Time for Reflection: Metacognition and Learning Transfer

As we near the end of the semester, it is tempting to think of our class as “finished”; yet if the work we have done all semester is to be successful, then a class does not end with final exams.  The ultimate goal of learning is “transfer;” we want the students to take the knowledge and skills from our course with them into their future classes and careers. Rather than cramming information into their short-term memory for exams, students need strategies to promote learning transfer so they can access the content and skills in the future and apply them to different disciplines and situations. One way to facilitate learning transfer is to ask students to use metacognitive techniques such as self-assessment and reflection at the end of the semester to encourage them to see how what they have learned will be relevant in their future studies and careers.  The article “Exploring Metacognition as a Support for Learning Transfer” suggests four ways that self-reflection promotes learning transfer (1):

1. By simply making students aware that the goal of learning is to transfer skills into new contexts
2. By helping students evaluate situations and contexts in which they can use what they have learned and consider how they can deploy their skills in different ways to solve new problems and complete assignments in other disciplines
3. By encouraging students to consider whether they are using effective transfer strategies; do they see examples in their current studies where they have used knowledge and skills in different settings? Can they evaluate when this has been successful or not (and why?)
4. By teaching self-regulation. When students become familiar with metacognitive strategies and self-assessment/reflection, they develop the habit of evaluating what works and what doesn’t in their learning strategies and can adapt when necessary. 

So what is the best way to encourage this kind of metacognitive reflection?  Many instructors use a low-stakes written reflection such as a blog post or essay but a survey or short-answer quiz can also work to prompt students to think about their learning.  Here are some sample questions (2):

1. What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made during this class? About the subject? About myself? About others?
2. What were some of my most challenging moments and what made them so?
3. What were some of my most powerful learning moments and what made them so?
4. What is the most important thing I learned personally?
5. What most got in the way of my progress, if anything?
6. What did I learn were my greatest strengths? My biggest areas for improvement?
7. What would I do differently if I were to approach the same assignment(s) again?
8. How will I use the skills I have learned in this class in the future?

And of course, you can use this type of reflection to assess your teaching at the end of the semester as well!  Good luck as you reach the end of the semester!

(1) Scharff, L and Draeger, J and Verpoorten, D and Devlin, M and Dvorakova, LS and Lodge, JM
and Smith, SV (2017) Exploring Metacognition as a Support for Learning Transfer. Teaching and
Learning Inquiry, 5 (1). ISSN 2167-4779 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20343/5.1.6

(2) Adapted from Cathy Costello’s “Self-Reflection for Metacognition.” Virtual Library. October 1, 2020. https://www.virtuallibrary.info/self-reflection-for-metacognition.html.  Accessed December 8, 2020.