1. 1
Developing Metacognitive Skills
in our Students
Presented by Claire Mognaga
TriValley Teacher Induction Project
March 25, 2010

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Outcomes:
Define and articulate the metacognitive strategies
Understand the gradual release of responsibility
model
Increase repertoire of teaching strategies
Understand how to incorporate metacognition into
any content teaching
Explore a variety of resources

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Metacognition…What Is It, Really?
A person’s conscious awareness and control of his/her
thinking process
The difference between a passive and an active learner
When done strategically, metacognitive processes
occur before, during, and after
The center of meaning construction
According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary,
metacognition is the “awareness or analysis of one’s
own learning or thinking processes”

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Strategies of Proficient Readers:
Make Connections
Pose Questions
Visualize and Create Images
Draw Inferences
Determine Importance
Synthesize Information
Monitor Understanding
Repair Faulty Comprehension

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Your Turn:
In triads, your assignment is to
process the strategies of proficient
readers using the activity provided to
your team. I will check in with your
team as you complete this cooperative
task to determine how much time is
needed. Please select a reporter and be
prepared to share out both content and
process with the group.

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Gradual Release of Responsibility Model(Created by Claire Mognaga, 2010; Adapted from the work of Pearson and Gallagher, 1983)
Responsibility for Task Completion
Teacher Think-Aloud and Modeling
Shared Experiences
More Explicit Guided Experiences
Cooperative Experiences
Independent
Experiences
All
Student
Joint
Responsibility
All
Teacher

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Effective Metacognitive Instructional
Practices:
Thinking aloud
Modeling
Creating anchor experiences
Conferring
Posting and strategically using students’ thinking
around the classroom to direct instruction
Connecting comprehension strategies throughout all
content areas
Providing a variety of experiences for student practice
Providing opportunities for student response and
reflection

8. adapted from Keene, PEBC, 1999 8
Think-Alouds
One way to model the metacognitive processes we want
to help our students engage with is to make our
internal thinking “public” through a think-aloud
When embarking on this strategy, remember to:
Select and preview text with attention to
modeling options
Be precise about why you’re thinking aloud
Be precise about when you’re thinking aloud
versus reading aloud
Be clear about how being metacognitive helps
you to comprehend

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Incorporating Metacognition into any
curricular area…some examples
While we engage in the
activities, you may choose
to copy and use one of the
organizers on the wall to
record your thoughts.

10. adapted from The Major Point Interview for
Readers, Keene, 1995
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Key Questions to use across the curriculum:
• Did ___ remind you of anything you know about? (Making Connections)
• What did you wonder about ___? What questions do you have about ___ now?
(Questioning)
• What images did you create in your mind? (Visualizing)
• What prediction can you make about ___? What conclusion can you draw from ___?
(Inferring)
• Are there some parts of ___ that are more important than others? Which parts? Why?
(Determining Importance)
• If you could tell another person about ___, what would you tell them?
(Synthesizing)
• What challenges did you have in learning ___? How did you fix them?
(Monitoring Comprehension)
An essential follow-up question to all those posed above:
What do you understand now that you didn’t understand before?

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In Closing -
Word Toss…
Take a moment to think of one word that
describes/summarizes/connects with our work
today and write it on a post-it. We will use
these to complete a “word toss” activity.
Thank you!

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References:
Harvey, Stephanie, and Anne Goudvis. 2000. Strategies That Work: Teaching
Comprehension to Enhance Understanding. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Harvey, Stephanie. 1998. Nonfiction Matters: Reading, Writing, and Research
in Grades 3-8. York, ME: Stenhouse.
Hyde, Arthur. 2006. Comprehending Math: Adapting Reading Strategies to Teach
Mathematics, K-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Keene, Ellin, and Susan Zimmermann. 1997. Mosaic of Thought: Teaching
Comprehension in a Reader’s Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Miller, Debbie. 2002. Reading with Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the
Primary Grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

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One last lingering thought…
The experiences we have that
develop our intellect as mature
adults need to be duplicated in the
everyday lives of our students.
Ellin Keene
February 22, 2000
Denver, Colorado