Have you ever wondered why some people consistently do well in school and others don’t at the higher-ed level? And no it doesn’t have anything to do with some people just being naturally smarter than others. The underlining denominator that puts other people over the edge is their ability to use metacognition effectively in their everyday life rather they realize it or not. In this essay I’m going to tell you all about metacognition and how to properly utilize this next level way of learning.
First and foremost, let’s completely cover what metacognition actually is. Metacognition precisely is one’s ability to think about thinking. The ability to be consciously aware of oneself as a problem-solver. The capability to monitor and control one’s mental processing. And finally, the aptness to be aware of the type of learning that you are doing. Before you even begin to start applying the things that I have just mentioned, you must first get rid of these beliefs about learning that will get you absolutely no where. First, generally you want to get rid of the idea that learning is some kind of race. Truly understanding material takes careful reading and review. Always plan for assignments to take longer than you think. The next idea that you must rewire out of your brain is that “knowledge is composed of isolated facts”. Meaning that you shouldn’t study by trying to remember random separate facts, good teachers more than likely will test for comprehension and application of knowledge, and you would inevitably fail by picking and choosing bits and pieces of the information to remember. You also must not forget metacognition includes being able to be constantly aware of the type of learning you are doing, suggesting that sometimes you need to know when you need a break because learning while being mentally fatigued will have you going nowhere.
Next, let’s go ahead and way out the most notable flaw about metacognition. According to author Elisabeth Norman of the Artic University of Norway, she suggests an idea that metacognition is not always helpful. Her argument stance includes going in to detail on how metacognition may actively interfere with task performance. Her claim is based around research that has been done on “mindlessness”. Simply put, mindlessness is the lack of attention or presence resulting in automatic application of existing knowledge. Given her outlook comes from a different angle about metacognition, it is really subjective and could easily vary based on an individual’s study technique. Like for instance, complex decisions that largely involve implicit/unconscious knowledge may best be made mindlessly given you have the proper preparation to make that judgment. Coming from personal experience, that’s why I think mastering metacognition to apply not only in school but in everyday life prevails so well. If you haven’t took the necessary steps to develop your mind for a specific task you will never be ready.
Why does metacognition matter? Well according to psychology professor Stephen Chew of Samford University, metacognition has been linked to improved learning outcomes. This kind of thinking gets students beyond the base level surface and makes them explore deeper for max proficiency. In return this inadvertently builds other skills, like a person’s ability to self-regulate. Self-regulation in education depends on 5 things. Assessing the task’s demands, evaluating one’s strengths & weaknesses, planning an approach, applying strategies, and reflection. As a response, you should notice that your ability to problem solve would get better and more meticulous. I personally think metacognition techniques need to be coached all throughout higher education. It took me up until my second semester of college before I even heard of the word metacognition. In addition to my GPA being tremendously higher since I’ve started applying it, my confidence for taking exams and tests has soared.
In conclusion, the aim of this essay was to effectively point out some of the benefits and to positively reinforce the ramifications of applying this concept to your life. To say that using metacognition would absolutely guarantee boosted scores for everyone is not being realistic because its up to the individual, but I genuinely feel like it’s worth a glance by any person trying to become a more disciplined learner.
Sources Cited
Neal D. T., Wood W., Wu M., Kurlander D. (2011). The pull of the past: when do habits persist despite conflict with motives? Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 37 1428–1437. 10.1177/0146167211419863 [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Dr. Stephen Chew’s “How to Get the Most Out of Studying: Part 1 of 5, “Beliefs That Make You Fail Or Succeed” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH95h36NChI&t=14s
“Study Better Slides ppd to Week 4”: Slides 1-29 https://gastate.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2488499/viewContent/48692300/View
Vanderbilt University : “Metacognition” https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/metacognition/