Through learning the skills of using metacognition the student is trained to examine his or her thought process for accuracy and effectiveness.
Verbal cues
- Promote “the use of self-talk as a strategy for monitoring their own behavior” (Hodgkinson & Parks, 2016, p. 211).
- Self-talk is an implementation of metacognition through which the student essentially goes through a mental checklist geared towards task completion.
- Providing verbal cues, such as asking a student “what is the first step you need to complete?” when they are beginning to work on an assignment will help students who struggle with task initiation and transitioning from one task to another (Hodgkinson & Parks, 2016, p. 211).
- For example, when a student looks at a writing task they know the first thing they need to do is create an outline before they start working on individual paragraphs.
Visual supports
- Countdown timers or step-by-step directions with pictures, combined with systematic teaching of how to use these visual supports can increase student participation, attention, communication, and independence (Cohen & Demchak, 2018, p. 96).
Reflective Journal – Have students write about what obstacles they encountered during their learning or what confused them.
Executive Function 