This document discusses metacognition and strategies for facilitating metacognition in online class discussions. Metacognition refers to thinking about one's own thinking. The benefits of metacognitive strategies include increased material comprehension, better alignment with assignments, improved discussions, and stronger arguments. The document provides examples of metacognitive strategies that can be used at different stages of online discussions, such as predicting outcomes, self-questioning, and reflecting on learning. It also addresses barriers to implementing these strategies and how to determine if overcoming those barriers is worthwhile.

1. Known knowns & unknown unknowns
Facilitating metacognition in the online classroom
Dr. L. Roxanne Russell, Georgia State University

2. Ummm…Donald Rumsfeld?
 What is metacognition?
There are known knowns; there are things
we know that we know. There are known
unknowns; that is to say, there are things
that we now know we don't know. But
there are also unknown unknowns; there
are things we do not know we don't know.

3. Benefits of Metacognitive Strategies
 For your courses
 Increased material comprehension
 Better alignment of responses to assignments
 Better discussions
 More clearly articulated arguments
 Lifelong
 Increased ability to learn independently
 Better critical thinking skills
 Better interdiscpilinary application of knowledge

4. Online discussions
 Complaints & problems with online
discussion
 Praises & benefits of the online classroom

5. Benefits of Online discussions
 In writing
 Time to prepare
 Record of learning stepping stones
 Participation requirements
 Graded
 Guided

6. Be the expert, Think like a novice
 What have you learned recently?
 What was your
approach?
 What did you need?
 What stands out in
your memory? Why?

7. Discussion Mining
 Focus on one or two objectives
 Choose a learning goal
 Mine the classroom
 Misconceptions
 Preconceptions
 Tangents
 Epiphanies
 Levels of confidence
 Backtrack from goal

8. Introduction Strategies
 Predicting outcomes
 What information will you need to successfully
answer this discussion question?
 Misconception/Preconception check
 Use true/false or definitive statements to ask
students to commit to knowledge or opinions

9. In-progress Strategies
 Self-questioning
 What question must you ask to continue this
process or solve this problem? What questions
do you want to ask me or a peer about this
process?
 Self-challenging
 Allow choices, then question. Why did you make
this choice? Easier or more challenging? If you
could change your choice now, would you?

10. Wrap-up Strategies
 Self-assessing learning
 Rate your learning experience from 1-10. Why
did you give yourself this rating?
 Learning reflection
 Have students examine all configurations
 Knownknowns, known unknowns, unknown knowns,
unknown unknown unknowns

11. Ideas
 What thinking strategies are specific to your
discipline and course objectives?
 e.g. the writing process, the scientific
method, flow charts, logical reasoning
 When are different steps appropriate?
 How do you determine?
 How could you teach students about these
strategies and when to use them in your
curriculum?

12. Barriers
 What would make this approach difficult in
your online discussions?
 How can you determine if the approach is
worth overcoming the barriers?

13. Benefits
 How could this approach improve student
learning?
 Could this approach save you time?

14. Implementing
 Determine learning goals
 Start weekly discussion threads
 Establish high standards for participation
grading (provide rubrics & examples)
 Mine discussions
 Choose strategies to connect discussions to
goals
 Experiment and redesign

15. References
 Seminal
 Flavell, J. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental
inquiry.American Psychologist, 34, 906-911.
 Benefit Claims
 Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
 Schneider, W., & Pressley, M. (1997). Memory development between two and twenty. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
 Weinstein, C.E., & Mayer, R. (1986). The teaching of learning strategies. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of
research on teaching (pp. 315-327). New York: Macmillan.
 Application
 Darling-Hammond, L., Austin, K., Cheung, M., & Martin, D. (n.d.). Thinking about thinking: Metacognition.
Retrieved July 30, 2009, from http://learner2.learner.org/courses/learningclassroom/support/09_metacog.pdf
 Kuhn, D., & Dean Jr., D. (2004). Metacognition: A bridge between cognitive psychology and educational
practice. Theory Into Practice 43(4), 268-273.
 Paris, S., & Winograd, P. (1990). How metacognition can promote academic learning and instruction. In B.F.
Jones & L. Idol (Eds.), Dimensions of thinking and cognitive instruction (pp. 15-51). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
 Pintrich, P.R., McKeachie, W.J., & Lin, Y. (1987). Teaching a course in learning to learn. Teaching of
Psychology, 14, 81-86.
 Pintrich, P.R., & Schunk, D.H. (2002). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill Prentice-Hall.