#55 Metacognition at Home

Hi Everyone

At this time of the year, as many students look forward to the long summer break from school (in the UK at least), parents are having to think about changed schedules in order to accommodate their youngsters being at home.

It may be that the end of this term is a pivotal moment for your child. Perhaps they start High School in September, or move into Year 10 and begin more serious preparation for GCSE exams, or transfer to sixth form/college for further education etc.

For some families this has not been a good term, and they will be grateful when it ends so that they can take a breather away from the stress of trying to get the support their child needs in order to engage effectively with education.

Whatever the situation in your family, it’s likely that facing the next academic year will bring some mixed emotions. So, before this term ends, I would like to make a few suggestions about how you can use the extra time over the holiday period to help your young learner feel more confident about their ability to cope in school.

Developing metacognition is a hot topic in schools right now, and it’s not a word you need to shy away from as a parent. All it means is that we need the ability to work out whether the way we’re thinking is working well or not, and if not, change it to something more effective. Even if your child’s school has not yet incorporated the development of metacognition into policy, there is plenty you can do at home to kickstart progress.

Metacognition is actually an essential life skill for successful decision making, so you’ll be doing your offspring a real favour by prompting its development at home. You don’t need to use the word or even refer to the fact that you’re helping your child improve their thinking. Just follow the simple suggestions provided, and you will automatically be supporting your child’s ability to learn more effectively.

There's too many potential recommendations to list one newsletter so we'll make a start below, and then continue into the next issue. The rationale for starting now, is that it's a really good time to be thinking about making some minor changes over the summer that will make a big difference for a child or young person in any age group returning to education for the Autumn term!

An essential part of being able to think in a metacognitive way is believing that you are capable of learning in the first place. This is where parents can have a real impact, by becoming more aware of the way in which communication impacts on self-belief and using that to support their child's thinking.

As you spend more time with your children this summer, please give some thought to the following;

Be very careful about what you say; ‘to’, and ‘about’ them, remembering that they may overhear you! (Always speak in a positive way about their characteristics and abilities.)

Never use negative self-talk yourself, rather, model sharing out loud a positive view of your own abilities! (They will copy you, so think carefully about what you’re saying and modelling for them.)

Always verbalize a positive view of school, and of your child’s ability as a learner! (Remember that whatever you think of the school, being there is your child’s daily life, so don’t complain about it in their hearing if you want them to remain positive about learning!)

Encourage your child to talk about their own experiences so that you find out how they view themselves! (You need to know about any negative self-talk so that you can start to counteract those beliefs.)

Invite children to share their ideas with you, and always validate what they say in a non-judgemental way! (Children and young people need to feel safe about sharing what they’re thinking, and you want to encourage that so that they learn to trust their own thinking ability.)

Don’t accept the idea of ‘limitations’, provide plenty of opportunities to overcome them! (Your child needs a positive mindset not allowing limitations to get in the way of what they can achieve, so whilst acknowledging that a problem exists, help them to work out how to overcome it.)

Till next time

Warm regards

Liz