Metacognition - Thinking About Thinking - Character Trait

Metacognition is our character trait for the next couple weeks.  We know that certain character traits help us be successful in school and in life beyond school.

This trait can be kind of a stealthy one because it can be invisible, happening silently inside our heads. 

Metacognition means thinking about our thinking or thinking about our learning process. 

We will be looking for students who are thinking about their thinking and about how they are learning.  That means they are planning and reflecting about their learning.  They are organizing their ideas.  When they get stuck in the Learning Pit they look for strategies to figure things out and to solve their problems.

• When you are planning a strategy... that is metacognition. 
• When you are learning something new and you connect it to what you already know, you say, "Oh, that is like_________"... that is Metacognition.
• When you are reading a difficult passage and realize you don't really understand, you might stop and read it again... That is metacognition.
• When you ask questions to clarify your understanding...that is metacognition.
• When you draw a quick sketch to make sure you understand a math problem...that is metacognition.

Those are all things that great learners do!

Try to be purposeful this week about your metacognitive strategies.  Look at yourself and how you are thinking and learning. I'll bet you'll notice some of your friends also showing their own metacognition.