The old adage ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ is most readily associated with military training. The idea being that when learning a new skill or performing a task under pressure it’s important to start slowly and methodically, ensuring that each step is executed smoothly and accurately. Over time, as one becomes more proficient and comfortable one can gradually increase efficiency and effectiveness. Too often in schools, we do not take the time to slow things down and smooth things out. The pressures of getting through the curriculum, covering content and meeting deadlines take precedent. We move too fast with the aim and intention of making progress but all too often achieve the opposite.
Metacognition is something that, particularly since the early 2010s, has gained a significant currency in education. Metacognitive practice involves aiding students in developing awareness and understanding of their own learning strategies, strengths, and weaknesses.
When students are deeply cognisant of how they learn, they will enhance their ability to self-regulate, control, and improve their approach to learning.
Metacognitive skills are essential for students to become independent, effective learners and these skills are absolutely vital for the young people of today to develop, particularly when we consider the ever evolving and unknown world of tomorrow. While we might not be aware of all the knowledge they will need to be successful, we do know that having problem-solving skills, self awareness and self-regulation, along with the right values and attitudes, will go a long way.
The simplest explanation of what metacognition is ‘learning about learning’, Understanding how we ‘think’. In practice, it is about engaging in structured reflection on the processes of learning and doing. To put it another way, in schools metacognition is about slowing things down, thinking about how we do things to smooth them out. So, we can learn faster, more efficiently and in more depth.
Although metacognition is still a hot topic in education, it is interesting to note that in recent years it has declined in popularity somewhat.
Why? For many teachers, metacognition seems an alien concept, something too complicated and too ‘sciencey’. For those that do ‘get it’ it can seem too challenging to teach or simply, too time consuming to train and a distraction from the formal curriculum.
Embedding metacognitive practices into daily teaching and learning for students of all ages is not difficult. But it requires a pragmatic approach. It is imperative that the ‘why’ of embedding metacognitive practice is understood and placed at the heart of ‘what’ is done.
Many programs and off-the-shelf curricula relating to metacognition have an over-emphasis on the physiology and psychology of it all, rather than practicality. Explanations of how the brain and memory work, deep dives into neuroscience and explorations of the prefrontal cortex occupy large parts of some programmes. Very fascinating stuff no doubt, but not practical or relevant to the ‘why’.
It is essential that any approach to metacognition in schools provides learners with a toolbox of skills that can be applied by students on a daily basis, both in and out of lessons, to help them understand how they think and to roadmap personal improvements. This toolbox should be a series of practical exercises and strategies centered on reflective activity.
Reflection with a view to improvement is metacognition in action.
The question then is, what can a school do to meaningfully embed metacognitive practices in their institution? First and foremost, metacognitive practices in schools should not be standalone, taught as a discrete subject. Rather they should be embedded into the curriculum, into wellbeing approaches, and permeate all facets of school life.
A school with an identified approach to teaching and learning or learner profile already in place is well on the way to embedding highly impactful metacognitive practices into its curriculum. The shared language of a school provides a clear, consistent, well understood and meaningful framework upon which reflective practice can be structured. It is of course crucial that any such framework does also consider the research behind metacognition and key concepts are embraced.
I have seen metacognitive practices in a variety of schools, both where it worked, and where it didn’t. Where it had the most impact was in a school that dedicated multiple days every six weeks to providing ample time for consistent reflection, strategising and review.
First, students engaged in prediction work, predicting not just what they thought their grades were in each subject, but also using an alternate grade scale assessing attitudes and approaches to learning. This alternative grade framework was based on the 6 Cs of ‘Creativity’, ‘Commitment’, ‘Curiosity’, ‘Compassion’, ‘Collaboration’, and ‘Critical Thinking’. Key concepts that were at the heart of the school’s learner profile and were used consistently and with clarity across the school.
Students were tasked with not only making predictions but also deeply reflecting on these predictions, using a series of structured prompts and the support of their teachers, exploring how they were working, what their strengths, weaknesses and areas for growth might be.
Following this, students were then provided progress data and tasked with engaging in further reflection, considering not only the data, but also the similarities and differences between the way they understood their own learning and the views of their teachers.
The final stage involved coaching sessions led by teachers with the students to set targets on ‘how’ they would improve based on the reflection process. Targets were centered on behaviors, attitudes and actions they need to change in order to improve their thinking and learning. All of this framed around the language of the 6 Cs which were woven through every element of the school.
Teachers can be immensely protective of the learning time they have with their students. And rightly so. However it is something of a false dilemma. By giving up curriculum time to metacognition and reflective practice, learning time will certainly be lost. However, as the example school discussed above can attest, time lost was easily gained back through metacognitive framed reflective practice, resulting in rapid progress and more in-depth learning.
To successfully embed metacognitive practices in schools, not only do you have to know ‘why’ it is being done, but most importantly, embrace slowing learning down to provide time for reflection as this will smooth things out.
Views expressed by Sam Gipson Principal, Kinabalu International School, Malaysia
