Metacognitive Monitoring

Metacognitive monitoring means keeping track of our own thinking and other cognitive processes as they happen. It involves focusing attention on any other cognitive process that is ongoing.

Working on a problem

If a student thinks about their progress while they are working on the problem, then they are engaged in metacognitive monitoring.

Projects

Learners are also monitoring when they think about how much progress they have made with a more gradual task such as a project.

Time management

As well as their progress, learners need to monitor the available time.
So, for example, if a learner has ten questions to answer during a 30-minute test, they can check the time midway through, and see whether they need to speed up or not.
As with other skills, this awareness can improve with practice.

Emotions

Learners can also be encouraged to monitor their own emotions and motivation, for example during a difficult activity.
This can lead to a group discussion about rewards or about breaking down complex tasks into manageable chunks.

Performance

To avoid too much focus on performance rather than learning, your students could be encouraged to test themselves on new learning as a homework task, and to repeat this self-testing after a delay of a few days or weeks.
It is simple to organise but very effective form of homework.

1Basic Concepts About Metacognition

1.1Thinking About Thinking

1.1.1Metacognition & Metamemory

2Practical Implications for Learners

2.1Practical Implications for Learners

2.1.1Planning & Learning Strategies

2.1.2Beliefs & Self-estimates

3Areas of Metacognition

3.1Areas of Metacognition

3.1.1Metacognitive Knowledge

3.1.2Metacognitive Monitoring

3.1.3Metacognitive Control

4Teacher Metacognition

4.1Teacher Metacognition

4.1.1Teacher Metacognition

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