Mighty Metacognition

For nearly four decades, 研究已经证明了元认知在学习过程中的重要性, 然而，很少有人关注为学生和教师提供一种方法来访问明确教授元认知技能的工具. “Metacognition is an essential, but often neglected, 21世纪教育的一个组成部分，教学生如何学习”(威尔逊) & Conyers, 2016, p. 7). Coined by Flavell (1979), 元认知可以被定义为“一个人对自己的认知过程或与之相关的任何事情的认识”(p. 232). Put more simply, it involves thinking about thinking as one plans, monitors, and evaluates their learning (Baker, 2002; Schraw & Moshman, 1995). As a lifelong learner and passionate educator, I believe metacognition is the greatest gift you can give your students; it allows them to take ownership of their learning journey.

尽管元认知和与之相关的概念可能非常复杂, the action of using the skills is somewhat common, even among young children (Dunlosky & Metcalfe, 2009; Kuhn, 2000). In fact, many students use metacognition without knowing it. Those who can use metacognition, regardless of their awareness, have a good understanding of how they learn. For example, 具有高元认知技能的学生能够意识到并反思他们所知道的和不知道的.e. strengths and areas for improvement). 元认知帮助学生推进他们的学习经历，并最终驱动他们的大脑(戈麦斯), 2018). 然而，元认知，像大多数技能一样，需要一些时间来发展、练习和提高.

So, the first question we must ask becomes: 我们如何才能始终如一地将元认知技能融入现代课堂?

Well for starters, teachers can model their own thinking process, scaffold their students' thinking processes, 并提供机会让学生注意到自己的想法(塔兰特) & Holt, 2016; Wilson & Conyers, 2016). 当学生开始“监控和指导自己的进步”时，他们就可以开始避免使用无效的方法, ask questions such as ‘What am I doing now?’, ‘Is it getting me anywhere?’, or ‘What else could I be doing instead?“这种普遍的元认知水平[或能力]帮助学生避免坚持无效的方法”(珀金斯) & Salomon, 1989, p. 1). 教学生问问题和对好奇心的热爱是一个很好的开始. 事实上，我认为我们的学生问的问题应该是他们老师的两倍.

元认知绝对可以成为所有学生日常生活的一部分. 虽然明确和完整的课程尚未创建, 在课堂上有很多很好的工具可以促进深入思考. Some involve hierarchical levels of knowledge (i.e., Bloom’s Taxonomy, Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, Depth of Knowledge), 而另一些则包括与深度思考有关的常规或习惯(如.e.，元认知教学框架，思维习惯，深度和复杂性图标). Gomez (2018) developed an intervention, the Drive My Brain Model, to help make students' metacognition visible to students. Click here for a free sample/download. Whatever teachers choose to use, 课堂环境中的元认知应该包括“儿童将自己视为学习者”, having an understanding of how they learn, 并且更加意识到他们在学习过程中使用的过程和行动，以达到课程的结果”(塔兰特) & Holt, 2016,p. 1).

一旦我们找到了在课堂上整合元认知的系统， what do we do next? In other words, how can teachers measure students' metacognitive skills? 更重要的是，我们如何知道我们所做的工作是有效的.e. improving students' metacognition)?

Thankfully, with the amount of research that has been conducted, there are tools we can use to measure metacognitive skills. My favorite is called the Jr. Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, or MAI for short.

最初的元认知意识量表(MAI)由Schrew和Dennison于1994年创建. 这项评估主要针对的是大学水平的学生. Sperling et al. (2002)创造了一个儿童版本，他们将其命名为Jr. Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). 它的目的是作为一个前后评估，以确定学生的元认知意识和调节的变化(希望是增加). Generally, 这与元认知干预计划的实施一起使用(Sperling等人)., 2002).

There are two versions of the Jr. MAI，一个是三年级到五年级，另一个是六年级到九年级. Both versions, as you can see below, 包含学生用李克特量表回答的一组陈述. Some statements relate to metacognitive awareness (i.e. 意识到你所知道的以及你如何思考或处理信息), while others relate to metacognitive regulation (i.e.(对监视和调节思维过程的控制). To date, over 100 students have used these. 它是相当容易管理和有效的元认知评估(Sperling等人)., 2002). You can access the two versions here.

Metacognition can help students grow through their learning, rather than just going through the steps. 最好的策略是引导学生发现他们所知道的.e. declarative knowledge), how they use what they know (i.e. procedural knowledge), when they use what they know (i.e. 条件知识)，甚至他们为什么使用他们所知道的. 它给学生一个更深刻和明确的目标，作为一个学生和终身学习者!

 

References

Baker, L. (2002). Metacognition in comprehension instruction. In Block, C. C., Ed, & Pressley, M., Ed. 理解指导:以研究为基础的解决读写教学问题的最佳实践(页). 65-79). New York, NY: Guilford Publications, Inc.

Dunlosky, J., & Metcalfe, J. (2009). Metacognition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Gomez, K. (2018). Drive My Brain Model. Kuhn, D. (2000). Metacognitive development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9(5), 178-181.

Perkins, D.N., & Salomon, G. (1989) Are cognitive skills context-bound? Educational Researcher, 18(1), 16-25. Schraw, G., & Moshman, D. (1995). Metacognitive theories. Educational Psychology Review, 7(4), 351-371. doi: 10.1007/BF02212307

Sperling, A., Howard, B. C., Miller, L.A., & Murphy, C. (2002). 儿童知识的测量与认知的调节. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27. Tarrant, P. & Holt, D. (2016). 小学课堂中的元认知:帮助儿童理解他们如何学习的实用指南. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Wilson, D., & Conyers, M. (2016). 教学生驱动他们的大脑:元认知策略、活动和课程理念. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

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Dr. Gómez de Cervantes

Biography

Always wanting to be in education, Dr. Gómez de Cervantes于2011年获得CSUN的文学学士学位和多学科教学证书. She continued her education at Concordia, where she earned a Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction in 2105, a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership in 2018, and a second Master of Arts in Education, Administration, postdoc in 2021.

Dr. Kaylie M. Gómez de Cervantes目前是洛杉矶的副校长. 在进入行政部门之前，她在小学和中学都教了10年书. In addition to her TK-12 work, Dr. Gómez de Cervantes曾担任Concordia University Irvine和California State University的兼职教员, Northridge. She has also served as an induction coach, on dissertation committees, 同时也是加州大学欧文分校写作项目的研究员. Gómez德塞万提斯一直热衷于深入思考，她的论文研究围绕着元认知. You may read her full dissertation here.

Dr. Gómez de Cervantes与她的丈夫Jose和他们的狗Bagheera住在洛杉矶. They are expecting their first child this November.