Bitesize Research: Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning

This week, I wanted to share with you a review published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in May 2020 by Muijs and Bokhove from the University of Southampton. 

Objectives of study: This review looked to synthesise recent work on metacognition and self-regulated learning to try and determine the best approaches to develop these characteristics in students

Headline findings: Interventions to improve metacognition and self-regulated learning have different impact sizes, and some things you would intuitively assume improve metacognition actually have a lower impact

Summary of study: 

• Effective practices to increase metacognition and self-regulated learning include direct and indirect approaches. 

• Direct approaches include explicit instruction, and modelling metacognitive and self-regulated practices. Indirect approaches include offering relevant practice opportunities, dialogue and scaffolded inquiry.

• Assessment is crucial - as formative assessment and feedback enables students to monitor their own progress and make changes as necessary to their approaches

• It is likely that self-regulated learning and metacognition are highly specialised by subject - relevant skills do not seem to easily transfer from one subject area to another

• Counterintuitively, less impactful strategies to increase metacognition and self-regulated learning include planning, self-checking, recordkeeping and goal setting. Moreover, small group work also seemed to work more effectively than large group or one-to-one interventions

• The EEF also offer 7 recommendations for teaching self-regulation and metacognition here

How does this impact me and my practice?:

Some reflections questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are:

• How can I look to include the most impactful strategies for metacognition and self-regulated learning into my teaching and learning practice?

• How can I make existing assessments and feedback more conducive to supporting the development of metacognition and self-regulation?

• How can I structure small group work to support metacognition? 

• What have I done already that appears to have made a difference to metacognition and self-regulated learning? How do I know that it has made a difference?

If anyone would like to discuss this further with me - please comment in the section below. 

I’d be delighted to open up these discussions and conversations.

Jaya