3. Applying Teaching & Learning Strategies
Developing Metacognition & Self-Regulation
According to The Mirriam-Webster Online Dictionary, metacognition is an “awareness or analysis of one’s own learning or thinking processes.” Developing metacognition improves student ability to self-regulate their learning and make adjustments to their learning practices, as needed (Seigsmund, 2017).
By using metacognitive strategies during a research project, students are able to build on their previous knowledge about research practices, track their progress, and identify new learning goals for improving their research skills for future projects.
Strategies for Success
- Offer students opportunities to reflect on their goals, research strategies and experiences at the beginning of a course, throughout the research process, and/or at the end of a course.
- Explicitly state the purpose of a reflective task and how the activity will benefit students.
- Encourage students to share information about their research process and sources with their peers explaining why they made certain decisions, what they struggled with, and what strategies and tools they found helpful. Students can then compare notes and offer additional feedback and suggestions, further developing their expertise.
Example Reflections
Prompts for the beginning of the project
Identify a topic you recently needed to research in your personal life. What prompted you to research the topic? What did you do to find information? Where did you find answers to your questions? How did you decide if the information was credible?
Think of the last academic research project you had to complete. What strategies and resources did you use to find and evaluate sources? What will you need to do differently this time?
What part of a previous research project have you needed help with? What do you expect you’ll need help with this time?
What would you like to learn about research (e.g., types of sources, search strategies, evaluating sources, citing, etc.)? How will knowing these skills or concepts help you in the future?
Write a letter from your future self: Imagine you have successfully completed your research project and are looking back at your progress over the semester. What have you done that contributed to your success?
Prompts for the middle of the project
How well are you progressing towards completing the project? What have you completed? What tasks are still outstanding?
What questions do you need answered in order to move forward? Where can you find those answers?
What have you learned about research so far (e.g., types of sources, search strategies, evaluating sources, citing, etc.)? What do you need to learn more about?
Prompts for the end of the project
What are 3 things you learned about research (e.g., types of sources, search strategies, evaluating sources, citing, etc.) during this course?
How did your research strategies (e.g., tools for searching, search words, evaluation criteria, etc.) for this project differ from your typical research process when researching topics in your personal life? How was it similar?
What part of this project was challenging for you? What made it challenging? How did you overcome this challenge?
What part of this project was interesting for you? What made it interesting?
What would you do differently next time and why?
What tips would you give next semester’s students about completing this project?
Read your letter from your future self (written at the beginning of the project). What would you change about the letter or about the strategies you used this semester?
Helpful Resources
Activities for Metacognition[1]
A helpful list of creative activities you can adapt to your research project.
Metacognitive Assignment Revision Tool[2]
Although developed for high school psychology educators, this tool may be helpful for post-secondary instructors across the disciplines, as well. Developed by a Working Group on Skills that Promote Well-Being and Flourishing from the APA Summit on High School Psychology Education in 2017.
