Metacognition: books, resources and teaching tips to help students know themselves as learners

I first developed an interest in metacognition when I studied neurology as part of my degree. Since then, I’ve incorporated it into my teaching practice as I think it helps pupils make progress. Metacognition is described by Tarrant and Holt (2016) as thinking about how we learn and how we think. In the classroom, metacognition helps students know themselves as learners; they understand how they learn and are aware of the processes and actions they use during learning. By teaching these skills explicitly, we create more awareness and greater understanding among pupils to help them engage and embed their learning more effectively. I also think metacognition goes hand-in-hand with growth mindset. This theory, developed by psychology professor Carol Dweck, is the belief that our abilities are not fixed. Dweck found that the way pupils perceived their abilities (Dweck, 2015) had a direct impact on their achievements: those with a growth mindset achieved significantly more tha