Metacognitive Process & Creativity – Study Notes

Metacognition: Definition & Core Idea

• Awareness, knowledge and regulation of one’s own thinking; often phrased as “thinking about thinking”, “knowing about knowing”, or “cognition about cognition”.
• In learning contexts it describes how students plan, monitor, evaluate and, if necessary, change their learning behaviours.
• Practical orientation: empowers learners to become self-directed, adaptive and strategic.

Temporal Phases of Metacognition

• Before a task
  • Anticipating what the task demands.
  • Selecting an approach or strategy in advance.
• During a task
  • Actively monitoring progress toward the goal.
  • Making mid-course corrections when necessary.
• After a task
  • Reflecting on both the process and the product.
  • Extracting lessons for future tasks.

Components of Metacognition

• Two broad, interacting pillars:
  • Metacognitive Knowledge
  • Metacognitive Regulation

Metacognitive Knowledge: 3 Sub-Types

• Declarative knowledge – knowing what: facts about one’s own abilities, the task, or available strategies
  • Example: “I struggle to remember historical dates.”
• Procedural knowledge – knowing how to enact strategies or skills
  • Example: “I know the steps of the SQ3R reading method.”
• Conditional knowledge – knowing when & why a strategy works
  • Example: “Scanning headings first helps me grasp the big picture when a chapter is concept-dense.”

Metacognitive Regulation: 3 Core Actions

• Planning
  • Setting goals, choosing strategies, allocating time/resources.
• Monitoring (Self-monitoring)
  • Ongoing awareness: “Am I getting closer to the goal?”
  • Collecting data about one’s own performance.
• Evaluating (Self-evaluation)
  • Comparing monitored data with criteria/standards.
  • Deciding whether to continue, adjust or stop.
• Self-reinforcement (motivational driver)
  • Using rewards or consequences to sustain or shift behaviour so it fits the standard.

The Metacognitive Cycle (Visual Model)

1. Assess the task – identify steps, constraints (time, resources).
2. Evaluate strengths & weaknesses – inventory of prior knowledge/skills.
3. Plan the approach – devise a roadmap that matches the analysis above.
4. Apply strategies & monitor – constant comparison of current state vs. goal.
5. Reflect & adjust – determine what worked/failed; restart cycle if needed.

Four Levels of Metacognitive Learners

• Tacit – unaware of strategies; accept knowing/not-knowing passively.
• Aware – recognise some thinking activities (idea generation, evidence finding) but do not plan deliberately.
• Strategic – purposefully select and apply problem-solving, grouping, classifying, evidence-seeking, decision-making strategies.
• Reflective – strategic and able to evaluate strategies in real time, revising them to optimise learning.

Classroom Approaches to Foster Metacognition

• Make learning goals explicit; co-create success criteria.
• Teach how to plan: model strategy selection and scheduling.
• Promote ongoing monitoring: think-alouds, learning journals, checklists.
• Encourage discussion of strategies: why, when, and how they work.
• Build a classroom culture that values experimentation, reflection and adjustment.

9 Metacognitive Questions Framework

• Before a task
  • “Is this similar to a previous task?”
  • “What do I want to achieve? Success looks like….”
  • “What should I do first?”
• During a task
  • “Am I on the right track?”
  • “What can I do differently if I’m not?”
  • “Who can I ask for help?”
• After a task
  • “What worked well?”
  • “What could I have done better?”
  • “Can I apply this to other situations?”

Creativity & Metacognition: In-Class Exercises

• Exercise 1 (Comparative Questioning)
  • Students compare item A to item B, make a judgment, and transfer knowledge.
  • Sample prompts:
  • “Is it better for young children to learn sports, play an instrument, or grasp computer technology?”
  • “Does paying more for a brand guarantee higher quality?”
  • “What hurts learning more: neglecting homework or failing exams?”
• Exercise 2 (Idea Fusion Analogy)
  • Analogy: (1+1=2) but one water drop + one water drop ⇒ still one drop.
  • Linking two ideas can merge into a single new concept.
  • Goal: free associative ideation; combine related/unrelated notions to produce novelty.
• Exercise 3 (Perspective Shift Handout Swap)
  • Individuals solve a problem, then exchange handouts to view and evaluate others’ solutions.
  • Leverages the phenomenon that people find it easier to advise others than themselves.
  • Encourages perspective-taking and critical comparison.

Real-World & Foundational Connections

• Rooted in self-regulated learning theory and cognitive psychology.
• Aligns with growth-mindset thinking: mistakes signal data for adjustment, not fixed ability.
• Applicable across domains: from academic study to professional problem-solving, sports training, and creative design.
• Ethical dimension: promotes learner autonomy and responsibility; discourages passive dependence.

Practical Implications & Tips for Students

• Treat planning, monitoring and evaluating as equal partners; neglecting any stage weakens performance.
• Document thoughts: brief written reflections make metacognition concrete and reviewable.
• Use peer discussion to reveal hidden strategies; others may articulate methods you tacitly skip.
• Reward yourself for good strategy use, not just good grades; this nurtures self-reinforcement.

Key Study Prompts

• Identify which of your current study habits map onto declarative vs. procedural vs. conditional knowledge.
• Track a week of learning sessions: note each Monitoring/Evaluating moment.
• Revisit a past failure; cycle through Assess→Plan→Apply→Reflect to redesign your approach.
• Classify yourself (Tacit, Aware, Strategic, Reflective); set a goal to move up one level.