Unit 2 QTC-
Chapter 8
Lower-Order Thinking
(Knowledge & Understanding):
Define
metacognition. Describe the difference
between lower-level cognitive processes and higher-level cognitive processes.
Higher-Order Thinking
(Synthesis & Creating):
Depending upon
your chosen grade level, develop 2-3 strategies you may use in your own
classroom to foster metacognition in your students.
Lower-Order Thinking (Knowledge & Understanding);
ReplyDeleteAccording to the textbook, metacognition is "knowledge and beliefs about the nature of human cognitive processes (including one's own), as well as conscious attempts to engage in behaviors and thought processes that increase learning and memory." In my own words, metacognition is thinking about your thinking! Lower-level cognition is primarily mastering basic skills and facts. In addition, students gain very little from this way of learning. On the other hand, higher-level cognition requires students to go beyond what they initially learned. It's more than just memorizing and regurgitating rote knowledge. With this style of learning, students are required to analyze, apply, and evaluate the information, which will help make the material more meaningful and easy to remember.
Higher-Order Thinking (Synthesis & Creating):
While I am not exactly sure what grade I would like to teach, I have come up with a few examples of how to foster metacognition in my students. First, If I was trying to teach good behavior, I might have my students write an insult down on an index card. I would collect the cards, mix them up, and hand them back to the students. Then I would have them read their insult and ask them to tell me how it made them feel. In addition, I would ask them to picture how it would make others feel. Another way I could foster metacognition is by asking my students "what steps did you take to find the answer, and how did you know what to do?" Finally, logging and reflecting in a journal is a great way to get students thinking about their thinking!
In terms of Bloom's taxonomy, I think you labeled your questions correctly. I had to recall what the definitions were and explain the differences but I did not have to create or analyze anything in the first question. I did however have to come up with my own strategies for the second question, which is going beyond basic skills and facts. Wonderful job Holly!
Lower-Order Thinking (Knowledge & Understanding):
ReplyDeleteMetacognition is the process of thinking about thinking, being able to explain why you chose the answer you did, reflection on your own cognitive processes, and the conscious attempts to increase learning and memory. Lower-level cognitive processes is defined in the text as "cognitive processes that involves learning or remembering specific information or skills in more or less the same form in which they were initially presented". An example of lower-level cognitive processes would be recall or recognition. Higher-level cognitive processes is defined in the text as "cognitive processes that involves going well beyond something specifically learned (e.g. by analyzing, applying, or evaluating it)". These concepts relate directly to Bloom's Taxonomy like we have been discussing the last few weeks of class.
This question accurately reflects a lower-level thinking question because it asks for definitions.
Higher-Order Thinking (Synthesis & Creating):
1. After grading a quiz or test, instead of marking a particular question wrong and giving the student the correct answer, I could ask the student to evaluate the errors they made and explain to me why they marked the answer they did. This way I can see where the breakdown occurred. Did the student misunderstand the question? Did I do a poor job at explaining that particular concept? Did the student make a careless mistake?
2. By utilizing a notebook and allowing "free write" a couple times a week, I can ask students to think about what they have learned, what they would like to learn, and what they still don't know. Seeing their written expressions about where they are confused can be a written catalog of their metacognition and can even show their growth over the span of a school year due to their changes in writing style and difficulty level.
3. When performing a read-aloud to the class, I could ask questions to ignite curiousity and metacognitive skills. What do you think will happen next? What makes you think that? Did you look for clues in the pictures? Did the characters' actions make you predict that event to occur? Not only does this allow for an interactive reading experience but it models questions that students can ask themselves when they read independently.
This question accurately depicted higher-order thinking because you asked to CREATE ways to TEST students for metacognition. I enjoyed thinking about and answering this question!