In our Personal Experience Insights series, members of the Everspring Learning Design department share first-hand accounts of creating online learning content and meaningful takeaways from their professional experiences.
Dr. DaShon Rivers is a former Instructional Designer on the Learning Design team at Everspring. She has 10 years of experience in the learning design field as an instructor and instructional designer for pre-K to adult learners. Dr. Rivers has an EdD in Applied Learning Sciences from the University of Miami and resides in Chicago, Illinois.
Metacognition, often referred to as "thinking about thinking," can have a crucial influence on the learning process, especially in online environments. It empowers learners by providing them with the tools to understand and control their cognitive processes. By engaging in metacognitive practices, individuals can effectively plan, monitor, and assess their learning strategies, which can enhance their overall learning experience.
With the growing prevalence of online learning, integrating metacognitive strategies into educational practices can be especially valuable. The benefits of doing so can include the development of independence, increased intrinsic motivation, and improved ability to evaluate the depth of one's knowledge. By encouraging the development of metacognitive skills, educators can provide learners with the necessary tools to thrive in the dynamic platform of online education. This piece presents a list of strategies for supporting metacognition, coupled with insights from my personal experiences with online learning as a student, instructor, and instructional designer.
Strategy 1: Increase Learner Autonomy Through a Variety of Assessments
As a college instructor working with students in person as well as online, assessments are one of the main ways that I examine if students are truly grasping the learning content in the course. With in-person courses, there is more opportunity to engage with the students face-to-face to understand how they are doing in the course; however, online learning environments do not always provide that space for interaction with each student. This is where assessments come in. As an instructor, you want to create effective assessments for students, and students have a diverse range of ways that they can best demonstrate their learning within a course. With this in mind, I try to structure my courses in a way that can enhance students’ ability to relate to the course material through multiple assessment options, allowing them to use autonomy and take their learning into their own hands. This allows students to restructure the course to better suit their learning needs and choose their own style of assessment to demonstrate their knowledge gains.
Providing a wide range of assessment options is an effective approach to promoting metacognitive awareness within online learning environments. When learners have the freedom to select how they want to demonstrate their comprehension, they are more likely to fully engage with the course material. This can be true whether assessments are formatted as traditional exams, creative presentations, or reflective essays. Offering a diverse range of options allows learners to connect their learning to their individual strengths and preferences, resulting in a more personalized educational experience (Willis, 2023).
For example, within a module, learners might be given the choice between completing a standard exam, delivering a creative presentation, or writing a reflective essay. This level of flexibility not only considers various learning preferences but also empowers learners to take responsibility for their learning, which can boost their metacognitive awareness as they consider which assessment method best represents their understanding (Tanner, 2012). Instead of only having one method of assessment, such as an exam, presentation, or essay, it could be helpful to provide multiple options for the learners to demonstrate their knowledge gains for some or all modules.
Strategy 2: Increase Intrinsic Motivation Through Improved Learning Habits
Reflecting upon my role as a student, it was quite difficult for me to focus on lectures in person during classes, especially in college. It was not until college that I discovered that I had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This attention disorder made it difficult for me to learn the course material at the pace of the in-person lecture that was taking place. Discovering online learning during my senior year of college was a critical turning point, and it later encouraged me to pursue my master’s degree and doctorate online. The online learning environment allowed me space to learn at my own pace—I was able to pause, rewind, and adjust the speed of prerecorded lectures and reconstruct the learning space to fit my needs as a diverse learner. Online learning allowed me the time and space to reflect on metacognitive strategies that allowed me to succeed academically and become a self-motivated learner.
Opportunities for metacognition can play a crucial role in encouraging intrinsic motivation among learners by assisting them in developing effective learning habits. When learners are guided to set specific, achievable goals, self-monitor their progress, and reflect on their learning approaches, they become more self-directed and motivated in their studies. Implementing strategies such as self-regulation and reflective thinking can significantly enhance intrinsic motivation in learners by providing a deeper understanding of their learning processes (Mikail et al., 2017). For example, when learners set specific goals for their study sessions and monitor their progress, they become more aware of their strengths and areas for improvement. This increased awareness encourages a sense of ownership over their learning journey. This can further lead learners to engage more actively with course material. Additionally, reflecting on what strategies worked or did not work after completing a task can instill a growth mindset, making learners more motivated to tackle challenges. As they develop better learning habits and see the tangible benefits of their efforts, their intrinsic motivation grows, encouraging them to seek out knowledge for its own sake rather than for external rewards.
Strategy 3: Increase Learners’ Ability to Assess the Depth of Their Knowledge Through Critical Thinking
As an instructional designer, I have the opportunity to assist other instructors with enhancing the online learning environment through creating effective assessments. By developing engaging and interactive learning materials, I connect with the instructor of a course to create opportunities for students to reflect on their understanding and identify gaps in their knowledge. We use formative assessments and personalized feedback mechanisms to encourage a growth mindset, allowing learners to evaluate their progress and set achievable goals. This structured approach not only allows space for self-awareness but also empowers students to take ownership of their learning journey. Ultimately, this can lead to deeper comprehension of the learning materials as well as encourage students to reflect on their own understanding and identify areas where they may need further clarification or practice.
Including these types of assessments can empower learners to assess the depth of their knowledge more effectively by implementing critical thinking opportunities. By helping learners develop the skills to critically evaluate their understanding by thinking about thinking and identifying specific areas for improvement, learners can, in turn, develop more tailored academic goals (Saiz & Rivas, 2016). This self-assessment process not only encourages a deeper level of engagement with the material but also creates a growth mindset among learners.
For example, after completing a module, learners can engage in a structured reflection exercise in which they are able to contemplate what they have learned, the methods through which they acquired this knowledge, and the areas where they still have uncertainties. This intentional process of reflection serves as a valuable tool for learners to pinpoint any gaps in their knowledge and gain a comprehensive understanding of their individual learning processes, which can facilitate the achievement of their academic goals (Fleur et al., 2021). Ultimately, the ability to critically assess their understanding not only enhances the learning experience but also provides learners with the essential skills for continuous and lifelong learning. This metacognitive awareness process of critical thinking can have a positive correlation with academic achievement (Hossain & Chowdhury, 2023).
Conclusion
Implementing metacognitive strategies in online learning environments can increase learner autonomy, enhance intrinsic motivation, and provide learners with better assessment. Furthermore, integrating metacognitive strategies into online learning environments can have a profound impact on learners' ability to take control of their learning through diverse assessment options, monitor and regulate their own learning autonomously, and understand the value of their learning through intrinsic motivation. By gaining a deeper awareness of their cognitive processes, learners become more engaged in their learning, take more responsibility for their own progress, and ultimately become more effective learners (Stanton et al., 2021). All these factors can play a role in transforming the online learning environment to more closely align with learners’ academic needs.
Through my experiences as a student, instructor, and instructional designer, I have been able to see how implementing metacognitive strategies in online learning environments can serve as a great enhancement. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to develop my dissertation in my doctorate program about implementing metacognitive strategies in learning. All of these experiences allowed me to gain insight into how metacognitive strategies can transform the learning environment from different perspectives and using different tools.
As education continues to evolve in a technological society, integrating metacognitive strategies into online learning will be essential for promoting successful outcomes. These strategies can help learners navigate the complexities of online learning, adapt to various learning environments, and develop the skills needed to succeed in an increasingly digital world.
References
Fleur, D. S., Bredeweg, B., & van den Bos, W. (2021). Metacognition: Ideas and insights from neuro- and educational sciences. npj Science of Learning, 6(13), Article 13.
Hossain K. M., & Chowdhury, S. S. (2023). A study of meta-cognition among college students in relation to their academic achievement. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, 6(6), 826–832.
Mikail, I., Hazleena, B., Harun, H., & Normah, O. (2017). Antecedents of intrinsic motivation, metacognition and their effects on students’ academic performance in fundamental knowledge for matriculation courses. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction,14(2), 211–246.
Saiz, C., & Rivas, S. F. (2016). New teaching techniques to improve critical thinking. The Diaprove methodology. Educational Research Quarterly, 40(1), 3–36.
Stanton, J. D., Sebesta, A. J., & Dunlosky, J. (2021). Fostering metacognition to support student learning and performance. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 20(2), Article fe3.
Tanner, K. D. (2012). Promoting student metacognition. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 11(2), 113–120.
Willis, J. (2023, September 18). How metacognition can improve learning outcomes. Edutopia.