Learning "How to Learn" - The Perspectives of Meta-cognition

Examining metacognition- the learning process enables you to develop effective learning and teaching approaches.

Meta-cognition is the higher-order thinking that enables understanding, analysis, and control of one’s cognitive processes, especially when engaged in learning.

A big part of metacognition and more importantly, why metacognition is important, is to give the learner an opportunity to be aware of and understand their own strengths and weaknesses so that they can learn or adapt their skills and strategies to build professional competency.

Metacognition assessment: Metacognition assessment is all about measuring learning effects (acquisition, skills, behavior, understanding). We can measure the results - the 'things' that have been learned.

Meta-cognitive processes can be demonstrated in behavior, and when you measure the behavior, you begin to see if metacognitive thinking is taking place over time and with more proclivity, metacognition would be where the individual is aware of reaching the point of "not knowing," and then developing strategies to resolve it to "knowing," like how to induce or abduct hypotheses and reflect on them and question them.

Learning methodology: Meta-cognition or meta-learning is about learning how to learn. At the core of all learning needs to be a deep understanding of systemic thinking and the psychology of how people learn. We live in an era with the exponential growth of information and abundant knowledge, meta-learning is a vital element of developing independent learning and building a learning mature organization.

The point of learning is to gather the details around the subject under scrutiny and then and only then, can you be selective. For example, be selective about the sources you are going to take information from. Discover how and where to find valuable information, not just the information itself. You select what you learn, but also learn what to ignore. From a learning management perspective, by supporting staff to learn how to learn, critically examine their thinking and reflect thoroughly on what behaviors helped them learn, they will become more competitive and better problem solvers.

Meta-cognition essence: Meta-cognition, or learning how to learn, is a vital element of independent learning in an era of rapid and relentless change. In the past, many learners, in all disciplines, built a kind of 'dependency' on their teachers/trainers and developed a form of “learned helplessness.” Digital professionals today need to become continuous lifelong learners and adapt more readily to whatever changes life/work throws at them. Attempting to 'measure' this type of thinking about thinking can be worthwhile for both teachers and learners in order to shape the future of the knowledge workforce.

Examining the learning process enables you to develop more effective learning and teaching approaches. If you know more about how people learn, you can work toward developing strategies that stimulate and support it as effectively as possible.

Posted in: Education,Learning,Problem Solving