Components

Learners who enter post-secondary education are often unaware of what learning entails, and how to improve on existing strategies. Evidence shows that if the correct strategies for learning are applied and learners apply metacognition, their chances of success are greatly improved. Two key processes are essential for metacognitive learning.

1. Knowledge of Cognition
   1.  Awareness of factors that influence your own learning
   2. Knowing a collection of strategies to use for learning
   3. Choosing the appropriate strategy for the specific learning situation

    

2. Regulation of Cognition
   1. Setting goals and planning
   2. Monitoring and controlling learning
   3. Evaluating own regulation (assessing/reflecting if the strategy is working or not, adjusting, and trying something new)

The diagram to the right depicts the metacognitive cycle developed through the process of knowledge and regulation of cognition. The arrows remind us that metacognitive thinking is a reflective process and requires the learner to constantly scrutinize what is working, what is not, and actions to take.