#35 Metacognition - Key to Success

Hi Everyone

We have to acknowledge that 'success' means different things to different people, and every teacher's wish for their students to be successful, will vary from learner to learner. For some, we just want them to feel safe and settled, feeling like they belong in school, for others we might wish that they could feel more in tune with the social aspects of school life.

There are students for whom physically staying in school or classroom, feels like a real success because of the effort it requires from them, for others it's being able to follow the lesson and understand the work, and for some, success relates to getting high test scores. So, when we talk about success it has to cover a wide range of achievement and allow for lots of different perspectives.

The great thing about metacognition though, is that it supports improvements in virtually any area of a learner's relationship with school and learning. Teachers have often heard about metacognition as a recommended way of improving learner progress, but sometimes without any guidance on how to use that information effectively.

Metacognition is the mental skill that enables us to change our minds in order to get a different set of results. Those results can be related to any aspect of life, not just academic grades. Helping learners develop the ability to think metacognitively frees them from reliance on other people in order to achieve, and sets them up for successful decision making as an adult.

It requires a lot more than just providing a set of reflective question that students can ask themselves at various points of a task. Preparing students to think metacognitively, by helping them see beyond the curriculum and assess how they are learning, is essential. All of our learners will have some level of natural cognitive ability but many have not yet developed the ability to think in an independent way.

We can help them to do that by; the way we communicate with them, how we model the desired approach, the frequency with which we provide students with opportunities to practise thinking differently, and how much effort we put into making our classroom an environment that is conducive to independent thought. Remember we're not just looking for academic progress, we want to help learners with the mental, emotional and social aspects of being in school as well.

Why not come on a journey with me inside your learners' heads to find out what goes on in there and what you can do to enhance a student's ability to think more effectively. The 'Metacognition in Practice' series for Teachers will be starting at the end of February with a free webinar that you might find really useful to help kickstart some simple changes in school that will make a massive difference. Registration has just opened, and you can use the link below to book your place.

https://events.lizkeable.com/teachers-webinar

If you've ever asked yourself any of the following, this webinar is for you; 'what IS metacognition exactly', 'why should I bother with it', 'what difference does it make' or 'how the heck do I develop it in learners'? We also look at the impact of metacognition on mental health and learning barriers, establishing the necessity to focus more on what's really happening inside a student mind.

I'm guessing that if you're reading this, you're a person who cares about making a real difference for children and young people. Being prepared to change the way YOU think, in order to learn how to help them do the same, is a wonderful gift that you can give to the learners you care about. Please consider coming along to the free webinar just to get you started on that journey. If that appeals to you, then please register here.

https://events.lizkeable.com/teachers-webinar

See you next time. Until then, take care!

Warm regards

Liz