Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Jamie Patton-Metacognition

Metacognition is a topic that has been brought up in many of my classes. It is very important for students, as well as teachers, to know how they "think about thinking". As for me, the way I think depends on what I am learning. When I read a book for pleasure, for example, I like to read it all the way through without taking notes and then sit back and reflect on what I have read. I will then jot down any thoughts I have on another sheet of paper or, if the book is mine, on the actual book itself. It was always hard for me to take notes on these types of books that I read for school. Teachers expected to"jot down notes as I go along" but that is just not the way my brain processes these types of stories. Readings done strictly for class, no matter how interesting the subject matter, are an entirely different story. I know that if I am reading an educational article or something from a textbook that this information is important and almost always directly relevant to becoming a good teacher. Knowing this, I like to highlight as I read and then go back and think about the text or jot down some notes in the margin. I feel that I get the most out the the readings this way. Other subjects, like math or science, are also different. These have never been my strongest subjects so learning about these subjects takes a little more conscious effort on my part. I need to take notes during class and make sure I have examples in order to get the most out of my experiences. I am not a person who can just look at examples of math or science problems on my own and understand how they work. I need to have someone explain the process to me and then I can try and figure it out on my own. Overall, I think I have a good way of organizing my thinking about different subjects. I hope that I can become a teachers that encourages my students to do the same...in whatever ways work best for them!

1 comment:

  1. I think that's really cool how you will write down about what you read in personal books after you have reflected. Sometimes I wish I would do this because I wouldn't forget so much information about the books I enjoyed. Keeping a little journal could help you with deciding which books to read in the future as well as what books you did not like.

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