Each Flipped Learning Module (FLM) is a set of short videos and online activities that can be used (in whole or in part) to free up class time from content delivery for greater student interaction. At the end of the module, students are asked to fill out a brief survey, in which we adopt the minute paper strategy. In this approach, students are asked to submit their response to two brief questions regarding their knowledge of the module.
In this FLM, students are asked to complete a fill-in-the-blank outline which accompanies all three videos, covering the topics of metacognition and its applications. The completed outline will enhance the students’ note-taking skills and will serve as a summary of the FLM that they may refer to in the future.
Key Terms
executive thinking, reflection, learning processes, metacognitive applications/techniques/strategies, inductive and deductive reasoning, checklist, conceptual outline, reverse outline, storyboard
Module Overview
- Introduction to metacognition
- What is metacognition?
- Why is metacognition useful for college-level learning?
- How can I be more metacognitive about my own learning?
- Metacognitive applications, part 1: reading and homework
- Doing Course Readings
- Pre-Reading Checklist
- Inductive and Deductive Reasoning: Studying/Reviewing Readings Checklist
- Doing homework
- Metacognitive applications, part 2: papers and class participation
- A Metacognitive Approach to Writing Papers
- Writing is a Process
- After You Get Your Paper Back
- Class Participation
- Class Participation Checklist
Download Video Transcripts
Worksheet: Metacognition Module Outline
Please fill out the following outline while you are watching the videos, and bring a copy to class.
- Metacognition means:__________________________________________________
- Metacognition is useful for college learning because: __________________________________________________
- You may encounter metacognition formally in your classes in various ways such as:_______________________
- Write three considerations/recommendations mentioned in the video for applying some metacognition to your pre-reading:
- (Recommendation 1):_________________________
- (Recommendation 2):_________________________
- (Recommendation 3):_________________________
- Write three considerations/recommendations mentioned in the video for applying some metacognition to your studying and reviewing readings:
- (Recommendation 1):_________________________
- (Recommendation 2):_________________________
- (Recommendation 3):_________________________
- Three strategies for doing homework more metacognitively are:
- (Strategy 1):_________________________
- (Strategy 2):_________________________
- (Strategy 3):_________________________
- Five key strategies for being more metacognitive in paper assignments are:
- (Strategy 1):_________________________
- (Strategy 2):_________________________
- (Strategy 3):_________________________
- (Strategy 4):_________________________
- (Strategy 5):_________________________
Download Outline
Video 1: Introduction to Metacognition
Metacognition Online Activity 1
Please respond to the following multiple-choice questions by choosing the best answer for each. Submit your response to your instructor by writing the number of the question and its letter response next to it (e.g. 1- A, 2- B).
- Which of the following is the best definition of metacognition?
- a. thinking very quickly and efficiently
- b. thinking about one’s own thinking
- c. thinking though difficult problems
- d. None of the above.
- What might happen to learners who are extremely unmetacognitive?
- a. They might continue using strategies they used in high school without evaluating how well they work in new contexts.
- b. They might come up with new ways of responding to learning challenges and employ them.
- c. They might excel in their learning and be able to say specifically why.
- d. None of the above.
- In which of the following ways can metacognition help students in their learning?
- a. It can help them transfer concepts and strategies from one course to another.
- b. It can help them have a clearer sense of the strengths of a specific assignment before they receive feedback from instructors.
- c. It can help them be more active readers, monitoring their reading process and information retention.
- d. All of the above
- Which of the following is an example of assignments with metacognitive elements?
- a. Write an essay analyzing the causes of the Vietnam War while using seven peer-reviewed sources.
- b. Give an oral presentation on the history of a specific corporation and its responsibility to its shareholders.
- c. Compare an essay you wrote to a rubric provided by the instructor and reflect on the essay.
- d. None of the above
Video 2: Metacognitive applications, part 1: reading and homework
Metacognition Online Activity 2
Reflection: Think about the hardest reading assignment you’ve done for a course. What was it? Why was it challenging? How did you do the reading? Did re-reading help? What strategies other than re-reading the entire text, or waiting for the professor to discuss the reading, helped you make sense of it? Why? What might you do in the future if you’re faced with a reading of similar difficulty? Make a list of the most useful techniques you used and rank them in order of importance.
Submit your response to your instructor.
Video 3: Metacognitive applications, part 2: papers and class participation
Metacognition Online Activity 3
Reflection: What, for you, is the most useful thing you can do before you turn in an essay? What’s your key step in the writing process, and why? Are these times when you haven’t done this step, or used this strategy? Why or why not? What happens when you don’t use this strategy? What would you advise someone else about this strategy?
Submit your response to your instructor.
Metacognition Survey
Please answer the following two questions, and submit the responses to your instructor.
- What was the one most important thing you learned from this module?
- Do you have any unanswered questions for me?
Metacognition In-Class Activity
Working together with a group, think about one particular aspect of the required work for this course. Choose from the following, or add others that are relevant:
- doing assigned readings
- preparing for class discussion
- participating in class
- giving oral presentations
- working in groups with other students
- attending office hours or instructor conferences
- doing research
- drafting papers
- revising papers
- editing papers
Together, for your chosen aspect of the course, generate as many different strategies as you can. For example, when editing your papers for correct grammar, word choice, and punctuation, what can you do, specifically? What tips have people suggested to you in the past? Brainstorm these with your group. Then, poll your group–who uses which strategies often, occasionally, or never? Why? Which strategies does your group think are the most useful, and why? How would your list, and your answers, change depending on the genre of paper that you are writing? Explain. Be ready to report to the class. Which strategies have you found useful across the courses you are taking/have taken? Why?
Download Worksheet
Download Digital Implementation of the Activity
Metacognition Additional Resources
References
Brizee, Allen. “
Reverse Outlining: An Exercise for Taking Notes and Revising Your Work.”
The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010.
Chick, Nancy. “Metacognition.” Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching.
Flower, Linda. The Construction of Negotiated Meaning: A Social Cognitive Theory of Writing. Southern Illinois University Press, 1994.
“Metacognition and Student Learning.” McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.
Mikulecky, Beatrice S. “Teaching Reading in a Second Language.” Pearson-Longman, 2008.
Schraw, G. & Dennison, R.S. (1994). “Metacognitive Awareness Inventory,” from Assessing metacognitive awareness. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 19, 460-475.
Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 9th ed., revised and edited by Wayne C. Booth, et al. University of Chicago Press, 2018.
