METACOGNITION

LECTURE 4
 META COGNITION
(THINKING ABOUT THINKING

• It is an awareness of our thoughts

processes and the ability to monitor and
control them.
• We are conscious of our own thought
processes and know what thinking
strategies we use to unlock meaning
• We are aware of what we understand or
don’t understand
• We know how to help ourselves
understand when we are confused.
 WHAT ARE
META COGNITIVE
OPERATIONS?
• PLANNING
- stating a goal
- selecting operations to perform
- sequencing operations
- identify obstacle/error
- identify ways to
recover/overcome error
- predicting results
(desired/anticipated)
• MONITORING
- keeping goal in mind
- keeping one’s place in sequence
- knowing when a subgoal has been
achieved
- deciding what to do next
- selecting appropriate operation
- spotting errors/obstacles
- knowing how to overcome
/recover
• ASSESSING
- assessing goal achievement
- judging accuracy/adequacy of results
- evaluating appropriateness of
procedures
- assessing handling of errors/obstacles
- judging efficiency of plan and its
executions
WHY METACOGNITION IS IMPORTANT?
A student's ability to use meta cognitive processes is more
powerful than any type of influence on student's learning.
these processes include the ability to plan what strategies to
use to gain understanding, to evaluate the effectiveness of
using them, and to revise or to re plan.
(Wang et al, 1993/1994)

Meta cognitive learners persist in problem solving; think

insightfully, critically, and flexibly; and know how to apply their
intellectual abilities in various situations.
(Costa, 1986)
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNER POSSESING
METACOGNIIVE PROCESSES

• Carefully monitors performance

• Tries to fill in gaps of knowledge
• Can use different strategies to solve problems
• Makes strategic plans
• Can identify source of difficulty
• Can draw on prior knowledge
• Uses organizers ( concept maps, graphics, etc) to determine
meaning
• Adjust reading rate to difficulty and purpose
• Rereads selected portions for understanding
• Focuses on what is important
• Can generate appropriate hypothesis
• Is aware of limitations and capabilities
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNER LACKING
IN METACOGNITIVE PROCESSES

• Cannot monitors performance well

• Allows gaps of knowledge to continue
• Is limited in use of strategies to solve problems
• Seldom plans
• Cannot recognize sources of difficulty
• Makes little use of prior knowledge
• Skips over graphics and helpful text features
• Reads everything at the same rate
• Reads everything only once
• Considers all materials to be of equal importance
• Has little idea of what to expect
• Is unaware of limitations
 TECHNIQUES OF
METACOGNTIVE REFLECTION

THINK-PAIR-SHARE
TECHNIQUE
 1. REFLECT

REFLECT on what you did mentally to

come out with the answer. What did
you do first? Why? Next? Why?
Next? Why? Next? Why?
 2. ARTICULATE

TELL some one else what you believe

you did to come with the answer.
Describe how you arrive at the
answer. Tell the first you did. Why
did you that? What did you do next?
Why? Next? Why?
 SHARE

Share with your partner/classmate who did the

same task exactly what you did, step by step
to produce your answer. Tell the first thing
you did and why? What you did next and
why?
 CONSIDER

Analyze what everyone says they did

as well as what you believe you did.
How many different procedures for
doing the task? How could you use
the procedures? If you were to do
the task again, how would do it step
by step?
 THINKING ABOUT YOUR THINKING
What Did You Do-Step by Step- to Carry Out The Task
What is the
First thing you
Did? Why?

What did you

Do next? Why?

What did you

Do next?
Why?
Next?
Why?
Next?
 THINKING ALOUD

• Verbalizing a mental process one is

going through
• Produces a running account or
description of a cognitive act as it
happening.
• Prompts or ask probing questions to
help students to think more deeply.
Questions for Thinking Aloud
• Does this make sense?
• If it doesn’t make sense, what can I do?
• What seems to be most important in this
text?
• Does this text fit with what I already know
• Do I need to change my mind about my
first thoughts?
• Would it help to reread some parts of the
text?
 MODELLING
• Means presenting/demonstrate how-in a
step-by step, rule-by-rule fashion to carry
out a specific cognitive procedure so
students can replicate the procedures on
their own.
• Consists of 2 actions:
- executing/carrying out how step-by-step
- explaining how to carry out
STEPS TO DETECT “BIAS” IN A TEXT

1. Define “bias”
2. Identify clues to “bias”
3. Search for evidences
4. Identify patterns in the evidences
5. Judge the match between patterns
and definition of “bias”.
 TOOLS OF THINKING

CoRT
Cognitive Research Trust
 1. PMI (Plus, Minus,
Interesting)
• Evaluate good points
• Evaluate weaknesses
• Evaluate interesting points

Compare & Contrast Objectively

 2. CAF (Consider All
Factors)
• What factors need to consider?
• What factors are left out?
• What factors are still not stated?
 3. C&S (Consequence and
Sequel)
• use to predict on the consequences
and effects
short term/immediate
medium term
long term
 4. AGO (Aims, Goals,
Objectives)
• To control/focus thinking process
• To help understand other people’s
thinking
 5. FIP (First Important
Priorities)
• To identify priorities
• To select and rank factors that need
to be considered

USE AFTER CAF and C&S

 6. APC (Alternatives,
Possibilities, Choices)
• To identify possibilities of an event
• To predict what is going to happen
• To identify actions to resolve
problems
 7. OPV (Other People’s
Views)
• To consider other people points of
view
• To broaden thoughts and perceptions
• To help understand various
perspectives
 8. Rules

• To evaluate rules and regulations

• To identify factors pertaining to the
rules
 9. PLANNING

• Making use of AGO, CAF, PMI

DEVELOP SKILLS FOR PLANNING

 10. DECISIONS

• USE ALL TOOLS OF THINKING

CAF + AGO + FIP +C&S +APC + OPV + PMI

= DECISION