metacognition: what is it? why is it crucial for success?
TRANSCRIPT
Metacognition: What is it? Why is it crucial for
success?
Nancy Weinstein, MBA [email protected]
@MindprintLearn
Today’s Discussion
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1. Skills that drive academic achievement beyond “book smarts”
2. How to develop metacognition
3. Case studies
4. Q & A
Skills for Academic Success go well beyond Content Knowledge
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Sweetspot
Academic Skills: We Know What to Do Most of the Time
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Schools do a great job teaching academics to most students most of the time…
Cognitive Skills: Help Us Understand Why a Student is Not Learning
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“I don’t follow…” “I can’t focus…” “I don’t know…”
“I can’t remember…” “I need more time…”
“I CAN’T DO THIS!”
Cognitive Skills: Identify the Cause & Tell Us How to Help
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Chunking Fewer distractions
More time
Help organizing thoughts
Spaced & multi-modalrepetition
Working Memory Attention Critical Thinking
Memory Processing Speed
Practical Constraints of Evaluating Cognitive Skills
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• Reliable identification of cognitive strengths & needs
• Teacher training
• Time – large class size and too much to cover already
Reliable Identification of Cognitive Skills
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Reliable Tools
• Psycho-educational evaluation
• Observation by psychologist/clinician
• Valid cognitive screener (e.g. Mindprint)
• Valid skill questionnaires (e.g. BRIEF for executive functions)
Not Reliable Alone
• Observation by adults who are not specialists
• Student self-reports/self-perceptions
• Unvalidated instruments• Myers-Briggs• Learning Styles
Inventories• Other questionnaires
without research-backing
Self-Reports and Observation Aren’t Reliable During Periods of Growth
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Understanding Cognitive Skills is Now Practical
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• Identification of cognitive strengths & needs• New online screeners like Mindprint enable
identification affordably and efficiently
• Teacher training• Education schools catching up. Teach faculty
with PD (Mindprint offers a 2 hr training)
• Time – large class size and too much curriculum to cover
• Metacognition! Enable and empower students to take responsibility for their learning
Develop Metacognition
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Metacognition: The knowledge and capacity to
understand one's own thinking. It includes an awareness of learning
processes and strategies used, which requires an understanding of strengths
and needs.Source: Mindprint Learning Glossary https://mindprintlearning.com/free-resources/glossary-of-terms/
Metacognition Simplified
(1) Thinking About Your Thinking (2) Learning How to Learn
Metacognition is the foundation for “Habits of Mind”
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Metacognition
Risk taking
Grit
Collaboration
Creativity
Mindset
Persistence
Growth Mindset: “I understand why I’m not getting this. I know if I take a different approach I can do this.”
Grit: “I don’t just need to work harder, I need to work smarter. I need to figure out how this will be easier for me.”
Persistence: “This is going to take me longer because it relies on using my weaker skills. It’s ok, though. Other things will come more easily.”
Why Metacognition is the foundation for other “Habits of Mind”
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Risk Taking: “I know this might be hard for me because it’s not one of my stronger skills. But I will try it anyway. And I know there are other things I’m good at.”
Collaboration: “I need to give him more time or help. This probably doesn’t come easily to him. I know that feeling, just like when I do xxxx. But I bet he can do xxxx really well.”
Creativity: Everyone is most creative when she has a solid foundation of knowledge to build from AND self-confidence! (see the research)
Metacognition is the foundation for “Habits of Mind”
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General Approaches to Building Metacognition
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1. Acknowledge strengths & weaknesses• Start with strengths• Have data, not opinion; use specific examples• How depends on age, maturity, social/emotional factors
2. Discuss performance, including successes & failures• Use ongoing, balanced feedback (3 strengths followed by 1
constructive criticism is a good rule of thumb)• Don’t expect consistently strong performance, even from
your strongest students• Truly embrace mistakes/failures (not lip service)
3. Recognize When to Use Strategies• Help students identify when they need to adjust• Understand that skills can be practiced and improved• Rely on stronger skills to support weaker skills
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Example Profiles and Specific Metacognitive Strategies
Case 1: The Gifted Learner
1. Use visual prompts for text-based materials
2. Anticipate studying taking longer (than you might expect)
3. Contingency planning: Accept change/ unexpected circumstances
4. Practice problems with more than one right answer
1. Regular breaks/exercise
2. Visual prompts for text-based materials (draw on visual memory)
3. Provide context and analogies to help with retention (draw on verbal reasoning)
Case 2: The Struggling Learner
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1. Celebrate ability for problem solving—offer multiple ways to help understand a problem
2. Offer visual-spatial activities that use strengths and build self-confidence
3. Teach verbal remediation when memorizing visual information
Case 3: The Problem Solver
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Three Steps to Improved Learning
Step 1:Assessment
Step 2:Learning Profile
Step 3:Toolbox/Action Plan
Step 1: Mindprint Assessment
Mindprint Skills Assessed
Speed• Visual Motor Speed• Processing Speed
Executive Functions• Attention (accuracy & speed, identify
students who are compensating)• Working Memory• Flexible Thinking
Complex Reasoning• Abstract Reasoning• Verbal Reasoning• Spatial Perception
Episodic Memory• Verbal Memory• Visual Memory
Coming Soon!• Social-Emotional Recognition• Auditory Processing
1.Entirely online
2.Self-administered
3.Approximately one hour
Scientifically Valid Assessment
Normed on10,000+ children ages
8-21
Developed in the Brain Behavior Lab at HUP
Used in scientific research and clinical trials
Reliability reviewed in scientific journals including
JAMA Psychiatry, APA Neuropsychology
High correlation with WISC-IV and WRAT
Additional tests in development by
researchers to expand offering
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Step 2: Unique Learning ProfileVisual presentation with focus on skills over scores
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Step 2: Unique Learning ProfileSummary Takeaways
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Step 3: Personalized Toolbox
• Student primers to understand strengths and needs
• 350+ instructional and study strategies focused on weaker skills
• 1,600+ activities to nurture strengths and bolster weaknesses
• Articles to better understand strengths and needs
All you need to get started supporting the learner in one place
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Step 3: Action Plan