Metacognition: planning, monitoring and evaluating learning

Help learners plan their approach, monitor progress and reflect on outcomes and strategies.

Method · Education

Core concepts

• Planning: set task objectives and choose learning strategies
• Monitoring: check understanding and strategy suitability during performance
• Evaluation: reflect on outcomes and process and adjust the next strategy

Application

Model thinking aloud and build self-questioning and reflection into subject learning. Adjust support to current knowledge and task difficulty.

Limitations and jurisdiction

Do not interpret research averages as guarantees for an individual learner. General thinking exercises detached from subject knowledge cannot be assumed to produce the same effects.

Editorial perspectives

• Explicit instruction: teachers first model strategies and thinking.
• Increasing autonomy: expand the scope learners can monitor independently.

Sources

Education Endowment Foundation · Viewed 2026-10-08

Context: School education research synthesis; reviewed in 2025

Source checked: 2026-10-08

Independent editorial summary and source link; the original text is not republished.

Related personas

Translation status

Editorial English translation of the Korean edition. No professional translation or occupational expert review has been completed. Translation does not change the source jurisdiction.

Translation prepared: 2026-10-09 · Source fingerprint: kb-ef7b39a06e51be40

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