Metacognition ideas

1. Development of meta-cognition
Thinking about thinking
“Students don’t learn from experience,
they learn from reflecting on that
experience”

2. Development of meta-cognition
What is it?
It consists of two basic processes occurring
simultaneously…
1. monitoring your progress as you learn
2. making changes and adapting your
strategies if you perceive you are not
doing so well.

3. Two ways we can support
metacognition in lessons…
1. Through our questioning
2. Through support/ scaffolding

4. Development of meta-cognition
Meta- Starters Meta- Main Courses Meta-Desserts
 What do you want to learn?
 What skills do you have that
could be useful?
 When have you had to think
like this before?
 What have you learnt that is
similar?
 What do you already know
that might be similar?
 What MUST you do in this
lesson/topic? What
SHOULD you do in this
lesson/topic? What COULD
you do?
 What are you currently
thinking about?
 Has any of the
lesson/topic so far been
about you?
 What connections have
you made?
 How do you feel about
the lesson/topic?
 How have you got
involved in the
lesson/topic?
 What should you do to
further your thinking?
 What breakthroughs have
you made?
 What do you want to
know more about?
 How are you going to
remember this learning?
 What is the key aspect you
will remember from this
lesson/topic?
 What has this lesson/topic
reminded you of?
 What senses were most
important?
 What did you learn that you
didn’t know before?
 What have you learnt that
could be useful elsewhere?
 What have you learnt
elsewhere that is like this?
 How will you apply what you
have learnt?

5. Review your learning…
What was your main
success in this lesson?
What mistakes did you
make in learning or a
specific activity?
Did you learn anything
unexpected?
Is your success linked to
any of the lesson
outcomes?
Why do you think you
made this mistake?
How does this new
information link to the
learning outcomes?
How valuable was your
contribution during the
activity and why?
Can you think of ways not
to make this mistake in
your learning again?
When do you think this
info could come in handy?

6. Review your learning…
Today I have learnt…
Using the skills of…
I could also use these skills…
To learn more next time I need to…
This connects with…

7. Reflection… Sentences starters
Below your progress grid add a reflection on your work. Here are some
ideas to get you started. Try one you haven’t used before.
One success from today is… Today’s work connects with…
One mistake I made was……… and I overcame it by…
I need to remember to……… and I will remember it by…
The key to my learning today was… The key idea I learnt today was…
The key idea I still need to learn is… One failure I had today was…
Something I want to learn more about next time…

8. Meta-cognition- check list
How often do students evaluate what they
already know at the start of a topic?
Are there opportunities in your lesson for
students to talk about their thinking?
Do students keep a record of their thinking?
Do students get to plan and self regulate their
work?
Do students get to evaluate their work? How do
you monitor this?