what strategies didn’t help? What should I do the next time I take on a task like this? Learners, however, are often unaware of how they think and engage with learning material. You help learners to learn independently by explicitly guiding them to plan, monitor, and evaluate their reading and learning strategies. This is particularly effective for those learning in English as a second language and for learners who are struggling. It can dramatically improve their performance. You teach metacognitive skills by asking learners to explain what they are thinking and what strategies they are using to understand material. This is best done in small groups. You can also use “think aloud” strategies when engaging with texts and images. “Think−alouds” are often effective when reading texts to learners, and during small−group and pair reading exercises. Here is an example of how to teach metacognitive strategies using a ‘think aloud’: 1.
Choose a short piece of text and note where you will stop during reading to model your thought processes.
2.
Things to include in this planning stage could be: • reading the text title and the table of contents, • looking at the images and predicting what the text may be about, and • skim−reading the text looking for headings, words in bold, and summaries. As you skim read, think about what you already know about the subject and what more you would like to know.
3. 4.
In class, explain what you will be doing to the learners. Start by explaining how you planned before reading the text.
To monitor understanding during reading, you can explain where you stopped to ask yourself whether you understood the content. If the text has a long or complex sentence, describe how you divided it up to understand it. Find places where you could ask questions such as: • Why would this ....? • Is this similar to ....? • How can I figure out what this new word means? • What does the writer want me to know? • What do I think will happen next? Why do I think that? • Do I need to re−read this for detailed information?
5.
Now show learners how to evaluate their metacognitive strategies by asking and answering questions such as: • Did I read and understand this well? • What helped me to understand? What didn’t help? • What should I do next time I read about this topic? • What will help me remember what I read?
“Think−alouds” can be used very effectively in Maths classes to model logical and analytical thought. This technique can be used to make clear to learners hidden thought processes such as where to begin with a problem, what instructions mean or how to pick out the key information in problem solving examples. By engaging with how learners think, you can better prepare them for their lives and learning in the future.
Section 2: Planning and assessment
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