#98 Modelling the Process

Welcome back everyone. Thanks for joining me again for this weekend’s instalment of ‘Metacognition in Practice’. At first glance, those words might seem almost mutually exclusive, because metacognition is a very personal mental skill that allows us to think differently from before. The metacognitive experience is something that happens inside a person’s head in a way that’s unique to each individual. Ever wondered why it feels so challenging to introduce the idea of metacognition into a school with potentially hundreds of different learners? Well now you know!

Metacognition is in fact absolutely essential to effective learning in formal settings like school because of its role in conscious thought. That means we have to consider what metacognition looks like in practice and how to ensure that ALL learners get the chance to develop it. We’ve been focusing on classroom ‘practice’ in order to consider how the learning environment, alongside the teachers’ attitudes, and the student experience, all have an impact on how learners think.

Last time we discussed how to naturalise the reflection cycle by introducing questions one at a time, and constantly emphasising to the learners themselves, why each question is important to individual student progress. So many students do not see themselves as part of the learning equation, and wait to be told or shown what to do, as well as how to do it. Often, learners have been conditioned not to think for themselves by the very structure of the school system where the teacher is the responsible person and students need to conform to a set of fixed expectations.

We’re aiming however for an ethos where all students automatically challenge their own thoughts when approaching new material in any subject area, so it needs to be taught as a transferable skill. It’s important that students see the process being modelled on a daily basis by the teacher audibly questioning themselves using phrases like ‘I wonder…’ or ‘what if…’ or ‘is that the best way’… ?A teacher’s self-talk can reflect the ‘experimental’ approach that we want students to absorb for themselves. (Make sure you build such opportunities into your lesson plans).

In my experience, students quickly start responding to your self-questioning, enthusiastically providing helpful suggestions. That allows you to draw the whole class into the conversation and ask for other learners’ opinions as well. Every student therefore regularly sees the reasoning process evolving in front of them and you can very quickly shift from asking your own questions to encouraging learners to do the same as they work through their own tasks. Provide constant reminders of how to do that, and initially help students to create some relevant questions for themselves. (See last week’s newsletter for more suggestions).

This is very different from the ‘questioning’ process found in traditional educational settings, so it’s not about you asking factual questions to which students need to know the correct answer. This is you questioning the process of your own thinking and asking their advice about how they would approach the same challenge. Before too long of course you can use their familiarity with the procedure to challenge students to ask themselves similar questions like; ‘Is this the best way?’, ‘Am I getting the results I want?’, ‘What’s holding me back?

It's important to think back to previous conversations that we’ve had about collaborative classrooms. When students do start asking themselves relevant questions about what they are thinking (and the impact that’s having on their work), they will sometimes need the opportunity to discuss this with a fellow student. Many students are hampered in their learning by the ‘no talking’ rule, and for some, it’s actually an essential part of developing their reasoning skills to be able to share ideas and have their perceptions challenged in conversation with others.

Think about what learning actually is! From birth onwards learning is a continuous cycle of constantly changing perceptions, gained through personal experience of our environment and interactions with the people who inhabit it. Once in school, those experiences become much narrower, limited mostly to being taught a set curriculum in a fairly sterile environment. Very quickly children pick up on the fact that in this environment, their thoughts don’t count for much, and they start to shut down, just at the point where it’s most important to embrace the more conscious approach to learning.

In previous issues we have looked at many reasons why a learner may not have developed metacognition, but we also have to consider whether the way we’re teaching them might not also be hampering their ability to think in a metacognitive way. It’s a serious thought. With no ill intent whatsoever, we may well be limiting the potential that every child has (barring serious health problems), to make academic progress.

I can assure you, that a metacognitive classroom is a much happier place for both teachers and students. It doesn’t require abandoning the curriculum, just thinking more carefully when planning lessons about how to ensure that learners start thinking for themselves. Remember to start your preparation with; how am I going to help them to learn this, rather than; what am I going to teach? Put the learners, and what they are thinking, at the centre of your classroom practice, and make sure that you know what they’re thinking by having an openly collaborative classroom environment.

See you next time.

Warm regards

Liz