.

Throughout time, intelligence testing has been studied,
elaborated upon, and reformulated.
Table 7.1 lists and describes a few of the tests that have been
utilized to assess intelligence.
Table 7.1: Examples of other intelligence tests
Test Creator(s) Description
Army Examination
Alpha
Robert
Yerkes and
colleagues
• Based on an intelligence test created by Alfred Binet
• Used to determine a soldier’s capability of serving, job
classifi-
cation, and potential for a leadership position
Army Examination
Beta
United States
Army
• Developed during World War II
• A culture-fair test used to screen soldiers of average
intelligence
who were illiterate or for whom English was a second language
• A nonverbal equivalent of the Army Alpha exam

Culture-Fair
Intelligence Test
(CFIT)
Raymond B.
Cattell
• Developed during the 1920s
• A two-part test that separated the environmental and genetic
factors to assess cognitive abilities
Raven’s
Progressive
Matrices
John C.
Raven
• A culture-fair, nonverbal group test that is typically used in
educational settings
• Designed to measure reasoning ability associated with
intelligence
The Wechsler
Adult Intelligence
Scale (WAIS)
David
Wechsler
• Developed as an alternative to the test developed by Alfred
Binet
• Considered the first adult-level assessment

• The first version measures verbal and nonverbal intelligence
Learning Potential
Assessment Device
(LPAD)
Reuven
Feuerstein
• Developed during the mid-20th century
• An assessment that shifts the focus from what an individual
can
do to what an individual could be able to do
• Two versions of the test are available: LPAD-Standard and
LPAD-Basic
From Yoakum & Yerkes, 1920; ASVAB, 2017; Falik &
Feuerstein, 2005; Cattell, 1949; Bilker et al., 2012; Wechsler,
1939; Feuerstein
et al., Hadassah WIZO Canada Research Institute, Bar Ilan
University Hadassah WIZO Canada Research Institute, Bar Ilan
University Hadassah WIZO Canada Research Institute;
Department of Psychology, Yale UniversityHadassah WIZO
Canada Research
Institute, Bar Ilan UniversityHadassah WIZO Canada Research
Institute, Bar Ilan UniversityHadassah WIZO Canada Research
Institute, Hadassah WIZO Canada Research Institute 1986.
maj83688_08_c07_221-260.indd 223 8/31/17 3:20 PM

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