#37 Conscious Choice v Default

Hi Everyone

How many students do you know, who are really keen to be in school and excited about the opportunity to learn? Such students do exist, but overall, I would say that they are in the minority. The rest are either resigned to the government directive that all children and young people should be in education of some kind, (which for most will mean school) or they openly resent the fact that they have no choice in the matter.

Many students do not appreciate that they have a role to play in getting an education, they see it as something being done to them, and as such, take on the default role of passive recipients. Admittedly, the school system often supports this view by ensuring that teachers have to deliver a hefty curriculum and by assessing learners at regular intervals to make sure they have taken that curriculum on board.

Unfortunately learning isn't supposed to be like that. The brain is not designed to learn effectively from constant direct instruction, so we are not only boring children to death, we're also limiting their 'learning' to what they can remember from being told. Students can 'listen' all day, write notes or do the exercises required of them by the teacher, hand in neat work, and still not have learned anything of any real significance!

Is it any wonder that so many students achieve disappointing exam results, purely because they couldn't 'remember', or they hadn't engaged with the information sufficiently for real understanding to take hold. The fault doesn't lie with the students much of the time, it's just that we have failed to teach them how to take an active role in their own learning. Their default position is a passive one.

Metacognition is the ability to reason things out by yourself, recognise when thinking a particular way isn't working and change what you're thinking in order to achieve a better result. Now wouldn't it enable learners to take a more active role in their own learning, if they knew how to do that? The most able learners already have a default metacognitive way of thinking with the ability to actively reason out what is required of them and how to achieve that.

The majority of students however, will need to make a conscious choice to start thinking differently. Improving the educational and life chances of children and young people lies at the heart of teaching, so why not consider what you can do to support that kind of change for the learners in your life. Be aware that introducing formal self-questioning techniques often fails to get the desired results, because learners are not yet ready for that level of sophistication and need more preparation.

If you have followed me for a while, you'll know that I provide regular events for parents, school leaders, teachers and support staff to help them know where to start with the development of metacognition in learners! We are currently at the start of the 'Teachers' on-line series with a free webinar; Metacognition - The Key to Successful Learning, taking place on Tuesday 28th February at 2.00pm GMT.

Join me if you can, just register now for the event here;

We want more students to make a conscious choice when it comes to learning. Putting individuals back in control of their own academic progress improves mental health, because feeling that they have some level of control over what happens to them is an important factor. Working things out for themselves provides learners with a sense of achievement that is lacking from many classrooms, and knowing how to engage effectively with the curriculum on offer improves results.

External motivations don't work, so the only way to improve the lot of students who find it hard to engage, is to teach them how to think metacognitively. Understanding their own thought processes leads to a genuine sense of relief as they finally 'get it', which in turn promotes greater internal motivation to engage more effectively.

The same principles apply to adult learners, which in the spirit of 'life-long learning' affects all of us. I've been asked several times recently for 'something' that will help adults to consider a more metacognitive way of thinking. Keeping in mind that metacognition is closely linked to our ability to make wise decisions for ourselves, it's a skill that everyone needs for a successful life.

So, watch this space and take care till next time.

Warm regards

Liz