Metacognition and Self-Regulation
'We know from the research evidence that the most successful learners are those who are able to self-regulate their own learning. This is important when students are in school, in our classroom learning, but it is also important when we are teaching students at a distance, as we are now during the Covid19 pandemic.' (Durrington Research School)
'Evidence suggests the use of ‘metacognitive strategies’ – which get pupils to think about their own learning - can be worth the equivalent of an additional +7 months’ progress when used well.' (EEF - Meta-cognition and regulation review, 2020)
What do we mean by self-regulation and meta-cognition?
Self-regulation is an umbrella term that includes:
cognition (the toolkit of strategies you need to undertake the task)
meta-cognition (the skills in planning, monitoring and evaluating the strategies you choose from the toolkit)
motivation (the desire to complete the task)
Different aspects of these will be covered in other modules . and what each entails is outlined in the video below. It is 13 minutes long.
When pupils are learning remotely, teachers will not have the same level of control over the environment for learning and this has had a positive result in the level of independence in the learning of children. This resource will try to help teachers to identify the 'controllables' and develop strategies to manage the 'uncontrollables' in a hybrid approach to learning and teaching.
'Meta-cognition is a major part of the rationale behind the Northern Ireland Curriculum. In the current circumstances, it is more important than ever that learners understand what they are learning, the strategies for how to learn in different contexts, and that they know enough about themselves to identify where problems might arise and how to address them. It can be challenging for teachers to develop meta-cognitive awareness when the pupils are in the classroom, but to do this remotely, can be even more challenging.
Metacognition is important to many aspects of education, including:
pedagogy that elicits metacognitive responses from pupils;
teaching pupils to use self-monitoring strategies to help them learn to self-regulate for better learning;
the potential to contribute to aspects of formative assessment; and
helping pupils self-assess their own responses.'
These things are central when we are thinking about designing remote learning experiences for pupils at all stages of their education.
Supporting meta-cognition and self-regulation
This resource has been developed in response to feedback from teachers and school leaders who have reported that in some cases during this period of school closure it has been difficult to maintain engagement and motivation of pupils with their learning. The pandemic created the need for a period of emergency remote teaching, where both teachers and learners had to adjust very quickly to a new way of communicating with each other and the purpose of this resource is to facilitate reflection on pupil engagement with remote learning, share practice of others and begin to plan for whatever academic year 2020/21 will demand of teachers and pupils.
What has become clear is that the capability of learners to self-manage will be critical to their success, either in the classroom or remotely. This resource aims to collate some of the research into meta-cognition and propose practical strategies and approaches, and to identify resources so that teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders in Northern Ireland schools will be able to:
be explicit about how to learn as well as what to learn
maximise pupil engagement when working remotely
encourage and support independent learning for all learners
review planning to ensure opportunities for pupils to learn about learning
Meta-cognition and self-regulation have been shown by EEF to improve outcomes for all pupils effectively at a very low cost. The main resource required to develop these skills in pupils is time dedicated to understanding the main ideas and exploring simple strategies to implement them.
So how do I help my pupils become more reflective in a remote context?
connect with why - evidence suggests that motivation will be higher if you understand why something is important to learn
be deliberate in promoting planning - monitoring - evaluating cycle in pupil learning
use polls, quizzes and questions to engage the learners in regular short, concentrated bouts of thinking
make short teaching videos which model thinking by asking yourself questions out loud
make mistakes and talk through how you know that it is wrong
make mistakes and ask pupils to tell you why it is wrong
use consistent language so pupils learn to recognise the phases of their own learning - give pupils the language to think about learning
ask hard questions where there is no easy solution and then ask them to swap work with another pupil and they each write a comment on how they think their classmate was thinking in their approach to the problem. Allow them to chat to each other through breakout rooms in Collaborate, or through the chat function in google classroom or MS teams. Create ambiguity
use RAG reporting for monitoring their own work and understanding as the lesson develops (Red Amber Green)
give the learners an opportunity to evaluate their own performance/ level of understanding, giving reasons or providing evidence and identifying a next step to support improvement next time
virtual whiteboards provide opportunities for pupils to share their own work easily with the teacher as the lesson progresses (e.g. Jamboard)
Use time at home to drill knowledge and understanding and maximise the time in school to promote collaborative/social/ group activities and those activities that require access to specialist equipment/resources when the pupils are on site.
Stop and Process
Use this powerpoint and the links within it to help you to identify one thing that you are going to keep doing, one thing you are going to start doing and one thing you are going to stop doing, to help your pupils to self-regulate.
Metacognition Presentation (2).pptSome other resources if you would like to learn more:
Self-regulation at a distance (Durrington Research School)
This blog has links to an online resource to support self-regulation during remote teaching. It also has links to what meta-cognition looks like in some different subject areas.
Evidence summary on self-regulation and metacognition (EEF)
This link provides summaries and infographics that may be useful to support a focus on self-regulation and meta-cognition.
Getting started with meta-cognition (Cambridge Assessment)
This is a comprehensive overview of the theory and practice that supports the effective development of metacognitive skills.
Learning and teaching strategies to support metacognition (Sec-Ed)
This website looks at pupil needs with an updated blooms taxonomy which includes learning from domains other than the cognitive:
https://thesecondprinciple.com/essential-teaching-skills/blooms-taxonomy-revised/
Teacher toolkit advice on improving metacognitive ability:
https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2020/07/04/improving-student-metacognition/