Metacognition

What is Metacognition?

Simply put, metacognition is thinking about your thinking.

Many students cram for exams in their college courses by memorizing the material that they think will be on the exams.

Students who find success in their courses (and beyond) are often doing more than that. They are using metacognitive skills to constantly assess:

• what they already know
• what information is being presented in class and in the textbook
• what connections exist between content in different parts of the course, courses they've already taken, and even other disciplines
• whether the studying and practice they are doing is helping to improve their understanding of the new information

Improve your learning by implementing metacognitive learning strategies

• Use the learning cycle, focused study sessions, and tips for effective groupwork to make the most of your limited study time 
• Employ active reading techniques to engage fully with the reading assignments
• Treat homework assignments as assessments to mimic an exam or quiz situation
• Teach the material to others uncover what you know well and what you need to work on

As you practice these strategies, you will learn to:

• plan how you will learn the new material in your course
• monitor whether you are using the course content while solving problems
• evaluate whether your understanding of course topics is sufficient to apply the information to new problems

Information on this site has been adapted from learning strategies presented by the Louisiana State University Center for Academic Success, Catalyze Your Success at the University of Washington Department of Chemistry, and the book "Teach Students How to Learn" by Saundra Yancy McGuire, Stylus Publishing (2021).