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Metacognion is
a term that is not
oen discussed in
academic circles,
parcularly when
discussing achieve-
ment consider-
aons, but it should
be. For learning to
occur, learners
must be able to re-
ect upon what they
currently know and
consider how the
new informaon is
applicable to them
or the task they are
compleng. Most
importantly, learn-
ers begin to think
about their own
thinking processes
involved in the task
and what it means
to them. To move
the informaon
from short-term
memory, the brain
must make several
strong connecons
with exisng infor-
maon. Processing
informaon can be
matched with meta-
cognion strategies
in outcomes-based
curriculum design
and facilitaon. The
metacognion pro-
cess requires the
learner to sort, re-
ect, evaluate, and
apply the informa-
on in meaningful
ways.
The challenges of
incorporang meta-
cognion strategies
into the curriculum
and an instuon-
wide iniave in-
clude:
1. Teacher and pro-
fessor focus on rote
learning concepts,
including memoriza-
on and supercial
learning techniques.
2. Teachers and
professors not
knowing how to in-
clude, or are re-
cent for including
opportunies for
metacognion in
their instrucon.
3. Students not un-
derstanding the val-
ue of certain meta-
cognive exercises,
or not knowing how
to properly com-
plete a learning task
that includes such
strategies.
4. Distracons in
the digital informa-
on-age, the need
for instant gra-
caon, and busy
schedules that may
direct adult learners
away from engaging
in rich, metacogni-
ve tasks.
Teachers and stu-
dent alike must be
shown how to use
certain strategies to
enhance the meta-
cognion process.
Thinking Maps®
developed in the
1980’s by David Hy-
erle; mind maps,
graphic organizers,
advance organizers,
and marginal notes
can be eecve
tools for complet-
ing the metacogni-
on process. These
tools have been
used successfully
in the classroom to
assist learners with
not only process-
ing informaon for
deeper understand-
ing, but also to suc-
ceed on high-stakes
tesng. In both af-
uent and socioeco-
nomically disadvan-
taged high schools,
I taught learners to
use Thinking Maps®
at the very start of
the semester. Aer
months of pracce,
the learners found
these tools to be
very useful for de-
veloping under-
standing in mulple
subjects. By the
me they were pre-
paring for the New
York State Regents
examinaon, they
were masterful with
using the maps to
prepare for the es-
say poron of the
exam.
The metacognion
process described
above can be visu-
alized by the learn-
ers as they used the
Circle Map to quick-
ly brainstorm ev-
erything they knew
about the topic they
were to write about.
Using other Think-
ing Maps®, includ-
ing the Tree Map,
the informaon was
organized into main
ideas in the form
Metacognion: Are Your Learners Really
Thinking About The Content?
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2012
PHOTO BY BERNT ROSTAD
For true learning to occur, learners must reect on their
knowledge and the skills they need to acquire to advance and
succeed.
By Timothy Clapper
President and Educaonal Consultant,
TC Curriculum & Instruconal Design
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Arcle originally published on The EvoLLLuon at hp://www.evollluon.com/curriculum_planning/metacog-
nion-are-your-learners-really-thinking-about-the-content/
of tree limbs, in-
cluding supporng
ideas. The learners
even used a Venn
diagram or a Dou-
ble-bubble Thinking
Map® to compare
and contrast for
the crical thinking
process, or other
maps to sequence
the informaon
prior to beginning
the wring process.
These same strate-
gies can be taught
at the college level,
along with teaching
learners to stop and
pause when read-
ing to evaluate their
own understanding.
The use of marginal
notes is a metacog-
nive process that
must be stressed
to learners, but
rarely is. Reecng
on one’s thoughts
while reading the
material and then
later comparing
these thoughts with
other informaon
on a global scale
sets the learner
up for success for
problem solving,
researching, or writ-
ing.
Many instuons
of higher learn-
ing, most recently
Harvard University
(Harvard Maga-
zine Inc., 2012), are
recognizing that
their professors
may not be aware
of how to employ
student-centered
or outcome-based
learning strate-
gies eecvely, and
are taking acon
to hire academics
with advanced cur-
riculum and instruc-
on experience to
assist them with
improving the qual-
ity of instrucon.
These instuons
are also very much
aware that students
are enrolling with-
out knowledge of
how to properly
research, process,
and apply informa-
on that they will
be exposed to. Right
from the beginning,
college success and
introductory cours-
es must prepare
the digitally-orient-
ed and busy adult
learner to accom-
plish these tasks,
while emphasizing
the metacognive
reecon process
that is so crical to-
day for learning and
problem-solving.
Evidence for incor-
porang metacogni-
on may be found
from the work of
Mason, Boldrin and
Ariasi (2010). They
found that students
who used meta-
cognion strategies
to evaluate infor-
maon, including
Internet sources,
outperformed
learners who did
not. The power of
teaching and using
metacognion was
also demonstrated
by experiments
performed by Ha-
lamish, Goldsmith,
and Jacoby (2012).
The researchers
showed that learn-
ers constrained re-
call to the way the
informaon was
originally processed
and used some
of the same pro-
cesses as retrieval
cues. Both sets of
research are impor-
tant for showing
that memory and
performance can
be improved with
adequate informa-
on-processing and
metacognion strat-
egies, which also
matches our need
to include outcome-
based instruconal
strategies across the
curriculum.
Teachers and stu-
dents must be
shown how to use
metacognion to
advance the learn-
ing process. Model-
ing and applicaon
of the metacogni-
on strategies can
generate the nec-
essary buy-in, but
perhaps most im-
portantly, ongoing
scaolding and sup-
port is needed to
ensure the success
of any iniave.
References
Halamish, V., Gold-
smith, M., & Jacoby,
L. L. (2012). Source-
constrained recall:
Front-end and back-
end control of re-
trieval quality.Jour-
nal of Experimental
Psychology: Learn-
ing, Memory, and
Cognion,38, (1),
11-15.
Harvard Magazine
Inc. (2012, Jan-Feb).
Invesng in Learn-
ing and Teaching.
Harvard magazine.
Retrieved from
http://harvardmag.
com/pdf/2012/01-
pdfs/0112-60.pdf
Mason, L., Bold-
rin, A., & Ariasi, N.
(2010). Searching
the Web to learn
about a controver-
sial topic: are stu-
dents epistemically
acve? Instr Sci,
38,607–633. doi:
10.1007/s11251-
008-9089-y
Metacognion: Are Your Learners
Really Thinking About The Content?
Current Posion and
Past Experience
Clapper has been an
Educaonal Consul-
tant and Independent
Researcher with TC
Curriculum & Instruc-
onal Design, LLC
since 2008.
He is also an Adjunct
Faculty member at
the American Pub-
lic University System
and the University of
Colorado at Colorado
Springs since 2011.
From 2009-2011, Clap-
per was also the Direc-
tor of Educaon at the
Instute for Medical
Simulaon and Ad-
vanced Learning in
New York.
Educaon, Honors
and Achievements
In 2008, Clapper
earned his Cercate
of Advanced Graduate
studies in Educaonal
Technology at the Uni-
versity of Colorado
at Colorado Springs.
He simultaneously
earned his MA in Cur-
riculum and Instruc-
on from the same
instuon. In 2011,
Clapper earned his
PhD in Educaon from
Capella University.
AUTHOR PROFILE
CONTINUED FROM LAST PAGE
Arcle originally published on The EvoLLLuon at hp://www.evollluon.com/curriculum_planning/metacog-
nion-are-your-learners-really-thinking-about-the-content/
