The Self-Aware Student: Supporting Your Child’s Metacognition

The first time I heard the term “metacognition,” I thought it sounded like something straight from a sci-fi movie. It struck my ear as the kind of thing an expositional character in a futuristic dystopian society might reference (and no, it wasn’t in Minority Report; those were Precogs).

Nevertheless, it turns out one’s first impressions are not always the truest—a solid life lesson in its own right—because metacognition, however it sounds, is actually a highly useful strategy for ameliorating and optimizing a student’s cognitive function. What’s more, it’s something parents in turn can readily support (and if they’re not careful, they might learn from it too along the way).

Refresher Course

Unless you’re a Hampton Tutors regular, you may not know exactly what metacognition is. Simply put, it’s the idea of thinking about thinking. Being aware of how we process the world around us as well as our own thoughts is hugely valuable because it allows students to make study choices based on how they learn.

For example, a student with ADHD might believe that focusing on tasks isn’t for him. That’s how it works, right? Yet, that same student who has a metacognitive sense of how his brain functions might recognize that a shorter attention span will allow him to switch between tasks quickly and easily, so homework is more manageable if it’s divided into small chunks of Spanish conjugations with bits of factoring quadratic equations thrown in.

Another metacognitive scholar might realize that her ability to memorize is helped by flashcards because the act of making them is as useful as subsequently quizzing herself. Time to break out the index cards!

At its heart, metacognition imparts a sense of self-reflexive agency in students. It empowers them to take control of their own learning, a consequence that naturally follows from endeavoring to understand one’s thoughts.

How Parents Can Help

So, how can parents support children who aspire to elevate their metacognitive capacities? While there is no single right way, encouraging it in one’s kidlets can be helped along via several general strategies:

1) Ask questions (the right kind)

Metacognition asks students to frequently question the means through which they learn, so inquiring as to how they’re learning rather than simply what they’re learning will help jumpstart those self-aware neurons. Feel free to steer conversations towards the ways in which a certain teacher’s or tutor’s study strategy helped them or maybe could be tweaked slightly. The more they reflect on this, the more they’ll think moving forward on how best they learn.

2) Location, location, location

One step in being more metacognitive is to figure out what sort of study environment works best for your child and then aim to facilitate that. Some students do well having everything laid out on their bed while listening to background music whereas others prefer the sterile quiet of a desk in the library. Encourage your child to experiment with study locations and think about which works best. Yes, it may mean driving them to the library more often, but what is parenting if not serving as a glorified chauffeur? I kid, but it would surely be worth the rides to have a more productive child.

3) Remind them that confusion is good (wait, what?)

Philosopher Robert Pirsig writes about how stuckness is the key to solving all problems since being stuck is where all solutions are born. Feeling stuck is where metacognition kicks into high gear. Being self-aware enough to identify why you’re confused is the first step to finding clarity. Thus, rather than avoiding confusion, talk to your child about what areas of school feel a bit murkier and why specifically they do. Emphasize too that confusion is, in fact, fantastic because it means an opportunity to learn is right around the corner. The more they reflect on what perplexes them and see it as a source for growth, the better equipped they’ll be to find solutions and foster a happier mindset overall.