Marcus and I discussed our latest book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas, on CoffeED, an online interview program focused on education and learning.
CoffeED’s host and global educator correspondent Dr. Rod Berger conducted the interview, during which we explained the concept of metacognition, defined as “thinking about your thinking with the goal of improving learning,” and shared some practical ways to use metacognitive strategies to improve the learning experience.
Among the strategies we described are: being aware of what you already know and what you’re trying to learn, monitoring your progress with such tools as self-testing, and being aware of what results you’ve achieved.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
New Edutopia Blog Post Explores the Teenage Brain
In our latest blog post for Edutopia, Marcus and I discuss one of the most exciting times in life for changing and learning: adolescence.
The blog post, entitled "The Teenage Brain Is Wired to Learn—So Make Sure Your Students Know It," describes how neuroplasticity benefits adolescents and enables them to improve their performance in school. This becomes even more possible with the direct guidance and help of committed and caring teachers.
While students who have reached their early teens already have formed an image of themselves regarding their intellectual capabilities, it's important to communicate that they have the capacity to become functionally smarter. This is a point we get across in our newest book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas. And as we point out in our Edutopia blog post, success in school is largely determined by the learning strategies that students employ.
The blog post, entitled "The Teenage Brain Is Wired to Learn—So Make Sure Your Students Know It," describes how neuroplasticity benefits adolescents and enables them to improve their performance in school. This becomes even more possible with the direct guidance and help of committed and caring teachers.
While students who have reached their early teens already have formed an image of themselves regarding their intellectual capabilities, it's important to communicate that they have the capacity to become functionally smarter. This is a point we get across in our newest book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas. And as we point out in our Edutopia blog post, success in school is largely determined by the learning strategies that students employ.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
We Share Strategies for Using Metacogition at TeachThought
Marcus and I shared "5 Strategies for Teaching Students to Use Metacogntion" in a blog post published on the TeachThought website. As we explain in this article, metacognitive skills enable students to regulate their thinking and become independent learners.
The five practical strategies we identify for explicitly teaching students to use metacognition include:
The five practical strategies we identify for explicitly teaching students to use metacognition include:
- Define the term. Our simple definition is: "thinking about your thinking as a pathway to better learning."
- Ask students to supply examples. We use the metaphor of "driving your brain," which helps students understand the concept.
- Catch students being metacognitive. Celebrate the use of this skill in large and small groups as a way to underscore its importance.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Our Work on Metacognition Is Featured in Education Week
Marcus and I were among a select group of educators whose work and comments were featured in an important multi-part series on the subject of metacogntion in the classroom, which appeared in the popular and highly regarded publication Education Week.
Our comments appear in Part 2 of the five-part series, which gave us the opportunity to share insights into our groundbreaking work on metacognition. In the article, we made the point that teaching for and with metacognition is vital for educators who espouse a growth mindset.
We also explained how the concept of metacognition can be effectively communicated by encouraging students to “drive their brains.” This metaphor is the basis for our latest book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas.
Our comments appear in Part 2 of the five-part series, which gave us the opportunity to share insights into our groundbreaking work on metacognition. In the article, we made the point that teaching for and with metacognition is vital for educators who espouse a growth mindset.
We also explained how the concept of metacognition can be effectively communicated by encouraging students to “drive their brains.” This metaphor is the basis for our latest book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas.
Friday, October 7, 2016
We Talk Metacognition with ASCD on the BAM Radio Network
Marcus and I were pleased to have the opportunity to discuss our latest book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brain: Metacognitive Strategies, Activities, and Lesson Ideas, on the BAM Radio Network. We were interviewed by Jusmar Maness, principal of Balfour Elementary School in Asheboro, N.C., as part of the ASCD "Learn, Teach, Lead" Radio Program.
The radio program allowed us to explain the concept of metacognition, defined as "thinking about your thinking with the goal of improving learning," and share some practical ways to teach metacognitive strategies in the classroom. On the program, Marcus described metacognition as "the No. 1 attribute of high-performing students," whereas I countered the myth that learning becomes more difficult as we age. In adulthood, I explained, "Life continues to get better as we're able to be metacognitive, conscious and wise about our learning."
The radio program allowed us to explain the concept of metacognition, defined as "thinking about your thinking with the goal of improving learning," and share some practical ways to teach metacognitive strategies in the classroom. On the program, Marcus described metacognition as "the No. 1 attribute of high-performing students," whereas I countered the myth that learning becomes more difficult as we age. In adulthood, I explained, "Life continues to get better as we're able to be metacognitive, conscious and wise about our learning."
Thursday, October 6, 2016
We Encourage Parental Support for Smarter Thinking in Our Latest Edutopia Post
As Marcus and I point out in our latest blog post for Edutopia, students spend much more time outside of school than they do in the classroom. That's why partnering with parents is so important to enhancing a child's executive function and putting them on a path toward smarter thinking.
One of the ongoing and underlying threads in our work is the focus on helping students learn how they can become "the boss of their brains." Parents can help with this endeavor by reinforcing important messages and strategies that help their children take charge of their thinking.
One of the ongoing and underlying threads in our work is the focus on helping students learn how they can become "the boss of their brains." Parents can help with this endeavor by reinforcing important messages and strategies that help their children take charge of their thinking.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Our Latest Edutopia Post Gives Strategies for Improving Students' Executive Function
Our latest blog post for Edutopia explores the importance of the brain's executive function and describes how teachers can help students direct their thinking and cognitive abilities toward setting goals and planning to achieve them, establishing priorities, getting and staying organized, and focusing attention on the task at hand.
Entitled "Strategies for Students With Scattered Minds," the post describes "workouts" that allow students to practice pausing, prioritizing, improving their working memory, and mapping their options.
As a former classroom teacher and school psychologist, I worked with many youth who had difficulty with various executive functions, such as the ability to inhibit behavior, initiation and planning behavior, working memory and the ability to selectively maintain attention on information needed to complete a learning task, as well as cognitive flexibility.
Based on this experience, I found that explicit instruction about executive function and how to improve it is especially useful for students with learning challenges.
Entitled "Strategies for Students With Scattered Minds," the post describes "workouts" that allow students to practice pausing, prioritizing, improving their working memory, and mapping their options.
As a former classroom teacher and school psychologist, I worked with many youth who had difficulty with various executive functions, such as the ability to inhibit behavior, initiation and planning behavior, working memory and the ability to selectively maintain attention on information needed to complete a learning task, as well as cognitive flexibility.
Based on this experience, I found that explicit instruction about executive function and how to improve it is especially useful for students with learning challenges.
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