Metacognition - A Definition

Meta (Greek prefix) - More comprehensive or transcending

Cognition - The mental act or process by which knowledge

is acquired or processed.

Metacognition - One’s ability to know his or her learning

processes, and how it is that one learns. It is the active
process of knowing what it takes for one's own self to learn.
It is thinking of one's own thinking and the learning
processes.

To differentiate metacognitive thinking from other kinds of

thinking, it is necessary to consider the source of
metacognitive thoughts: Metacognitive thoughts do not
spring from a person's immediate external reality; rather,
their source is tied to the person's own internal mental
representations of that reality, which can include what one
knows about that internal representation, how it works, and
how one feels about it.

Therefore, metacognition sometimes has been

defined simply as: thinking about thinking.

Metacognition and Reading

A student with well-developed metacognition skills is aware of his or her thinking
process and is deliberately controlling it. When reading, the student monitors not only
what is being read but also uses strategies to improve comprehension. These
strategies or skills are what we will be examining in this class. Each of these skills falls
under one of three metacognitive categories:

• what one knows (metacognitive knowledge) - In order to understand what

you are reading, you must often refer to what you already know. This is also
known as prior knowledge.
• what one is currently doing (metacognitive skill) - These skills involve active
monitoring of your comprehension. In other words, you are asking yourself,
“Do I understand what I am reading?”
• what one's current cognitive state is (metacognitive experience) - This
means thinking about one’s mental awareness. Am I drifting off and
distracted? Am I in control of my learning environment? Am I ready to learn?