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Metacognition

Learner Variable · All learner variables
Evidence · 132 claims (85 show a difference, 29 mixed, 18 no difference) · 96 studies (39 causal, 17 associational, 13 review, 11 theoretical, 7 quant-synthesis, 7 qualitative, 2 design), q1–q4 · 28 of 96 report an effect size · 131 claims rest on one study

Description

Metacognition is knowing about and managing one's own cognition. It has two sides: knowledge (what a learner knows about how they learn, what they do and do not understand, and which strategies suit a task) and regulation (planning an approach, monitoring progress and comprehension, and adjusting when it is not working). It is usually measured by self-report inventories of strategy awareness, by parent and teacher rating scales, and by comparing a learner's confidence judgements with their actual performance (calibration).

Metacognition appears across reading, writing and mathematics. In reading it shows up as comprehension monitoring, noticing that a passage has stopped making sense; in writing as planning and revising; in mathematics as choosing a strategy, predicting, and checking a solution. Accounts treat it as one of the capacities behind problem solving, decision making and critical thinking. It develops through childhood and is thought to reach maturity by late adolescence, though adults continue to use and benefit from it, and older adults' metacognitive strategies are tied to how they study and remember.

It overlaps heavily with self-regulation, of which monitoring and control of thinking are usually treated as a core part, and it depends on executive function: the two are described as separate but interdependent. Peer work, discussion and caregivers who prompt children to reflect are described as occasions for it to be practised.

Implications

Context

  • Matters wherever learners work without step-by-step structure: independent reading, extended writing, multi-step problems, self-paced or online study.
  • Can be prompted and taught: planning, self-questioning and reflection prompts, and small-group problem solving give learners occasions to use it.
  • Reading on screens may encourage overconfident judgements of understanding in adults.

Target Learners

  • Learners from early childhood through adulthood; monitoring and control are still developing through adolescence.
  • Learners who misjudge what they know, or who keep re-reading rather than changing strategy.
  • Learners whose access to language was delayed (for example some deaf or hard-of-hearing learners), for whom metacognitive skills may be less developed.

Target Learning Objectives

  • Reading comprehension and comprehension monitoring.
  • Planning and revision in writing.
  • Strategy selection and checking in mathematics problem solving.
  • Accurate self-assessment and independent study.

Claims

Measures

  • Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) (Gioia et al., 2000): parent and teacher questionnaires whose metacognition index covers ages 5 to 18.
  • Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002): self-report survey of how often students use global, problem-solving and support strategies while reading.
  • Self-Regulation: monitoring and controlling one's thinking is treated as a core component of regulating one's own learning and behaviour.
  • Affect Regulation: reflecting on one's own thinking is one of the tools learners use to manage emotions such as frustration.
  • Working Memory: holding information in mind supports comprehension monitoring, and metacognitive strategies may help compensate for memory limits in adults.
  • Self-Efficacy: beliefs about one's own ability, including self-efficacy, are tied to which study strategies learners choose.
  • Access: learners with hearing loss whose early access to language was limited often show less developed metacognitive skills.
  • Attention: directing attention is part of noticing whether a text is being understood.
  • Communication Skills: explaining and discussing reasoning, as in group mathematics talk, brings metacognitive thinking into the open.
  • Adverse Experiences: early adversity is linked to unhelpful thinking habits such as rumination, and weak metacognition may worsen its effects on reading.
  • English-Learner Status: bilingual learners may show earlier or stronger awareness of their own language use.
  • Academic and Critical Literacy: awareness of one's reading goals and knowledge gaps supports critical and academic reading.
  • Executive Function: inhibition and cognitive flexibility support accurate reflection on one's own thinking, and the two are described as interdependent.
  • Critical Thinking: monitoring one's own reasoning is described as underlying higher-order and critical thinking.

Examples

Key Sources

  • Digital Promise. Learner Variability Navigator: Metacognition (Adult Learner, Building Literacy 4-6, Building Literacy 7-12, Building Math 3-6, Building Math 7-10, Portrait of a Learner 4-8, Portrait of a Learner 9-12, Portrait of a Learner PK-3). lvp.digitalpromiseglobal.org. Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.
Page metadata
Field Value
type learner-variable
id metacognition
title Metacognition
description A learner's awareness of their own thinking and their ability to monitor and steer it: planning an approach, checking understanding and changing strategy when something is not working.
status review
canonical True
generated by claude/unspecified on 2026-10-16
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content

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