Metacognition: Teaching ‘Thinking About Thinking’ to Increase Student Engagement
- Kevin Kuckkan, M.Ed.
- Dec 1, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 18
This article was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote learning was at its peak.
‘I’m an auditory learner’, ‘I’m a visual learner’, ‘I’m a tactile learner.’
A lot of work has been done to help students recognize the best manner they’re able to learn in. Unfortunately, plenty of teachers also hear:
‘I can’t learn online’, ‘I need to be in class to learn’
Regardless of the circumstances, recognizing one’s best-suited learning style greatly benefits any learner.
In this article, we'll explore: what is a student supposed to DO with class material to help them become a better learner? This is where understanding metacognition – thinking about thinking - becomes a critical skill.
Metacognition As a Critical Skill for Students
We often hear: “The only real mistake is the one you don’t learn from.” But what does that actually require? It demands that learners:
Recognize that a mistake has been made
Be equipped with strategies that one can employ to correct the mistake.
Only when the learner can explain how they corrected the mistake and why they utilized the strategy they did to correct it are they fully engaged and an active participant in (and observer of) their own learning.
The authors of Making Thinking Visible (Ritchart et al., 2011) believe that most of what happens in the classroom isn’t necessarily learning – it’s training. And as most veteran teachers would attest, there’s certainly an element of truth to that assertion. Teachers often spend a considerable amount of time telling kids what’s important and having them practice skills – while the teaching of independent thinking skills and strategies tend to be sadly missing.
In most cases, students are ‘learning more about the subject than learning to do the subject’ (Ritchart et al., 2011). Yet if given the tools and strategies to become problem solvers and critical thinkers - and learn how to think about their thinking – students can become more metacognitive.
Going Beyond “Thinking About Thinking”
In reality, defining metacognition as ‘thinking about thinking’ is only partially correct. That definition doesn’t cover the entire process and outcome of metacognition. To be fully metacognitive, the learner must also take charge of his or her learning (Metacognition and Learning: Strategies for Instructional Design, Malamed, 2015). To better illustrate this point, Malamed separates metacognition into two processes:
Metacognition” is a two-part system
Knowledge of Cognition: knowing how you learn
Regulation of Cognition: managing when and why you choose learning strategies
In essence, she indicates it’s not simply a matter of understanding how one learns – but rather it includes the ability to employ and monitor one’s learning to ensure success and engagement in learning.
Teachers are often masters of offering students multiple strategies for learning: everything from reading strategies to rote memorization techniques. Still, a disconnect usually exists between teaching these strategies and students being able to recognize what strategies are most helpful and in which situations. Learners need to be taught to think metacognitively; it’s not something most learners do intrinsically.
Take the following acronym:
“Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”
It's used to memorize the mathematical order of operations. But did we just memorize the sentence, or are we aware of the learning technique that helps us memorize the information (learning skill: acronym)? How many of us consciously employ the use of acronyms for memorization? Students who don’t understand what strategies direct their learning are more likely to be less active, less independent, less engaged, and less metacognitive as learners (Ritchart et al., 2011).
How Teachers Can Nudge Students Toward Metacognitive Practice
To begin the process of helping students become engaged in their learning rather than passive guests on the education train, stay curious alongside them. A good starting point is to begin by asking authentic questions during instruction and discussions.
Ask questions you don’t already know the answer to
“What makes you say that?” “Can you walk me through your thinking?” “What might we try differently next time?”
That’s no small task, mind you. But asking questions to which the teacher does not already know the answer is a powerful technique to building a classroom culture that feels intellectually engaging (Ritchart et al., 2011). Teachers can facilitate the learning of metacognitive strategies by using Socratic questioning strategies when asking the student to think about his or her thinking.
Don't be a sage on the stage. Be a guide on the side
Ultimately, instructor questions should push students further with a focus on interpretative and self-analysis type questions.
What does that tell you then? How might they feel if that happened?
This juxtaposition essentially places the student in the lead role while the instructor assumes more of a ‘guide’ position in learning. It’s a difficult transition for some teachers to move from the ‘sage on the stage’ to the ‘guide on the side,’ but this is precisely what needs to occur to drive advanced understanding in learners (Ritchart et al., 2011).
Utilize Socratic questioning strategies
The classroom must change from delivering answers to evoking inquiry. Ask powerful questions that drive students away from parroting facts, and toward evaluating their own reasoning:
“How did you arrive at that conclusion?” “What would you try if that didn’t work?”
With Socratic questioning, the teacher isn’t pushing the student down the path of learning. Rather, by assuming a lead role in their own learning, the student becomes actively engaged. The student is now in control of understanding not only the content but also how and why the student understands and synthesizes the content.
The end goal of metacognition? Students become independent thinkers and problem-solvers across the board in all aspects of their lives, not just in the classroom.
Student engagement can be defined in innumerable ways depending upon the learning setting.
How Student Devices Impact Metacognition
when students constantly bounce between learning tasks and whatever the algorithm thinks they should see next, they lose perspective on how they’re thinking in the first place.
Metacognition is essentially the ability to reflect on how you learn, what’s working, what isn’t. It's the foundation for becoming an intentional learner. But that quiet, inner dialogue can’t compete with pings, pop-ups, and a thousand dopamine breadcrumbs. If we’re not careful, the very tools meant to "enhance learning" can slowly train students out of noticing how they learn at all.
Though the objective is to develop independent thinkers and problem solvers, those skills and the level of self-discipline needed to develop those skills can take time for students to master.
Want to Build Independent Thinkers?
Let's be real, we all want students to stay engaged, but constant digital noise isn’t something teachers should have to manage solo (or with blunt tools that punish instead of guide).
That’s where AI Classroom management platforms like Deledao’s ActiveInstruct come in, which uses InstantIAI™ to give real-time insights that are even context-aware. This helps educators redirect, not just restrict.
Best of all, it's all automated, giving teachers time back, so they can focus on what matters. It's like having an extra set of eyes, but quieter.
