Metacoginition + The Benefits of Knowing Yourself: 5 Reflection Questions To Understand YOUR Brain

Written By Emily Bottegal, MS
 
 

Heather is a college student who has been working with her coach for 5 weeks.  She came to the session upset that her classmate, who she studied with multiple times throughout the week, scored 20% higher on the exam than she did.  According to Heather, they prepped and studied the same materials, used the same practice test, and took turns quizzing each other- they were both equally prepared for the test.  So what happened?

No two people are alike.  The way Heather needed to study was different from her friend.  Heather tends to do her work early in the morning, and her energy level tends to plummet later at night, so those 9:00pm study sessions in the loud Commons were not as helpful for her.  Heather and her friend focused on all the information instead of taking a deeper inventory of what she didn’t know , and spending more time on those sections.  Heather’s friend had a stronger foundation of the material, so her studying was more surface level; Heather needed a deeper dive to better understand the “why”.  

Metacognition is the ability to understand how we think and learn, and awareness of our thought processes.  In this situation, Heather did not prioritize her studying needs and therefore did not study most effectively for her and her learning style.

Before you dive into a work project or study for an exam, think about the following questions:

  • When and where am I most productive?  

  • Do I need to incorporate breaks or use timers?

  • Am I someone who needs to gamify a task?  Or have an accountability partner?

  • Have I taken the time to understand the project?  Do I understand the end goal?

  • Am I someone that gets distracted?  What have I done to eliminate distractions?

By fostering self-awareness and becoming more aware of your cognitive processes, individuals can cultivate a more effective learning experience and increase overall productivity!

Emily Bottegal, MS

Ensuring students achieve academic, social/emotional, and personal success, Emily has a passion to empower students to succeed in and out of the classroom. Emily coaches from a strength-based approach and believes every individual has the ability to achieve success with the appropriate support and skills in place. She has dedicated her professional life to working with youth in school and community settings. 

Prior to joining the team, Emily worked as a School Site Coordinator and Home-Based Counselor in the Washington, DC area. In these roles, Emily engaged directly with students through individual counseling sessions and small group interventions focused on helping students meet personal goals relating to academics and managing emotions. Her direct experience helped her to understand the challenges individuals face both academically and personally, ultimately leading to her developing lessons around time management, scheduling, study skills, and organization. 

Most recently, Emily worked at a nonprofit, helping secure specialized instruction and support necessary to improve educational outcomes for low-income children with learning disabilities and developmental delays.

Emily has a Master’s degree in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.

http://www.lifesolvedcoaching.com/who-we-are
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