Meta-cognition in philosophy of education learning

 Meta-cognition is reflective thinking or a level of consciousness that exists through executive cognitive control and self-communication about experiences (Flavell 1979, Mezirow 1981). Good meta-cognition is a principle asset in learning (Flavell, 1979). The importance of meta-cognition in the process of learning is an old idea that can be traced from Socrates’ questioning methods to Dewey’s twentieth- century stance that we learn more from reflecting on our experiences than from the actual experiences themselves (Dewey, 1933). Meta-cognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes or anything related to them, e.g., the learning-relevant properties of information or data. For example, I am engaging in meta-cognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; if it strikes me that I should double check C before accepting it as fact. (Flavell, 1976). Meta-cognition requires students to “externalize mental events” (Bransford et al, p. 67), such as what it means to learn, awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses with specific skills  or  in  a  given  learning  context, plan what’s required to accomplish a specific learning goal or activity, identifying and correcting errors, and preparing ahead for learning processes. 

Teaching philosophy of education explicitly using this model approach considers these three classroom strategies.  Firstly, pre-assessments—encouraging Students to examine their current thinking. The importance of instructors knowing what students are thinking about a topic prior to trying to teach them something new has been written about extensively. However, pre-assessment can also be helpful for the learner and is a wonderful opportunity for promoting meta-cognition among students. “What do I already know about this topic that could guide my learning?” is an example of a self-question that it at the core of most pre-assessments used by instructors. In completing a task as part of the course, students use the information given on the pre-assessment to help them begin thoughtful planning of how they might approach learning this new idea. Meta-cognitive knowledge leads individuals to select, evaluate, revise or abandon cognitive tasks, goals and strategies in light of their relationships with one another and with their own abilities and interest with respect to an enterprise (Flavell 1979). 

Secondly, one long-standing, active-learning strategy that has been used across many disciplines in classrooms of any size is the “Muddiest Point” (Angelo and Cross, 1993). Giving students Practice in identifying Confusions. “What was most confusing to me about the material being explored in class today?” Similar to pre-assessments, the Muddiest Point is incredibly useful to instructors in gauging what was challenging for or unclear to students. However, the often missed opportunity is for this activity to explicitly charge students to identify what they are confused about and then to embrace, work on, and wrestle with that confusion as they participate in the learning activities of the course. Articulating confusion as part of learning by the student s can drive their independent learning or to generate

Thirdly, Retrospective Post-assessments—Pushing Students to Recognize Conceptual Change. Cognitive psychologists and science education researchers conceptualize learning as a student-centered activity in which students change their ideas about a topic (Posner et al., 1982). This view implies that students will not really learn new information if they do not go through a meta-cognitive realization that requires them to examine how they thought about the topic before and how they are thinking differently about that topic now; this is similar to Dewey’s assertion that reflection on an experience is the key step in learning (Dewey, 1933). A simple tool for explicitly charging students to think about how their ideas are (or are not) changing is a retrospective post-assessment. As its moniker implies, this tool is a post-assessment and occurs after learning may have taken place. It is retrospective, in that students are asked to recall how they were thinking about the topic prior to course learning activities and compare that with how they are now thinking about the same topic afterward. As an example, students might be asked to complete the phrase: “Before this course, I thought evolution was... Now I think that evolution is...” Alternatively, they may be asked to write about three ways in which their thinking about a given topic has changed over a given period of time. Either of these explicit approaches to teaching meta-cognition is a mechanism of training students to self-question, “How is my thinking changing (or not changing) over time?”  .Fourthly, by writing about their meta-cognitive, thinking, and learning strategies regularly, students can create a reflective journal. This serves as a Forum in which students monitor their own thinking. A popular reflective learning model that has influenced research is described by Mezirow (1990) as a process of constructing meaning from experiences through reflection and comparison with previously held beliefs, values and schemata. In his early work, Mezirow (1981) defined three levels of reflectivity. Level one or non-reflection is the absence of reflective thought. Level two reflections are defined as awareness of judgements, observations, and descriptions, evaluation of planning, and  assessment  of decisions. Critical reflection or level three is the process of reflection, and includes assessment of the need for further learning, and awareness that routines are not adequate and a change in perspective is needed. Johns (2000) emphasizes the need to guide reflection for the purpose of exposing contradiction and perceived conflict; to expose and confront self-distortion; to understand self-imposed limitations; to nurture commitment; to gain new insights; to achieve critical levels of reflection; and to empower for resolution of contradiction. Wallace (1996) argues that diversity of experience and learning styles may not be amenable to set criteria related to reflection. Another aspect of this form of learning is shared experiences which (Davies, 1995) rightly noted, “sharing experiences with peers and faculty in a non-judgmental supportive milieu seems to become an essential aspect of the reflective process” (Davies 1995, p. ). So, self-assessment questions to answer while reading can teach students to read philosophy then comparing their self-reflection with the self-reflection of others tend to develop their thinking strategies even more.   The model incorporates learning design and strategies that prompt guided reflection by a mentor who makes the process meaningful, ties it to experiences, and remains available throughout learning. By making familiar but not obvious background information explicit and making instruction more meta-cognitively aware we can improve student learning. Specifically, meta-cognitively informed instruction that explicitly discuss relevant background information assist philosophical novices to more fully develop the skills necessary to read and do philosophy well.   

 

REFERENCES

Angelo T, Cross K (1993) Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers, 2nd ed., San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass 

 

Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, and Experience & School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press 

 

Davies E. (1995) Reflective practice: a focus for caring. Journal of Nursing Education 34, 167–174.

 

Dewey J (1933). How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process, Boston: Heath.

 

J. H. Flavell, “Meta-cognition and Cognitive Monitoring: A New Area of Cognitive- Developmental Inquiry,” American Psychologist 34:1 (1979): 906–11 

 

Johns C. (2000). Becoming A Reflective Practitioner. Blackwell Science Ltd, London, UK. 

 

Mezirow J. (1981) A critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Education 

 

Mezirow J. and Associates (1990) Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood. JosseyBass Publishers, San Francisco, CA. 

 

Posner GJ, Strike KA, Hewson PW, Gertzog WA (1982). Accommodation of a scientific conception: towards a theory of conceptual change. Sci Educ 66, 211– 227.