Status Report on the Metas

Last week I reported on the first meta discussion in my intro course this term.  Over the weekend I read over their responses and drew some conclusions.  First, the majority of students completed the assignment, 70% as compared to 35% for the same assignment last year.  What was the difference?  I’m not sure.  This time, I didn’t emphasize that this assignment was optional, but I did indicate that it was essentially extra credit.

Last year as I read over the metas I asked myself, what are they choosing for their answers?  This year I found myself asking, what are they thinking?  What is their reasoning for selecting what they did?  For students who explained this well, I had a strong sense that they understood the material.  By encouraging the students to spell out the metacognition, I think I’ll be able to make these assignments more effective learning tools.