Accelerate Progress with Metacognition

Metacognitive and self-regulation skills will increase pupil progress across the school. Research indicates that improving pupils’ metacognitive and self-regulation skills (that is, ‘learning to learn’) helps accelerate their progress, as well as leading to greater motivation and independence.

How do you embed the development of these skills in your teaching? How do you teach an understanding of how to learn and what to do when learning is not straightforward?

aims and outcomes

Understand what is meant by metacognitive and self-regulation skills and why they are so valuable for developing learners.
Build in strategies for improving pupils’ ability to set goals, monitor performance and evaluate outcomes.
Develop strategies for improving pupils’ motivation and ability to learn independently.
Try out different approaches and find what works for your pupils.

Course content

Unit 1: What is metacognition?

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- Step 1: What is metacognition?
- Step 2: Unpacking metacognition and self-regulation
- Step 3: Applying your understanding so far
- Step 4: Bridging tasks for Unit 2 and reflection
- End of Unit 1 quiz
Unit 2: Benefits of metacognition

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- Step 1: The benefits of metacognition
- Step 2: Becoming an autonomous learner
- Step 3: The EEF Guidance Report
- Step 4: Current practice in your school
- Step 5: Types of task
- Step 6: Self-regulated learning
- End of Unit 2 quiz
Unit 3: Developing metacognition

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- Step 1: How can we develop metacognition?
- Step 2: Using tools to develop pupils’ metacognitive knowledge and skills
- Step 3: Metacognitive practice
- End of Unit 3 quiz
Unit 4: Beyond planning and refining

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- Step 1: Developing a vocabulary of thinking
- Step 2: Going further with metacognition
- Step 3: Stage managing a discussion – 1
- Step 4: Stage managing a discussion – 2
- End of Unit 4 quiz
Unit 5: Embedding a metacognitive approach

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- Step 1: Feedback on stage managing discussions
- Step 2: Joining the dots: what’s the point of metacognition?
- Step 3: Feedback to senior leaders
- Step 4: Ways forward
- End of Unit 5 quiz

Author

David Leat

David Leat is the Executive Director of the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLaT) at Newcastle University and Professor of Curriculum Innovation. His 13 year geography school teaching career took him round the country, before...

Dr Anna Reid

Dr Anna Reid is a visiting lecturer at Newcastle University, where she currently leads three core postgraduate modules in Education; Research in Practice, Critical Thinking about Research Methodology, and Practices of Enquiry. Anna’s doctorate,...