Research School Network: Nurturing Self-Regulated Learners: Using Thoughtful Questioning to Support Metacognition By Dr Niki Kaiser, Director of Norwich Research School

Have you ever faced a challenge and felt like giving up? I certainly have. What is it that keeps you going when this happens? Is it inner strength? The people around you? Strategies you’ve learned?

I swim regularly with a Masters club, and a recent challenging session made me reflect on how often our pupils encounter their own hurdles, big and small. It made me think about how they’ll often want to give up on a task they find tricky, or even decide that they ​“can’t do” a particular subject. I was considering how we can use prompts and questions to help them to find their way through, especially our most vulnerable pupils.

Why metacognition?

The EEF emphasises how important it is that our most disadvantaged pupils have access to high-quality teaching, which is reflected in their tiered model for supporting Pupil Premium-eligible pupils. The ​“Five a day” resource highlights five key approaches with strong evidence for positive outcomes: one of these is metacognitive strategies. Importantly, these strategies can be explicitly taught.

Natural resilience?

In any class you teach, you’ll probably be able to name at least one child who always just seems to get it. They find ways of learning from experience, even if they don’t get things right the first time, and have the motivation to keep going, even when they find something hard. These children are self-regulated learners, who possess the ability to recognise their individual strengths and weaknesses, and independently motivate themselves to improve their learning. 

Metacognition is a crucial aspect of self-regulation. It’s the ability to employ effective learning strategies based on what you know and have learned, but it also requires knowledge of yourself, including your own abilities and emotions.

It’s tempting to believe that some pupils are just naturally gifted at school, or more driven and resilient than their peers. However, it’s important to remember that these qualities are not solely inherent; they are also shaped by experiences, both inside and outside of school.

Pupils come to our lessons with a range of prior knowledge and skills, which we take into account when we teach them. We need to meet them where they are, and help them to develop further by teaching them specific metacognitive strategies. Since disadvantaged pupils are less likely to employ metacognitive skills without specific support, it makes it even more critical that we teach these strategies in context.

Swimming and the power of coaching

All this came to the front of my mind a few weeks ago, after one of my regular club swimming sessions. I had arrived at the pool feeling exhausted and lacking motivation, only to discover that our main set for the day was a challenging 6x300m swim with varying speed intervals. After completing just 300m, I was ready to call it quits. I told my coach, Luke, that I was tired and was going to get out. 

I guess Luke could have either just let me get out or told me to suck it up, and get on with it and finish the set! But instead, he suggested that I try two more of the 300s, but without the speedwork, essentially completing half of the planned distance. I sighed inwardly but decided to give it a shot, and to my surprise, I managed to finish most of the set, albeit without the speedwork. I was grateful for Luke’s thoughtful guidance through his questions.

On another occasion, I faced a similar scenario. Tired once again, I contemplated leaving the pool during a set that focused on core strength and turns. This time, Luke offered me the choice to leave if I wanted to, but he also asked if I would be willing to continue without the core strength exercises and focus on improving my streamline position instead. I decided to stay, with this slightly modified focus, and once again, I was pleased that I did.

These swimming episodes reflect what teachers encounter daily in the classroom. Our pupils often want to give up when they believe a task or lesson is too challenging, and our role is to guide them through these hurdles, either by offering strategies or alternatives, or by helping them to draw on their knowledge of themselves to find a way through.

Question prompts

The EEF’s questioning tool provides examples of prompts that can be used when pupils face difficulties during a lesson. There is also a specific prompting tool to help support knowledge of self, through teacher modelling.

Some prompts may seem obvious, such as ​“Have you seen a problem like this before?”. However, not all children will naturally ask themselves these questions. This is where teacher support comes in, especially when they know their pupils well enough to ask the right question at the right moment. Teaching is an art that involves knowing when to push, nudge, or offer an alternative task. Ultimately, we hope that in doing this, we will equip them with the skills to do this even when we’re not there. 

When I wanted to give up during my swim sessions, Luke knew the right questions to ask to keep me going, and offered alternatives that were tailored to my needs. Some days, I can use strategies to keep going myself, but sometimes I can’t – especially when I’m tired.

One of the prompts on the knowledge of self tool is ​“In the past when faced with a similar task I felt… “. Perhaps in the future, I’ll anticipate these moments better, and say to myself, ​“Today, I feel tired. I know I’ll want to stop during the main set. When I feel like this, I’ll ask for a different focus and aim to finish the distance.”

Scaffolding independence

My struggles in the pool really brought home to me the importance of supporting pupils who face challenges in the classroom with metacognitive prompts and strategies. At first, this might mean giving them specific guidance, but our hope is that they will eventually learn to do this alone. 

Just as Luke guided me through tough swimming sets, we can help our pupils overcome obstacles. By helping our pupils by scaffolding their thinking when we’re there, we can empower them to become independent learners, who can navigate challenges, even when they’re on their own.