The following materials and lesson plan are taken from Mrs. Seah-Tay Hui Yong's Pastoral Care and Career Guidance materials for Nanyang Girls High School, Singapore.
Dear Teachers,
We live in an increasingly complex world. Our school leavers will enter a working world where ambiguity is the order of the day and they must know how to think for themselves and solve problems never encountered before. For that to happen, students must acquire the habit of thinking about their own thinking, that is, metacognition. Occurring in the neocortex, metacognition is our ability to know what we know and what we don't know. It is our ability to plan a strategy for producing what information is needed, to be conscious of our own steps and strategies during the act of problem solving, and to reflect on and evaluate the productiveness of our own thinking. Metacognition is what separates the experts from the novices.
Research shows that there are 3 phases in metacognition during problem solving:
Forethought (which involves the planning before the problem solving);
Performance (which involves monitoring effectiveness while problem-solving);
Reflection (which involves looking back and drawing lessons from the episode)
There is increasing evidence that the reflective phase is most important in achieving success.
Lesson objective:
At the end of the lesson, students will be aware / reacquainted with the strategies that will develop a habit of thinking about thinking.
Lesson Plan:
Time - Activity
10 mins - Teacher explains objective and rationale of lesson. Info above
5 mins - Students watch video of Mr Bean trying to get out of car park (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBnEYECo7S4)
5 mins - Students watch it again but with the sound turned off. Class is invited to say aloud what may be going on through Mr Bean’s mind as he tries to solve his problem. Focus is not on his feelings but problem solving steps.
10 mins - Class discussion on strategies Mr Bean and they themselves use in trying to solve problems. For example, by clarifying, checking for accuracy, reflecting on mistakes
10 mins - For practice, students pair up.
Teacher reads out Problem 1. One student tells partner how she goes about solving the problem.
Teacher reads problem 2. Now the other student tries to solve the problem and tells partner the process by which she arrived at the solution. See "Resources" below.
5 mins - Teacher wraps up and students think about specific metacognitive strategies that they use in different subjects. They will be asked to share at the next lesson.
Resources:
Problems 1 and 2
Problem 1: How much is half of two and two?
(Note : two possible solutions depending on how student decoded the problem)
Problem 2 : If the day before yesterday was Wed, what is the day after tomorrow?
(Note: Experts will always check their answer as they go along so that they know they’re right. Novices tend to keep going until the end before checking)
The following quotes can also be put up on the board for a week to remind students about the importance of metacognition.
"When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself"
-- Plato
"Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
-- Frank Outlaw
"If I look confused it's because I'm thinking."
-- Samuel Goldwyn
"I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside."
-- Wayne Dyer
