#79 - A Year of Metacognition

Hi Everyone

It’s been a fantastic year and I have really enjoyed getting to know so many of my ‘Linked In’ colleagues during 2023. With even more chats lined up for 2024, the fun is set to continue. I’ve also enjoyed producing this newsletter each week, and have appreciated the warmth with which it has been received and the value that readers place on it. Thank you for your kind messages.

I’ve loved having so many invitations to guest on other people’s webinars and training sessions (for either parents or teachers) this year, as well as delivering my own on-line training for school staff. Both have given me the opportunity to provide an alternative perspective on metacognition that makes it much more straightforward to develop it in children and young people. Feedback from the events is always positive and people frequently comment on the practicality of the information they’ve received.

Metacognition should be a natural process that enables us to reflect on any set of results (or consequences from our actions), then be able to change our minds if necessary to improve the situation. So many learners currently in the school system have not developed this ability in a way they can ‘use’ to take charge of their own academic achievement. Without it however, they cannot achieve their real potential.

Some schools, realising how important the development of metacognition is to mental health, well-being and academic progress have introduced the idea to their students, but have not always had the results they were hoping for. Often, that’s the result of ‘formalising’ metacognition, rather than ‘naturalising’ it in the classroom.

If students are introduced to the word, and it’s explained as ‘thinking about thinking’, only the most able students (who are already able to think in a metacognitive way anyway) are able to wrap their heads (forgive the pun) around that concept. My concern is for all those other students who really need to learn how to think differently and for whom metacognition would make such a big difference.

You can support ALL your learners, even those with difficulties to make greater progress, if you both model and teach it gradually over time without ever naming it (except between staff), or formalising the process. When, and only when, your students have achieved the natural ability to think in a metacognitive way and it’s been naturalised in the classroom, can you successfully introduce more formal structures like tools for planning, monitoring and evaluating their work. That’s if you want every learner to benefit!

I apologise if you were waiting for the final installment in this newsletter of the potted history about how I came to specialise in metacognition. That will now happen next time, as an introduction to a new series of newsletters for 2024. Instead, I want to round off this year by sharing the impact of just one event from this year that's had a knock on effect for a lot more people than originally envisaged.

Over the summer, I offered a half-price 3hour training programme on-line to teachers who had wanted to attend the same event during term time, but who had either not been able to get the necessary ‘cover’, or where the school was not prepared to pay for their CPD. I therefore made the cost more do-able for any individual who was prepared to give up free time over the summer break for their own development.

Some who wanted to attend, asked if they could pay for a recording instead, which I happily created, (and which is now available to you as well, just e-mail me to ask about it, [email protected] ). As a result of teachers taking part in that one programme and sharing their enthusiasm, a school in the Netherlands subsequently took up the on-line training for a group of their staff, and another in the UK invited me to provide a whole school training day in person.

I had the privilege of spending a day at Western Primary School and it was so much fun to step away from the computer to provide a more physically interactive programme. Afterwards, Headteacher, Tim Broad very kindly wrote me a thank you letter in which he said;

“The depth of knowledge you demonstrated on the subject matter, coupled with your practical approach, has empowered our staff to begin the process of fostering metacognitive skills in our students. Your emphasis on reflection, goal setting, and self-awareness has resonated well with our staff, leading to positive changes in classroom dynamics and student engagement.”

If you’re considering a whole school approach to metacognition, but are not sure how to get started, why not talk to me and help make 2024 a year of valuable CPD for staff, and improved academic achievement for your students.

Have a fabulous Christmas break. See you in the New Year.

Warm regards

Liz