Metacognition 1Review of Metacognition: Providing Opportunities for Students to Monitor Their Own LearningMarissa L. MullenCalifornia State University, NorthridgeMetacognition 2AbstractThis paper discussed metacognition in the science classroom. Metacognitive strategies allowed students to reflect on their own learning processes. This reflection helped students understand scientific concepts, made inquiry more effective, and developed student participation in classroom discussions. The application of metacognitive strategies in an action research project was discussed. The author expected metacognition to improve student achievement, based upon research from the book How Students Learn Science in the Classroom (Donovan & Bransford, 2005).Metacognition 3Review of Metacognition: Providing Opportunities for Students to Monitor Their Own LearningMetacognition is defined as the awareness or analysis of one’s own learning or thinking processes (Merriam-Webster, 2005). In education today, teachers are encouraged to help students become more active in their learning. Instructional strategiessuch as inquiry, cooperative learning, and differentiated instruction can be used to encourage more active students; metacognition is now added to that list. Promoting students to think about themselves as learners and to contemplate and analyze their thought processes helps students learn. The book How Students Learn Science in the Classroom discussed the importanceof metacognition in helping students learn science (Donovan & Bransford, 2005). Research reported in the book has shown that metacognitive strategies help students comprehend science concepts, help students develop their roles in classroom discussions, and help students overcome misconceptions they have about scientific concepts (Donovan & Bransford, 2005). Metacognition and InquiryInquiry is a new trend in science teaching – students actively pursue knowledge ofscientific concepts, guided by the teacher. Donovan and Bransford (2005) described research showing that metacognition makes inquiry more effective. The additional metacognitive steps of “students [reflecting] on their role in inquiry . . . monitoring and critiquing [their] own claims” helped students understand the importance of learning through inquiry ((Donovan & Bransford, 2005, p.407). One lesson described in the book was about genetics and creating pedigree diagrams. Through inquiry, the studentsMetacognition 4proposed scenarios of different genetic traits and created pedigree diagrams showing howtheir trait was passed down through family generations (Donovan & Bransford, 2005). At the end of this lesson, the instructors required students to evaluate themselves in several categories – “understanding the science,” “understanding the processes of inquiry,” and “writing and communicating well” (Donovan & Bransford, 2005, p.538). These metacognitive strategies forced students to think about themselves as learners, to describe areas where they perform well and areas that can be improved.Metacognition and MisconceptionsMetacognition is also a strategy that can be used to help students overcome misconceptions. Students come into science classrooms with their own ideas about how things work. The group work and collaboration that takes place in many science classrooms not only helps students learn scientific concepts, but it teaches students to “search through [their] mental files for what is relevant” (Donovan & Bransford, 2005, p.579). The book described many scenarios of classroom discussions that were guided byteachers, leading students to understanding of scientific concepts. Working with others and participating in discussions exposed students to additional ideas and different points of view, helping students to “uncover ‘holes’ in [their] thinking” (Donovan & Bransford, 2005, p.411).Metacognition in my ClassroomFor my action research project, I am going to study the effects of differentiated instructional strategies that emphasize multiple intelligences on student achievement and student motivation. After reading How Students Learn Science in the Classroom, I determined that metacognition could be an important addition to my research. DonovanMetacognition 5and Bransford stated that metacognition improved student performance, saying that “gains were particularly striking for lower-achieving students” (2005, p.407). Because many of my students are lower-achieving, incorporating opportunities for metacognition and encouraging students to think about themselves as learners should improve their performance. I plan to include opportunities for metacongition in my classes to see if thisresearch will apply to my students and improve their performance in biology.Metacognition 6ReferencesDonovan, M. S., Bransford, J. D. (2005). How Students Learn Science in the Classroom. Washington, D. C.: The National Academies Press.Merriam-Webster. (2005). The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition. Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster,