Chapter 7, page 126
(Dole et al., 1996). Thus, in addition to being aware of different strategies, the student also needs to believe
that the strategy is effective and be willing to use it (Alexander, Graham et al., 1998; Chinn, 2006).
Strategies versus skills. In this book, we will frequently discus strategies that students learn. Many
school curricula emphasize a related concept: skills. Teachers using these curricula are directed to teach a
broad array of skills to their students. What is the difference between a skill and a strategy? Skills are
procedures that are carried out automatically, whereas strategies include a reflective element of thinking
about the procedure that one is using (Alexander, Graham, & Harris, 1998; Dole, Duffy, Roehler, &
Pearson, 1991; Onatsu-Arvilommi, Nurmi, & Aunola, 2002). When a learner is performing automatically,
her performance is skillful but not strategic; when “conscious, intentional, and effortful processing takes
over, the learner is performing strategically” (Alexander, Graham et al., 1998, p. 135). Effective learners
and problem solvers use many strategies automatically, so that one goal of strategy instruction should be to
help students gain the ability to use many strategies automatically, while still being able to reflect about
these strategies when the need arises.
Metacognition
Researchers who investigate cognitive strategies also use the term metacognition. Metacognition
refers to people thinking about their own cognition (e.g., Brown, Bransford, Ferrara, & Campione, 1983;
Coutinho, Wiemer-Hastings, & Skowronski, 2005; Garner & Alexander, 1989). People who are capable of
metacognition are also said to have metacognitive awareness or metacognitive knowledge (awareness or
knowledge of one’s own cognitive processes). A student who can explain the cognitive strategies she is
using has metacognitive knowledge. For instance, a student who can explain that she creates vivid mental
images of what she is reading to help her remember has displayed metacognitive knowledge—knowledge of
the strategies she is using to understand text. In our example of Gisela writing her paper, Gisela exhibits
metacognitive awareness as she consciously chooses among different strategies. When she decides to spend
time reviewing key ideas and to brainstorm before writing the paper, she does so because she is aware that
these strategies are likely to help her write a better paper than if she begins to write the paper without any
prior preparation. Although Gisela has metacognitive awareness of her strategy use, many learners use
strategies without having metacognitive awareness. For instance, a student may remember a list of words
by organizing them into categories, but be unable to recognize or explain that this is what she is doing.