Practice Metacognition, how:

Practice Metacognition, how:

Practicing metacognition thinking about your thinking involves becoming aware of how you learn, reason, and make decisions.

Here are practical ways to develop and practice metacognitive skills:

1. Use the Metacognitive Cycle
Break it into three phases:

a. Planning
Ask: What do I already know about this?

Set goals: What am I trying to achieve?

Choose strategies: Will outlining, visualizing, or summarizing help me best?

b. Monitoring
Stay aware during the task.

Ask: Am I understanding this?

Should I slow down, re-read, or try a different approach?

c. Evaluating
Reflect afterward: What worked? What didn’t?

What can I do better next time?

2. Keep a Thinking Journal
After any task (studying, problem-solving, conversations), write down:

What your thought process was

What strategies you used

What you could do differently

3. Ask Metacognitive Questions
Regularly reflect with questions like:

How did I come to that conclusion?

Is there another perspective?

Was I influenced by a bias or emotion?

4. Practice Self-Explanation
While learning something new, explain it out loud or in writing:

Why does this work?

How does it connect to what I already know?

5. Challenge Your Assumptions
Engage in debates or play devil’s advocate with yourself.

Try thinking through opposing viewpoints to strengthen your awareness of your own biases and logic.

6. Use Checklists or Rubrics
Use tools to track your own thinking process:

Did I define the problem?

Did I consider multiple solutions?

Did I evaluate the outcome?

7. Discuss with Others
Explaining your thought process or hearing how others think helps you compare and refine your own strategies.

Shervan K Shahhian