Is metacognition and right brain learning starting to revolutionize the way we think about learning and how we teach kids in school?

Hi Liana,

Most teachers know that if students reflect on how they learn, they become better learners. For example, some students may think and process information best in a quiet library, while others may focus better surrounded by familiar noise or music. Learning strategies that work for math may be different from those applied in the study of a foreign language. For some, it takes more time to understand biology than chemistry. With greater awareness of how they acquire knowledge, students learn to regulate their behavior to optimize learning. They begin to see how their strengths and weaknesses affect how they perform. The ability to think about one's thinking is what neuroscientists call metacognition.

Strategies That Improve Metacognition

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  Teach students how their brains are wired for growth.
  The beliefs that students adopt about learning and their own brains will affect their performance.

  
  


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  Give students practice recognizing what they don't understand.
  The act of being confused and identifying one's lack of understanding is an important part of developing self-awareness. Take time at the end of a challenging class to ask, "What was most confusing about the material we explored today?"

  
  


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  Provide opportunities to reflect on coursework.
  Higher-order thinking skills are fostered as students learn to recognize their own cognitive growth. Questions that help this process might include:

  
  

Before this course, I thought earthquakes were caused by _. Now I understand them to be the result of _.
How has my thinking about greenhouse gases changed since taking this course?

• Have students keep learning journals.
  One way to help students monitor their own thinking is through the use of personal learning journals. Assign weekly questions that help students reflect on how rather than what they learned.

Encourage creative expression through whatever journal formats work best for learners, including mind maps, blogs, wikis, diaries, lists, e-tools, etc.

Use a "wrapper" to increase students' monitoring skills.
A "wrapper" is a short intervention that surrounds an existing activity and integrates a metacognitive practice. Before a lecture, for example, give a few tips about active listening.

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  Consider essay vs. multiple-choice exams.
  Research shows that students use lower-level thinking skills to prepare for multiple-choice exams, and higher-level metacognitive skills to prepare for essay exams. While it is less time consuming to grade multiple-choice questions, even the addition of several short essay questions can improve the way students reflect on their learning to prepare for test taking.

  
  


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  Facilitate reflexive thinking.
  Reflexivity is the metacognitive process of becoming aware of our biases -- prejudices that get in the way of healthy development. Teachers can create a classroom culture for deeper learning and reflexivity by encouraging dialogue that challenges human and societal biases.

  
  

You can read the full article in:http://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-metacognition-in-classroom-marilyn-price-mitchell

Maybe this youtube video can help you too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TlHkkGJjlE

Best!

It definitely has been brought up and is encouraged to be put in the classrooms. Unfortunately it would depend on the teacher and some schools are ran by organizations where the law makers want the core curriculum and that's all they demand and this created heavy pressure for educators. So great educators still find a way to adapt to students on their own learning style and accommodate that so I would say yes for the most part.

:)

Troy

Hi, Liana: seems as if you've already got some good advice on this topic. The only thing I have to add is a resource that might be useful as a foundation started by George Lucas of Star Wars fame. Check it out: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-learning-meaningful-and-lasting-david-cutler

Good luck and keep asking these good questions!!