International Journal of Education and Psychological Research (IJEPR) Volume 3, Issue 3, September 2014

Metacognition: A Conceptual Framework

[1]
Ankit Chauhan
Namrata Singh[2]

I. INTRODUCTION
This article explores the conceptual framework about People in their everyday basis use Metacognition. For
metacognition. What metacognition is, what the example, after reading a paragraph the reader may ask
metacognitive strategies, why it is important and how it himself questions about the text. If the reader cannot answer
develops in learners. This article argues that teachers need to his own questions then he must go back and reread the text for
help learner’s metacognitive awareness, and identify the better understanding. Although related, cognition and
factors which enhance metacognitive development. metacognition differ: Cognitive skills are those needed to
Metacognition is one’s ability to use prior knowledge to plan perform a task whereas metacognitive skills are necessary to
a strategy for approaching a learning task, take necessary understand how it was performed. Successful adult learners
steps to solving the problem, reflect on and evaluate results, employ a range of metacognitive skills, and effective teachers
and modify one’s approach as needed. It helps learners of adults attend to the development of these skills.
choose the appropriate tool for the task and plays a critical Metacognition refers to higher order thinking which involves
role in successful learning. Metacognitive thinking is a key active control over the cognitive processes engaged in
element in the transfer of learning. The learner’s learning. Activities such as planning how to approach a given
development of metacognitive skills is defined as Meta learning task, monitoring comprehension and evaluating
learning. Meta-teaching strategies can help mediate the progress towards the completion of a task are metacognitive
metacognitive skills of learners and stimulate their in nature. Because metacognition plays a critical role in
metacognitive thinking. successful learning, it is important to study metacognitive
In recent years the concept of metacognition has emerged as a activity and development to determine how students can be
major focus of research interest in cognitive psychology. taught to better apply their cognitive resources through
There has been a growing recognition that metacognition or metacognitive control.
self-awareness ‘including awareness of ourselves as learners, Flavell (1979) first used the term 'metacognition'. He
helps us to learn more effectively’. Therefore an attempt is described in these words: metacognition refers to one's
made to answer the questions like: What is metacognition? knowledge concerning one's own cognitive process or
What are the basic metacognitive strategies? How does it anything related to them for example the learning related
facilitate learning and what can teachers do to foster it in the properties of information or data. Metacognition is an
classroom? important part of intentional learning, since it involves
actively thinking about what you know, what you don't know,
II. WHAT IS METACOGNITION? and how you can get better at knowing and applying what you
Metacognition is often simply defined as, “thinking about know. Metacognition is defined as "cognition about
thinking” or a higher thinking method. cognition", or "knowing about knowing." It can take many
forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use
Metacognition as “one's knowledge and beliefs about one's particular strategies for learning or for problem solving.
own cognitive processes and one's resulting attempts to Ø Metacognition refers to learners' automatic awareness of
regulate those cognitive processes to maximize learning and their own metacognitive reading strategies
memory”. Metacognition plays an important role in
communication, reading comprehension, language Ø Knowledge and their ability to understand, control, and
acquisition, social cognition, attention, self-control, memory, manipulate their own cognitive processes.
self-instruction, writing, problem solving, and personality Ø Metacognition refers to a level of thinking that involves
development. active control over the process of thinking that is used in
learning situations. Planning the way to approach a
Metacognition includes knowledge and regulation of one's learning task, monitoring comprehension, and
thinking processes. Metacognition is a special type of evaluating the progress towards the completion of a task:
knowledge and ability that develops with personal these are skills that are metacognitive in their nature.
experience and with schooling. It is in a recursive loop with
Ø Different fields define metacognition very differently.
cognitive development in that it both produces and is a
Metacognition variously refers to the study of memory-
product of cognitive development. Metacognition involves
monitoring and self-regulation, consciousness/
activities such as planning how to approach a learning task,
awareness and auto-consciousness/self-awareness.
monitoring comprehension, and evaluating the progress.

[1]
Research Scholar Dept. of Pedagogical Sciences, Faculty of Education, Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University) Agra U.P.,
E-mail: chauhansankit@gmail.com 08005114642
[2]
RM. Phil. Scholar Dept. of Home Science, Faculty of Arts, Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University) Agra U.P.,
E-mail: namratasingh2908@gmail.com

21
International Journal of Education and Psychological Research (IJEPR) Volume 3, Issue 3, September 2014

III. WHAT ARE THE METACOGNITIVE Why Metacognitive Environment?

STRATEGIES? A metacognitive environment encourages awareness of
“A metacognitive strategy is a systematic cognitive technique thinking. Planning is shared between teachers, school library,
to assist students in recognizing, planning, implementing and media specialists and learners. The metacognitive abilities of
monitoring solutions to problems.” The basic metacognitive students grow and thrive in an environment where the actual
strategies are- processes of thinking are an important part of the instruction
Ø Connecting new information to former knowledge. and conversation during the day. To create this environment
teachers and students must develop a language of thinking
Ø Selecting thinking strategies deliberately.
that they all use consistently. Metacognitive strategies are
Ø Planning, monitoring, and evaluating thinking processes. already in teacher’s repertoires. We must become alert to
A thinking person is in charge of his behaviour. He these strategies, and consciously model them for students.
determines when it is necessary to use metacognitive Problem solving and research activities in all subjects
strategies. He selects strategies to define a problem situation provide opportunities for developing metacognitive
and researches alternative solutions. He tailors this search for strategies. Teachers need to focus student attention on how
information to constraints of time and energy. He monitors, tasks are accomplished. Process goals, in addition to content
controls and judges his thinking. He evaluates and decides goals, must be established and evaluated with students to
when a problem is solved to a satisfactory degree or when the enable them to discover that understanding and transferring
demands of daily living take a temporary or permanent higher thinking processes improve learning.
priority. In practice these capacities are used to regulate one's
own cognition, to maximize one's potential to think, learn and
to the evaluation of proper ethical/moral rules. According to IV. CONCLUSION
Flavell (1979) metacognition consists of both metacognitive The study of metacognition has provided educational
knowledge and metacognitive experience or regulation. psychologists with insight about the cognitive processes
involved in learning and what differentiates successful
Metacognitive Knowledge students with their less successful peers. As students become
Knowledge of person variable refers to general knowledge more skilled at using metacognitive strategies, they gain
about how human beings learn and process information, as confidence and become more independent as learners.
well as individual knowledge of one's own learning Independence leads to ownership as students realize they can
processes. Knowledge of task variables includes knowledge pursue their own intellectual needs and discover a world of
about the nature of the task as well as the type of processing information at their fingertips. In this rapidly changing world,
demands that it will place up on the individual knowledge the challenge of teaching is to help students develop skills
about strategy variables includes knowledge about both which will not become obsolete. Metacognitive strategies are
cognitive and metacognitive strategies as well as conditional essential for this century. They will enable learners to
knowledge about when and where it is appropriate to use such successfully cope with new situations.
strategies (Livingston, 1997). Flavell (1979) further divides
metacognitive knowledge into three categories: V. REFERENCES
• Ashman A. & Conway R. (1993). Using Cognitive
Methods in the Classroom. London: Routledge.
• Dunlosky, J. & Metcalfe, Janet (2009). Metacognition.
Sage Publications.
• Dunlosky, J. & Thiede, K.W. (1998) What makes people
study more? An evaluation of factors that affect self-
paced study. Acta Psychologica
• Flavell, J.H., Miller, P. H., Millar, S. A. (1993). Cognitive
Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Matcalfe, Janet & Arthur, S. (1994). Knowing about
Knowing. Cambridge, MA, US: The MIT Press.
Metacognitive Regulation • Lyle, T. (1962). Study and Succeed. NewYork, Willey.
Metacognitive experience involves the use of metacognitive • Philipchalk, R.P. & McConell, J.V. (1994).
strategies on metacognitive regulation (Brown 1987) Understanding Human Behaviour. Harcourt Brace
Metacognitive strategies are sequential processes that one College Publishers
uses to control cognitive activities, and to ensure that a
cognitive goal (e.g. understanding a text) has been met. These
processes help to regulate and oversee learning and consist of
planning and monitoring cognitive activities, as well as
checking the outcomes of these activities (Livingston, 1997).

22