Week 2:The Metacognitive Dimension of Metaliteracy

"Thinking about your own thinking"

I don't know about anyone else, but this statement is a bit paradoxical to me. As soon as I heard this definition for metacognition, the first picture that popped into my head was me in a dressing room. Have you ever gone into a fitting room with two mirrors, one in front of you and one behind, and the mirrors keep reflecting each other over and over again? Two words: Dizzying and Baffling.

However, after reading Schraw and Moshman's article from this week, I think that I finally understand its concept. I also think metacognition needs a more descriptive, yet simplified definition (at least for me). Therefore, I choose to redefine metacognition as "the concrete visualization of our thought process." I think this may make a bit more sense. In metacognition, it is important to visualize our thought process, and to understand how we synthesize information and solve problems. Schraw and Moshman also believe that the idea of metacognition should be introduced to students as early as possible, and should taught in conjunction with their regular curriculum. Thus, their overall performance would increase.

I agree with this idea, and now that I  have redefined metacognition, I am still working on applying this to metaliteracy. What is the connection? Are we supposed to be reflecting on how we retrieve and utilize information? And if so, what theories could we use to engage in this process?

Ways to Share Metaliteracy

During our last class meeting, we engaged in some group work using Padlet (padlet.com), which enables users to create a virtual wall. Once this wall is created, the users can share the wall with others (via a URL). From there on, anyone with access to the wall can post "sticky notes" to the wall, and see notes from others in real time. We used this application during class time to post six words about metaliteracy, and to see our other classmates' responses. I found the application to be really fun, because it was quick and easy way to share my ideas, and to see the ideas of my classmates. I also thought it was cool that I could edit my responses even after I posted them.

 

Our assignment was to find a new application that we could use to share information about metaliteracy with others. I found an application called Poll Everywhere (polleverywhere.com), which I also found to be pretty awesome. It's very simple and it does not require user registration. The user creates a poll, others participate in the poll, and then the results can be seen in real time on the Web, or during a presentation.

 

I picked this application because it reminded me of the I-Clicker System. For those of you who do not know what that is, it is a way to poll students in a course, with a remote for the student and a main device for the professor. It was heavily in use on SUNY Albany's campus when I was a freshman/sophomore, but I do not hear many who mention anything about it anymore. I had to purchase a 30-40 dollar remote to participate in a good amount of my larger classes, and the professor usually used the system for quizzes, attendance, and extra credit. I think the I-Clicker fell out of use for a couple of reasons. First, that thing was expensive! I know a lot of people (including myself) who couldn't justify buying a 30 dollar remote. Second, it was battery operated, and the batteries would often die at the worst times (like right before a quiz). I had a few professors who brought extra batteries and clickers to class, but those were the nicer ones. Third, we couldn't share remotes, as only one student could be registered to a clicker per semester. Finally, the remote soon became a highly inaccurate measuring tool for class attendance and participation. I had many friends (and spotted many other classmates) who would sit in the back of class and whip out 4 or 5 remotes, clicking the same answers for friends who were not there.

 

Back to the topic at hand, I think that Poll Everywhere is a good idea for teaching metaliteracy concepts. A teacher or student can easily gauge students' learning and understanding by asking questions and polling their feedback. It provides real time results, and can be run directly from a Web browser. The application also allows the participants to engage in "Free Response" where they can send feedback, or ask questions for clarification. The responses can be sent in via any electronic with internet access, and can also be sent in through Twitter. The fact that we would be able to utilize social media in this application further relates it to the concept of metaliteracy. There are so many things to do with the application, I encourage you all to check it out! It's pretty interesting. As for a comparison between this application and Padlet, I do not favor one over the other because they both do two different things. I still like Padlet, but I think this is another great option that we can use in class. 

 

 P.S. I also explored Flisti, which is another polling system. I also liked this option because it gives the user the ability to embed the poll on their blog or website, which would be an easy way for us to gauge feedback from readers on our posts.

 

Do you think metaliteracy is a new term?

Yes

No, I think it has been around for quite some time.

I'm still trying to figure that out!

or View Results

Create your own poll at Flisti.com

What is the Best Way to Learn About Metaliteracy?

Photo Credit: athleanx.com

As I was responding to other students' blog posts in the RSS feed, I came across one post that was particularly interesting. It was of another student in the MOOC, who was really excited to utilize this course in his future ventures. He also seemed to be a fan of group work and team based learning. I think that his post was great, but it led me to start thinking about some other ideas.
Since metaliteracy seems to be a fairly new term, is it really best for this course to be largely online? Over the three weeks of this course, I have found that I understood new concepts best when I was in class, interacting with the other students and with the professor. I find it difficult to fully submerge myself in the course, when it seems to be more about teaching myself. Metaliteracy is a new term, but its definitions and concepts are not. On the first day of the course, I was utterly lost with the subject, and from looking around at my fellow classmates, I could tell that they were lost too. The information online was not helpful, and it was not until the second class meeting that I started to really grasp the meaning of metaliteracy.
Thus, would it not be better to have a course where the students would be able to actively discuss and engage with the topics in person? I am not saying that there is anything wrong with online courses, but I think it is difficult to teach a person how to properly utilize the Internet, on the Internet. What do you think?