1. Metacognition: Essential Knowledge and Skills for Expert Learning Karl Wirth Macalester College InTeGrate Webinar 17 November 2015

2. What do you MOST wish your students understood about their own thinking and learning? Reflective Prompt

3. The Goal of Higher Education is… “to help college students become Intentional Learners who can adapt to new environments, integrate knowledge from different sources, and continue learning throughout their lives.” Greater Expectations (2002 AAC&U Report)

4. Intentional Learners Greater Expectations (2002 AAC&U Report) Becoming an intentional learner means: developing self-awareness about the reason for study, the learning process itself, and how education is used. Intentional learners are integrative thinkers who see connections in seemingly disparate information to inform their decisions.

5. Intentional Learners are Self-Directing Savin-Baden and Major (2004) Self-directing learners are highly motivated, independent, and strive toward self-direction and autonomy. They take the initiative to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes.

6. Learning for the 21 st Century Knowledge Competencies Character Metacognition Trilling and Fadel (2009) creativity & innovation critical thinking communication collaboration relevant and engaging applicable integrative to support higher thinking adaptability persistence integrity ethics

7. Workshop Goals Define the terms metacognition, self-regulated learning, and motivation. Describe why self-regulated learning is critical for student success. Give examples of activities that target specific elements of metacognition and self-regulated learning in students Analyze metacognitive activities in small groups and consider how to implement one for your InTeGrate module or course.

8. How can we make this happen?

9. Metacognition Involves Reflection What kind of problem is this? What is the best strategy for solving it? How will I know if I solved it correctly? How could I do it better next time? What additional information do I need? What use is this new information? How can I use my new understanding to solve different kinds of problems?

10. Pedagogical Challenge Metacognition is a “self-imposed internal conversation” Shown to improve transfer (Bransford et al. 2000) Easily assumed that students are doing it, or can develop on own; both assumptions are wrong Challenge is to keep students in constant contact with their metacognition Instruction must be explicit (Pintrich, 2002)

11. Geologic Time Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Task Appropriate Strategies

12. Expert Learners - Knowledge Modified from Ertmer and Newby (1996) Metacognitive Knowledge (declarative, procedural, conditional) Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Appropriate Strategies

13. Expert Learners – Self-Regulation EvaluateMonitor Plan Metacognitive Control (self-regulation) Metacognitive Knowledge (declarative, procedural, conditional) Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Appropriate Strategies Modified from Ertmer and Newby (1996)

14. Schoenfeld (1987) Solving a Problem Elapsed Time (mins) 024681012141618 Read Analyze Explore Plan Implement Verify Experts Elapsed Time (mins) 012345678910111213141516171819 Read Analyze Explore Plan Implement Verify Novices

15. Expert Learners - Affect EvaluateMonitor Plan Metacognitive Control (self-regulation) Metacognitive Knowledge (declarative, procedural, conditional) Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Appropriate Strategies Goals Beliefs Attitudes Motivation Modified from Ertmer and Newby (1996)

16. Affect – Beliefs About Intelligence “fixed” versus “growth” theories of intelligence Affects motivation to learn and persistence Students taught study skills and brain plasticity outperform control groups

17. Dweck’s “Fixed” vs “Growth” Mindsets avoid challenges give up easily see effort as fruitless ignore feedback be threatened by success of others embrace challenges persist in face of setbacks see effort as path to mastery Iearn from criticism find lessons and inspiration in success of others

18. REGULATION Metacognitive: awareness and regulation of learning strategies Effort: ability to persist with learning in face of challenges/difficulties EXPECTANCY Self-Efficacy: self-appraisal in ability to master tasks Control of Learning: belief that efforts will result in learning/performance gains VALUE Intrinsic Goal Orientation: a student’s perception that tasks will help achieve a personal goal Task Value: how a student views the importance/value of a task Incoming Motivation & Performance Value Expectancy Regulation GARNET Project Students in the lowest quartile of performance generally have the lowest incoming value, expectancy, and self-regulation; opposite those in highest quartile GARNET Project Students in the lowest quartile of performance generally have the lowest incoming value, expectancy, and self-regulation; opposite those in highest quartile

19. Expert Learners - Reflection EvaluateMonitor Plan Reflection Metacognitive Control (self-regulation) Metacognitive Knowledge (declarative, procedural, conditional) Personal Resources Prior Knowledge Available Strategies Task Requirements Type of Learning Appropriate Strategies Goals Beliefs Attitudes Motivation Reflection Modified from Ertmer and Newby (1996)

20. Metacurriculum for Metacognition ActivityKnowledge or Skills Knowledge SurveysGoal-setting, Monitor. & Eval. Reading ReflectionsReflection & Monitoring Learning ReflectionsRefl., Monitoring & Evaluation Critical ThinkingStrategies for Thinking Exam WrappersEvaluation & Goal-setting How I Earned an “A”Goal-setting & Monitoring

21. Knowledge Surveys: Goal-Setting, Monitoring, and Self- Assessment

22. Example Knowledge Survey Items ItemsLevel I can write a definition of a mineral?Remember I can describe the cooling of a basaltic magma using Bowen’s Reaction Series. Understand I can calculate the relief of a region.Apply I can compare the generation of melts along convergent and divergent plate boundaries. Analyze I can evaluate three potential sites for a landfill.Evaluate I can construct a model of the origin of a suite of rocks from a layered intrusion. Create 1)I don't know the answer 2)I know some of answer 3)I know the answer

23. Goal-Setting Self-Assessment Knowledge Surveys: Introduced by Nuhfer (1993, 1996) Content & skill objectives of course Span levels of thinking (Bloom levels) Students indicate knowledge/ability

24. Survey Items

25. KS Results - Individuals

26. Knowledge Survey & Exam Results

27. Results (by item) of pre-course (orange) and pre-exam I (blue) knowledge surveys. Full scale = “I can provide an answer.” Mineralogy Knowledge Survey

28. “Map” of Learning for Dynamic Earth Pre-Course Survey Students Survey Items

29. Pre-Course Survey Pre-Exam I Survey Pre-Exam II Survey Pre-Exam III Survey “Map” of Learning for Dynamic Earth

30. Average responses to knowledge survey questions before (2000-2003 courses) and after (2005) an intervention. Interventions were made to the units on crystallography and x-ray mineralogy. Assessing Interventions

31. Utility of Knowledge Surveys Course Design Clarification of course objectives and structure Improved organization and preparation Students Full disclosure of course objectives and expectations Study guide Formative assessment tool Development of self-assessment skills Instructors Assessment of learning gains Course assessment Assessment of instructional practices Programs Program Objectives Student Learning

32. Learning Reflections: Supporting Learning with Reflection-in-Action

33. Reflecting on Learning What are the three most important things you have learned so far? How do they contribute insights in other areas? Describe the learning strategies that you are using. How might they be adapted for more effective learning? How does learning in this course relate to other courses? Other aspects of your life?

34. Critical Thinking: Tools and Dispositions for Reflection

36. Reading Reflections: Reflection and Monitoring

37. Reading and Reflecting Reading Reflections: Completed after each reading assignment Short responses to a few questions Submitted online before class Credit awarded for “reflective” submissions What is the main point of this reading? What did you find surprising? Why? What did you find confusing? Why?

38. Exam Scores in Micro-Economics

39. Effect Size = 0.71 (Large) Course Grades in Intro Geology

40. Wrappers: A Structured Reflection-on-Action

42. Exam “Wrapper” Achacoso (2004) Lovett (2008) 1.Exam Re-do 2.Reflection Self Evaluation Preparation Strategies Performance Analysis Planning

43. Exam Preparation

44. Exam “Wrapper” Results Study Strategies Analysis of Errors

45. Learning Reflection: Goal-Setting

46. Planning and Goal-Setting The Art of Possibility (Zander and Zander, 2000) Journal Activity: Write a letter describing what you accomplished in this course. The letter should be dated for the end of the semester and written in the past tense. Tell me what you did, how you did it, and how your thinking and understanding changed. Begin your letter with: I earned an “A” in this course because…

47. Knowledge Skill Character If Lifelong Learning is Our Goal… why do so many of our courses look like this?

48. Knowledge SkillCharacte r Metacognition …. we should be doing something like this

49. Considering: Ertmer & Newby’s (1996) model of expert learnering, and the examples metacognitive activities How might you implement a metacognitive activity to improve student learning in an InTeGrate module or a course? Reflective Prompt

50. Reflection and closing thoughts…?

51. Reflection & Learning DimensionDescription Habitual Action Minimal thought and engagement; memorization is emphasized; correlated with surface learning; tasks treated as unrelated activities; an attitudinal state of non-reflectiveness Understanding Focuses on comprehension without relation to one’s personal experience or other learning situations; book learning that is understanding-oriented; learning stays within boundaries of preexisting perspectives Reflection Learning is related to personal experience and other knowledge; involves challenging assumptions, seeking alternatives, identifying areas of improvement; active engagement; characteristic of deep approaches to learning Critical or Intensive Reflection Highest level of reflective learning; learners are aware of why they think, perceive, or act as they do; as a result, learner likely alters or changes firmly held personal beliefs and ways of thinking Modified from Mezirow (1991) and Kember et al. (2000)