Metacognition—Become an effective learner

By Bridgette Snow
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
November, 2010

In today’s class we learned about metacognition. This made me aware that this means how and why we learn and how we can understand and learn new information. It is important for us to know what styles of learning work best for us. This way we can transform our notes or information into material we can study and learn from. It is necessary for us to acknowledge if these ways are working correctly. Sometimes when we are so used to our learning ways we are not quick to change them if they need tweaking. It is a good idea to have a general plan to follow along with. With a guideline to follow and making sure you are making progress it can lead to better learning. We discussed note taking.

I do agree that copying notes is a very ineffective way of learning. This way of note taking is indeed not learning. I find the best way to get the most out of the lecture notes, is to first read the slide, and listen to what the professor is saying. Usually the professor will shorten what is written into the most important pieces or words. They also tend to give examples or explain and elaborate on some key points. If a student is more occupied with copying down the entire page of words, they are not hearing, reading or even analyzing the information. The point of notes is not for you to copy them. It is to read, understand and copy what you want to be able to remember.

I also find that lecture notes are lengthy and wordy. Sometimes even if you copy word for word you cannot make sense of it yourself. If you pay attention to what the teacher says in explaining the information, you are learning in two ways. First you are hearing and processing the information into your memory. Then you have to either translate it to paper, or into your own words on paper for you to be able to reference in the future.