Reflection is one of the most powerful tools available to a learner, yet it is one of the least consistently taught or practised in most educational settings. The ability to look back at an experience, to identify what went well and what could be improved, to understand one’s own thinking processes and to use that understanding to plan more effectively in the future is known in educational psychology as metacognition.
Why Metacognition Matters
Research has consistently found metacognitive skills to be among the highest-impact influences on educational achievement. Students who think about their own learning, who self-monitor during tasks and who adjust their approach in response to what they notice, outperform students of equal intelligence who do not engage in this kind of reflective practice.
These skills are not naturally developed by most children. They require explicit modelling, guidance and practice. But once established, they confer benefits that extend far beyond any particular subject, underpinning effective learning across the entire curriculum and into adult life.
Building Reflective Habits at Home
Parents can do a great deal to foster reflective habits in their children without turning every conversation into a formal debrief. Simple questions asked regularly and in a spirit of genuine curiosity, such as “what felt tricky about that?” or “is there anything you’d do differently next time?”, invite children into the habit of looking back without the pressure of an assessment.
Encouraging children to make predictions before they start a task, such as “what do you think will be the hardest part of this?” and then returning to that prediction afterwards, builds the kind of forward-and-backward reflection that strengthens learning significantly.
Reflection in School Settings
Inspired by the practises of this prep school in Surrey. Schools that embed reflective practice into their culture, through learning journals, regular review discussions and explicit teaching of study strategies, equip students with habits that serve them at every subsequent stage of their education.
Visit https://www.surbitonhigh.com/ to find out more about Surbiton High School’s approach to academic development and student achievement.
Author bio: This post was written in association with Surbiton High School. Visit https://www.surbitonhigh.com/ for more information.
