Metacognition

Instructors can integrate metacognition into their teaching by reviewing their courses and finding opportunities to discuss metacognitive knowledge and skills with the students. For example, you could ask students at the beginning of the semester how they typically prepare for classes, or in mid-semester, if the way they are studying for the course is working for them or needs improvement. Or you could have students submit exit slips to reflect on how they would use what they learned in class.

Additionally, below are three empirically supported strategies that instructors can implement to promote metacognitive development in their courses.

• 1

  Metacognitive Prompts

  Metacognitive prompts are structured self-reflection questions designed to activate students’ awareness of their learning processes. Tanner (2012) emphasizes the utility of such prompts in guiding students through goal setting, progress monitoring, and post-task evaluation.

  Instructors can embed metacognitive prompts at strategic points throughout the semester:

  • Initial phase: Goal-setting contracts and time-management plans.
  • Mid-semester: Exit slips and reflective journals to assess progress.
  • Final phase: Summative reflections to evaluate learning strategies and outcomes.

  Tanner (2012) lists self-questions for promoting student metacognition about learning. They include questions like “What are all the things I need to do to successfully accomplish this task?”, “Which confusions remain, and how am I going to get them clarified?” and “What will I still remember 5 years from now that I learned in this course?” These questions not only support self-regulation but also provide instructors with insights into students’ cognitive engagement and help students adjust their approach to achieve their learning goals.

• 2

  Wrappers

  Wrappers are brief metacognitive exercises attached to assessments or learning activities. They prompt students to reflect on their preparation, performance, and future strategies. Hodges et al. (2020) demonstrated that wrappers can significantly improve student achievement in STEM disciplines. Common uses of wrappers include:

  • Exam wrappers: Students reflect on study methods and identify areas for improvement.
  • Lecture wrappers: Students summarize key concepts and pose lingering questions. 
  • Assignment wrappers: Students analyze their approach and challenges encountered. 

  Wrappers can be implemented as a tool for reflection for:

  • Pre-activity/assessment: to encourage planning and strategy selection.
  • Post-activity/assessment: to facilitate evaluation and adjustment

  These tools foster a culture of reflective learning and help students internalize effective academic behaviors.

• 3

  Think Aloud Protocols

  Think-aloud protocols involve verbalizing cognitive processes during problem-solving or decision-making. This strategy, commonly used in K–12 and applied disciplines, has been adapted for higher education to model expert thinking and scaffold student learning (Watson & Gentry, 2024).

  Instructors can use think-aloud protocols to: 

  • Demonstrate how to approach complex tasks or exam questions. 
  • Reveal disciplinary reasoning and heuristics. 
  • Encourage students to practice think-aloud so you can check their reasoning errors
  • Use them during small group problem-solving (Halmo et al., 2022) 

  For example, while solving a problem, an instructor might say:

  “I’m starting by identifying the key variables. I know from previous examples that X tends to influence Y, so I’ll test that relationship first…” 

  This approach demystifies academic reasoning and supports the development of students’ metacognitive regulation. Additionally, it helps the students to build disciplinary procedural knowledge (e.g., how to solve problems, do research, write a paper, etc.) and enhance their critical thinking skills. 

The integration of metacognitive strategies into college teaching offers a robust framework for enhancing student learning and academic success. This article provides three concrete strategies for college instructors: metacognitive prompts, wrappers, and think-aloud protocols. Additionally, the framework of metacognitive regulation and knowledge might help you formulate additional strategies you can use to cultivate reflective, self-directed learners.