Forging connections with students through metacognitive assignments

by Diane K. Angell, St. Olaf College

We have all likely shared the experience, early in our teaching career, of a gaggle of students gathering at our office door after an exam. “I studied for so many hours!” “I came to class everyday.” “I always did well in high school.” Students also seemed to struggle ahead of exams as they tried to learn and master scientific material. “What should I study?” “Why can’t you just give us a study guide?” I was often perplexed by these frustrations. I wondered and tried to recall how I had learned material and strategized as a science student preparing for the inevitable exams in larger introductory college courses.

That same month, I found myself at a conference, the Accredited Colleges of the Midwest’s Teagle Collegium on Student Learning. The focus was very much on metacognition. Although as a biologist, I struggled to understand the details of several presentations, it all sounded very familiar. Perhaps this was what my students were missing? I appreciated the intellectual points and took copious notes, until my mind began to wander. I needed to prepare to host a large group for Thanksgiving in the coming days. How should I start? What did I need to purchase and where would I get it? What needed to be prepared and cooked when, so that all the different dishes were ready and warm when it was actually time to sit down and eat? I began to get anxious. I quickly realized two things. Focusing back on my students, I immediately appreciated the degree to which preparing a Thanksgiving meal, and preparing to take an exam are both complex metacognitive tasks. I could finally imagine what my students were feeling and understand the metacognitive challenges exams present to them. Students need to evaluate what they know, what they don’t know and how best to approach any material they are uncertain of. And unlike cooking and meal preparation, there are no clear simple sets of directions highlighting how to approach the task of taking a typical college classroom exam. Second, my own pre-Thanksgiving meal mental preparation check made me realize that I have likely been using such metacognitive skills since I was a student, but was just not aware I was using them. Perhaps I did have some wisdom to share and upon returning to campus I committed to using a metacognition approach to help students prepare for exams.

Introductory college biology courses are an excellent place to begin engaging students with a metacognitive approach to exam preparation. These classes will probably always have exams. Moreover, as students move on in biology they are likely to face even more challenging exams. In order to engage students in metacognitive practices I came up with a series of straightforward metacognitive prompts that I emailed to students before each exam. They included simple questions such as: How do you think you will start studying? What techniques will you use while studying? What was the most difficult topic in this section of the course and why was it difficult? How will you approach the material you do not yet understand?

I found their responses fascinating. Some clearly wrote as little as possible, but most wrote quite extensively sharing with me precise details of how they had studied (or not studied) to prepare for the exam. Many responses were surprisingly sincere and confessional. The assignments brought home to me two points that have left a lasting impression. First, I was reminded of the importance of establishing a connection with students as well as the importance of that connection to student learning. Their emailed responses helped me get to know them in a way that was very different than in the public arena of class or lab. They let me in on their personal narrative of test preparation. I sometimes felt as if I was reading a secret diary. They were honest with me in their emails about what their studying experiences had been, perhaps even more so than if they had come to see me in person. Perhaps the proliferation of email, texting and Facebook has made students more comfortable conversing through a keyboard with faculty than face to face. After responding to the emailed questions, many did eventually come in to chat and engage with me about study strategies and differences they were noticing between high school and college. They seemed to think they knew me better and that I knew them better. Upon arriving in my office, they would frequently refer back to their emailed responses, even though I sometimes struggled to remember exactly who had emailed me what details. The emails seemed to prompt a unique relationship and they saw me as someone who was interested in them as an individual, an attitude that likely helped them feel as if they were part of the learning community in the classroom.

I also came to understand that that the task of mastering material in order to prepare for an exam has become more complicated. In the past, we had a textbook and we had notes from class. That was it. Today this task really is fraught with complex decisions. Students in college classrooms are less likely to be taking notes in a traditional lecture format. They are more likely to be engaged during class in small group discussions and problem based learning activities. They have access to and are justly encouraged to use the online resources that come with texts and take advantage of other online resources. They are also frequently encouraged to form study groups to discuss their understanding of topics outside of class. These are great ways for students to engage with material, and prepare for exams. This diverse learning landscape can be a lifesaver for some students, but for others, when it comes time to prepare for an exam, the variety of options for studying can be overwhelming and paralyzing. As we have opened up new ways of teaching and learning, we may have left students with many different resources at their fingertips but failed to help them think metacognitively about what works for them as they master knowledge to prepare for a summative exam.

Both the stronger connections I made with my students and my better understanding of the diverse exam preparation choices they must make help me feel better prepared to mentor and advise students as they navigate their introductory biology course. By engaging students metacognitively in emails concerning their exam preparation I gained a deeper understanding about how students were learning in my class. Their sincere and thoughtful responses provided a window on their world and, in interesting ways, their metacognitive thoughts rounded out my efforts to metacognitively assess my course. As faculty, we are often reminded to step back and reflect on our goals for our class and for student learning. We need to consider what is working in our course and what is not working. It was finally clear to me that a full metacognitive consideration of my course required regular reflective feedback from my students and an understanding of what they were struggling with. Although I had always solicited such feedback, students seemed much more likely to be thinking about their learning and willing to share their assessment of that learning in an email just before an exam. Ultimately I now see their honest metacognitive feedback has meant that I have gained as much or more than the students I was initially trying to help.

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Fighting Imposter Syndrome Through Metacognition

By Charity S. Peak, Ph.D.

Have you ever felt like an imposter at work? Taught a class that was not your expertise? Felt intimidated before giving a presentation? Nearly every faculty member experiences this imposter phenomenon at some point. After all, as faculty we work around incredibly smart and talented people who shine from being experts in their field. Additionally, people drawn to academia naturally feel compelled to be knowledgeable and often find themselves to be inadequate when they are not (Huston, 2009).

Imposter syndrome is “an overwhelming sense of being a fraud, a phony, of not being good enough for [a] job, despite much evidence to the contrary” (Kaplan, 2009). Apart from accomplishing significant professional milestones, people cannot seem to internally acknowledge their success or feel deserving. This sense of being an imposter is prevalent among women but is increasingly being revealed by men as well. Although the condition is often referred to as a syndrome, it is important to understand that it is NOT actually a diagnosable mental illness found in the DSM-V. Instead, it is an affliction, similar to test or performance anxiety, experienced by a variety of high-achieving individuals that can be treated successfully using metacognition and self-regulation.

Reactions to imposter syndrome vary widely and by individual. Typically, imposter phenomenon starts with a self-sabotaging internal dialogue, such as:

  • Who do I think I am? I’m not smart enough to teach this class or present on this topic.
  • What if my students ask me a question that I can’t answer?
  • What if someone finds out I don’t know what I’m talking about?
  • I’m not cut out for this. I really can’t do this.

A physical reaction similar to other stressful situations (fight, flight, or freeze) often follows:

  • Increased blood pressure
  • Blushing
  • Sweating
  • Shaking
  • Tonic immobility (i.e., mental block or “deer in headlights”)

Faculty in these situations tend to respond in one of two ways:

  • Undercompensating by becoming submissive, overly agreeable or even apologetic
  • Overcompensating with defensive, bossy and aggressive behaviors
  1. Recognize symptoms when they arise and recenter yourself through breathing:
  • Assume a comfortable posture
  • Close your eyes if possible
  • Focus on the sensations of your body
  • Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth
  • When your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your breath
  • Breathe in, breathe out
  • Repeat for at least 10 breaths and up to 5 minutes
  1. Reconstruct a new, positive internal dialogue. Talk to yourself as you would a good friend by being supportive and confidence-building.
  2. Posture yourself as confident. It turns out that “fake it till you make it” works with regard to physical posture. People who use Power Poses for 2 minutes demonstrate higher levels of confidence-building hormones (testosterone) as opposed to stress-inducing hormones (cortisol) (Carney, Cuddy & Yap, 2010; Cuddy, 2012).
  3. Acknowledge the limits of your knowledge. Instead of hiding your lack of expertise, build a repertoire of ways to deflect difficult questions, such as:
  • What do you think?
  • I don’t know. Does anyone want to look it up and tell us the answer?
  • Great question. Can we talk about that more after class (or meeting)?
  • Let’s not dive too deeply into that issue because it might distract us from today’s agenda.
  • Good thought. Does anyone want to collaborate to address that concern?
  • Here is what I know, and here is what I don’t know (Huston, 2009).
  1. Avoid “teaching as telling.” Rather than lecturing, which requires great preparation and pressure to be the expert in the room, move toward new pedagogical models of facilitation which turn the teaching burden over to the students, such as jigsaw and gallery walk.
  2. Know that you are not alone. It is plausible that nearly everyone in the room has felt this way at one point or another in their careers, even though they may not readily share these thoughts with others. Normalizing the feelings to yourself will start to defuse your anxiety.
  3. Share the issue with others you trust. A mentor or even a small community of colleagues can collaboratively strategize about how to address the issue.
  4. Recognize external factors that might contribute. Often people blame themselves for toxic situations which were created by outside circumstances. If the situation persists, consider declining future involvement to avoid setting yourself up for difficulties.

“Awareness is half the battle” really does apply to imposter syndrome. Through metacognition, you can conquer the self-defeating thoughts and behaviors that might prevent you from succeeding in your personal and professional life. Intentional self-monitoring of negative internal dialogue followed by practicing self-regulation through the simple strategies outlined above is the antidote to imposter syndrome. So next time you feel yourself break into a sweat (figuratively or literally), assume a Power Pose and leverage metacognition to triumph over your doubts!

Metacognition promotes success by helping us overcome self-defeating thoughts. Share on X
 Resources:

Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363-1368. doi: 10.1177/0956797610383437

Cuddy, A. (2012, October 1). Your body language shapes who you are [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en

Huston, T. (2009). Teaching What You Don’t Know. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kaplan, K. (2009). Unmasking the impostor. Nature, 459(21): 468-469. doi: 10.1038/nj7245-468a


A Minute a Day Keeps the Metacognitive Doctor Away!

Aaron S. Richmond

Metropolitan State University of Denver

First and foremost, what I am about to discuss with you all is not an educational or metacognitive teaching panacea (aka silver-bullet). But I would like introduce and discuss is the idea of using Classroom Assessment Techniques (affectionately known as CATs) as a form of a metacognitive instructional strategy.

CATs: A Very Brief Review

Described best by Angelo and Cross (1993), CATs are designed to serve two purposes. First, they are meant as a formative assessment tool for teachers to understand how much their students are learning in the course. Second, CATs are designed to provide you, the teacher, feedback on the efficacy of your teaching strategies/methods. CATs are typically very brief and take very little instructional time (a minute or two).  CATs are also created based on your assessment needs. For instance, if you are interested in assessing course-related knowledge and skills then you might want to use the one-minute paper, focused listening, background knowledge probe (see Cunningham & Moore, n.d.). Or, if you are interested in assessing skill in analysis and critical thinking, you may want to use pro and con grids, or analytic memos, or content, form, and function outlines (see Cunningham & Moore, n.d.). If you would like to assess your students’ skill in synthesis and creative thinking you may want to use one-sentence summary, or concept maps, or approximate analogies. The list of different types of CATs goes on and on (see Cunningham & Moore, n.d. for complete list and summary) so I would like to focus on previously established CATs that lend themselves to be quite quick, easy, and potentially effective metacognitive improvement tools. I like to call these the Metacognitive Cats or MCATs!

The MCATs

Cunningham and Moore (n.d.) recently categorized 50 of Angelo and Cross’ (1993) CATs based on the purpose of the assessment needed (some described previously in the blog). Among these categories, Cunningham and Moore posit that some CATs are meant for “Techniques for Assessing Learner Attitudes, Values, and Self-Awareness” (p. 4). Several of the CATs in this category lend themselves to be almost metacognitive awareness activities. Specifically, these include course-related self-confidence surveys, focused autobiographical sketches, muddiest point, productivity study time log, and diagnostic learning logs. Let me take a moment to describe these potential MCATs (Angelo & Cross, 1993).

  • Course-related self-confidence surveys: At the end of class you have students fill out an anonymous questionnaire that assesses their confidence in mastering the material discussed in class.  
  • Focused autobiographical sketches: At the end or beginning of class, have students write a brief statement on a “successful” study strategy or learning strategy that they used to learn the class material.
  • Muddiest point: At the conclusion of a lesson, ask students to write down the one concept that they are still struggling with in one or two sentences. You can use this to identify which concepts students are struggling with.
  • Productivity study time log: Have students keep a daily log and record both the amount of time spent studying and the quality of time spent studying for your course. Students can complete this before, or at the beginning or end of class.
  • Diagnostic learning logs: Have students write a log for assignments or assessments in which the student identifies what study methods and knowledge that they had correct and have them diagnose what they did not have correct and how to solve this error for the future. These can be done before, during or after class as well.

Now, these MCATs are just CATs unless you help students connect the CAT to the Metacognition. The trick is, how do you do this? One answer may be direct feedback and reflection to the learner. What I mean, is that if you employ a CAT (e.g., muddiest point), then you need to make it metacognitive by providing feedback directly to your student on their performance, have students elaborate and reflect on their answers, and provide constructive solutions/assistance in improving their metacognition.  Let me illustrate using the MCAT of a muddiest point. After your students turn in their muddiest point, take a few minutes to talk to the students about why they are confused about the content. You may ask your student about their note-taking strategies in class. Or you may ask your student about their reading strategies when they read the chapter before class. You may ask them about their attention to the lesson (i.e., the amount of cell phone or computer use). You may ask them about their use of other study strategies. Then, have your student reflect on why they didn’t understand the course material based on your conversation and have them come up with changing just one thing about how they studied. The next time, you repeat the MCAT muddiest point, the process can start over and you can revisit the same questions with your students. Incorporating direct feedback, reflection, and solution of CATs may just turn them into MCATs.

Concluding Questions

As, to my knowledge, educational and metacognitive researchers have not investigated the efficacy of these potential MCATs as metacognitive instructional tools. Therefore, I feel like I must wrap up this blog with a few questions/challenges/inspirational ideasJ

  1. Can the use of MCATs increase metacognitive awareness in students?
  2. Can the use of MCATs increase metacognitive knowledge in students?
  3. Can the use of MCATs increase academic performance of students?
  4. If the answer to any of the previous questions is yes, then the questions becomes are some MCATs better than others and can students transfer the use of these MCATs to other content domain?

References

Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cunningham, K., & Moore, D. (n.d.). 50 CATS by Angelo and Cross. Retrieved from http://pages.uoregon.edu/tep/resou


Using Metacognition to Make International Connections

by Lauren Scharff, PhD, U. S. Air Force Academy and John Draeger, PhD, SUNY Buffalo State

If you’re one of our longer-term followers, you’ll notice that this post is a bit different from others on our site. We just wrapped up a fantastic week in Melbourne, Australia working with six colleagues from around the globe, and we want to share some of our metacognition endeavors and reflections with you. This experience was part of the second International Collaborative Writing Groups  (ICWG) that is an affiliate effort for the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSoTL).

Eight groups were part of the ICWG. The groups formed in May and met virtually over the summer to focus their topics and develop an outline prior to the face-to-face meeting this past week. Our group’s topic was The Student Learning Process, and we focused our efforts on how metacognition would support the transfer of learning from one situation or context to another. We believe the transfer of learning is one of the ultimate goals of education because it supports lifelong learning and employability.

The group’s work on how metacognition supports the transfer of learning will be revealed when it’s published, but meanwhile, we will share some ways that metacognition was part of our experience of facilitating the group. We’ll start with some pictures to set the tone. The first shows our group working: from left to right, Lauren, Susan Smith (Leeds Beckett University, UK), Lucie S Dvorakova (Honors Student, University of Queensland, Australia), Marion Tower (University of Queensland), Dominic Verpoorten (IFRES-University of Liège, Belgium), Marie Devlin (Newcastle University, UK), and Jason M. Lodge (University of Melbourne, Australia), [John Draeger taking the pic]. The second gives you a sense of the overall setting, showing multiple groups all kept to task by savvy ICWG coordinators, Mick Healy (University of Gloucestershire, retired) and Kelly Matthews (University of Queensland). Fortunately, Mick and Kelly also built in some social time for community building. The third picture shows our group at the Victoria State Library, left to right: Dominique, Sam, Marion, Sue, Marion, John, Lauren and Jason.

ICWG_SLP_Working

ICWG_mult_groups

ICWG_SLP_Social

How Metacognition Found Its Way into Our Facilitating Experiences

If you read the home page of this site, you’ll notice that we loosely define metacognition as the intertwined awareness and self-regulation of a process/skill, specifically with the goal of developing that process or skill. Although the site is focused on metacognition as it relates to teaching and learning, it can refer to any skill or process. Facilitating a group can be much like teaching, but it involves some additional processes that might more traditionally be linked to leadership and communication.

We noticed ourselves using metacognition in the following aspects of our work:

Use of Language: Given the international character of the group, self-monitoring and self-regulation allowed us to navigate differences in language and underlying assumptions. For example, through our discussions we learned that academic faculty might be referred to as ‘staff,’ ‘tutor,’ ‘instructor’ or ‘professor.’ Individual courses might be referred to as ‘classes,’ ‘modules’ or ‘units’ of study.

Assumptions about education: Our discussion revealed differences in the structures of the university systems in different countries. When discussing how students might use their learning in one course to inform their learning in another, the two North Americans on the team (John and Lauren) tended to think about transfer learning between a diverse set of courses across a broad liberal arts core curriculum in addition to transfer across more closely related courses within a major. Because undergraduate education in Australia and the United Kingdom tend not to be structured around a broad core curriculum, members of the team from these countries tended to focus on transfer learning within a particular field of study.

As we drafted our text and created a survey that was to be used in four different countries, we each engaged in self-monitoring of the terms as the conversation was in progress and would regulate behavior accordingly. For example, someone would start by saying “I think that staff might…” but then quickly add “or perhaps you might say ‘professors.’” Similarly, we would use our newly developed awareness of the different educational structures to guide our discussion about how transfer of learning might be supported across all of our learning environments.

Management of Project Scope: Both transfer of learning and metacognition are vast areas of study. Given the wide variety of experiences and individual interests in our group, we explored a wide array of possible directions for our paper, some of which we decided we would table for follow-on papers (e.g. how student level of intellectual development might impact transfer of learning and the creation of a “toolkit” for instructors that would help them support transfer of learning). Moving the conversation in fruitful directions required that all of us remain mindful of the task at hand (i.e. working towards a 6000-word article). Self-monitoring allowed us to detect when an interesting discussion had gone beyond the scope of our current article and self-regulation more quickly brought us back to the task at hand.

In summary, the international character of the writing group added a depth and richness to the conversation, but it also increased the likelihood of misunderstanding and the challenge of group management. Self-monitoring and self-regulation allowed us to overcome those challenges.

Many thanks to our group members for a fantastic face-to-face experience, and we look forward to our continued exchanges as we finalize the paper and carry on with the follow-on papers.