Unit 2: METACOGNITION: Thinking about Thinking

Lesson 1 : Metacognition and Metacognitive Knowledge (3 hours)

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, the student must have:
1. Explained the meaning of metacognition and metacognitive
knowledge;
2. Determined metacognitive knowledge required in a specific
competency; and

CONTENT

METACOGNITION: THINKING ABOUT THINKING

Definition of Metacognition
The term metacognition is attributed to Flavell. He described it as “knowledge concerning one’s
cognitive processes and products or anything related to them, e.g., the learning-relevant properties of
information and data.” Furthermore, he referred to it as “the active monitoring and consequent regulation
and orchestration of these processes concerning the cognitive objects or data on which they bear, usually
in the service of some concrete goal or objective” (Flavell, 1976). Simply stated, metacognition is
“knowledge and cognition about cognitive phenomena” (Flavell, 1979). The meaning metamorphosed into
“thinking about thinking,” “knowing about knowing,” and “cognition about cognition.”

Components of Metacognition
The elements of metacognition are metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulation (Flavell,
2004). These two elements are interrelated; the presence of the first one enhances the second element.
Metacognitive knowledge (also called knowledge of cognition) refers to “what individuals know
about their cognition or cognition in general” (Schraw, 2002). It involves three kinds of metacognitive
awareness, namely: declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and conditional knowledge (see Figure
1).
 Declarative Procedural
Knowledge Knowledge
Knowledge about things Knowledge on how to do
Knowledge about one’s things
own abilities Knowledge on how to
Knowledge about factors execute skills
affecting one’s own
performance

Conditional
Knowledge
Knowledge on when and
why to apply cognitive
acts
Knowledge on when a
strategy is appropriate

Figure 1. Components of metacognitive knowledge.

Declarative knowledge or personal knowledge is the learner’s knowledge about things. It also
refers to the learner’s understandings of own abilities, and the knowledge about oneself as a learner and of
the factors that moderate one’s performance. This type of knowledge is not always accurate as the
learner’s evaluation of his or her capabilities may be unreliable. For instance, that Manila is the capital of
the Philippines and that oases is the plural form of oasis are examples of declarative knowledge. That a
learner has limited information as to the semantic rules is also a declarative knowledge.
Procedural knowledge or task knowledge involves the knowledge of how to do things and how
skills or competencies are executed. The assessment on the learner’s task knowledge includes what
knowledge is needed (content) and the space available to communicate what is known (length). A learner
given a problem-solving task, for instance, knows that prerequisite information and prior skills are
necessary to be recalled and readily executed at the given time to solve the problem. Such knowledge
gives confidence in working with the problem.
Conditional knowledge or strategy knowledge refers to the ability to know when and why various
cognitive acts should be applied. It involves using strategies to learn information (knowing how to know) as
well as adapting them to novel contexts (knowing when a strategy is appropriate). This knowledge is
evident in a learner who seeks the help of a school nurse to make a report on the communicable diseases
prevalent in the community as well as this learner’s knowledge that the best way to gather the information
is to interview a nurse and to go over the health records of the Municipal Health Office of the town.
Metacognitive knowledge is the result of an individual’s metacognitive experiences. Flavell (1979)
explained them as experiences that “an individual has through which knowledge is attained, or through
regulation occurs.” A learner who obtained low scores in knowledge and skills test becomes aware that he
or she has low declarative and procedural knowledge. In contrast, a learner who has always scored highest
in both the content and skills tests has strong confidence in his adequacy of knowledge in the subject.
Similarly, metacognitive knowledge depends so much on the learner’s metamemory, the
knowledge of what memory is, how it works, and how to remember things. Through instruction and
individual effort, metamemory develops over time. For instance, learners who have been taught how to
organize information and use rehearsal strategies have richer metamemory. They can retrieve declarative,
procedural, and conditional knowledge when required by the task.

REFERENCE
Bulusan, F., et.al (2019). Facilitating Learner-Centered Teaching (First Edication). Manila: Rex Book Store