iServi News | 24 July 2020 | Term 3, Week 1
Metacognition
One of the goals for the Learning Domain at Servite this year is to explicitly teach metacognition. Metacognition is a term that means having an awareness and understanding of one’s own thinking. Put simply it is thinking about thinking, it is about the processes used to plan, monitor and assess understanding and performance. When students consciously think about their thought processes, they become aware of how they learn, they can critically think about what went wrong when they made a mistake and what they need to adjust to get it right next time. Research shows that students who know about different strategies for learning and thinking improve their academic results. When students practice metacognition they become aware of their strengths and weaknesses as learners and they are able to adapt and transfer their learning to different situations and tasks. They are able to think effectively and independently and can monitor their learning path and make changes when they may go off track.
Teachers teach students about metacognition through modelling their own thought processes by using statements such as ‘I’m thinking … I’m wondering … I’m noticing … I’m seeing … I’m feeling … I’m understanding …’ and asking students how they are learning instead of what they are learning.
Teachers also ask students to reflect on their tasks and assessments by asking questions such as ‘What about my preparation for this task worked well that I should remember to do next time? What didn’t work as well that I should change for next time?’
Another strategy that teachers use is to verbalise the thought processes used to consider, analyse and solve problems.
Awareness of their thinking and learning processes empowers students to take control of their own learning and increases their capacity for self-regulation and motivation.
Online Information Evenings
Last Wednesday we held our first ever online Information Evening for the families and students of Year 10 who will be moving to Year 11 in 2021. Whilst we were a little nervous and praying that technology would work in our favour, the event ran very smoothly. We have received some very positive feedback about the night and have conducted our own review so that we can improve our webinars moving into the future.
It was exciting to be able to take new ground in using an online format for the meeting. In some ways we have been pushed into using online platforms because of Covid-19, however we have since discovered that some of things we had to do because of the pandemic are actually just as good if not better than our previous ways of doing things.
It was wonderful that so many people joined the meeting and were posting questions that we could answer towards the end. We will be sending out a form so that those who participated can provide us with more feedback so that we can continue to improve our practice.
On Tuesday 28 July we will be having another online Information Evening for the families and students of Year 11 who will be moving to Year 12 in 2021. These families would have received information regarding this webinar. Individual links will be sent out via email on Monday.
Mrs Monica Maxwell
(Acting) Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning