The Role of Metacognition in Effective Learning: Personal Strategies and Reflections

Understanding Metacognition

What is metacognition? Dr. Stephen Chew states, "Metacognition is a student's awareness of their level of understanding a topic" (SamfordCommunication). Metacognition is how somebody comprehends any topic. This essay will reflect on my metacognition skills and learning process.

To understand or comprehend any topic or subject, one must be willing to put in the time and effort. When I have any test or quiz, I ensure that I understand what I am reading while studying to know that I am well prepared for any question my professor asks about the topic I learned.

Because if I do not feel like I can answer whatever question they have to ask, I know that I did not prepare myself well enough for this exam. And I believe everybody should study this way because then one would be less likely to fail an exam one was looking for.

Effective Learning Strategies and Time Management

Throughout the years, I have found different learning strategies that have worked for me and some that could have been more helpful. I have found out that I cannot have any sound while I try to study because then I will begin to focus on the sound instead of my work, which means no music, no television, no games, and no talkative people. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy study groups, but I only enjoy studying with others who want to learn. Not the ones that talk the whole time or continuously go off-topic. Other than that, study groups allow me to understand better what I am studying because if I do not quite understand something, maybe somebody in the group might understand it.

I also like to hear how others may interpret something because then we can discuss it, and I can listen to it from somebody else's point of view. Another strategy that helps me is when I read something that seems essential to me; I write it down in my journal. Once I am done writing down everything I understood from what I am studying, I like to rewrite it to ensure that I know it and that it looks nicer. Then, I take a highlighter, reread what I wrote, and highlight what stands out to me, basically the main idea of every section. Finally, I began to write everything I highlighted on multiple notecards. Once I had finished writing everything down, I reread the notecards several times until I had finally memorized them.

Another strategy I have learned is that time management is one of the main aspects one needs while studying. If one does not give oneself multiple days to study a specific topic or subject, one will not fully understand anything they just learned. One could study right before a test and get a good grade on it, but after that exam is over, they completely forget everything, and that is because they did not manage their time well with studying. The best advice I could give anybody is not to wait until the last minute to learn something; looking needs time.

In conclusion, I use metacognition on a day-to-day basis without me knowing. Before watching Dr. Chew's video, I did not know what that word meant; after watching it, I now understand it. Everybody should know how well they know a topic before and after studying it.

Reference

1. SamfordCommunication, director. YouTube. 16 Aug. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH95h36NChI.

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