MODULE 4: METACOGNITIVE REGULATION AND CONTROL

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

 explain the meaning of metacognitive regulation;
 determine your dominant approach in learning and studying;
 analyze the relationship among the three metacognitive processes: planning, monitoring,
and evaluating;
 operationalize metacognitive processes in a given situation or context.

THINK
Metacognitive Regulation and Control

Metacognitive regulation is the second element of metacognition. Whereas

metacognitive knowledge refers to the learners' knowledge or beliefs about the factors that
affect cognitive skills, metacognitive regulation pertains to their ability to keep track of (monitor)
and assess their knowledge or learning I includes their ability to find out what, when, and how to
use a particular skill for a given task. In this manner, they can control their learning. Self-
regulation is essential in metacognition.

To illustrate metacognitive regulation, consider a student in a Speech class; he or she

knows when a word is mispronounced as it sounds unpleasant, thus, he or she consults an
electronic dictionary to listen to how the word should be pronounced. Following the model, the
pronunciation is improved.

Metacognitive regulation involves three processes: setting goals and planning,

monitoring and controlling learning, and evaluating own regulation (see Figure 2).

PLANNING
Metacognitive Experiences Metamemory
MONITORING
Metacognitive Experiences Metamemory
EVALUATING
Metacognitive Experiences Metamemory
Figure 4. Metacognitive regulation and control processes.
 Planning involves the selection of appropriate strategies and the allocation of resources
that affect performance (Schraw, 2002). Together with setting goals, planning is considered a
central part of students' ability to control their learning processes and to learn outcomes through
deliberate self regulatory decisions and actions. Goals are dichotomized as mastery goals and
performance goals (Paulson & Bauer, 2011). Mastery goals are related to process, learning, and
development. In contrast, performance goals are usually associated with product orientations
and demonstrating competence or social comparisons to the peer group. For example, a student
who desires to get high grade (performance goal in a Science class portfolio determines how best
to make all entries in the portfolio exemplary in all criteria as described in the scoring rubric
(mastery goal).

At this point of metacognitive regulation, the learner's questions include the following:
What am I asked to learn or do here? What do I already know about this lesson or task? What
should be my pacing to complete this task? What should I focus on when learning or solving this
task?

Monitoring refers to one's ongoing awareness of comprehension and task performance

(Schraw, 2002). Referred to as metacognitive monitoring and controlling learning, it also involves
the monitoring of a person's thinking processes and the current state of knowledge. Given a task,
it involves the awareness of the person that the prerequisite knowledge and process to manage
the task is sufficient to succeed in it. It also involves the ability to consider the accuracy of the
knowledge and procedure to solve the task. If ever inadequacy is felt, the person can control the
processes undertaken to still succeed in the resolution of the task.

A student who answers a word problem in Mathematics is aware of the steps to follow to
solve the task. In the process, the person monitors from metamemory if procedural knowledge
is adequate and could be executed. Along the way, the person monitors his or her thinking and
then revises the process if found ineffective in solving the problem.
At this stage, some questions asked by the learners include the following: Do I have
adequate knowledge to solve the problem? Are my prior knowledge and skills appropriate for
this task? Are my strategies appropriate for this task? What can I do to get additional information
for this task?

The last step is evaluating, assessing knowledge or learning. It refers to appraising the
products and efficiency of one's learning (Schraw, 2002). It involves the person's ability to
evaluate how well the strategies are used to lead to the solution of the problem or completion
of the task. It tells whether or not the procedure resulted to the correct answer or a different
answer.

In the previous Mathematics word problem-solving task situation, the person comes to a
realization that the equation formulated to solve what is asked in the problem was indeed correct
based on the crosschecking process done. If the answer is wrong, the learner surmises what went
wrong along the way.
Sample questions asked by the learner in this phase of metacognitive regulation are the
following: What new learning was achieved? What universal understanding should I remember?
Was the correct answer obtained? Were the goals set achieved? What could I have done to make
my work better? What should I do the next time I encounter a similar situation?

EXPERIENCE
Teaching learners to plan, monitor, and evaluate their thinking is possible. For teachers
to help the learners develop metacognitive thinking, they need to profile the ways of thinking
and studying their learners. Metacognitive learners are either novice or proficient. For instance,
a reading comprehension research observed that novice or poor readers skip the title and
paragraph headings, refrain from setting goals and select reading strategies accordingly, read
linearly without noticing lack of comprehension, and terminate reading without evaluation or
reflection. In contrast, proficient readers start with orienting reading to grasp the theme or gist
of the text, read the title and paragraph headings, skim through the text, and purposefully read
the concluding paragraph, while activating prior knowledge of the subject matter. They set
reading goals and plans, and monitor their comprehension, both on the level of individual words
and on the level of paragraphs or the entire text (Veenman, 2012).

After knowing the metacognitive thinking of learners, teachers can provide interventions
that are appropriate to their needs. Giving scaffolds to learners, while they perform a task, helps
them refine their way of thinking and studying. In the process, they recognize their strengths and
weaknesses. The next time they engage in metacognitive thinking, they could plan, monitor, and
evaluate their own thinking better.

THE LESSON IN A CAPSULE

Metacognitive processes involves one’s ability to control and regulate his or her learning.
It involves planning (the use of appropriate strategies and resources), monitoring (keeping track
of the progress of learning), and evaluating (determining the result or product of learning). In
every stage, asking questions and providing answers serve as guides to the thinking process.
 ASSESS

Activity 1: Answer the short version of Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASS
to determine how you learn and study.

Directions: This questionnaire has been designed to allow you to describe, in a systematic way,
how go about learning and studying. Please respond truthfully, so that your answers accurately
describe actual ways of studying, and work your way through the questionnaire quite quickly,
making sure you give a response to every item. Check the cell that corresponds to your
agreement to the statements.

SA means Strongly Agree, A means Agree; D means Disagree; and SD means Strongly Disagree

STATEMENTS SA A D SD
1. I often have trouble making sense of the things I have to remember.
2. When I am reading an article or book, I try to find out for myself exactly
3. I organize my study time carefully to make the best use of it.
4. There is not much of the work here that I find interesting or relevant.
5. I work steadily through the term or semester, rather than leave it all until
the last minute.
6. Before tackling a problem or assignment, I first try to work out what lies
behind it.
7. I am pretty good at getting down to work whenever I need to.
8. Much of what I am studying makes little sense: it is like unrelated bits
and pieces
9. I put a lot of effort into studying because I am determined to do well.
10. When I am working on a new topic, I try to see in my mind how all the
ideas fit together.
11. I do not find it at all difficult to motivate myself.
12. Often I find myself questioning things I hear in lectures or read in books.
13. I think I am quite systematic and organized when it comes to revising
for exams.
14. Often I feel I am drowning in the sheer amount of material we have to
cope with
 15. Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of
thought of my own.
16. I am not sure what is important in lectures, so I try to get down all I can.
17. When I read, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in with
what
is being said
18. I often worry about whether I will ever be able to cope with the work
Source: Entwistle and Tait, 2013. Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) incorporating the
Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory - RASI)

Scoring Procedure: Add your scores for Deep Approach: Items 2, 6, 10, 12, 13, 17; add scores for
Strategic Approach: Items 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13; and add your scores for Surface Approach: Items
1,4,8,14,16,18. The approach where you scored highest is the dominant approach you use in
studying and learning.

Activity 2: Classify the following questions/statements if the learner is engaged in planning,

monitoring, or evaluating phases of metacognitive regulation and control. Write your answer on
a separate sheet of paper.

1. Is this strategy leading me to the correct answer?

2. My answer does not meet the standards in this scoring rubric.
3. What strategy is best for this type of problem?
4. What does this task expect me to produce?
5. The teacher is nodding as I speak. I am right in organizing my answer.

CHALLENGE

1. What is the importance of metacognitive experiences and metamemory in metacognitive

regulation and control?
 2. How is your awareness of how you study and learn significant to thinking
metacognitively?

3. Using your search tools, read about the differences between novice and expert learners?
With this knowledge, identify facilitating strategies to support the novice learners.

HARNESS
Fill up the needed details in the graphic organizer.

Metacognitive Regulation and

Control
Define

Provide a Situation

Planning Monitoring Evaluating

Define Define Define

Raise Questions Raise Questions Raise Questions

 Recall your Output in Activity 1 in Lesson 1 of this Chapter. Imagine yourself
facilitating the development of the competency. What process questions should
you ask the learners to help them to develop metacognitive regulation and
control? Show your answer to the instructor.