Research School Network: Metacognition: Still as Impactful as Ever How the updated report provides practical insights and simple tweaks that can improve learning for all pupils.
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Metacognition: Still as Impactful as Ever
How the updated report provides practical insights and simple tweaks that can improve learning for all pupils.
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by Aspirer Research School
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Margaret Daly
Aspirer Research School Director
Margaret is the Director of Aspirer Research School and has held leadership roles in both primary and specialist settings. With over 33 years of teaching experience, she has educated children aged 3 to 19.
Throughout her career, Margaret has taken on leadership responsibilities in areas such as behaviour, safeguarding and attendance, mental health, and SEND.
When I first heard that the EEF were updating the Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning guidance report, I’ll admit to feeling a little nervous. Of all the EEF resources, this is the one that has probably shaped my classroom practice the most. I worried that new evidence might challenge approaches that are now deeply embedded – strategies that feel part of the fabric of everyday teaching across our trust.
Thankfully, I needn’t have worried. The updated evidence review is reassuring rather than disruptive. It confirms that metacognitive approaches continue to be supported by strong evidence, remain particularly impactful for disadvantaged learners, and that the estimated impact has increased to +8 months’ progress when implemented well.
Why Less Is More (Even with Brilliant Guidance) If you’re new to metacognition, let me say this: I think this guidance is brilliant. I could quite happily unpack each recommendation. But the guidance itself has taught me better. Trying to cover the whole report in one blog would almost certainly lead to cognitive overload – for you and for me.
Which brings me neatly to the first aspect of the guidance that really made me stop and reflect on my own practice.
Cognitive Load: Reducing the Burden on Working Memory One of the strongest messages in the report is the importance of understanding working memory and avoiding unnecessary cognitive load. The guidance is clear that learning tasks can easily overwhelm pupils if we are not deliberate in how we design them. As the report states:
“Teachers need to make sure that they don’t give too much information at the same time.”
This made me far more aware of the instructions I give. Are they short? Are they unambiguous? Are pupils expected to hold them in their heads? What additional scaffolds can I provide to ensure working memory is freed up to focus on the task, rather than having to hold extraneous information?
“The use of structured planning templates, teacher modelling, worked examples, and breaking down activities into steps can help achieve this”
Modelling Thinking: From Instinct to Intention Recommendation 3: “Model your own thinking to help pupils develop their metacognitive and cognitive skills.” Like many teachers, I had always modelled my thinking instinctively, knowing it helped pupils develop their own internal dialogue when tackling challenging tasks.
What the guidance changed was my intentionality. It encouraged me to plan modelling more carefully and to think about how it supports pupils at different stages of learning. This diagram is particularly helpful, showing how modelling supports novice learners before being gradually withdrawn as pupils move towards independent practice.
(Education Endowment Foundation, Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning Guidance Report, p.24)
If you’d like to see this in action, visit the Research Schools website, where you’ll find short videos of teachers modelling this behaviour with their classes.
Final Thoughts If you haven’t yet read the EEF’s Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning guidance, I’d strongly encourage you to do so. Even if a whole-school approach isn’t on the agenda right now, there are practical insights and simple tweaks that can improve learning for all pupils ‑particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. With such a strong evidence base behind it, this is one report that genuinely earns its place on your reading list.
