Metacognition


 * //Thinking about our thinking (metacognition)//** - It is important to think about your own learning strategies and to evaluate their effectiveness. Can you explain your own learning strategies? If you were asked “Tell us what went on in your head to come up with that conclusion? Would you say, “ I don’t know I just did it”?

When I first saw this reflection, I really did not know that our learning strategies and why we think about what we think needed to be thought about. I was even confused about "thinking about what I thought" as I really did not know why I thought/did that. Was I just being impulsive, doing things without thinking about them first? Or did I not know that I actually thought about it? This metacognition "thing" was confusing me. However, when I came across the energetics level diagram while studying for finals, I did thinking about what was going on in my head that made me come up with the conclusion of "the diagram makes sense and I get it". When I looked at the diagram, I thought about why for exothermic, the energy level started off higher than the energy level in an endothermic reaction. I thought about why an endothermic reaction required more activationi energy than did an exothermic reaction. Unlike before, when I actually slowed down to think why each part was what is was, I understood more of the diagram and did not have to memorize which part was which anymore. It was all like common sense. By metacognition, learning is easier as less memorization is required and depth of knowledge is increased and deepened.



//If I look confused it's because I'm thinking. Samuel Goldwyn//