Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive Process PDF

Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive Process By: Maria Rita D. Lucas, Ph.D. Brenda B. Corpuz, Ph.D. Part 1 – Introduction Module 1 Metacognition “If you teach a person what to learn, you are preparing that person for the past. If you teach a person how to learn,...

Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive Process By: Maria Rita D. Lucas, Ph.D. Brenda B. Corpuz, Ph.D. Part 1 – Introduction Module 1 Metacognition “If you teach a person what to learn, you are preparing that person for the past. If you teach a person how to learn, you are preparing that person for the future” - Cyril Houle  Metacognition is such a long word. What does it mean? You will find this out in this module.  It is the first module so you get to understand it and apply it from the very beginning of this course.  Most probably what you just did while answering the questionnaire and analyzing your scores made you to stopped for a moment and thought about how you study and learn or it helps to confirm your study and learning habits.  Perhaps you were reminded of your strengths and weaknesses, then you wrote what it is that you can do to improve your study habits.  Hopefully, this will help you start to learn more effectively and in effect passed these on to your students in the future.   The most important goal of education is to teach students how to learn on “If you teach their own. The quotation on the side a person what to learn, you margin stresses this. are preparing that person for the past.  It is vital that students acquire the If you teach skills of how to learn; and that these a person how to skills enable them to learn not just learn, you are preparing while they are in school but for a that person for lifetime. the future”  This entails a deeper awareness of how one processes information, the ability to evaluate his own thinking and to think of ways to make his own learning process more effective. All these involve metacognition.  Just, what is metacognition? This appears to be such a high sounding word that some people are confused about what it is about even before they actually spend time to find out what it really means.  It is not at all that complicated. In fact we do metacognitiye activities so often in our daily lives.  When you sense that you are experiencing some difficulty with a topic you are studying, and you try out different strategies to learn better, you are practicing metacognition.  The word maybe long, seems to be so intangible but it is worth focusing on because it can help you to be a more successful learner.  When you become a teacher, it can also help your students to learn more efficiently and effectively.  The term "metacognition" was coined by John Flavell.   According to Flavell (1979, 1987), metacognition consists of both metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive experiences or Metacognation, regulation. simply put, is “thinking about thinking” or learning how to  Metacognition, simply put, is learn”. "thinking about thinking" or "learning how to learn.  It refers to higher order thinking which involves active awareness and control over the cognitive processes engaged in learning.  Metacognitive knowledge refers to acquired knowledge about cognitive processes, knowledge that can be used to control cognitive processes.  Flavell further divides metacognitive knowledge into three categories: knowledge of person variables, task variables and strategy variables.  Person Variables. This includes how one views himself as a learner and thinker.  Knowledge of person variables refers to knowledge about how human beings learn and process information, as well as individual knowledge of one's own learning processes.  For example, you may be aware that you study more effectively if you study very early in the morning than late in the evening, and that you work better in a quiet library rather than at home where there are a lot of things that make it hard for you to focus and concentrate.  Task Variables. Knowledge of task variables includes knowledge about the nature of the task as well as the type of processing demands that it will place upon the individual.  It is about knowing what exactly needs to be accomplished, gauging its difficulty and knowing the kind of effort it will demand from you.  For example, you may be aware that it will take more time for you to read and comprehend a book in educational philosophy than it would for you to read and comprehend a novel.  Strategy Variables. Knowledge of strategy variables involves awareness of the strategy you are using to learn a topic and evaluating whether this strategy is effective.  If you think your strategy is not working, then you may think of various strategies and try out one to see if it will help you learn better.  Terms like meta-attention and meta-memory are related to strategy variables.  Meta-attention is the awareness of specific strategies so that you can keep your attention focused on the topic or task at hand.  Meta-memory is your awareness of memory strategies that work best for you.  These three variables all interact as you learn and apply metacognition. Omrod, includes the following in the practice of metacogniton: Knowing the limits of one's own learning and memory capacities Knowing what learning tasks one can realistically accomplish within a certain amount of time Knowing which learning strategies are effective and which are not Planning an approach to a learning task that is likely to be successful Using effective learning strategies to process and learn new material  Monitoring one's own knowledge and comprehension. In other words, knowing when information has been successfully learned and when its not Using effective strategies for retrieval of previously stored information.  Knowledge is said to be metacognitive if it is keenly used in a purposeful manner to ensure that a goal is met.  For example, a student may use knowledge in planning how to do homework: "I know that I (person variable) have more difficulty with my science assignments than language arts  and find sibika easier (task variable), so I will do my homework in science first, then language arts, then sibika. (strategy variable)."  If one is only aware about one's cognitive strengths or weaknesses and the nature of the task but does not use this to guide or oversee his own  learning, then no metacognition has been applied.  Huitt believes that metacognition includes the ability to ask and answer the following types of questions: What do I know about this subject, topic, issue? Do I know what do I need to know?  Do I know where I can go to get some information, knowledge? How much time will I need to learn this? What are some strategies and tactics that I can use to learn this? Did I understand what I just heard, read or saw?  How will I know if I am learning at an appropriate rate? How can I spot an error if I make one? How should I revise my plan if it is not working to my expectations/satisfaction?  Metacognition and Development Researches such as that of Fang and Cox showed that metacognitive awareness was evident in preschoolers and in students as young as eight years old. Children already may have the capacity to be more aware and reflective of their own learning. However, not many have been taught and encouraged to apply metacognition. The challenge then to future teachers like us is to integrate more activities that would build our students', capacity to reflect on their own characteristics as learners, the tasks they are to do and the strategies that they can use to learn. Below are some examples of teaching strategies to develop metacognition: Have students monitor their own learning and thinking (Example: have student monitor a peer's learning/ thinking/ behaving in dyad). Have students learn study strategies (e.g., SQ3R, SQ4R). Have students make predictions about information to be presented next based on what they have read Have students relate ideas to existing knowledge structures.  (Important to have relevant knowledge structures well learned) Have students develop questions; ask questions of themselves, about what's going on around them. (Have you asked a good question today?) Help students to know when to ask for help, (must be able to self- monitor; require students to show how they have attempted to deal with the problem of their own) Show students how to transfer knowledge, attitudes, values, skills to other situations or tasks.  Novice and Expert Learners In the last twenty years, cognitive psychologists have studied the distinctions among learners in the manner they absorb or process information. They were able to differentiate expert learners from novice learners. A very important factor that separated these two types of learners mentioned is metacognition. Expert learners employed metacognitive strategies in learning. They were more aware of their learning process as they read, studied and did problem solving.  Expert learners monitored their learning and consequently adjusted their strategies to make learning more effective.  The table below shows the difference between a novice learner and an expert learner.  Let’s stop and pause a while. Are we novice learners? Or expert ones? Let us strive to apply the concepts of metacognition in our world of learning, and for sure we will be on your way to be expert learners, probably an expert teachers, too! Sya nawa!!!  Part 1 – Introduction Module 2 Learning-Centered Psychological Principles (LCP) LEARNER-CENTERED PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES  The Learner-Centered Psychological Principles were put together by the American Psychological Association.  The following 14 psychological principles pertain to the learner and the learning process. The 14 principles have the following aspects: They focus on psychological factors that are primarily internal to and under the control of the learner rather than conditioned habits or physiological factors. However, the principles also attempt to acknowledge external environment or contextual factors that interact with these internal factors. The principles are intended to deal holistically with learners in the context of real-world learning situations. Thus,  they are best understood as an organized set of principles; no principle should be viewed in isolation.  The 14 principles are divided into those referring to (1) cognitive and metacognitive, (2) motivational and affective, (3) developmental and social, and (4) individual difference factors influencing learners and learning. Finally, the principles are intended to apply to all learners — from children, to teachers, to administrators, to parents, and to community members involved in our educational system. Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors 1. Nature of the learning process The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an intentional process of constructing meaning from information and experience. There are different types of learning processes, for example, habit formation in motor learning; and learning that involves the generation of knowledge, or cognitive skills and learning strategies. Learning in schools emphasizes the use of intentional processes that students can use to construct meaning from information, experiences, and their own thoughts and beliefs. Successful learners are active, goal-directed, self-regulating, and assume personal responsibility for contributing to their own learning. 2. Goals of the learning process The successful learner, over time and with support and instructional guidance, can create meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge. The strategic nature of learning requires students to be goal-directed. To construct useful representations of knowledge and to acquire the thinking and learning strategies necessary for continued learning success across the life span, students must generate and pursue personally relevant goals. Initially, students' short-term goals and learning may be sketchy in an area, but over time their understanding can be refined by filling gaps, resolving inconsistencies, and deepening their understanding of the subject matter so that they can reach longer-term goals. Educators can assist learners in creating meaningful learning goals that are consistent with both personal and  educational aspirations and interests. 3. Construction of knowledge The successful learner can link new information with existing knowledge in meaningful ways. Knowledge widens and deepens as students continue to build links between new information and experiences and their existing knowledge base. The nature of these links can take a variety of forms, such as adding to, modifying, or reorganizing existing knowledge or skills. How these links are made or develop may vary in different subject areas, and among students with varying talents, interests, and abilities. However, unless new knowledge becomes integrated with the learner's prior knowledge and understanding, this new knowledge remains isolated, cannot be used most effectively in new tasks, and does not transfer readily to new situations. Educators can assist learners in acquiring and integrating knowledge by a number of strategies that have been shown to be effective with learners of varying abilities, such as concept mapping and thematic organization or categorizing. 4. Strategic thinking The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and reasoning strategies to achieve complex learning goals, Successful learners use strategic thinking in their approach to learning, reasoning, problem solving, and concept learning. They understand and can use a variety of strategies to help them reach learning and performance goals, and to apply their knowledge in novel situations. They also continue to expand their repertoire of strategies by reflecting on the methods they use to see which work well for them, by receiving guided instruction and feedback, and by observing or interacting with appropriate models. Learning outcomes can be enhanced if educators assist learners in developing, applying, and assessing their strategic learning skills. 5. Thinking about thinking Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental operations facilitate creative and critical thinking. Successful learners can reflect on how they think and learn, set reasonable learning or performance goals, select potentially appropriate learning strategies or methods, and monitor their progress toward these goals. In addition, successful learners know what to do if a problem occurs or if they are not making sufficient or timely progress toward a goal. They can generate alternative methods to reach their goal (or reassess the appropriateness and utility of the goal). Instructional methods that focus on helping learners develop these higher order (metacognitive) strategies can enhance student learning and personal responsibility for learning. 6. Context of learning Learning is influenced by environmental factors, including culture, technology, and instructional practices. Learning does not occur in a vacuum. Teachers play a major interactive role with both the learner and the learning environment. Cultural or group influences on students can impact many educationally relevant variables, such as motivation, orientation toward learning, and ways of thinking. Technologies and instructional practices must be appropriate for learners' level of prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and their learning and thinking strategies. The classroom environment, particularly the degree to which it is nurturing or not, can also have significant impacts on student learning. Motivational and Affective Factors 7. Motivational and emotional influences on learning What and how much is learned is influenced by the learner's motivation. Motivation to learn, in turn, is influenced by the individual's emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of thinking. The rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs, goals, and expectations for success or failure can enhance or interfere with the learner's quality of thinking and information processing. Students' beliefs about themselves as learners and the nature of learning have a marked influence on motivation. Motivational and emotional factors also influence both the quality of thinking and information processing as well as an individual's motivation to learn. Positive emotions, such as curiosity, generally enhance motivation and facilitate learning and performance. Mild anxiety can also enhance learning and performance by focusing the learner's attention on a particular task. However, intense negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related thoughts (e.g., worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing labels) generally detract from motivation, interfere with learning, and contribute to low performance. 8. Intrinsic motivation to learn The learner's creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to motivation to learn. Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevant to personal interests, and providing for personal choice and control. Curiosity, flexible and insightful thinking, and creativity are major indicators of the learners' intrinsic  indicators of the learners' intrinsic motivation to learn, which is in large part a function of meeting basic needs to be competent and to exercise personal control. – Intrinsic motivation is facilitated on tasks that learners perceive as interesting and personally relevant and meaningful, appropriate in complexity and difficulty to the learners' abilities, and on which they believe they can succeed. Educators can encourage and support learners' natural curiosity and motivation to learn by attending to individual differences in learners' perceptions of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevance, and personal choice and control. 9. Effects of motivation on effort Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and guided practice. Without learners' motivation to learn, the willingness to exert this effort is unlikely without coercion. Effort is another major indicator of motivation to learn. The acquisition of complex knowledge and skills demands the investment of considerable learner energy and strategic effort, along with persistence over time. Educators need to be concerned with facilitating motivation by strategies that enhance learner effort and commitment to learning and to achieving high standards of comprehension and understanding. Effective strategies include purposeful learning activities, guided by practices that enhance positive emotions and intrinsic motivation to learn, and methods that increase learners' perceptions that a task  is interesting and personally relevant. Developmental and Social Factors 10. Developmental influences on learning As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for learning. Learning is most effective when differential development within and across physical, intellectual, emotional, and social domains is taken into account. Individuals learn best when material is appropriate to their developmental level and is presented in an enjoyable and interesting way. Because individual development varies across intellectual, social, emotional, and physical domains, achievement in different instructional domains may also vary. Overemphasis on one type of developmental readiness - such as reading readiness, for example - may preclude learners from demonstrating that they are  more capable in other areas of performance. – The cognitive, emotional, and social development of individual learners and how they interpret life experiences are affected by prior schooling, home, culture, and community factors. – Early and continuing parental involvement in schooling, and the quality of language interactions and two-way communications between adults and children can influence these developmental areas.  Awareness and understanding of developmental differences among children with and without emotional, physical, or intellectual disabilities, can facilitate the creation of optimal learning contexts. 11. Social influences on learning Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and communication with others. Learning can be enhanced when the learner has an opportunity to interact and to collaborate with others on instructional tasks. Learning settings that allow for social interactions, and that respect diversity, encourage flexible thinking and social competence. In interactive and collaborative instructional contexts, individuals have an opportunity for perspective taking and reflective thinking that may lead to higher levels of  cognitive, social, and moral development, as well as self-esteem. – Quality personal relationships that provide stability, trust, and caring can increase learners' sense of belonging, self-respect and self-acceptance, and provide a positive climate for learning. – Family influences, positive interpersonal support and instruction in self-motivation strategies can offset factors that interfere with optimal learning such as negative beliefs about competence in a particular  subject, high levels of test anxiety, negative sex role expectations, and undue pressure to perform well. – Positive learning climates can also help to establish the context for healthier levels of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Such contexts help learners feel safe to share ideas, actively participate in the learning process, and create a learning community. Individual Differences Factors 12. Individual differences in learning Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities for learning that are a function of prior experience and heredity. Individuals are born with and develop their own capabilities and talents. In addition, through learning and social acculturation, they have acquired their own preferences for how they like to learn and the pace at which they learn. However, these preferences are not always useful in helping learners reach their learning goals. Educators need to help students examine their learning preferences and expand or modify them, if necessary. The interaction between learner differences and curricular and environmental conditions is another key  factor affecting learning outcomes. – Educators need to be sensitive to individual differences, in general. They also need to attend to learner perceptions of the degree to which these differences are accepted and adapted to by varying instructional methods and materials. 13. Learning and diversity Learning is most effective when differences in learners' linguistic, cultural, and social backgrounds are taken into account. The same basic principles of learning, motivation, and effective instruction apply to all learners. However, language, ethnicity, race, beliefs, and socioeconomic status all can influence learning. Careful attention to these factors in the instructional setting enhances the possibilities for designing and implementing appropriate learning environments. When learners perceive that their individual differences in abilities, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences are valued, respected, and accommodated in learning tasks and contexts, levels of motivation and achievement are enhanced. 14. Standards and assessment Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the learner as well as learning progress — including diagnostic, process, and outcome assessment — are integral parts of the learning process. Assessment provides important information to both the learner and teacher at all stages of the learning process. Effective learning takes place when learners feel challenged to work towards appropriately high goals; therefore, appraisal of the learner's cognitive strengths and weaknesses, as well as current knowledge and skills, is important for the selection of instructional materials of an optimal degree of difficulty. Ongoing assessment of the learner's understanding of the curricular material can provide valuable feedback to both learners and teachers about progress toward the learning goals. Standardized assessment of learner progress and outcomes assessment provides one type of information about achievement levels both within and across individuals that can inform various types of programmatic decisions. Performance assessments can provide other sources of information about the attainment of learning outcomes.  Self-assessments of learning progress can also improve students self appraisal skills and enhance motivation and self-directed learning. Alexander and Murphy gave a summary of the 14 principles and distilled them into five areas: I. The knowledge base. One's existing knowledge serves as the foundation of all future learning. The learner's  previous knowledge will influence new learning specifically on how he represents new information, makes associations and filters new experiences. II. Strategic processing and control. Learners can develop skills to reflect and regulate their thoughts and behaviors in order to learn more effectively (metacognition). III. Motivation and affect. Factors such as intrinsic motivation (from within),  reasons for wanting to learn, personal goals and enjoyment of learning tasks all have a crucial role in the learning process. IV. Development and Individual Differences. Learning is a unique journey for each person because each learner has his own unique combination of genetic and environmental factors that influence him. IV. Situation or context. Learning happens in the context of a society as well as within an individual.