N O R T HW E S TE RN U N IV ER S IT Y , I N C

Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. acquire new skills and learning for better managing of one’s self and behaviours;
2. create a goal setting plan for the next school year; and
3. design a self-care plan.

Introduction

Jack Canfield is an epitome of success. He has authored seven books listed in the
Guinness Book of World Records as New York Times Bestseller, beating Stephen King. These
books are: Chicken Soup for the soul series; The Success Principle; How to get from where you
are to where you want ot be; The Power of Focus; The Aladdin Factor; Dare to Win; You’ve
got to read this book; and The Key to Living the Law of Attraction. Jack Canfield is the
chairman and founder of the Canfield Training Group; founder and former chairman of the
Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprises; and was invited to a thousand radio and television
programs worldwide.
One of Canfield’s featured quotes about success is ““By taking the time to stop and
appreciate who you are and what you have achieved – and perhaps learned through a few
mistakes, stumbles and losses - you actually can enhance everything about you. Self-
acknowledgment and appreciation are what give you the insights and awareness to move
forward toward higher goals and accomplishments”
We will learn more about Canfield’s quote through Albert Bandura’s self-efficacy
theory, Dweck’s mindsets theory, and Locke’s goal setting theory.

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 N O R T HW E S TE RN U N IV ER S IT Y , I N C
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

Metacognition
- Commonly defined as “thinking about thinking”
Unit 1 - It is the awareness of the scope and limitations of your
current knowledge and skills.
LeArning to be A
- Enables the person to adapt their existing knowledge and
Better LeARNEr skills to approach a learning task, seeking for the optimum
result of the learning experience
- Includes keeping one’s emotions and motivations while
learning in check

- The goal of metacognition is for the student to be a self-regulated learner.

- Metacognition basically has two aspects:
self-appraisal is your personal reflection on your knowledge and capabilities.
self-management is the mental process you employ using what you have in planning and
adapting to successfully learn or accomplish a certain task.
- Similar concepts:
metacognitive knowledge or what you know about how you think
metacognition regulation or how you adjust your thinking processes to help you learn
better
- Under metacognitive knowledge, there are several variables that affect how you know or
assess yourself as a thinker:
personal variable, which is your evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses in learning
task variable, which is what you know or what you think about the nature of the task, as
well as what strategies the task requires
strategy variable refers to what strategies or skills you already have in dealing with certain
tasks.
- You must have an accurate self-assessment—you must be honest about what you know and
capable of in order to find ways to utilize your strengths and improve on your weaknesses.
- The following are other skills that can help you in exercising metacognition:
Knowing your limits.
The scope and limitations of your resources so that you can work with what you have
at the moment and look for ways to cope with other necessities
Modifying your approach.
The recognition that your strategy is not appropriate with the task, to modify your
strategy in comprehending your material
Skimming.
Browsing over a material and keeping an eye on keywords, phrases, or sentences
It is also about knowing where to search for such key terms.
Rehearsing.
It’s not just about repeatedly talking, writing, and/or doing what you have learned, but
also trying to make a personal interpretation or summary of the learning experience.

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 N O R T HW E S TE RN U N IV ER S IT Y , I N C
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

Self-Test.
Trying to test your comprehension of your learning experience or the skills you have
acquired during learning.
- Other strategies that you need to develop include asking questions about your methods, self-
reflection, finding a mentor or support group if necessary, thinking out loud (though you have
to be considerate of others also when doing this), and welcoming errors as learning
experiences.
- Other tips that you can use in studying are the following:
1. Make an outline of the things you want to learn, the things you are reading or doing, and/or
the things you remember.
2. Break down the task in smaller and more manageable details.
3. Integrate variation in your schedule and learning experience. Change reading material every
hour and do not put similar topics together.
4. Try to incubate your ideas.
5. Revise, summarize, and take down notes, then reread them to help you minimize cramming
in the last minute.
6. Engage what you have learned.

Activity 1
HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT THINKING?
Answer the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) and evaluate yourself as a learner. A
copy of the MAI is already attached.
True False
1. I ask myself periodically if I am meeting my goals.
2. I consider several alternatives to a problem before I answer.
3. I try to use strategies that have worked in the past.
4. I pace myself while learning in order to have enough time.
5. I understand my intellectual strengths and weaknesses.
6. I think about what I really need to learn before I begin a task
7. I know how well I did once I finish a test.
8. I set specific goals before I begin a task.
9. I slow down when I encounter important information.
10. I know what kind of information is most important to learn
11. I ask myself if I have considered all options when solving a problem
12. I am good at organizing information.
13. I consciously focus my attention on important information
14. I have a specific purpose for each strategy I use.
15. I learn best when I know something about the topic.
16. I know what the teacher expects me to learn.
17. I am good at remembering information.
18. I use different learning strategies depending on the situation.
19. I ask myself if there was an easier way to do things after I finish a task.
20. I have control over how well I learn.
21. I periodically review to help me understand important relationships.
22. I ask myself questions about the material before I begin.

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 N O R T HW E S TE RN U N IV ER S IT Y , I N C
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

23. I think of several ways to solve a problem and choose the best one.
24. I summarize what I’ve learned after I finish.
25. I ask others for help when I don’t understand something.
26. I can motivate myself to learn when I need to
27. I am aware of what strategies I use when I study.
28. I find myself analyzing the usefulness of strategies while I study.
29. I use my intellectual strengths to compensate for my weaknesses.
30. I focus on the meaning and significance of new information.
31. I create my own examples to make information more meaningful.
32. I am a good judge of how well I understand something.
33. I find myself using helpful learning strategies automatically.
34. I find myself pausing regularly to check my comprehension.
35. I know when each strategy I use will be most effective.
36. I ask myself how well I accomplish my goals once I’m finished.
37. I draw pictures or diagrams to help me understand while learning.
38. I ask myself if I have considered all options after I solve a problem.
39. I try to translate new information into my own words.
40. I change strategies when I fail to understand.
41. I use the organizational structure of the text to help me learn.
42. I read instructions carefully before I begin a task.
43. I ask myself if what I’m reading is related to what I already know.
44. I re-evaluate my assumptions when I get confused.
45. I organize my time to best accomplish my goals.
46. I learn more when I am interested in the topic.
47. I try to break studying down into smaller steps.
48. I focus on overall meaning rather than specifics.
49. I ask myself questions about how well I am doing while I am learning
something new.
50. I ask myself if I learned as much as I could have once I finish a task
51. I stop and go back over new information that is not clear.
52. I stop and reread when I get confused.

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 N O R T HW E S TE RN U N IV ER S IT Y , I N C
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) Scoring Guide

Directions: For each True, give yourself 1 point in the Score column. For each False, give yourself
0 points in the Score column. Total the score of each category and place in box. Read the
descriptions relating to each section.

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT COGNITION

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 N O R T HW E S TE RN U N IV ER S IT Y , I N C
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

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 N O R T HW E S TE RN U N IV ER S IT Y , I N C
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

Analysis:
Answer the questions below.
1. Do you agree with the results of your MAI? Why or why not?

2. Make a list of your “Top 5 Tips/Secrets for Studying” based on your personal
experiences/preferences.

3. Does your MAI result consistent with your personal Top 5 Tips/Secrets for Studying?

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