After watching the video on thinking about thinking (metacognition), I learned a variety of strategies that can be used to help students better manage their own learning and learn difficult concepts deeply. Three key ways in which I plan to apply these strategies in my future practice include:

1) Providing opportunities for metacognitive reflection – Reflection is an important part of metacognition, as it allows students to think critically about what they have learned and how they could improve upon their understanding. To facilitate this, I plan on providing activities such as journaling or open-ended questions at the conclusion of each lesson so that students have time to think through what they’ve just been taught. Additionally, debriefs after assessments can also be beneficial since it provides an opportunity for students to reflect on what went well or not so well during the exam process.

2) Creating “think aloud” moments – These are great for demonstrating how one arrives at conclusions and solutions by walking them through the thought process step-by-step. This will enable me to guide my students when approaching problems while also teaching them valuable analytical skills that can be applied beyond the classroom environment.

3) Encouraging self-monitoring/self-regulation – Self-regulation fosters independence by having learners take ownership over their performance; thereby motivating them to stay focused and invested in achieving results. In order to promote this behavior, I intend on integrating frequent checks for understanding into my lessons so that individual progress can be tracked and any issues addressed sooner rather than later. Also, providing feedback throughout tasks instead of just after completion can keep learners engaged with their goals since they now have a tangible measurement of success constantly reinforcing positive behaviors.