Metacognitive Processes

Metacognitive Processes
Metacognition is one’s ability to use prior knowledge to plan a strategy for

approaching a learning task, take necessary steps to problem solve, reflect
on and evaluate results, and modify one’s approach as needed. It helps
learners choose the right cognitive tool for the task and plays a critical role
in successful learning.
What Is Metacognition?
Metacognition refers to awareness of one’s own knowledge—what one does

and doesn’t know—and one’s ability to understand, control, and manipulate
one’s cognitive processes (Meichenbaum, 1985). It includes knowing when
and where to use particular strategies for learning and problem solving as
well as how and why to use specific strategies. Metacognition is the ability
to use prior knowledge to plan a strategy for approaching a learning task,
take necessary steps to problem solve, reflect on and evaluate results, and
modify one’s approach as needed. Flavell (1976), who first used the term,
offers the following example: I am engaging in Metacognition if I notice that
I am having more trouble learning A than B; if it strikes me that I should
double check C before accepting it as fact (p. 232).
Cognitive strategies are the basic mental abilities we use to think, study,
and learn (e.g., recalling information from memory, analyzing sounds and
images, making associations between or comparing/contrasting different
pieces of information, and making inferences or interpreting text). They
help an individual achieve a particular goal, such as comprehending text or
solving a math problem, and they can be individually identified and
measured. In contrast, metacognitive strategies are used to ensure that an
overarching learning goal is being or has been reached. Examples of
metacognitive activities include planning how to approach a learning task,
using appropriate skills and strategies to solve a problem, monitoring one’s
own comprehension of text, self-assessing and self-correcting in response
to the self-assessment, evaluating progress toward the completion of a
task, and becoming aware of distracting stimuli.
Elements of Metacognition
Researchers distinguish between metacognitive knowledge and

metacognitive regulation (Flavell, 1979, 1987; Schraw & Dennison, 1994).
Metacognitive knowledge refers to what individuals know about
themselves as cognitive processors, about different approaches that can
be used for learning and problem solving, and about the demands of a
particular learning task. Metacognitive regulation refers to adjustments
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individuals make to their processes to help control their learning, such as
planning, information management strategies, comprehension monitoring,
de-bugging strategies, and evaluation of progress and goals. Flavell (1979)
further divides metacognitive knowledge into three categories:
 Person variables: What one recognizes about his or her strengths and
weaknesses in learning and processing information.
 Task variables: What one knows or can figure out about the nature of
a task and the processing demands required to complete the task—for
example, knowledge that it will take more time to read, comprehend,
and remember a technical article than it will a similar-length passage
from a novel.
 Strategy variables: The strategies a person has “at the ready” to apply
in a flexible way to successfully accomplish a task; for example,
knowing how to activate prior knowledge before reading a technical
article, using a glossary to look up unfamiliar words, or recognizing
that sometimes one has to reread a paragraph several times before it
makes sense.
Livingston (1997) provides an example of all three variables: “I know that I

(person variable) have difficulty with word problems (task variable), so I
will answer the computational problems first and save the word problems
for last (strategy variable).”
Why Teach Metacognitive Skills?
Research shows that metacognitive skills can be taught to students to

improve their learning (Nietfeld & Shraw, 2002; Thiede, Anderson, &
Therriault, 2003).
Constructing understanding requires both cognitive and metacognitive

elements. Learners “construct knowledge” using cognitive strategies, and
they guide, regulate, and evaluate their learning using metacognitive
strategies. It is through this “thinking about thinking,” this use of
metacognitive strategies, that real learning occurs. As students become
more skilled at using metacognitive strategies, they gain confidence and
become more independent as learners.
Individuals with well-developed metacognitive skills can think through a

problem or approach a learning task, select appropriate strategies, and
make decisions about a course of action to resolve the problem or
successfully perform the task. They often think about their own thinking
processes, taking time to think about and learn from mistakes or
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inaccuracies (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1995). Some
instructional programs encourage students to engage in “metacognitive
conversations” with themselves so that they can “talk” with themselves
about their learning, the challenges they encounter, and the ways in which
they can self-correct and continue learning.
Moreover, individuals who demonstrate a wide variety of metacognitive

skills perform better on exams and complete work more efficiently—they
use the right tool for the job, and they modify learning strategies as
needed, identifying blocks to learning and changing tools or strategies to
ensure goal attainment. Because Metacognition plays a critical role in
successful learning, it is imperative that instructors help learners develop
metacognitively.
What’s the Research?
Metacognitive strategies can be taught (Halpern, 1996), they are

associated with successful learning (Borkowski, Carr, & Pressley, 1987).
Successful learners have a repertoire of strategies to select from and can
transfer them to new settings (Pressley, Borkowski, & Schneider, 1987).
Instructors need to set tasks at an appropriate level of difficulty (i.e.,
challenging enough so that students need to apply metacognitive
strategies to monitor success but not so challenging that students become
overwhelmed or frustrated), and instructors need to prompt learners to
think about what they are doing as they complete these tasks (Biemiller &
Meichenbaum, 1992). Instructors should take care not to do the thinking for
learners or tell them what to do because this runs the risk of making
students experts at seeking help rather than experts at thinking about and
directing their own learning. Instead, effective instructors continually
prompt learners, asking “What should you do next?”
McKeachie (1988) found that few college instructors explicitly teach

strategies for monitoring learning. They assume that students have already
learned these strategies in high school. But many have not and are
unaware of the metacognitive process and its importance to learning. Rote
memorization is the usual—and often the only—learning strategy employed
by high school students when they enter college (Nist, 1993). Simpson and
Nist (2000), in a review of the literature on strategic learning, emphasize
that instructors need to provide explicit instruction on the use of study
strategies. The implication for ABE programs is that it is likely that ABE
learners need explicit instruction in both cognitive and metacognitive
strategies. They need to know that they have choices about the strategies
they can employ in different contexts, and they need to monitor their use of
and success with these strategies.
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Recommended Instructional Strategies
Instructors can encourage ABE learners to become more strategic thinkers

by helping them focus on the ways they process information. Self-
questioning, reflective journal writing, and discussing their thought
processes with other learners are among the ways that teachers can
encourage learners to examine and develop their metacognitive processes.
Fogarty (1994) suggests that Metacognition is a process that spans three

distinct phases, and that, to be successful thinkers, students must do the
following:
1. Develop a plan before approaching a learning task, such as reading for

comprehension or solving a math problem.
2. Monitor their understanding; use “fix-up” strategies when meaning

breaks down.
3. Evaluate their thinking after completing the task.
Instructors can model the application of questions, and they can prompt
learners to ask themselves questions during each phase. They can
incorporate into lesson plans opportunities for learners to practice using
these questions during learning tasks, as illustratetd in the following
examples:
 During the planning phase, learners can ask, What am I supposed to

learn? What prior knowledge will help me with this task? What should
I do first? What should I look for in this reading? How much time do I
have to complete this? In what direction do I want my thinking to take
me?
 During the monitoring phase, learners can ask, How am I doing? Am I

on the right track? How should I proceed? What information is
important to remember? Should I move in a different direction? Should
I adjust the pace because of the difficulty? What can I do if I do
not understand?
 During the evaluation phase, learners can ask, How well did I do?
What did I learn? Did I get the results I expected? What could I have
done differently? Can I apply this way of thinking to other problems or
situations? Is there anything I don’t understand—any gaps in my
knowledge? Do I need to go back through the task to fill in any gaps
in understanding? How might I apply this line of thinking to other
problems?
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Rather than viewing reading, writing, science, social studies, and math
only as subjects or content to be taught, instructors can see them as
opportunities for learners to reflect on their learning processes. Examples
follow for each content area:
 Reading: Teach learners how to ask questions during reading and

model “think-alouds.” Ask learners questions during read-alouds and
teach them to monitor their reading by constantly asking themselves
if they understand what the text is about. Teach them to take notes or
highlight important details, asking themselves, “Why is this a key
phrase to highlight?” and “Why am I not highlighting this?”
 Writing: Model prewriting strategies for organizing thoughts, such as

brainstorming ideas using a word web, or using a graphic organizer to
put ideas into paragraphs, with the main idea at the top and the
supporting details below it.
 Social Studies and Science: Teach learners the importance of using

organizers such as KWL charts, Venn diagrams, concept maps , and
anticipation/reaction charts to sort information and help them learn
and understand content. Learners can use organizers prior to a task
to focus their attention on what they already know and identify what
they want to learn. They can use a Venn diagram to identify
similarities and differences between two related concepts.
 Math: Teach learners to use mnemonics to recall steps in a process,

such as the order of mathematical operations. Model your thought
processes in solving problems—for example, “This is a lot of
information; where should I start? Now that I know____, is
there something else I know?”
The goal of teaching metacognitive strategies is to help learners become

comfortable with these strategies so that they employ them automatically
to learning tasks, focusing their attention, deriving meaning, and making
adjustments if something goes wrong. They do not think about these skills
while performing them but, if asked what they are doing, they can usually
accurately describe their metacognitive processes.

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Metacognitive Processes

Metacognition is one’s ability to use prior knowledge to plan a strategy for

Metacognition refers to awareness of one’s own knowledge—what one does

Researchers distinguish between metacognitive knowledge and

Livingston (1997) provides an example of all three variables: “I know that I

Why Teach Metacognitive Skills?

Research shows that metacognitive skills can be taught to students to

Constructing understanding requires both cognitive and metacognitive

Individuals with well-developed metacognitive skills can think through a

Moreover, individuals who demonstrate a wide variety of metacognitive

What’s the Research?

Metacognitive strategies can be taught (Halpern, 1996), they are

McKeachie (1988) found that few college instructors explicitly teach

Instructors can encourage ABE learners to become more strategic thinkers

Fogarty (1994) suggests that Metacognition is a process that spans three

1. Develop a plan before approaching a learning task, such as reading for

2. Monitor their understanding; use “fix-up” strategies when meaning

3. Evaluate their thinking after completing the task.

 During the planning phase, learners can ask, What am I supposed to

 During the monitoring phase, learners can ask, How am I doing? Am I

 Reading: Teach learners how to ask questions during reading and

 Writing: Model prewriting strategies for organizing thoughts, such as

 Social Studies and Science: Teach learners the importance of using

 Math: Teach learners to use mnemonics to recall steps in a process,

The goal of teaching metacognitive strategies is to help learners become

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