Chapter 7, page 127
Problem 7.1 Understanding students’ thinking: Metacognitive awarenessAn ESL teacher was interested in what strategies her fifth grade students used
to study vocabulary and whether her students had metacognitive awareness of
the vocabulary strategies they used. As opportunities arise during the course
of a day, she asked four of her students to show her how they study vocabulary
by thinking aloud as they study several words with definitions that she gives to
them. This is what the four students said in response to the word furious.
Student 1 said: “This word is furious. It means angry. I am angry because my
friend was mean.”
Student 2 said the word and the definition several times: “Furious. Angry.”
Then he paused for several seconds without saying anything. When the
teacher prompted him to say what he was thinking, he just said, “Angry.”
Student 3 said: “I am imagining that I am very angry. I am furious.”
Student 4 said: “I find that it helps me to make up a sentence with the word.
So I can say something like, ‘I am angry because my brother took my radio into
his room.”
Which students show proficient use of a cognitive strategy? What
metacognitive knowledge, if any, is demonstrated by each student?Response: Students 1 and 3 demonstrated the ability to use cognitive
strategies. Each was able to think out loud in a way that showed the use of a
strategy being used. Student 1 used the word in a sentence; Student 3 used
visual imagery. But neither exhibited any knowledge about his/her cognition.
They did not make statements such as “I try using the word in a sentence to
make sure I know how to use it” or “I like to make a mental image in my mind
to help me remember.” Statements such as these would indicate
metacognitive awareness of the strategies they are using. Student 2
demonstrated no effective strategy use. He may have been using a rote
learning memory strategy of saying the word and meaning over and over. We
discussed in Chapter 2 that this is a very ineffective strategy. Student 4
demonstrated both conscious regulation of cognition and knowledge about
cognition. He could not only think aloud in a way that showed how he was
using the strategy, but also could state what his strategy was and why he
thought it was useful.Self-Regulated Learning
A central goal of strategy instruction is to develop self-regulated learners. Self-regulated learners
are students who are proficient at managing their own learning processes. Their strategies include :
Ɣ setting goals and subgoals,
Ɣ selecting and orchestrating strategies to achieve these goals and subgoals,
Ɣ monitoring progress by checking whether they are achieving their goals and subgoals, and