Metacognition in Higher Ed Ch 1

Reflective Pedagogies and the Metacognitive Turn in College Teaching

Naomi Silver

Ch1 of Metacognition in Higher Ed book

Why MetaCog & Reflection, and Why Now

• student metacognition found to be most important variable to improve learning outccomes
• also an alterable variable -- it's something teachers can do something about
• metacognition improves engagement --> engagement improves learning and is a purpose of education

Importance of Engagement

• outcomes depend on student's engagement in educationally purposeful activity
• engagement considered a predictor of learning/personal development
• adds to skills/dispositions for post-college life

I learned this as a buzzword, and essentially it translates to "clickers"

Definition: engagement is involved in/responsible for learning; making decisions about learning
Definition: metacognition is what allows students to make decisions about how they learn best by helping them become aware of what they are doing when they are learning

General principles -- embed metacognitive instruction in the content matter to ensure connectivity, inform learners about the usefulness of metacognitive activities to make them exert the initial extra effort, and incorporate prolonged training to guarantee the smooth and maintained application of metacognitive activity.

More on History/Definition of Metacognition and Reflection

Reflection: Dewey's definition -- more sustained that a general stock-taking, closer to critical thinking. Dewey also emphasizes a genuine problem ("a forked-road situation") -- ambiguity, dilemma. You consider the possibilities then arrive at a provisional understanding. Boud expands on Dewey by using a range of disciplines for context, with a general framework of "reflection is a response to experience" and "returning to the experience, attending to feelings, re-evaluating the experience".

Schon also uses a range of contexts, and expands to discuss a reflective practicum as part of professional training. Emphasizes problem finding -- "name the things to which we will attend, and frame the context in which we will attend to them". Makes a distinction between reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action -- two-part temporal process. Others add a "pre-action" phase (which may be implicit in Schon?).

Metacognition

Flavell on metacognition in the 70s and 80s; "thinking about one's thinking" -- but Flavell incorporates metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive monitoring, and metacognitive control.