Metacognition in the Primary Classroom

A practical guide to helping children understand how they learn best

Peter Tarrant, Deborah Holt

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317552567
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Current trends in education suggest that pupils should have more responsibility for their own learning, but how can they if they don't understand the what, the why and the how? This practical guide explores the idea that a metacognitive approach enables pupils to develop skills for lifelong learning. If pupils can identify the what, the why, and the how of their learning, they can begin to formulate strategies for overcoming challenges and for continuous improvement. In this book, the authors truly engage with research into the link between metacognition and learning, and the idea that if you can effectively articulate your thoughts and strategies regarding how you learn, you might then be in a better position to take actions in order to improve and to be able to learn best. An appendix of useful resources is also included, which offers a range of activities surrounding the language of learning, reflection and metacognition, as well essential advice on how to develop metacognition in the early years (4-8), middle years (8-10), and upper years (10-13). Metacognition in the Primary Classroom demonstrates how important it is for children to be well-enough informed to play an active role in learning better. Having the language skills to talk about your learning, and the opportunity to share ideas and strategies with others, enables all concerned to explore and develop approaches in order to learn better. This book is a crucial read for anyone interested in ensuring that pupils take an active role in their own learning.

1 What and why

A look at theory and rationale

DOI: 10.4324/9781315731636-2

This chapter seeks to answer the following question: What is metacognition and why is it worth investing time and energy in developing metacognitive skills in children when there are so many other pressures in the primary classroom? The chapter starts with a definition of metacognition, drawing from some of the key literature in the field. Reference to classroom practice is used to illustrate what the theory actually might look like in practice. This is followed by discussion of the benefits of metacognition to the child, the teacher and the school as a whole.

Introduction – What is metacognition?

Metacognition is the knowledge of cognitive processes (Galton 2006). Metacognitive knowledge is defined as what we know about ourselves as a thinker and learner. It is important in education because such self-knowledge can be used not only to inform and support action, but also because it underpins our concept and identity as a thinker and a learner (Desautel 2009).

In the classroom, metacognitive knowledge equates to the children knowing themselves as learners; having an understanding of how they learn; and being more aware of the processes and actions that they use during learning or to achieve the learning outcome of a lesson. This book works on the premise that understanding how they learn helps a child to be able to learn better, particularly, but not only, if they face a challenge.

The benefits to pupils will be discussed in more detail later, but it is helpful at this point to explain in what way a metacognitive approach can support learning. Making explicit what is actually going on during a learning activity can help deepen the understanding of the intended learning, making it more secure. For example, it may help a child who struggles to sort and classify materials in science or shapes or numbers in maths to understand exactly what processes are involved in sorting. To the unaware, sorting and classifying may look like some magic, rather random process that goes on inside someone's head. Taking a metacognitive approach to sorting and classifying would involve breaking down the process to find out the unobservable steps. The stages in sorting and classifying are often part of a sequence of lessons in the primary classroom, but does the teacher always help the children to see the relevance of these stages and how they support classification? The children are faced with a series of materials that they have to sort according to a chosen criterion. The first step is to look carefully and observe the features of the materials. The children may also use other senses to explore. It is helpful if they are encouraged to voice the features identified. They might touch or smell them, for example, and say, ‘It feels rough. It smells like the sea’. The children need to be aware that they are looking carefully, using their senses, describing or explaining. The next step in sorting is to compare or look for similarities and differences in these features. They will need to think carefully, often they will have to remember prior learning or, if classifying, look up and find out the criteria for a particular material, shape or set of numbers – such as checking what a makes a prime number. They then have to decide which of these to use as their criteria for sorting. In summary, in those often brief moments between being given a set of objects to sort and the final set of groupings, a child will

• observe;
• use their sense to explore;
• identify the features;
• think;
• remember other learning;
• sometimes check information or find out more;
• choose how to sort – which features or characteristics to use.

Afterwards they will be expected to

• explain their thinking;
• justify their choice.

Metacognition in the primary classroom involves placing emphasis on these many and often hidden processes, making them more explicit for the child. In this way, the child is finding out about how they learn in such a way that it will also support future learning. Chapter 6 explains how activities involving sorting can be used as a route into developing metacognition.

In becoming more aware of the ‘how’ of learning, pupils can then see that they do not always learn in the same way and that different lessons, disciplines or activities might require a different set of skills. They will also discover which learning processes and skills they do well and those in which they have more difficulty or less enthusiasm.

Whilst there may be similarities between the skill sets and processes involved in different areas of the primary curriculum, there are also transferable skills. As a child begins to become more aware of how they learn best, they should be able to transfer a skill from one subject area in which they feel confident, such as maths, to another in which they struggle. For example, they might be aware that when solving a maths problem they may try out one way, consider the sense or check their work and then try again in a different way. Such an approach might also support them in their writing. They might realise that it is okay to try writing a sentence or paragraph, reread to check the writing and then have another go (or redraft) if it is not what they wanted. Learning that trial and error, trying out different ways, checking and revisiting are skills used across learning can increase their competence as a learner.

Chapters 5–8 explore age-specific approaches to embedding metacognition into daily classroom practice. Metacognitive ability changes with age (Flavell et al. 1995). However, these chapters can be used flexibly as metacognitive skills may depend more on experience than age, making the teacher's role crucial to the process (Fisher 1995). For this reason, the introductory metacognition lesson ‘Guess My Rule’, included in Chapter 6, could be used with children of any age. An explicit focus on metacognition by the teacher is required in order to raise awareness and metacognitive ability levels in their pupils. This is discussed further in Chapter 2.

Metacognition in the primary classroom

It is argued that an integral part of a teacher's role is to provide children with the opportunities to talk and think about their learning (Alexander 2004; Bruner 1960). Talk in the classroom should be valued by teachers, for its own merit and for the opportunity to develop the thinking that arises when talking about learning: ‘The construction of knowledge requires that people put some things into words … so that they can be shared’ (Mercer 1995: 67). Once a child begins to put thoughts into words, the teacher can see what is going on for that child, what they are doing and how they are doing it. The teacher can model and support this process by using ‘think alouds’ in which the thoughts are voiced.

For example when spelling a word, the teacher could voice some of the thinking a child might be doing. ‘How do I spell shine? I know it begins with a sh. I also need an eye sound, I think that means using a magic e. Sh and then in with e makes an eye sound. S H I N E.’

Not only does the voicing of thoughts enhance learning, but once voiced these thoughts are visible to the teacher who can use this knowledge to support and further learning: ‘practical hands-on activity can gain new depths of meaning if it is talked about’ (Mercer 1995: 13). This book works on the premise that through talking about the process of learning children will not only become more aware of themselves as learners, better able to self-evaluate, but they will also deepen their understanding of what they have been learning. In this way, they take greater ownership of their learning which, it can be argued, is the key to success: ‘The goal of education … is the facilitation of change and learning. The only person who is educated is the person who has learned how to learn’ (Freiberg and Rogers 1990: 104).

Much has been written about metacognition and the significance of ‘thinking about thinking’ (Flavell 1979). A wide body of literature supports the view that there is value in making the processes of learning more explicit. Fisher (1995) summarises a number of ‘teaching to learn’ cognitive strategies identified in recent research, including ‘discussing’ and ‘co-operative learning’, as among those that help develop metacognition. Feuerstein (1980) shows how adults can play a key role in encouraging this awareness in children. Nisbet and Shucksmith (1986) talk of a set of six strategies for successful learning which involve asking questions, planning, monitoring, checking, revising and self-testing. However, ‘thinking about thinking’ is not enough. Learning depends on conversations, on the negotiation of personal meanings through dialogue with others, leading to understanding (Harri-Augstein and Thomas 1991). The approach to metacognition advocated in this book is intended to make the language of learning an explicit and established part of classroom practice, with an emphasis on how children learn embedded in the planning.

The aim of this book is to support children not only to talk about their learning in appropriate language but to have a deeper understanding of the many and varied ways in which they learn. The combination of dialogue and metacognition should result in rich effective learning conversations and children who understand not only what but how they learn.

Language and thought are intimately related, and the extent and manner of children's cognitive development depend to a considerable degree on the forms and contexts of language which they have encountered and used.

(Alexander 2004: 18)

The subsequent chapters in this book will go into greater detail on how the primary class teacher can support pupils’ metacognitive development. Before that, we will take a closer look at why a metacognitive approach is beneficial to learning in the primary school.

Benefits for the pupils

Metacognition is about the how of learning rather than the what. Children often talk about what they did. An emphasis on how they achieved the lesson outcomes or how they approached the task puts the emphasis back onto the child as a learner. It helps them to learn about themselves as a learner whilst also developing the intended skills, attitudes and conceptual knowledge of a lesson. Such metacognitive awareness can only help them to be better at learning. Knowledge of how they learn and the understanding of the thought processes in which they engage allow the children eventually to become ‘professional learners’ who think and act as learners (Galton 2006; Lahelma and Gordon 1997).

As we shall explain in Chapter 2 ‘The Language of Learning’, in order to move from talking about what they do to being able to discuss how they work children need to develop a learning vocabulary so that they have the language of learning. Being able to articulate their thinking and engage in discussion about learning is of benefit to the children, providing an important foundation on which they can build during their secondary school education and without which, according to Sammons et al. (1995), they will have a serious handicap. Self-evaluation is an important skill in the workplace and in all learning. Having the tools to make learning more visible and more readily articulated will enable pupils to develop this essential transferable life skill.

As children develop a greater understanding of how they learn and begin to apply this knowledge to other learning, their self-esteem can be improved and barriers to learning can sometimes be identified and overcome. In Chapters 6 and 7 we talk about transferable skills and how to make a child aware of the transferability of skills they are using in a specific lesson. When a child becomes aware that they have the ability to persevere, solve problems, concentrate and try different ways in a sports activity or a console game they may then have the confidence to apply these skills in other settings. For example, Kirsty always panicked when it came to maths. The shutters came down and she was overwhelmed with the feeling of ‘I can't do it’. A focus on the skills and processes involved in maths and a consideration of other pa...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table Of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 What and why: a look at theory and rationale
• 2 The language of learning
• 3 Reflection and metacognition
• 4 Developing metacognitive processes
• 5 Foundations for metacognition
• 6 Developing a metacognitive approach in the early years (ages 4–8)
• 7 Developing a metacognitive approach in the middle years (ages 8–10)
• 8 Developing a metacognitive approach in the upper years (ages 10–13)
• 9 A whole school approach
• 10 Becoming better learners
• Appendices
• Resource index
• 1 Introducing metacognition in your school
• 2 Resources for learning conversations
• 3 Resources for profiling the language
• 4 Resources for staff development
• 5 Resources for the language of learning
• 6 Other resources
• Index