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LEARNING TO LEARN: BECOMING A SELF -GROWER 327
EXPERIENCE 11: METACOGNITION : THINKING ABOUT MY THINKING READING
learning challenge. Authentic problems that are important in the learner’s community or related to
career goals are particularly stimulating; work to find ways to consistently make connections between
these things and what you’re learning.
Control the affective domain to limit frustration.
As discussed previously, learner frustration, or boredom, is closely related to the level of the learning
challenge and the time allotted to achieve it. When working to elevate your own learning you can
increase or decrease the allocated time for things such as a practice test or essay to adjust the challenge.
Essential Inquiry at Each Step
Critical thinking requires a healthy level of skepticism and a set of skills to validate sources of information,
to monitor one’s internal process, and to assess the quality of the resulting solutions, conclusions, decisions,
or new knowledge. Critical thinking questions are central to the validation of new knowledge and can be
differentiated as to the level of difficulty in both formulation and response. The scale below, which is
based on the first three Levels of Learner Knowledge, provides examples of the role inquiry plays in the
achievement of knowledge levels.
Level 1—Information
1. Inquiring about a specific fact in a specific context
2. Inquiring about a set of facts related to a specific area
Level 2—Conceptual Understanding
3. Asking about an inferential relationship between two facts or a fact to a context
4. Determining the similarities or differences between things
5. Asking to clarify the meaning of implicit relationships in a model or a discussion
6. Making indirect inferences and connections (e.g., a →b and b → c then a → c)
Level 3—Application
7. Identifying explicit assumptions when using this knowledge
8. Identifying implicit assumptions when using this knowledge in varying contexts
Concluding Thoughts
Learners can become familiar with knowledge elevation for each type of knowledge by using the descriptors
and suggestions in Table 1. Consistent use of the Methodology for Elevating Knowledge will enable them
to engage in metacognitive strategies that leads to Level 3.
References
Authentic Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2004 from <http://chd.gse.gmu.edu/immersion/knowledge-
base/strategies/constructivism/authentic.htm> (George Mason University Instructional Technology
Program).
Bransford, J. D., Brown,A. L., &Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience,
and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.