Phenomenon of Metacognition - Essay Example

Similarly, Andrews and Karlin purport that metacognition is the way an individual is aware of what they know and what they do not know. Moreover, it is also known as the knowledge and the control an individual has over his learning, thinking, and how he analyzes his thought processes (Andrews & Karlin, 2002, page 29, Lines 1 to 4).

Metacognition is related to thinking, especially when one is analyzing their thought process of not understanding a concept as well as the ability to communicate one's lack of understanding. For instance, in a science lesson a deaf student who reads, in English, a science section of black holes shows excellent metacognition strategies that are associated with thinking. Then using American Sign Language (ASL) the student informs the teacher of his lack of understanding of the concept of black holes. Consequently, the teacher then provides an explanation in ASL to the student. The student also uses English text and employs translation together with code-switching strategies. As such the student is demonstrating metacognitive awareness in informing the teacher that he does not understand. Moreover, he is thinking together with analyzing his thought processes of not comprehending the concept of black holes and shows the ability to communicate that he does not understand (Andrews & Karlin, 2002, Page 29, lines 3 to 12).

On the other hand, metacognition is also related to reading skills. Mostly, the strategies that are normally used in reading include meta-comprehension and metalinguistic awareness skills. Meta-comprehension is the readers’ awareness and control over their comprehension. For example, a skilled deaf reader knows how to approach a text, locate an important piece of information, and also how to summarize important points and organize information as well as how make wise decisions on how to best process the reading task. In addition, good deaf readers also set a purpose for reading, make predictions about the meaning, form good hypotheses, form mental judgments, monitor their understanding as they read, use prior knowledge effectively, fix a difficulty when it arises, and realize the variety of strategies they can employ after the comprehension breakdown (Andrews & Karlin, 2002, Page 29, lines 32 to 45). On the other hand, the least skilled deaf readers will tend to rely on the pictures, do not have the ability over the text, misunderstand the text, have limited strategies, and tend to get frustrated easily and give up in the process (Andrews & Karlin, 2002, Page 30, lines 1 to 3).

Moreover, Andrews and Mason claim that metacognitive skills increase the reading comprehension of underachieving readers. For instance, although teaching metacognitive comprehension strategies does not automatically guarantee successful reading comprehension among deaf students, effective instructional approaches will enable deaf students to use the strategies as a tool to comprehend English texts (Andrews & Mason, 1991, Page 544, lines 41 to 50). Better readers normally possess good metacognitive strategies and they are also interested in reading as compared to poor readers (Baker & Beall, 2009, Page, 381, lines 8 to 11).

After knowing the effectiveness of the metacognition strategies in enhancing reading and thinking, I experimented with this in my class. To my surprise, the difference in metacognitive strategies was quite evident in different students, and this also compared to how they performed in English. I noted that the students who can employ meta-comprehension and metalinguistic awareness skills normally performed well in class as compared to the least skilled students. More importantly, knowing the significance of metacognitive skills has also helped me in choosing the best ways to explain a point to the students. For the students who have the least skilled, I use abstract methods in illustrating a concept, which I have seen it working in class.

Metacognition is related to thinking, especially when one is analyzing their thought process of not understanding a concept as well as the ability to communicate one's lack of understanding. Good metacognition skills will help a deaf student to analyze his thoughts carefully, and as a result, it is prudent to claim that metacognition skills enhance the thinking capacity of a student. Moreover, metacognition is also related to reading skills. Mostly, the strategies that are normally used in reading include meta-comprehension and metalinguistic awareness skills. Meta-comprehension is the readers’ awareness and control over their comprehension while metalinguistic awareness is the students’ language awareness. Deaf students with greater meta-comprehension and metalinguistic awareness will facilitate their early reading acquisition.