The Mega Task Demand: Metacognition...Oh, We are Thinking About Thinking, I Think…

 By Heather Pfrunder, M.A.Ed.   SDC Teacher and Education Specialist

September 20, 2021

It’s a mantra in my SDC classroom where I am verbally redirecting students on how to work attentively: “looking eyes, listening ears, eyes on paper, moving pencil on paper, thinking about your work,...no, try first then I can help you”...and repeat. And repeat.  I should auto-record myself, make a playlist, and hit the numbered response.  Ew, that last thought was not so stellar. But hey, in my humanness, it snuck in there.  And if you have ever taught students with metacognition challenges maybe you, too, have winced over such a thought.  So, I must ask myself: Am I really teaching thinking about thinking?  When I started this article, I was pretty sure the answer was, “Yes!  Graphic organizers and I are friends!” I can do amazing things with BoardMaker!” [For my Gen Ed teacher friends, this is a program where you create learning tools with picture icons matched with words for visual learners]. But here’s the thing about writing, you really have to research and self-reflect.  So, I’ve come face-to-face with this large mental image of a K-W-L chart.  So let’s break it down:

What we know is that metacognition in its simplest form is simply an “awareness or analysis of one's own learning or thinking processes”  (thank you Merriam-Webster).  For students with sensory processing issues, I find that often they want to focus on their own little inner worlds to find that slice of happiness, bringing them back to the uncomfortable reality of learning challenges can feel like stopping a tsunami from the shoreline.  

What we want to know is how to make this relevant for our a-typical students. 

What I learned is:

 1.) “Assign explicit instruction that addresses not just what you are learning, but how you are learning.” 

However, applying it to a lesson for an a-typical learner, often this means a visual model, a check-list of expectations, and repeat practice. Which is great (and essential for many of our visual learners with cognitive delays), but it may not be self-reflective. Instead what we often find is cognitively passive behaviors: “I counted the dots (TouchMath) and wrote the answer, I earned my tokens (my class reward system), got my i-Pad time (SDC earned time with a favorite item - the i-Pad)…”  So often it feels like a compliance check -- not actual thinking about thinking.  Learning this way is gradual, but for our non-verbal learners visual checklists of looking between the cue and the task is not merely to complete the task, but to “regulate performance and verify accuracy” through “self-monitoring” and to “signal task completion.” (Richie, G. 2005). So to be effective metacognition tools our lists cannot just be generalities, but more specific with careful thought about the actual thought process required to learn a task.

This is one of my more general in-task directions for functional skills.  

Relevant, but not specific to meta-cognition.

2.) “They must be taught the concept and its language explicitly.”

This, I believe, is the golden ticket.  If it is connected to previous skills and taught over time

we can get students thinking about what they understood or didn’t.  Not just a simple exit ticket,

but “What did I understand?” and “What doesn’t make sense?”  

Examples of this:

• “I answered the question by finding the key words in the question and underlining my text evidence”

• “I decoded while reading”

• “I recognized story sequence”

• “I counted all”

• “I regrouped”

Yup, those “I Can…” statements attached to those state standards.  However, we explicitly reflect “I did” or “I did NOT” understand.  Now we have active participants in the meta-cognition process.

When I go back into my previous check lists, they are still pretty relevant for functional skills.  However, I am looking forward to continuing on looking at objectives and having my students exit by answering self-reflection learning questions (for that last token on their token boards).  And rather than reinvent the wheel, I am going to initially have my students reference the anchor charts at my centers to reflect on their learning. 

This is a how-to process visual, but not totally self-reflective. 

I will have to add a process to this.

This is great for setting expectations, but not specific meta-cognition.

This is much better for explicitly teaching the learning process!

This anchor chart has the thinking process and the self-reflection embedded into it.

 I am looking to really celebrate learning!  And just maybe, it will be my students saying,  “looking eyes, listening ears, eyes on paper, moving pencil on paper, thinking about my work, try it first…”

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Join me in upcoming blog posts where I put these strategies into place and share resources!

References:

Chick, N. (2013). Metacognition. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved 9/20/2021 from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/metacognition/.

Richie, G. (2005). Two Interventions that enhance the metacognition of students with disabilities: Cognitive Cue Cards and Correspondence Training.  Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ914572.pdf

Learn, Create, Share

Learn, Create, Share

As mentioned in my last blog the Seesaw app is a learning and communication tool. Not only does it enhance learning but it also boosts communication between teachers, students, and parents. Did you get the opportunity to create an account for your class?

“Can you say phenomenal?” - Online Teacher Review

Wouldn’t it be phenomenal if your students’ parents could have a daily glimpse of how their child is doing in math? What if I told you it's possible? Through this tool student’s are able to show their parents a glimpse of how they are doing in math on any given day.

We have recently introduced multiplication to 2nd graders. They love it! But imagine how much more engaged in math they could be when integrating technology!


Last week there was a math lesson with an Application Problem that read:

Sandy's toy telephone has buttons arranged in 3 columns and 4 rows. 

a. Draw a picture of Sandy's telephone. 

b. Write a repeated addition equation to show the total number of buttons on Sandy's telephone. 

c. Answer the question in a written sentence. 

So how did I integrate Seesaw with this application problem? I added it to Seesaw as an “Activity.” After discussing the application problem students solved the problem on their whiteboards, took a picture of it, and uploaded it to their Seesaw account. Once uploaded, their parent gets an alert and they can see it on their phone! If you allow for it, they can even comment! Check out one student’s result:




As you can see, Izabella, solved this problem correctly. Her family was able to see her work and just a few minutes later comment on her work: “Amazing work. Let’s keep it up.” Students love to make their parents proud!

Watch what happens when students solve an answer incorrectly. This next problem was part of an application problem that required students to add up to 3 different addends.

Wow! This student’s parent quickly reminded her son to make sure to check his work. I find this to be quite powerful! Now they are accountable to show not just their teacher, but their parents too!
This tool can also be used as proof during conferences. Instead of going through a pile of papers, go straight to this students’ profile. There it is! A digital portfolio of work throughout the year.

“Parents love that they get a glimpse of a typical day in their child's classroom. I can also capture many items and observations for students' individual portfolios. Super easy to set up, share and use daily.” Online Teacher Review

Aren’t you excited to start using this tool? Check out the following tutorial on how to Create a Seesaw Activity . Now you can easily create and share activities for your students to complete in Seesaw. I’d love to hear what activities you come up with!

Inspiring Minds,
Melissa Hernandez