Being human is the primary qualification for academic study, but humanity can be a major distraction when studying. Thinking about loved ones while studying or writing tests can be a major disruption to a student more so when it happens intermittently and affects the process of studying. In this essay, metacognition is investigated and evaluated as a solution for the instant problem. The essay used available empirical studies to evaluate metacognition as a concept and how it can be applied to enable students study better and avoid disruptions. Based on available research, metacognition is an invaluable tool for overcoming studying vagaries that limit the process of learning.
Introduction
Whereas only humans go to school to study, being human can be among the greatest hindrance to being a successful student. Humans are social, caring, and worrying beings among other prerequisites, all of which stand in the way of successful study. For example, a student can be studying for an oncoming examination but the mind is distracted by a real or imagined personal problem. Conversely, the mind may be distracted by a social event that the student would rather have attended or the thought of a friend or a loved one. Due to the distraction, the student may be going through books or notes without realizing that nothing that is being read is registering in the mind, in a way that may be beneficial to the student academically (Putnam, Sungkhasettee, & Roediger, 2016). Among the solutions to the problem of being distracted while learning, to evaluate the process and progress of learning and to take stock of how much learning is taking place is metacognition.
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The definition is metacognition is exponentially concept as it entails thinking about whether or not one is thinking, learning whether one is learning or not, or being able to know what one knows. From a practical perspective when applied to study, metacognition can be defined as the ability of a student to undertaken monitoring and evaluation of the self when studying (Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014). In the instant essay, I will undertake an evaluation of available research to extrapolate on what is known about metacognition from the perspective of academic study. I will then apply the theories, concepts, and principles realized in the literature review into the study habit of losing concentration while studying, with a view to eventually getting over the habit. An action plan for eventually getting over the habit will then be developed and presented. Metacognitions is an invaluable tool for students in the effort to prevent the loss of concentration and in evaluating how much learning has taken place or how learning has been hampered by available distractions.
Literature Review
Declarative Knowledge
Declarative knowledge is among the basic concepts of metacognition and can be, from the perspective of the instant research defined as the process of understanding the self. For a student to be able to evaluate then monitor the self during the process of the study, that student needs to know what ‘the self’ is. The student needs to understand personal strengths and weaknesses in studying and also personal capabilities. The understanding will then create a foundation upon which self-evaluation can be undertaken during the process of study. Salam and Misu (2018) reports on a study that was undertaken on 56 students studying theory of numbers within the Mathematics Education Department. The students were given a similar test but from different perspectives which represented changes such as positive and negative reinforcement as well as presentation in front of peers. As per the results of the study, the student’s evaluation of personal capabilities varied exponentially based on the perspectives upon which they were tested. For example, when making a presentation before peers, a student would fumble in a mathematical problem than the student would understand clearly while working alone. Based on the discussion in the paper, the students did not have a proper understanding of their personal capabilities and depended on the environment to determine what they can or cannot do. Proper development of metacognition, however, would have exponentially reduced the impact of the environment on the capabilities of the students. Based on the above, declarative knowledge from a perspective of metacognition creates an inner confidence in personal abilities. Conversely, it can also enable the student to realize personal weaknesses in order to work on alleviating their impact and eventually eliminating it.
Procedural Knowledge
After understanding the self, the student then needs to have an understanding of personal capabilities from a procedural perspective. Declarative knowledge relates to understanding the prerequisites of the student while procedural knowledge relates to an understanding of the processes of the student's cognition. For example, a student may be capable of solving complex algebra problems when not under intense pressure. Knowing about the ability to solve algebra is declarative knowledge while knowing about the need to take time and solve the problem in a calm manner is procedural knowledge. The two forms of knowledge supplemented one another in the process of metacognition. The research study by Duckworth et al. (2016) provides a credible evaluation of procedural knowledge in metacognition. In the study, students are given studying strategies to alleviate environmental factors that affect their study while a control group is not given any strategies. Based on the results of the study, the students who used strategies such as attentional deployment were able to attain their study goals while the others did not. Based on the study results, two equally capable brains study differently when the procedure of studying was changed. Based on the above, understanding what a brain is capable of when studying must be supplemented by understanding under what circumstances that capability manifests best. What one can study and understand is also determined by how the studying is being done. Procedure of study is as important as the actual capability to study. It is the combination of actual capability and procedural knowledge that results in the regulation of cognition.
Regulation of Cognition
Regulation of cognition may seem simple based on the fact that it entails putting into practice a combination of declarative and procedural knowledge. On a careful evaluation, however, it may even be more complicated than the former two components. Declarative and procedural knowledge mainly play a preparatory role but regulation of cognition happens contemporaneously with studying. Reverting to the solving algebra example, declaratory knowledge as indicated above is knowing one has the ability to solve an algebraic problem while procedural knowledge is knowing how best one can solve the problem. Regulation of cognition is the ability to self-regulate in the process of solving the problem, so as to know whether or not one is doing it right. This seemingly impossible concept was tested by Couchman et al. (2016) through the process of revising and sitting for college examinations. On one test, students were asked to evaluate themselves on how they performed an examination based on how they revised and how they wrote the test itself. Most students gave themselves glowing reviews despite that they had not performed well. The other set of students were instructed to evaluate themselves as and when they were writing the paper, based on how they had revised and how they were answering the questions in real-time. The group that evaluated themselves while writing the examination was able to more accurately self-evaluate on what they were right or wrong on. Based on this research study, metacognition creates in a student a unique ability to be the test-taker and the test-marker contemporaneously. The same ability can then be applied in other areas of study, for example, being able to test how well a student is understanding in the process of studying and how much of the study material is being absorbed properly. Having the ability to study and using the proper procedure for study does not automatically result in effective studying so the student needs to use metacognition in real time to assess the actual study process.
Learning Metacognition
Based on the analysis of metacognition from the research outlined above, it is definitely clear that metacognition is neither easy nor natural but it is extremely important for students during the learning process. It is thus important for students to learn how to undertake cognition after learning what cognition is and how it needs to be carried out. Available research has shown that over and above teaching students about metacognition, it is also possible to teach students how to undertaken cognition effectively. Among the proven strategies of teaching metacognition to students is learning to self-detach and consciously evaluate a personal situation like a third party, as outlined in Chew, Durning, and van Merriënboer (2016). This study utilized a technique known as TWED, with T standing for Threat, W for What else, E for Evidence and D for Dispositional factors, to teach student clinicians how to undertake better decision-making using metacognition. Based on the results of the research, those students who used TWED were eventually better at metacognition that those who did not. Based on the outcomes of the research study, since metacognition is more of a practical subject, the best way to teach about it is through practice as opposed to mere theory. Learning metacognition works best when the learning process is applied to a real or imagined situation. Any student can learn metacognition if the right practical application learning approach would be developed.
Metacognition Strategy
Upon learning metacognition as a concept, the next step is the application of that knowledge in the active study a process that will require a comprehensive strategy. Applying metacognition in the process of studying has several constituents. The first constituent is planning, which entails developing a roadmap on how to use metacognition during the process of study. The second constituent is checking, which evaluates using metacognition as a process of checking the self as and when carrying out studies. The checking can involve the ability to study and if the learning environment is right. Monitoring the learning process is another constituent that takes the form of cognition by evaluating how much actual learning is taking place. Finally, there is the constituent of revision which relates to going back to restudy those things that the student will have found not to have studied and understood substantively. The article by Nasab and Motlagh (2015) reports on a primary study where metacognition was used as a strategy for sixteen sessions of comprehensive study while being continually juxtaposed and compared with other learning strategies. The metacognition group was able to apply the different related strategies in different perspectives during the process of the study. The use of metacognition was established to be superiors when compared with other strategies when it is used effectively. The need for sixteen sessions within the study was necessary to access the different strategic applications of metacognition as it is an elaborate process.
Effects of Metacognition on the Learning Process
Available research provides definitive proof that the hard work of learning and applying metacognition does eventually bear fruit. In the research study reported in Özsoy and Ataman (2017), the ability to solve mathematical tests with and without the use of metacognition was tested in an experimental process. The results showed that students who applied metacognition were able to solve complex mathematical problems better than those who did not. Conversely, the research studies carried out in Özsoy, Memiş, and Temur (2017) showed that among high achievers, there is a very close correlation between study habits and metacognition. Based on the combination of the above, metacognition enables students to study and perform better in tests.
Discussion
Summary of the Literature Review
It is possible for a student to use metacognition to exponentially improve the ability to learn and excel in education. Metacognition is a relatively complex process but has positive results for students. It includes inter alia the ability for a student to fully understand personal abilities as far as studying is concerned. The student will then be able to create a positive learning environment that is free from distractions. Then under the same concept of metacognition, the student is then able to actively evaluate the process of studying to know how much knowledge is being gained from the studying process. Being able to evaluate how much knowledge is being gained enables the student to know which areas of study need to be revisited as they were not properly understood. The same concept of metacognition can be applied in the process of preparing for tests and when actively writing tests to understand what the student is getting right or flopping in. Based on the totality of the above, mastering metacognition can result in the development of the perfect high-performing student. Indeed available research has shown that students who apply metacognition as their studying strategy are not only able to study better but also perform better in tests.
Personal Reflection
I happen to be the student whom being human is the greatest hindrance to success in academia as outlined in the introductory segment of this essay. For a start, I have a big heart which makes me a worrier, mostly about other people’s issues. When a loved one, whether a family member or a friend is having a problem, I will always find myself working on trying to solve it actively and passively on a constant basis. The active and passive will sometimes merge more so when am studying so that I can study well for forty minutes in an hour but lose thirty minutes to my thoughts. In so doing, I can be able to understand some parts of a passage while at the same time seem to never have heard other parts of the very same passage. The same form of disruption happens when I am actively distracted by a poor learning environment such as distant music or a conversation going on nearby. I do believe that learning metacognition can enable me to overcome this handicap by being able to block out secondary issues in order to concentrate on studies. Similarly, metacognition can enable me to understand when I am having learning gaps in my study sessions so that I can revise and learn better. It will also enable me to get into the right frame of mind to study, even when there is a potential distraction within my mind or around where I am undertaking my studies. As I cannot change the world I live in, neither do I want to alter my caring character, metacognition will enable me to excel in my studies in spite of the challenges outlined above.
Action Plan
| Action | Date |
| Study further about metacognition | 30 th November 2018 |
| Learn metacognition through practical lessons | 1 st January 2019 |
| Strategize on Application of metacognition in my studies | 15 th January 2019 |
| Apply metacognition in my studies | 31 st January 2019 |
| Evaluate the success of the Application | 15 th March 2019 |
| Make necessary adjustments according to the evaluations made | 30 th March 2019 |
The action plan above relates to a practical application of the lessons gleaned from the literature review above. It begins with a distracted student whose learning process is inordinately affected by secondary issues in the environment. It, however, end with a successful student who is capable of applying metacognition to cure the studying weaknesses.
References
Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning . Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Chew, K. S., Durning, S. J., & van Merriënboer, J. J. (2016). Teaching metacognition in clinical decision-making using a novel mnemonic checklist: an exploratory study. Singapore Medical journal , 57 (12), 694-700
Couchman, J. J., Miller, N. E., Zmuda, S. J., Feather, K., & Schwartzmeyer, T. (2016). The instinct fallacy: The metacognition of answering and revising during college exams. Metacognition and Learning , 11 (2), 171-185
Duckworth, A. L., White, R. E., Matteucci, A. J., Shearer, A., & Gross, J. J. (2016). A stitch in time: Strategic self-control in high school and college students. Journal of Educational Psychology , 108 (3), 329-341
Nasab, M. S. B., & Motlagh, S. F. P. (2015). A complete review for metacognitive, cognitive, and social/affective strategies as essential components of learning strategies and their relationships with EFL learners’ reading comprehension promotion. Advances in Language and Literary Studies , 6 (3), 166-184
Özsoy, G., & Ataman, A. (2017). The effect of metacognitive strategy training on mathematical problem-solving achievement. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education , 1 (2), 67-82
Özsoy, G., Memiş, A., & Temur, T. (2017). Metacognition, study habits and attitudes. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education , 2 (1), 154-166
Putnam, A. L., Sungkhasettee, V. W., & Roediger III, H. L. (2016). Optimizing learning in college: tips from cognitive psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science , 11 (5), 652-660
Salam, M., & Misu, L. (2018, June). Searching of student’s metacognition consciousness in learning of numbers theory through behavioral learning model. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series , 1028(1), 012171. Bristol, United Kingdom: IOP Publishing
