We Share Strategies for Using Metacogition at TeachThought

Donna and I shared "5 Strategies for Teaching Students to Use Metacogntion" in a blog post published on the TeachThought website. As we explain in this article, metacognitive skills enable students to regulate their thinking and become independent learners.

The five practical strategies we identify for explicitly teaching students to use metacognition include:

1. Define the term. Our simple definition is: "thinking about your thinking as a pathway to better learning."
2. Ask students to supply examples. We use the metaphor of "driving your brain," which helps students understand the concept.
3. Catch students being metacognitive. Celebrate the use of this skill in large and small groups as a way to underscore its importance.

Our Work on Metacognition Is Featured in Education Week

Donna Wilson and I were among a select group of educators whose work and comments were featured in an important multi-part series on the subject of metacogntion in the classroom, which appeared in the popular and highly regarded publication Education Week.

Our comments appear in Part 2 of the five-part series, which gave us the opportunity to share insights into our groundbreaking work on metacognition. In the article, we made the point that teaching for and with metacognition is vital for educators who espouse a growth mindset.

We also explained how the concept of metacognition can be effectively communicated by encouraging students to “drive their brains.” This metaphor is the basis for our latest book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas.

We Talk Metacognition with ASCD on the BAM Radio Network

Donna and I were pleased to have the opportunity to discuss our latest book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brain: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas, on the BAM Radio Network. We were interviewed by Jusmar Maness, principal of Balfour Elementary School in Asheboro, N.C., as part of the ASCD "Learn, Teach, Lead" Radio Program.

The radio program allowed us to explain the concept of metacognition, defined as "thinking about your thinking with the goal of improving learning," and share some practical ways to teach metacognitive strategies in the classroom. On the program, I described metacognition as "the No. 1 attribute of high-performing students," whereas Donna countered the myth that learning becomes more difficult as we age. In adulthood, Donna explained, "Life continues to get better as we're able to be metacognitive, conscious and wise about our learning."

We Encourage Parental Support for Smarter Thinking in Our Latest Edutopia Post

As Donna Wilson and I point out in our latest blog post for Edutopia, students spend much more time outside of school than they do in the classroom. That's why partnering with parents is so important to enhancing a child's executive function and putting them on a path toward smarter thinking.

One of the ongoing and underlying threads in our work is the focus on helping students learn how they can become "the boss of their brains." Parents can help with this endeavor by reinforcing important messages and strategies that help their children take charge of their thinking.