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Chapter 2 Metacognition: Thinking About Thinking

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Lesson 1 Metacognition and Metacognitive Knowledge

After completing the lesson, you will be able to:

 Explain the meaning of metacognition and metacognitive knowledge
 Determine metacognitive knowledge required in a specific competency
 Apply concepts learned in assessing your work and other’s output

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THINK ???
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“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” – Margaret Mead

Metacognition, a term coined by John Flavell, refers to higher order thinking which
involves active awareness and control over the cognitive processes engaged in learning. It is
the knowledge concerning one’s cognitive processes and products or anything related to them,
e.g., the learning-relevant properties of information and data. It is the active monitoring and
consequent regulation and orchestration of these processes concerning the cognitive objects
or data on which they bear, usually in the service of some concrete goal or objective (Flavell,
1976).
It is knowledge and cognition about cognitive phenomena (Flavell, 1979). Its meaning
metamorphosed into “thinking about thinking” or “learning about learning”, “knowing about
knowing” and “cognition about cognition.”
The elements of metacognition are metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive
experiences or regulation. These two elements are interrelated; the presence of the first one
enhances the second element.

Table 1. Components of Metacognitive Knowledge

Metacognitive Knowledge (knowledge of cognition)
“what individuals know about their cognition or cognition in general”
Declarative Knowledge Procedural Knowledge Conditional Knowledge
(person variable) (task variable) (strategy variable)
 Knowledge about  Knowledge on how to  Knowledge on when
things do things and why to apply
 Knowledge about  Knowledge on how to cognitive acts
one’s own abilities execute skills  Knowledge on when a
 Knowledge about strategy is
factors affecting one’s appropriate
own performance

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 Metacognitive knowledge is acquired knowledge about cognitive processes categorized
as follows:
1. Person variable which refers to how one views himself/herself as a learner;
knowledge about how human beings learn and process information. This knowledge is not
always accurate as the learner’s evaluation of his/her capabilities may be unreliable. Manila as
the capital of the Philippines and oases as plural form of oasis are examples of declarative
knowledge which a learner may have limited knowledge.
2. Task variable refers to the nature of the task and type of processing demands that it
places on the individual. The assessment on the learner’s task knowledge includes what
knowledge is needed (content) and the space available to communicate what is known
(length). A learner given a problem-solving task, for instance, knows that prerequisite
information and prior skills are necessary to be recalled and readily executed at the given time
to solve the problem.
3. Strategy variable refers to the awareness of strategy one is using to learn a topic and
evaluating if this is effective. It is the ability to know when and why various cognitive acts
should be applied. It involves strategies to learn information (knowing how to know) as well as
adapting them to novel contexts (Knowing when a strategy is appropriate). This knowledge is
evident in a learner who seeks the help of a school nurse to make a report on communicable
diseases prevalent in the community and knows that the best way to gather data is to
interview a nurse or go over the health records of the City or Municipal Health Office.
Metacognitive knowledge is the result of an individual’s metacognitive experiences.
Experience is just not what happened but what you do with what happened to you. An
experience is what an individual has through which knowledge is attained, or through
regulation occurs. A learner who obtained low scores in knowledge and skill tests becomes
aware that he or she has low declarative and procedural knowledge. In contrast, a learner who
always scored high in both content and skills tests has strong confidence in his her adequacy of
knowledge in the subject.
Metacognitive knowledge depends so much on the learner’s metamemory, the
awareness of memory strategies that best work for self, the knowledge of what memory is,
how it works and how to remember things. Through instruction and individual effort,
metamemory develops over time. For instance, learners who have been taught how to
organize information and use rehearsal strategies have richer metamemory. They can retrieve
declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge when required by the task.
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EXPERIENCE
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Metacognitive thinking among learners provides avenues for them to learn more. Two
aspects of metacognitive instruction is content knowledge (concepts, facts, procedures) and
strategic knowledge (heuristic, metacognitive, learning). It is essential that to think through a
process, learners must have the content knowledge to think about something. One also needs
to have a heuristic (shortcut) or algorithm (formula) to follow in developing a skill (Medina,

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et.al, 2017). Instruction should have a content component and direct instruction on how to
work through a process.
Another consideration is the potential of cooperative learning in teaching
metacognition. Engaging learners in collaborative discussion of the learning task enables them
to enhance their learning. During the discussion, learners think about their way of thinking and
their reflection after the lesson demonstrates a metacognitive way of thinking. The learners
identify the main components of the learning strategy and realize how the strategy helps them
to learn (Eldar, et.al, 2012). Collaborative teaching strategies are, therefore, useful tools to
enhance learners’ reflective thinking.
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ASSESS
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I Identify the variable described. Write the letter only.
A. Person B. Task C. Strategy
___1. Preparing a powerpoint presentation
___2. Singing a poem to memorize it
___3. Finding a quiet place for study
___4. Making a book report
___5. Knowing who you are as a learner

II Identify which type of knowledge, the following thoughts are more on. Letter only.
A. Declarative B. Procedural C. Conditional
___6. I know that the context of this problem is not suited to the theory.
___7. There are three ways to solve this problem.
___8. This fact is essential to recall for the situation presented.
___9. ROYGBIV makes it easy for me to remember the colors of the rainbow.
___10. This is an irregular verb, thus adding –ed to the word to make it past tense does not
apply.
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CHALLENGE
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Using available search tools, read about organization, rehearsal and elaboration
strategies as learners’ aid to enhance the content of the metamemory. With the diverse types
of learners in the classroom, how would you use these strategies to benefit your learners?
Present in one paragraph only.

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_____________________________________________________________________________
HARNESS
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Considering your subject specialization, choose one competency related to a topic from
a textbook used in a particular grade level, then, identify the metacognitive knowledge
necessary for you to include in teaching the desired competency. Use the matrix below as
guide.

Competency:

Subject Matter:

Metacognitive Knowledge Specific Skills to Develop in the Lesson

Declarative Knowledge

Procedural Knowledge

Conditional Knowledge

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_____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 2 Metacognition: Thinking About thinking
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Lesson 2: Metacognitive Regulation and Control

After completing the 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
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THINK
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If metacognitive knowledge refers to the learner’s knowledge or beliefs about the
factors that affect cognitive skills, metacognitive regulation pertains to their ability to keep
track or monitor and assess their knowledge or learning. It includes their ability to find out
what, when and how to use a particular skill for a given task.
To illustrate metacognitive regulation, consider yourself a student in a Speech class.
You know when a word is mispronounced as it sounds unpleasant, thus, you consult an
electronic dictionary to listen to how the word should be pronounced. Following the model,
your pronunciation is improved.
Metacognitive regulation involves three process: setting goals and planning, monitoring
and controlling learning and evaluating your own regulation.

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 PLANNING
Metacognitive Experiences Metamemory

MONITORING
Metacognitive Experiences Metamemroy

EVALUATING

Metacognitive Experiences Metamemory

Figure 1. 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, this process is considered
a central part of students’ ability to control their learning process and to learn outcomes
through deliberate self-regulatory decisions and actions.
Goals are categorized as mastery goals and performance goals (Paulson and Bauer,
2011). Mastery goals are related to process, learning and development while performance
goals are usually associated with product orientations and demonstrating competence or social
comparisons to peer groups.
For example, you desire to get a high grade (performance goal) in a Science class
portfolio, you determine how to make all entries exemplary in all criteria as describe in the
scoring rubric (mastery goal). At this point of metacognitive regulation, you question yourself:
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? Why should I focus on when learning or solving
this task?
Monitoring refers to one’s ongoing awareness of comprehension and task performance
(Schraw, 2002). It involves monitoring of a person’s thinking processes and the current state of
knowledge, as well as the ability to consider the accuracy of this knowledge and procedure to
solve the task. If ever inadequacy is felt, you can control the processes undertaken to still
succeed in the resolution of the task.
For example, you answer a word problem in Mathematics, you are aware of the steps
to follow to solve the task. In the process, you monitor from metamemory if your procedural
knowledge is adequate and could be executed. Along the way, you monitor your thinking, then
revise the process if found ineffective.
At this stage, some questions which may be asked by you include: Do I have adequate
knowledge to solve the problem? Are my prior knowledge and skills appropriate for this task?

EDFLCT-FACILITATING TEACHER-CENTERED TEACHING 6

Are my strategies appropriate for this task? What can I do to get additional information for this
task?
Evaluating refers to appraising the products and efficiency of one’s learning
(Schraw,2002). It involves your ability to evaluate how well the strategies are used. To lead to
the solution to the solution of the problem or completion of the task. It tells whether or not
the procedure resulted to the correct or a different answer.
In the previous Mathematics word problem-solving task situation, you come to a
realization that the equation formulated to solve what is asked in the problem is indeed correct
based on the crosschecking process done. If your answer is wrong, you can guess what went
wrong along the way.
Some of the questions you may ask at this phase would be: What new learning did I
achieve? 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 next time I encounter a similar situation?

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EXPERIENCE
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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, select reading strategies accordingly, read
linearly without noticing lack of comprehension and terminate reading without reflection or
evaluation.
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 purposely read the
concluding paragraph while activating prior knowledge of the subject matter. They set goals
and plans, and monitor their comprehension, both on the level of the individual words and on
the level of paragraphs or entire text (Veenman, 2012).
Teachers can provide interventions that are appropriate to the needs of students after
knowing their metacognitive thinking. Giving scaffolds while learners perform a task, helps
them refine their way of thinking and studying, recognizing their strengths and weaknesses in
the process. The next time they engage in metacognitive thinking, they could plan, monitor
and evaluate their own thinking better.

EDFLCT-FACILITATING TEACHER-CENTERED TEACHING 7

_____________________________________________________________________________
ASSESS
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Answer the short version of Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST)
to determine how you learn and study.
Direction: This questionnaire has been designed to allow you to describe in a systematic way
how you go about learning and studying. Please answer truthfully so that your answers
describe your actual ways of studying accurately, and work your way through the questionnaire
quite quickly, making sure that you answer all items. Check (√) the cell that corresponds to
your agreement to the statements:
SA means Strongly Agree, A-Agree, D-Disagree and SD-Strongly Disagree

Statements SA A D SD
1. I often have trouble making sense of the things I have to remember. 1 2 3 4
2. When I am reading an article or book, I try to find out for myself exactly
what the author means. 4 3 2 1
3. I organize my study time carefully to make the best use of it. 4 3 2 1
4. There is not much of the work here that I find interesting or relevant. 1 2 3 4
5. I work steadily through the term or semester, rather than leave it all until
the last minute. 4 3 2 1
6. Before tackling a problem or assignment, I first try to work out what lies
behind it. 4 3 2 1
7. I am pretty good at getting down to work whenever I need to. 4 3 2 1
8. Much of what I am studying makes little sense; it is like unrelated bits and
pieces. 1 2 3 4
9. I put a lot of effort into studying because I am determined to do well. 4 3 2 1
10. When I am working on a new topic, I try to see in my mind how all the
ideas fit together. 4 3 2 1
11. I do not find it at all difficult to motivate myself. 4 3 2 1
12. Often, I find myself questioning things I hear in lectures or read in books. 4 3 2 1

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 13. I think I am quite systematic and organized when it comes to reviewing
for exams. 4 3 2 1
14. Often, I feel am drowning in the sheer amount of material we have to
cope with. 1 2 3 4
15. Ideas in course books or articles often set me off on long chains of
thought of my own. 4 3 2 1
16. I am not sure what is important in lectures, so I try to get down all I can. 1 2 3 4
17. When I read, I examine the details carefully to see how they fit in what is
being said. 4 3 2 1
18. I often worry about whether I will ever be able to cope with the work
properly. 1 2 3 4
Score/Dominant Approach
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, 15, 17
Add your scores for Strategic Approach: Items 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13
Add your scores for Surface Approach: Items 1, 4, 8, 14, 16, 18
The approach which you scored highest is the dominant approach you use in studying and
learning.
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CHALLENGE
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Using your search tools, read about the differences between novice and expert learners.
Present at least five differences organized in a table.

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HARNESS
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Fill in the needed details in the graphic organizer below:

EDFLCT-FACILITATING TEACHER-CENTERED TEACHING 9

 Metacognitive Regulation and Control
(Provide a situation)

Planning Monitoring

(Raise a question) (Raise a question)

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Chapter 2 Metacognition: Thinking About thinking
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Lesson 3: Metacognitive Instruction

Evaluating
After completing the lesson, you will be able to:
 Explain fundamental principles to teach metacognitive skills (Raise a question)
 Identify metacognitive strategies for a particular lesson
 Operationalize metacognitive processes in a given situation or context
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THINK
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Principles of Metacognitive Instruction
Developing metacognitive thinking of the students needs the creativity of the teacher.
Using metacognitive strategies facilitates ho learners learn. Studies proved that metacognitive

EDFLCT-FACILITATING TEACHER-CENTERED TEACHING 10

teaching practices enhance the learners’ capabilities to transfer their competencies in learning
new tasks in new contexts (Palinscar& Brown, 1984; Schoenfeld, 1991).
Metacognitive teaching practices make learners aware of their strengths and
weaknesses as they learn. Knowing their strengths give them the confidence to pursue a task.
Knowing their weaknesses lead them to strategize on how to overcome their limited
knowledge and how to source out the needed information for the task.
Veenman, et al. (2012) recommend three fundamental principles to effectively develop
metacognitive thinking among learners:
1. Metacognitive instruction should be embedded in the context of the task to allow
connecting of task-specific condition knowledge (the IF-side) to the procedural knowledge of
“How” the skill is applied in the context of the task (the THEN-side of production rules).
2. Learners should be informed about the benefit of applying metacognitive skills to
make them exert the initial extra effort.
3. Instruction and training should be stretched over time, thus allowing for the
formation of production rules and ensuring the smooth and maintained application of
metacognitive skills.
Cognizant of these principles, teachers can plan their lessons well to ensure that as
learners undergo classroom activities, they metacognize their learning. Leading learners to
think metacognitively gradually leads them to become self-regulated learners.
Metacognitive Teaching Strategies
Varied metacognitive strategies to teach learners to undergo metacognitive thinking
have been proven effective which include:
Graphic Organizers are visual illustrations displaying the relationships between facts,
information, ideas or concepts. Through the visual displays, you are guided in your thinking as
you fill in the needed information.
One good example is the KWHLAQ chart, a variant of the KWL chart. It is useful during the
planning, monitoring and evaluating phases of metacognition.

What do I What What new

What do I WANT to HOW do I What have I ACTION will I QUESTIONS
KNOW know find out? LEARNED? take? do I have?
How have I
Ex. Definition Types of Reading Different types Focus on one applied this
of learning learning books, of learning type of type of
researching learning I am learning to my
good at life situation?

Think aloud helps you to think aloud about your thinking as you undertake a task. You
report your thoughts as you do it. With the help of a more knowledgeable learner, the errors
in thinking and the inadequacy of declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge can be
pointed out giving you increased self-awareness during learning.

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 Journalizing can be used together with think aloud where you write what is in your
mind when you select an answer and the reasons for your choice in a journal or any notebook.
Later, you can write your realizations, what went wrong and what should have considered in
answering. Finally, you can resolve on what to do the next time a similar problem or situation
arises.
Error analysis is a systematic approach for using feedback metacognitively to improve
your future performance (Hopeman, 2002). Teachers asking you where you are correct or
wrong provides avenues for you to evaluate your thinking. It results in your metacognitve
knowledge of your own mistakes and making use of them to improve your next performance.
Wrapper is an activity that fosters your metacognition before, during and after a class.
For example in a reading class, before the selection is read, the teacher asks about the theme
of the selection based on the story title. While reading the selection, you are asked if your
assumptions are true. After reading, you asked what made you comprehend or not
comprehend the story.
Peer mentoring is a proven metacognitive strategy as many students learn best when
studying with peers who are more informed and skilled. By observing the more skilled peers,
novice learners can learn from the metacognitive strategies of their peer mentors. The use of
cooperative learning is helpful toward this goal.
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EXPERIENCE
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Teaching metacognitive strategies to learners is a must if teachers want them to be self-
regulated learners. Several studies have shown the benefits of metacognitive instruction. Goh
(2008) cites her study (Liu & Goh, 2006) that proved metacognitive knowledge can be
increased through classroom instruction.
Goh and Hu (2013) demonstrated a casual relationship between metacognitive
instruction and a statistically significant improvement in listening performance. In another
study, students’ use of metacognitive skills in problem-solving, with five main processes that
encompass an emerging substantive theory namely: understanding the problem through
sense-making; organizing and constructing useful information from the problem; planning
solution strategies by identifying, conjecturing and selecting strategies; executing the plan;
checking the process and strategies undertaken, and reflecting and extending the problem, has
facilitated the development of Filipino students’ problem-solving heuristics (Tan & Limjap,
2018).
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ASSESS
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Identify the metacognitive teaching strategy used based on the description given:
____________ 1. Mrs. Crus asks her learners in Mathematics, “Give me one significant
learning that you derived from this lesson.

EDFLCT-FACILITATING TEACHER-CENTERED TEACHING 12

____________ 2. Mr. Ravena groups his learners into two, with each member inquiring how
the other has arrived at the measures to combat air pollution.
____________ 3. At the beginning of the Social Studies class, Miss Agnes uses a matrix to elicit
prior knowledge of learners about the topic for discussion.
____________ 4. Miss Tomas assigns the EPP learners to reflect on the learnings in class and
what these meant to them as members of a family.
____________ 5. To process their thinking, Mr. Park asks learners who failed to get the
answer correctly to identify the reason how and why they went wrong.
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HARNESS
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Using the exit ticket, reflect on your learning from this chapter by filling in the matrix to
reflect your metacognitive thinking.

Today, my learning was Today, I considered a new Today, I am certain that I

disrupted because idea or concept learned

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