: Supporting Metacognition for Pupils with the Highest Need What happens when our support removes thinking rather than enabling it?

Metacognition For All Learners 

As a Research School, Alexandra Park Primary has given considerable thought to promoting metacognition and self-regulated learning in the classroom, with practice underpinned by the recommendations of the EEF guidance report. However, as anyone who works in education will know, children enter our classrooms with their own strengths, barriers and lived experiences. As a result, encouraging self-regulation and metacognitive thinking will look different for every child, and it is especially crucial that pupils with the highest need receive the highest levels of support.

When Good Teaching Still Isn’t Enough

But what does this support look like in practice?

Recently, I delivered a lesson that I felt met the criteria for promoting metacognitive thinking. The input had been carefully crafted with every pedagogical tactic I had available to me. Still, within the first minute of independent practice, a hand tentatively went up.

I glanced at the page. The arithmetic question was blank.

​“So, what should we do first?” I asked, already pre-empting the response.

Alas, there it was: the dreaded shrug of the shoulders.

Accuracy Over Thinking – A Moment of Reflection 

I explained the steps, and the child diligently wrote down the answer as I spoke. I then moved on to provide feedback to the rest of the class.

After the lesson, I felt uneasy. Had I really supported that child to think independently about their learning? Would they be able to complete that question the next day without my help?

It occurred to me that in that moment I had removed the opportunity for thinking in favour of ensuring the answer was correct. I had prioritised accuracy over thinking.

Returning To The Evidence

Following this realisation, I returned to the EEF guidance report on metacognition, determined to adapt my practice so that pupils who need the most support still experience the right level of challenge rather than having it removed altogether.

Three Changes to Teacher-Pupil Talk

Since then, I have made three key changes to my teacher – pupil talk that are beginning to increase metacognitive thinking for pupils who find this particularly challenging.

1. Encourage independent thinking over correctness

If a child asks for help, I now start by asking: ​“What do you notice?”

No correct answer is required here – just engagement in thought. It is low stakes and allows the pupil to begin thinking without the pressure of being right.

From there, we move into a conversation where I try to remain largely silent. I resist the temptation to jump in with the next step or repeat the question. Instead, I allow time for thinking.

Once the child has begun to engage, I guide them towards prior knowledge: ​“Is there anything you already know that might help here?”

I have begun to do this so frequently that pupils now often start conversations with: ​“I’ve noticed… but I’m struggling to…​”

In my original example, the child had decided they could not complete the question and their thinking stopped there. Now, even if they are unsure how to reach the final answer, they are beginning to plan and monitor their thinking by identifying the precise point where they feel stuck.

2. Praise independent thinking over correctness

We want children to be motivated to think.

Thinking is difficult, and sustaining that thinking throughout a school day is demanding. If we want pupils to persist, we need to acknowledge the thinking that leads to success.

When I ask, ​“What do you notice?” and a child responds with something as simple as, ​“I can see I need to add,” I immediately follow up with: ​“Great – you’re thinking really carefully about this.”

That child learns that I value the thinking process, not just the final answer.

As pupils experience success as a result of that thinking, their motivation increases. In my classroom, children are beginning to recognise that while thinking is not always easy, it is what ultimately leads to success.

3. Model metacognitive talk imperfectly

The EEF guidance report emphasises that ​“modelling by the teacher is the cornerstone of effective teaching.”

Previously, I interpreted this as revealing the thought process of an expert clearly and methodically. However, I often made that thinking look effortless.

What about the moments when I am stuck? What about when I am unsure what to do next?

Children are not experts. Watching flawless thinking can sometimes feel unattainable rather than helpful.

Now, when modelling, I will occasionally reach a point where I deliberately pause and appear unsure. I might say something like, ​“I’m not certain what to try next here… maybe I could try this strategy.”

Pupils watch as I test different approaches and experiment. Sometimes they even begin to offer suggestions themselves.

The important thing is that they see thinking as an imperfect process. They see that difficulty is normal and that strategies can help us overcome it.

It is that process of overcoming struggle that pupils need to see.

Supporting Struggle – Not Removing It 

Ultimately, what I have learned is that fostering metacognition is not about removing difficulty from learning, but about supporting pupils to face that difficulty with the confidence and strategies to think their way through it.

Read my Previous Embedding Metacognition Blog