Self-monitoring
Overview
When students monitor their comprehension, behavior, or use of strategies, they build their Metacognition. Teaching students to self-assess based on clearly set goals helps develop their Self-regulation, and having them self-record their progress, adjustments, and performance also allows them to see their growth over time.
Example: Use This Strategy in the Classroom
Watch how this teacher defines self-monitoring and encourages her students to self-monitor their performance individually and in a group, which can be applied in a math classroom. By setting clear goals, providing rubrics to compare against, and shifting the responsibility of reflection to the students, she fosters student agency and accountability in their own learning.
Design It into Your Product
Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.
Learn how this prototype self-monitoring app prompts students to rate their behavior at regular intervals. By tracking their progress, students independently self-monitor how successful they are in reaching their goals. Over time and through repeated use, these strategies can become part of students' Long-term Memory and support their Emotion regulation.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Metacognitive Supports Strategies
Writing freely about one's emotions about a specific activity, such as taking a test, can help students cope with negative Emotion, such as math anxiety.
Setting overall goals, as well as smaller goals as steps to reaching them, encourages consistent, achievable progress and helps students feel confident in their skills and abilities.
When students reframe negative thoughts and tell themselves kind self-statements, they practice positive self-talk.
Providing space and time for students to reflect is critical for moving what they have learned into Long-term Memory.
When students engage in a dialogue with themselves, they are able to orient, organize, and focus their thinking.
