One element that is often of critical importance as we take courses and educate ourselves is taking stock of where we are at with learning some of the important concepts. At this point in the course, we have finished the first two units. As we progress, it is important to reflect on what we have experienced. A term that encompasses this type of reflection is "metacognition."
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Metacognition is one of those words that appears to be pretty intimidating. What exactly is metacognition? It isn't as complicated as it sounds. We engage in metacognitive activities every day. Metacognition enables us to be successful learners, which involves active thinking and learning. Activities such as planning how to approach a given learning task, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating are metacognitive in nature. Because metacognition plays a critical role in successful learning, it is important to be active in the learning and self-reflection processes.
Metacognition is often simply defined as "thinking about thinking." It emphasizes the role of self-reflection in our learning process.
What does all this talk about metacognition have to do with you?
This is a good time to pause for a moment: Take a step back and reflect on how far you have come in the course. Assess what you have learned, what you would still like to learn, and what you wish you had been able to learn.
By this time, you will have received your marks and feedback for Unit 2. Reflect on how you have grown over the first half of the course. This is part of that metacognitive process that was talked about earlier. Look at the comments you have received from your teacher and consider the strengths you have shown in both your writing skills and your textual analysis skills.
You may have surprised yourself in showing strength where you thought you were weak and vice versa.- Where are your strengths and where would you like to improve?
- Are you satisfied with the progress that you have made so far in this course?
- What are the key concepts that you have learned?
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