Touted as one of the most cost-effective ways to improve learning, Metacognition is often a hot topic in education. Research suggests that it can add up to 7 months of extra learning for students. But is the use of Metacognition appropriate for students of all ages?
Specifically, at what age do metacognitive skills develop in students, and how can we use this information to maximise the metacognitive gains they make? Read on for:
- A quick recap of Metacognition
- What research says about the development of metacognitive skills
- Strategies to develop Metacognition in students, regardless of age
What is Metacognition?
Metacognition refers to a student’s ability to independently evaluate their thought processes and select appropriate strategies for their goals. Critically, students must reflect on how they organize their thoughts and how this affects their learning abilities.
Given the host of benefits Metacognition provides for students, it is important that we get them to develop metacognitive skills. To this end, is there an appropriate age at which students can start working on their Metacognition, and if so, what age would this be?
The development of Metacognition
One recent study analysed students’ use of metacognitive skills in the subjects of Maths and History over a 3-year period from age 13 to 15 years. Let’s take a look at some of their main findings:
Metacognition has a unique impact on performance
Across the ages of 13 to 15 years, the frequent use of good quality metacognitive skills improved students’ learning performance more than intellectual ability alone. This shows that metacognitive skills are important for learning and help students perform better in school.
Metacognitive skills become more generalised over time
Initially, students’ metacognitive skills were tailored toward specific subjects like Maths and History. But as they got older, these skills became more general and could be used in different situations.
Metacognition development is non-linear
While students’ metacognitive skills developed from age 13 to 14 years, they actually decreased in quantity and quality in the following year. This suggests that Metacognition does not grow proportionately with students’ ages, and that the development of metacognitive skills follows an unpredictable pattern.
This may not seem ideal, but it is actually quite normal in skill development. In fact, while there may be temporary advances and declines in students’ metacognitive abilities in the short term, evidence indicates that Metacognition generally improves in the long term.
How can you support students’ development of Metacognition?
Based on the results of the study above, here are three ways in which you can help develop your students’ metacognitive skills:
1. Encourage the regular use of high quality Metacognitive skills
Regularly practicing metacognitive skills is important for learning, but it is not enough to fully benefit from them. Instead, you could challenge your students to work on using higher quality metacognitive skills for better results. For example, instead of only paraphrasing parts of a text, you could encourage students to come up with their own summaries and to make inferences while they read the text.
2. Apply Metacognitive skills across multiple subjects
Initially, students may focus on developing metacognitive skills that are specific to a particular subject. Encouraging them to apply these skills to various other tasks and subjects can help students see how specific metacognitive skills can be applied to other areas, potentially providing more opportunities for them to practice Metacognition.
3. Expect failures and regressions
The development of Metacognition is non-linear, which implies that regressions in learning are actually quite normal. As such, there is no need for immediate correction. Instead, continuously encourage your students to explore their metacognitive skills further. Additionally, taking a long-term view of learning can be helpful, as you are less likely to be bogged down by natural declines in your students’ abilities.
Final thoughts
Teaching students metacognitive skills can help them become more independent learners. Specifically, Metacognition can encourage students to reflect on their current learning strategies, self-organise their thoughts, and devise an improved approach to achieve their goals. By leveraging Cognitive Science research, we can better understand how Metacognition develops as students age. This way, we are in a better position to align teaching strategies to equip students with effective metacognitive strategies.
