What is metacognition? Often explained as “thinking about your thinking,” metacognition is really about monitoring and controlling your thought processes. It involves knowing when you know something, when you don’t, and what to do when you don’t know. Understanding yourself as a learner (including your current strengths and weaknesses) is an essential component of metacognition.

Why is it a superpower? Meaning-making is effortful and the more we help students develop metacognitive skills, the more effective and efficient they can be with their time and energy. As Dr. Susan Ambrose of Northeastern University explains, “To become self-directed learners, students must learn to assess the demand of the task, evaluate their own knowledge and skills, plan their approach, monitor their progress and adjust their strategies as needed.”

More details on the Metacognition Cycle can be seen here.

Pocket Sentences to promote metacognition:

• Have you solved a problem like that before? How did you do it? 
• How do you know that you understand the concepts/material?
•  What resources can you use to check your understanding? 
• How did that (assignment, test, etc.) go for you? How do you know? 
• What strategies did you use to figure that out? What strategies could you use next time for a better or the same outcome? 
• Would you tell me about your process on this? Can you tell me more about why you think that? 
• How has your thinking changed since…? 
• What do you say to yourself when you are stuck? 
• How is your approach similar to how you’ve worked in the past? Did it work for you before?