Metacognition is a tool for teaching which accommodates all learning styles because it is based on each learner reflecting on their own learning processes.

"Metacognition is the monitoring of one's own thinking throughout the learning process.  It helps students become more aware of who they think, recognize when they don't understand something, and adjust their thinking accordingly.

I like to tell students that 'metacognition is thinking before, during and after a learning task.'  It begins when students consider which strategies they might use to accomplish the task.  It continues as they choose the most effective strategies and afterward decide for themselves if the results meet agreed-upon standards.  Time spent teaching g a variety of strategies pays off as students make strategy selection an integral part of "doing their work."

To model metacognition, think out loud as you teach something.  Instead of saying, 'First we..., next we..., then we...,' let students 'hear' what you are thinking as you solve a learning problem.  Example:
 

1.    Start by saying, "I need to know what eerie means in this sentence:  'There are eerie sounds coming out of the haunted house.' ...I want to figure out the meaning of this word without going to the dictionary.  I'll start by figuring out the meaning of the whole sentence.  I go to a haunted house that the Lions' Club in or town sets up each Halloween.  I'm remembering the sounds I hear in the haunted house - lots of squeaking and moaning and groaning.  Those sounds are supposed to scare me, and they do!  So I'm going to guess that 'eerie' means 'strange and scary.' Now I'll substitute that meaning for the word in the sentence: " There were strange and scary sounds coming out of the haunted house.'  Does that make sense?  Yes, it does.  Now I can move on...

2.    Have one student try the same process with the same word

3.    Have the class repeat the process privately, 'whispering" their self-talk.

4.    Tell the students that you expect them to use this process... Whenever they ask you for the meaning of a word, remind them to 'think aloud' and figure it out for themselves."

(Winebrenner)

 

Sources
Meichenbaum, D. Cognitive-Behavior Modification: An Integrative Approach. New York: Plenum Press, 1986

Winebrenner, Susan.  Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom. Free Spirit
Publishing, Inc., Minneapolis, Mn 1996