I've used metacognition many times in the past, often without even noticing. Even writing this blog post right now is an example of metacognition! I am thinking about my thought processes in the past. One example that sticks out to me most right now occurred when I was in 8th grade. I remember we had a big science test coming up and I wanted to do well on it. While studying, I kept thinking about my study habits in regards to the format of the test. I considered the amount of time I spent thinking about any given section/topic. I remember using many of the strategies that were listed in Module 12, such as summarizing the chapters that would be on the test, and also reviewing that chapter later. The note-taking skills were also used. I used the practice of encoding (note-taking) during class before my studying even began. Like I mentioned before, I actively thought about how much time I spent studying any given topic - this is an example of study-time allocation. In general, we use metacognition much more than we even realize, and writing this blog post was a perfect example of metacognition!
This practices were effective because the more you think about something, the more easily you recall it. This applies particularly to encoding (note-taking) because it strengthens the connections in your brain. Note-taking is another way to enforce the information you learned, and that's why I think it is such an effective strategy.
I liked how Ashley discussed how her mind went back to a real life experience when discussing her blog post. She was able to connect our blog post of metacognition to a time where she used metacognition. The idea that metacognition was able to be applied to her studying for her exam shows that we use the idea of metacognition unknowingly. She practiced with note taking and summarizing to be able to study for her exam, and was able to allocate time for studying. The way that metacognition comes into play with her example happens daily, and we don't even know how much we all think about our own thinking. I like how that point came across in Ashley's blog post.
ReplyDeleteGood example. I think note taking also reduces cognitive load quite a bit, so you can focus on the higher order thinking skills rather than remembering each word a teacher said minutes ago (you can think about the implications of the information you just wrote down). It does strengthen connections if you write it after you hear it, and after you think about it. It also can encode (from IP theory) if you are writing notes in your own words or with little examples that make sense only to you.
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