MODULE 1

Introduction to Facilitating Learning

OVERVIEW

This module is written for you. It is meant to facilitate your learning of the various
theories of learning, growth and development. From experience, we know that serious
study is definitely no easy task. However, it can be made lighter, exciting and
enjoyable with you willing to take an active part.

The very goal of this is for you to learn how to facilitate not just for your future
students’ learning but for your own learning as well. In all the steps of lesson
development, you cannot escape from actively participating in the class activities.
So it is indeed important that you remind yourself of this one principle of learning:
Learning is an active process. Only you can learn for yourself! No one can do the
learning for you. The greater is your involvement in the learning activities, the greater
is the amount of learning you get.

You go through a complete cycle of learning from accepting the challenge to

reflecting and writing down what you have learned. Do not worry! We begin every
lesson with what you know and what you are familiar with and gradually bring you to
what you do not yet know. We end by asking you to apply what you learned in a new
situation.

Ready? Then buckle down for learning. May you enjoy and make the most of
every learning moment.

MODULE OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. Explain the definition of metacognition;

2. Determine oneself as a novice or an expert learner;
3. Apply metacognitive strategies in one’s own quest of learning

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 1

 LESSON
METACOGNITION

“If you teach a person what to learn, you are preparing that person for the past.
If you teach a person how to learn, you are preparing that person for the future.”

-Cyril Houle

INTRODUCTION
The most important goal of education is to teach students how to learn on their
own. They need to acquire the skills of how to learn not only while they are in school
but up to the time when they leave the portals of their alma mater. When there are
no longer teachers around these skills must serve as their guide for the lifetime. This
entails a deeper awareness of how one processes information, the ability to evaluate
his own thinking and to think of ways to make his own learning process more effective.
All these involve metacognition.

Metacognition is such a long word. What metacognition means? You will find
out as tis module will give you an experience of metacognition and how to start
utilizing strategies in your quest for learning.

TIME FRAME: 3 hours within the first week of the class

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

1. define metacognition on his own words;

2. identify and value metacognitive strategies and

importance in facilitating learning;

3. prepare metacognitive gameplan on how to apply

metacognition to improve study skills;

4. conduct metacognitive observation based on the given

procedures.

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 2

 ACTIVITY: My Study Habits!

Direction: Answer the following questionnaires to assess your study habits skills. Put a
check to the column that best describes what is true to you.

PART 1: Motivation Always Sometimes Never Your

(10) (5) (0) Score
I exert effort to find out why I need to do a
particular task.
I reward myself when I work.
I see to it that I give myself regular breaks form work.
I am able to keep my concentration and does not
let my mind "drift away
I have ways of dealing with distractions. I have ways
of dealing with distractions.
I am willing to do the work I do not enjoy because I
see it as important.
I seek clarification from the teacher about her
expectations and standards.
I go to tutorials to improve my school work.
Always Sometimes Never Your
PART 2: Organizing and planning works (10) (5) (0) Score
I make a weekly timetable for the school work I
need to accomplish.
I make a review schedule for examinations.
I plan to get the necessary resources and
equipment prior to starting work.
I submit all my assignments on time.
I have a place to work where I won't be disturbed.
I have time for family commitment and relaxation
as well as studying.
I prioritize tasks which should be done first, second
and so on.
I make lists of things to do.
I make a list of valuable references with
bibliographic details, page numbers of quotes and
so on.
I review my work before submitting it.
Always Sometimes Never Your
PART 3 Working with others, utilizing resources & (10) (5) (0) Score
feedback
I discuss work assignments with other students.
I share resources with other students.
I keep cuttings from newspapers and magazines
which may be of help to me.
I make sure I see TV programs which may be useful
I read the topic assigned before a session.
I ask questions and generally take part in group
discussion
I listen out for key ideas when someone is talking
When I am listening to someone, I try to anticipate
what they will say next.
Always Sometimes Never Your
PART 4: Managing school work stress (10) (5) (0) Score

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 3

 I get so worried about assignments that they make
me fill ill.
This worry about assignments makes me feel
depressed.
I feel miserable about doing assignments.
I let these concerns about the work get on top of
me.
When I need to work, others always succeed in
persuading me to go out.
I have difficulty in talking to others about my worries.
I ignore my personal fitness through worrying about
assignments.
The stress of assignments causes me to get behind
and I never seem to catch up.
Always Sometimes Never Your
PART 5: Note-taking and reading (10) (5) (0) Score
My notes indicate the main ideas, rather than
merely repeat what has been said
I listen for key ideas when listening to a speaker
I approach tutors for help.
I organize or file my notes regularly.
I re-write my notes under key ideas, headings, using
numbering or lettering schemes.
I have a shorthand technique of my own
I underline or highlight key ideas so they stand out
I decide, before reading a book, whether it is vital
or background reading.
I go over a book before diving into chapter one.
I check the contents page for relevance before
reading a book
I look for summaries at the end of chapters.
Always Sometimes Never Your
PART 6: Preparing an assignment/project (10) (5) (0) Score
I see to it that I understand what is really being
asked for in the assignment/project.
I read other references and read about the topic
I make an outline/plan before doing my
assignment/project.
I spell-check for spelling mistakes
My essays have clear introductions.
My essays have a conclusion.
I frequently check back to the title during the
writing of an essay
My essays/research paper has a full set of
references and a bibliography,
I review project/assignment before submitting it.
I request someone else to look at/read my
project/assignment before submitting it.

SCORING GUIDE
Score: 10 for Always
5 for Sometimes
0 for Never

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 4

PART 1: MOTIVATION
Feedback: Scores from 55 to 80 mean that you do not appear to have many
problems in getting down to work and keeping to it.

Scores from 31 to 50 mean that you sometimes get down to work but
you can be distracted, you might not always be certain why you are
having to work. You probably could benefit from learning some
techniques that help you get down to work more consistently and keep
at it.

Scores of 30 and below signify that you really do have problems in

getting down to work. Unless you develop skills in this area you are likely
to have many unsatisfactory experiences as a student throughout your
life. You need to take action.

PART 2: ORGANIZING AND PLANNING WORK

Feedback: Scores from 70 to 100 mean you are well-organized and plan ahead for
your work.

Scores from 40 to 65 mean you are not as well-organized as you could

be. Your time management might benefit from a closer analysis.

Scores of 35 and below mean you have little organization, probably deal
with things as they happen, constantly doing things at the last minute,
often not getting work completed. You need to take action.

PART 3: WORKING WITH OTHERS, UTILIZING RESOURCES & FEEDBACK

Feedback: Scores from 55 to 85 mean you make full use of resources available, listen
well and take an active part in seminars.

Scores from 35 to 50 mean you probably collect resources, but you need
to ask yourself how you are going to use them more effectively

Scores of 30 and below mean there are important resources around you
that you are ignoring. You may not be hearing much of what is being
said. You need to know what resources are available, and you need to
find out where they are and what they have to offer. You need to take
action.

PART 4: MANAGING SCHOOL WORK STRESS

Feedback: Scores from 65 to 80 mean that although you sometimes get stressed
and worried you have the skills of knowing how to minimize problems
and look after yourself.

Scores from 40 to 65 mean that you handle your anxieties and concerns
moderately well but could develop skills to manage them more
effectively.

Scores of 35 and under mean that you are likely to get overwhelmed
with your problems which will make you much less effective as a student.

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 5

 You need to acquire the skills of managing stress more effectively. You
need to take action.
PART 5: NOTE-TAKING AND READING
Feedback: Scores from 75 to 110 mean you prepare well and read efficiently,
learning as you go. You waste little time reading irrelevant material.

Scores from 45-70 mean your reading and note taking skills are
adequate, but could be improved.

Scores of 40 and below mean your notes are likely to be of little use to
you, if they exist at all. You spend a lot of time reading or sitting in but
come home with very little. You need to become more selective in what
you read or write down. You need to take action.

PART 6: PREPARING AN ASSIGNMENT/PROJECT

Feedback: Scores from 70-100 mean that your essays are well thought out,
researched and clearly written.

Scores from 40-65 mean that there is room for improvement although
you do demonstrate some skills.

Scores of 35 and below mean that you probably wonder why your
essays always get such low marks. Resources and support are
available to help you improve your essay writing skills. Take action now.

ANALYSIS

Direction: Fill out the table with your scores and interpretation in the Study Habits
Questionnaire.

Aspect of Study Habits My Score Interpretation

Part 1: Motivation

Part 2: Organizing and

planning works

Part 3: Working with others,

utilizing resources and
feedback

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 6

 Part 4: Managing School Work
Stress

Part 5: Note-taking and

Reading

Part 6: Preparing
assignments/projects

Answer this!
1. What did you discover about yourself using the Study Habits Skills questionnaires?

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2. What aspects are you strong in and how are you going to sustain such strengths?

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3. What aspects do you need to improve in and how are you going to improve such?

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FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 7

 ABSTRACTION

What you just did while answering the questionnaire and analyzing your scores
is an exercise in metacognition. You stopped for a moment and thought about how
you study and learn. You were reminded of your strengths and weaknesses, then you
wrote what it is that you can do to improve your study habits. Hopefully, this will help
you start to learn more effectively.

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

Just what is metacognition? This appears to be such a high sounding word that
some people are confused about what it is about even before they actually spend
time to find out what it really means. It is not at all that complicated. In fact, we do
metacognitive activities so often in our daily lives.

When you sense that you are experiencing some difficulty

with a topic you are studying, and you try out different
strategies to learn better, you are practicing metacognition.

The word maybe long, seems to be so intangible but it is worth focusing on because
it can help you to be a more successful learner. When you become a teacher, it can
also help your students to learn more efficiently and effectively.

The term "metacognition" was coined by John Flavell. According to Flavell (1979,
1987), metacognition consists of both metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive
experiences or regulation. Metacognition, simply put, is "thinking about thinking" or
"learning how to learn”. It refers to higher order thinking which involves active
awareness and control over the cognitive processes engaged in learning.

Metacognitive knowledge refers to acquired knowledge about cognitive processes,

knowledge that can be used to control cognitive processes. Flavell further divides
metacognitive knowledge into three categories: knowledge of person variables, task
variables and strategy variables.

Person Variables. This includes how one views himself as a learner and thinker.
Knowledge of person variables refers to knowledge about how human beings
learn and process information, as well as individual knowledge of one's own
learning processes.

For example, you may be aware that you study more

effectively if you study very early in the morning than late in
the evening, and that you work better in a quiet library rather
than at home where there are a lot of things that make it hard
for you to focus and concentrate

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 8

 Task Variables. Knowledge of task variables includes knowledge about the
nature of the task as well as the type of processing demands that it will place
upon the individual. It is about knowing what exactly needs to be
accomplished, gauging its difficulty and knowing the kind of effort it will
demand from you.

For example, you may be aware that it will take more time for
you to read and comprehend a book in educational philosophy
than it would for you to read and comprehend a novel

Strategy Variables. Knowledge of strategy variables involves awareness of the

strategy you are using to learn a topic and evaluating whether this strategy is
effective. If you think your strategy is not working, then you may think of various
strategies and try out one to see if it will help you learn better.

Terms like meta-attention and meta-memory are related to strategy variables.

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

These three variables all interact as you learn and apply metacognition. Omrod,
includes the following in the practice of metacogniton:

 Knowing the limits of one's own learning and memory capacities

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

For example, a student may use knowledge in planning how to

do homework: "I know that I (person variable) have more
difficulty with my science assignments than English and find
Araling Panlipunan easier (task variable), so I will do my
homework in science first, then language then Araling
Panlipunan (strategy variable)."

If one is only aware about one's cognitive strengths or weaknesses and the
nature of the task but does not use this to guide or oversee his/her own
learning, then no metacognition has been applied.

Huitt believes that metacognition includes the ability to ask and answer the
following types of questions:

• What do I know about this subject, topic, issue?

• Do I know what do I need to know?

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 9

 • Do I know where I can go to get some information, knowledge?
• How much time will I need to learn this?
• What are some strategies and tactics that I can use to learn this?
• Dis I understand what I just heard, read or saw?
• How will I know if I am learning at an appropriate rate?
• How can I spot an error if I make one?
• How should I revise my plan if it is not working to my expectation/
satisfaction?

Researches such as that of Fang and Cox showed that metacognitive

awareness was evident in pre-schooler and in students as young as eight years old.
Children already have the capacity to be more aware and reflective of their
metacognition.

The challenge then to future like you is to integrate more activities that would
build your student’s capacity to reflect on their own characteristics as learners (self-
knowledge), the task they are to do (task knowledge) and the strategies that they
can used to learn (strategic knowledge). Remember, metacognition is like any other
thing you will teach.

Metacognition involves knowledge and skills which you and your students can
learn and master.

Teaching Strategies to develop Metacognition

1. Have students monitor their own learning and thinking

(Example: have student monitor a peer's learning/thinking/behaving in dyad)

2. Teach students study or learning strategies

a. TQLR - This can be taught to younger students (primary grades). It is a
metacogntive strategy before listening to a story or presentation

T is for Tune in. It is first important for the learner himself to be

aware that he is paying attention, and that he is ready to learn.

Q is for Question. The learner is given questions or he thinks of

questions about what he will soon learn.

L is for Listen. The learner then intentionally exerts effort to listen.

He becomes aware if he is momentarily detracted and goes
back to listen again.

R is for Remember. The learner uses ways or strategies to

remember what was learned.

b. PQ4R - This is usually for older students in the intermediate levels and
onwards. This strategy is used in study a unit or chapter

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 10

 P is for Preview. Scan the whole chapter before delving o
advance organizers that will give you an idea about the
important topics and ideas in the chapter. Read the summary of
the chapter first. (But please don't stop at the summary alone.
No. No. No. This is not a good idea at all. Read the whole
chapter!)

Q is for Question. Read the guide questions provided, or think of

your own questions about the topic.

R is for Read. Check out sub headings as you read. Pay attention
on words that are printed in bold or italicized. Find out the
meaning of words that are not clear to you. Use a marker or
colored pencil to highlight important words or phrases. (Do not
highlight the whole paragraph!)

R is for Recite. Work on answering the questions who had earlier.

R is for Review. Pinpoint topics you may need to go back and

read in order to understand better.

R is for Reflect. Think about what you read. Is everything clear to

you? What are the main points you learned? How is this relevant
or useful to you?

3. Have students make predictions about information to be presented next based

on what they have read
4. Have students relate ideas to existing knowledge structures (Important to have
relevant knowledge structures well learned)
5. Have students develop questions; ask questions of themselves, about what's
going on around them (Have you asked a good question today?)
6. Help students to know when to ask for help (must be able to self- monitor;
require students to show how they have attempted to deal with the problem
of their own)
7. Show students how to transfer knowledge, attitudes, values, skills to other
situations or tasksn each paragraph. Heck out the objectives. Look for outlines
or

Novice and Expert Learners

In the last twenty years, cognitive psychologists have studied the distinctions
among learners in the manner they absorb or process information. They were able
to differentiate expert learners from novice learners. A very important factor that
separated these two types of learners mentioned is metacognition.
Expert learners employed metacognitive strategies in learning. They were
more aware of their learning process as they read, studied and did problem
solving. Expert learners monitored their learning and consequently adjusted their

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 11

strategies to make learning more effective. The Table below shows the difference
between a novice learner and an expert learner

Differences Between Novice and Expert Learners

Aspect of Learning Novice Learners Expert Learners

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

Stop and pause a while. Are you a novice learner? Or an expert one? Strive
to apply the concepts of metacognition in your world of learning, and for sure you
will be on your way to be an expert learner, probably an expert teacher, too!

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 12

 APPLICATION

Part 1: Metacognitive Gameplan

Direction: Base on the principles of metacognition, prepare your own metacognitive
gameplan on how you can apply metacognition to improve study skills.

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Part II: Metacognitive Strategies Simulation

Direction: Whatever the subject area you will teach soon, you can apply
metacognitive strategies in your class to facilitate learning more effectively.
Watch this short video of the author’s daughter sharing how her Grade 2
teacher taught them about TQLR.

Title: TQLR metacognition in the primary grades

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfXdWeAzgCo

Answer This!

1. What did you learn from the video?

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2. How can you apply this learnings to real-life situations?

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FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 13

3. What metacognitive strategies that you have learned from this lesson and how are
you going to apply this into facilitating effective learning to your students soon?
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CLOSURE

CONGRATULATIONS! You have finished this lesson and thank you for
accomplishing all the task and guided questions given. Do you have an amazing
learning experience in finishing this lesson? If yes, continue that motivation to learn on
the next module however if it is no, keep going and make learning as a fun
experience.
Have great interest and passion for learning because it is the key to unleash
your previous knowledge to the new ones. Again, congratulations and see you on the
following lessons and module.

FACILITATING LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING 14