One of the things we have been working on with staff and pupils this year is thinking about how we think. This is how we support our pupils to plan,
monitor and assess what they are doing. The fancy educational word for this is Metacognition!
To give you an example:
Imagine you were supporting a pupil in a lesson. You have just listened to the teacher and now the pupil has to complete a learning task.
To support the pupils' metacognitive planning the adult might say 'Do you have everything you need to complete this task?' or 'How do you plan to complete this task?'.
They might also help the pupil reflect on prior learning that would be helpful for instance 'Do you remember when you learned about X. How could you use that here?'
They would also support the pupil to plan how this relates to their targets e.g. 'Which of your PLIMs relate to the work you are about to do?'
To support the pupils' metacognitive monitoring the adult might say "Can you remind me what the aim of this learning task is?" or "I've noticed you are struggling with this, how could you try this in a different way?".
If an adult saw a pupil struggling they might say "What are you finding challenging about this?" and then "Can you think how you have solved this kind of problem before?".
To support the pupils' metacognitive assessment, evaluation, reflection the adult might say "What did you find hard about this task?" and "How did you overcome this?".
They could also say "How well did you do at this task?"
A really important question which helps pupils embed learning so that it can be used another time is "What will you try to take away from this task / lesson so that you can apply it to other work / subjects?"
Metacognition can also be used outside school.
Point out what you notice In the beginning, lead the way by pointing out the things you are noticing about your child’s learning and development eg "You made your own dinner without any support". Try to address the positive as much as possible and make sure your feedback is detailed and concrete.
Ask questions Ask your child questions like “What are you doing correctly?” and “Where are you getting stuck?”. When your child makes a less-than-great decision, ask “Why did you make that choice?” and “What could you do differently / better next time?”
Promote reflection At the end of an academic or household task, ask your child to reflect on how it went: “What did you do well? How could you improve? What strategies did you use? What strategies could you use next time?” Following a social interaction, have your child look at the event critically. Was your child being a good friend?
Encourage positive self-talk One important aspect of metacognition is acknowledging challenges with a focus on strengths. Help your child to understand that thinking positively makes things easier. Encourage your child to say “I can” and to notice when negative self-talk comes around. Ask your child to reframe negative statements into positive ones so that the power of self-aware thinking can be used effectively.
I hope you found that interesting and useful. For support on using metacognitive techniques outside school, please talk to your child's Form Tutor.
Best wishes for a lovely weekend.
