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Metacognition, the act of thinking about thinking, is a higher-order cognitive process centered on managing one's thoughts. This awareness of one's own cognitive processes supports children in gaining control of their own learning. As children begin to monitor and assess their learning, they begin to recognize the limits of their own knowledge, planning strategies, and ability to evaluate resources. This allows learners to ultimately become better problem-solvers, decision-makers, and Critical Thinkers. Executive functions are a huge contributor to this metacognitive skill, supporting learners' ability to manage time, focus Attention, and manage multiple tasks to achieve goals as early as the first year of life. While executive functions and Metacognition function separately, they are interdependent upon one another.
When children use their Metacognition, they become aware of their own cognitive processes. Once children develop the ability to regulate their own cognitive processes, they become able to monitor their own thoughts and actions, while consciously modifying their thinking and behavior following these reflections. Metacognition is a complex construct that can be broken down into several important components.
Information continually flows between the different components of Metacognition. For example, a student might use metacognitive monitoring to recognize what areas of a lesson they have the most difficulty with and decide to study or practice these before an upcoming test using metacognitive control. These metacognitive experiences during learning improve learners' awareness of how their minds process and use knowledge, supporting metacognitive knowledge. The monitoring and control skills developed early in life pave the way for development in later childhood and adolescence.
Metacognition develops through natural, social interaction with the environment, whether unstructured (such as play) or structured (such as formal schooling). However, a caregiver or teacher's intentional efforts to foster a culture of thinking and support children's metacognitive skills, for instance by using metacognitive language (e.g., “think”, “know”, etc.), supporting visible thinking processes, and in independently pursuing their goals and solving problems, can empower thoughtful, self-regulated, and independent learners. Importantly, research has shown that students with ADHD and learning disabilities who have negative experiences or interactions around repeated failure with both social and academic skills, often have a low sense of self-efficacy, which has been shown to impact some domains of Metacognition.
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