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Before a task – encourage students to identify
whether their task they are performing is similar
to others they have done in the past. This will
encourage them to identify helpful strategies
and boost their confidence. An additional area
to target could be identifying clear goals and
how long they think each task will take (in the
research, this is known as helping them to avoid
‘the planning fallacy’).
During a task – provide a structure that allows
them to monitor their performance as they go
along. This ensures any road bumps or hiccups
can be nipped in the bud, ensuring that they
stay on task and on track.
After a task – Having completed the task
students should look to learn from their
experiences, by reflecting on what went well
and what they could improve on for next time.
This provides a firm platform for future learning.
nition
Selfregulation,
memory &
study skills
Model the Correct Thought Processes
If we want to help students identify the correct thinking process, then
it may be helpful to model our thought processes. This can be
especially helpful for novices at a task, as it provides a step by step
guide about how to solve the problem. By breaking it into
manageable chunks and actionable steps, the task will seem less
daunting and therefore less stressful. Exposing students to their
teacher’s thought processes removes any ambiguity and gives them
a clear structure from an expert, that they can apply to similar
problems.
Use Metacognitive Questioning
Another way in which teachers can enhance their student’s
metacognitive skills is by teaching them how to talk to themselves in
a helpful and positive way. One seminal study in this area found that
by having students ask themselves three simple questions before
they started their revision led to them scoring a third of a grade
higher. The three questions they had students ask themselves were
‘which resources do I need to help me study?’, ‘why are these
resources helpful?’ and ‘how will I use this resource?’. Doing so,
improved their self-reflective skills with students reporting they felt
more in control of their learning.
Teach Students the Science of Learning
Giving students an awareness of effective strategies that they can
use to learn is another way to improve their metacognitive skills. One
of the most effective learning strategies is retrieval practice, which
requires students to generate an answer to a question. Retrieval
practice is effective as it reinforces previous learning which helps
create stronger memory traces. This means that actually students
shouldn’t do revision in order to do well in a test, but instead do lots
of tests to help their revision •
Bradley Busch is a chartered psychologist and director of InnerDrive.
He is one of the leading experts on how psychological research can
best help students and teachers improve how they think, learn and
perform. He wrote two regular blogs for The Guardian: ‘The Science
of Learning and Teaching’ and ‘Lessons From Research’. Outside of
education, he works with Premiership and international footballers, as
well as has helped members of Team GB win medals at London 2012
and Rio 2016.
Edward Watson is a graduate of Oxford University who served seven
years in the army. After completing a MBA at London Business School
he worked as a strategic management consultant for Marakon
Associates. In 2006 he founded InnerDrive, a mental skills company
that helps students develop the right mindsets to do well at school
and in life, and to learn the key skills needed to perform under
pressure. Over the past decade, Edward has designed and delivered
student workshops, parent workshops and teacher CPD at hundreds
of schools in the UK and around the world.
The Science of Learning: 77 Studies that Every Teacher Needs to
Know (Routledge, £18.99) by Bradley Busch and Edward Watson is
out now. Additional research for this article was provided by
Innerdrive researcher Charlotte Skipp.
Autumn 2019| innovatED | Issue 3 | Page 39
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