METACOGNITION INFUSION – A FIVE-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE

As part of the SAGE 2YC Faculty as Change Agents project, one of our tasks was to improve the academic success of our (geoscience) students. Part of the training we received was in the strategies of metacognition. This training took the form of presentations, discussions and book clubs, heavily using the resources of Saundra McGuire, Teach Students How To Learn. Over the last five years, these metacognitive strategies have been infused into geology, earth science and astronomy classes at Waubonsee Community College. The majority of the strategies were discussed in a presentation to students after the first exam in the class. Other strategies were introduced at appropriate times during the semester, both in and out of class. Specific strategies include Letter to Self, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Study Cycle, Study sessions, anticipation, retriever, journals, wrappers, and most importantly, reflection. Results of these presentations and activities have provided interesting insights into students understanding of learning, and their development as self-regulated learners. These metacognitive strategies have also been included in several workshops given to faculty colleagues at Waubonsee, and elsewhere in Illinois as part of a series of regional workshops. These faculty-focused workshops have also provided interesting insights, as well as the development of stronger collegiate bonds and better trained colleagues.

These forays into metacognition have clearly demonstrated its effectiveness in improving student engagement and performance, which has likely contributed to higher class grades and retention. These results clearly justify their inclusion into class activities, at the expense of presenting content. Additionally, when faculty colleagues are presented with these strategies, they are generally enthusiastic and employ many of them with positive results. These five years have clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of infusing metacognitive strategies into classes.