The METAMINDS module for pupils includes two sets of activities for two different age groups: METAKIDS (8-11 years old) and METATEENS (12-14 years old). The project dashboard, which is available here below, is intended to involve pupils in a series of activities based on the same elements that have inspired the teacher training protocol. In the pupils’ module, those elements have been articulated in a more interactive and simplified way, but the same 4 areas on which the METAMINDS research has been based on are central to the pupil sets of activities. The general idea is that  metacognition in pupils can be described as a sort of machinery with three revolving cogs, representing the three main aspects that need to be activated in order to form a metacognitive attitude: 1) knowledge management, concerning the development of the strategies and the abilities to learn how to learn; 2) prediction ability, that is, if pupils have learned how to manage their knowledge, they will be also able to predict the amount of things they can acquire in a given time, how much they will be able to remember, or to what extent they will be able to collaborate with others; 3) emotion management, representing the third essential element for a smooth functioning of the machinery. As all pedagogical studies underline, metacognition is first and foremost a general attitude, a way of dealing with knowledge, in which the interaction with affect is essential to support the learning process.

How can we trigger and keep  the three-cog machinery of metacognition working?

The METAMINDS research has focused on several areas that are connected with the above three elements and  has devised a series of activities to help start the metacognitive process in pupils. All the material is presented through a dashboard, the interactive components of which are five icons, each representing an area that can be developed with the help of the proposed games/activities, whose instructions and demos are accessible by clicking on the icon of the area.

The REFLECTION button gives access to activities that will help pupils reflect and gain awareness of themselves as learners. The EMOTIONS icon presents activities fostering emotion recognition, games eliciting emotions on which pupils can reflect in the game follow-up, and emotion-based role-play activities. Files with instructions are accompanied by video tutorial showing the activities. The EXPERIENCE area includes questionnaires that have been devised to help pupils see how previous  learning experience can play a fundamental role in showing them the different ways in which they can best approach new learning tasks. The CREATIVITY area of the dashboard is meant to pinpoint the importance of creating as a metacognitive approach to learning, since it implies managing both cognitive and emotional elements together. The last icon of the dashboard, TEAMWORK, is about the ability to work in a team. This fundamental aspect can be found also in the activities belonging to the other areas. Indeed, elements of different areas are often mixed to the main skills that each set of activities is meant to develop. In TEAMWORK pupils are specifically engaged in games that help them find out the importance of effective cooperation.

Choose your target age group below, then access the interactive areas.

 

METAKIDS                                  METATEENS

 DASHBOARD LAYOUT4 1

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