Metacognitive Knowledge and Skills
Metacognition is simply described as thinking about thinking (Kearsley, 1994). It is more complexly defined as one's "knowledge of their own learning and cognitive processes and their consequent regulation of those processes to enhance learning and memory" (Ormrod, 1999, p.319). The better a person is at metacognitive skills the higher their learning and achievement will be. The following will describe and discuss skills and knowledge included in metacognition. The class text talks about six skills or knowledge that is involved. They are:fÊ Being aware of what one's own learning and memory capabilities are and of what learning tasks can be accomplished fÊ Knowing which learning strategies are effective and which are not fÊ Planning an approach to a learning task that is likely to be successful fÊ Using effective learning strategies fÊ Monitoring one's present knowledge state fÊ Knowing effective strategies for retrieval of previously stored information Aware of Learning and Memory Capabilities Someone can learn better when they are aware of their learning and memory capabilities and the tasks that can realistically be accomplished. They can realize that it is highly unlikely to learn everything in
fÊ Knowing effective strategies for retrieval of previously stored information We can use the example of studying in the library when you know you learn better in a quiet setting. Knowledge about one's own learning ability and uniqueness helps in planning effective studying and work loads. Some students can handle taking classes on only Tuesday and Thursday, but if a student has trouble sitting through the hour and fifteen minute classes then they know that they could not handle taking only those classes. Planning is important to learning because not planning can lead to stress and more work then can be accomplished. a 200 page reading assignment in one night (Ormrod, 1999, p.320). If they know that they can memorize definitions easily then they can focus less time on that then something they have difficulty with. A person, who is aware of their learning capabilities, may know that they learn better in a quiet setting. This person will then know that studying in the library will be more productive then studying in their dorm room. When all these skills and knowledge are used in conjunction with one another studying and learning is more efficient and less time consuming. It saves time when someone knows which learning strategies are effective and which are not. This will make studying more effective and less time consuming. Many college students highlight which is believed to not be an effective studying technique. It is more effective to take notes of key point or write a summary of what has been read. Another thing common among college students is cramming, they stay up late the night before a test and try and cram in as much study time as they can. This again is not an effective technique;
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Approximate Word count = 1161
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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