The Education Endowment Foundation’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit suggests that metacognition and reading comprehension strategies have the highest impact on student progress for the lowest cost and with the strongest evidence base (EEF, 2021; Quigley et al, 2018).
At secondary level, both approaches are shown to improve student progress by up to an additional seven months across a year’s study.
And so it perhaps makes perfect sense to leverage metacognition to improve reading comprehension in secondary schools.
Reading comprehension is the foundation for all other academic skills. Ofsted’s research report, Now the whole school is reading (2022) states: “As the secondary curriculum places increasing demands on reading comprehension, older pupils who struggle with reading comprehension do not catch up.”
This article will explore how metacognition can be effectively employed to support students’ reading comprehension abilities and what the research tells us about the impact.
Defining our terms
Metacognition is a term used to describe the ability to think about our own thinking processes. In simpler terms, it is the act of being aware of and understanding how we learn, reason, problem-solve, and make decisions. In his blog The makings of metacognition, Alex Quigley (2018) states that: “Metacognition and self-regulation are essential concepts for helping students become effective learners.”
Metacognition can be broken down into two parts:
- Metacognitive knowledge refers to knowledge of the task, strategies and ourselves.
- Metacognitive regulation refers to how we apply this knowledge to a task through planning, monitoring, and evaluating.
Metacognition is crucial in guiding and improving reading comprehension. Indeed, metacognition is fundamental in developing students’ self-awareness which is often critical in reading comprehension, allowing them to build knowledge and understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, and the strategies they can select to assist them.
Reading is complex
The Scarborough Reading Rope – a model that illustrates the complex and interconnected processes involved in skilled reading – shows us that in order to read skilfully there is an array of processes necessary, including both word recognition and language comprehension (Scarborough, 2001).
The Reading Rope: Adapted from Scarborough, 2001
When beginning secondary school in year 7, students are faced with a significant increase in the range of texts they need to be able to understand, from a variety of different disciplines which can contribute to a dip or plateau in performance (Ofsted, 2015). Therefore, it is imperative to support students with their comprehension monitoring.
Comprehension monitoring
Comprehension monitoring is a specific aspect of metacognition, involving evaluating and adjusting understanding during reading. In the research paper Reading comprehension and metacognition: The importance of inferential skills (Soto et al, 2019), the authors found that: “Having strong inferential skills and metacognitive knowledge enables readers to better understand the text as they read and enhances their ability to regulate their learning efforts in the future.”
Metacomprehension is the process of readers assessing their understanding of the text as they read, identifying areas of confusion or difficulty, and making adjustments to improve comprehension.
However, Dunlosky & Lipko’s (2007) research into metacomprehension over two decades found consistently that people's judgement accuracy is quite poor.
Soto et al (2019) concluded that metacognitive students are able to monitor their understanding of a text and adjust their strategies accordingly. They also conclude that the combined findings from the research emphasise the importance of both inferential skills and metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies, particularly related to metacognition regulatory process of evaluation, in enhancing reading comprehension.
Crucially, metacognitive readers are able select from a range of strategies to assist their comprehension and choose the most appropriate. However, metacognition is not innate and must be taught, especially where reading comprehension is concerned.
Soto et al (2019) suggest that the findings have implications for educators, indicating that inferential reasoning plays a crucial role in deeper levels of understanding, especially for complex materials.
Teachers can emphasise the importance of inferential reasoning in instruction to improve both comprehension and metacomprehension; though it may be beneficial to give direct instruction on global inference in particular which can prove more challenging, especially for weaker readers.
Some practical suggestions
The research paper Applying metacognition into reading comprehension (Kongduang, 2020) suggests that weaker readers may benefit from training in reading strategies similar to inferential and metacognitive learners, and metacognitive strategy training can be applied effectively in the classroom. It recommends that teachers guide students in using metacognition to comprehend reading materials effectively. The paper, which is based on finding from students with English as an additional language, offers the following suggestions:
- Explicit teaching: Begin by explicitly teaching students what metacognition is and how it can be applied to improve reading comprehension. Provide clear explanations and examples to help students understand the concept.
- Goal-setting: Encourage students to set reading comprehension goals. Discuss the importance of having clear objectives while reading and how it can help them monitor their understanding.
- Monitoring and self-reflection: Teach students how to monitor their own comprehension while reading. Encourage them to ask themselves questions like "do I understand what I just read?" and "does this make sense?". Encourage self-reflection after reading to assess their level of understanding.
- Metacognitive strategies: Introduce students to specific metacognitive strategies, such as previewing the text, summarising key points, making connections, and asking questions. Demonstrate how these strategies can be applied during reading.
- Think-alouds: Model metacognitive thinking for students by doing think-alouds – show them how you think through a text, use strategies, and monitor comprehension.
- Metacognitive reading journals: Have students keep reading journals where they record their thoughts, reflections, and the strategies they used while reading. This will help them become more aware of their thinking process.
- Group discussions: Encourage students to discuss their reading experiences and share the strategies that worked best for them. Group discussions can foster a supportive learning environment and provide opportunities for peer learning.
- Differentiation: Consider the varying abilities of students in the classroom and adapt the metacognitive strategy training to meet individual needs. Some students may require more guidance and support, while others may be ready for more advanced strategies.
- Feedback and assessment: Provide regular feedback to students on their metacognitive approach to reading comprehension. Use formative assessments to gauge their progress and make adjustments as needed.
- Integration into the curriculum: Integrate metacognitive strategy training into the overall curriculum, not just in reading lessons. Students can apply these strategies in other subject areas and real-life situations.
- Encourage autonomy: Foster a sense of autonomy in students by encouraging them to take ownership of their learning and apply metacognitive strategies independently.
- Teacher training: Provide professional development for teachers to understand the importance of metacognitive strategy training and how to effectively implement it.
More meaningful connections
Kongduang (2020) concluded that the application of metacognitive approaches is “crucial” in comprehending texts and wider literacy and led to improved academic performance in the students in the study.
Supporting this research, Boulware-Gooden et al (2007) examined the outcome of an intervention involving 30 minutes of daily reading comprehension instruction for five weeks. They determined that the intervention group showed a statistically significant improvement in vocabulary (40% difference in gains) and reading comprehension (20% difference in gains) against the comparison group.
Teachers observed that students in the intervention group actively engaged in the lessons and demonstrated a deeper understanding of the content. They connected new vocabulary words to their prior knowledge and made more meaningful connections. The intervention proved beneficial for students with comprehension and language difficulties, as it provided them with tools to better understand what they read and make connections to their background knowledge. The metacognitive reading comprehension instruction was found to be particularly effective in improving students’ ability to understand written text.
Stages of metacognitive reading
A useful 2019 study offers us some practical steps outlining what it is that metacognitive readers do (Babayiğiti, 2019).
- Planning: In this stage, readers set goals for their reading and make predictions about how they will approach the text. They identify what skills and resources they need for successful reading.
- Monitoring: During reading, students monitor the validity of their estimates and predictions. They pay attention to the structure of the text and intensify their focus on important points. Good readers control their understanding process and analyse complex expressions.
- Evaluation: After reading, readers evaluate their reading activity. They determine the strategies and approaches used during the reading and identify areas of improvement for future readings.
Understanding these strategies will help teachers to model this to students in order to enhance students’ metacognitive approaches, develop their reading comprehension, and lead to them becoming more independent readers.
In this study, metacognitive strategies improved reading comprehension; they also increased awareness (evidence through active involvement in class discussion) and engagement (increased motivation) and a positive learning atmosphere. The strategies used with the experimental group included:
- Planning: Learners engage in activities that prepare them for effective reading involving setting goals, making predictions, and activating prior knowledge.
- Monitoring: Learners engaged with self-questioning, clarification, summarising.
- Evaluating: Judging importance (importance and relevance of the information they have read to determine its significance in relation to the main purpose of the reading), checking understanding, and reflecting on learning.
Final thoughts
The research evidence shows us that metacognition is crucial to developing reading comprehension and offers some clear strategies. However, a potential weakness of the evidence-base is that much of the research has been carried out outside of the UK and is therefore not context-specific.
Furthermore, a large proportion of the research took place in dedicated reading lessons and so teachers of different subjects at secondary level may perceive metacognitive approaches to reading comprehension as an extra demand on their already stretched curriculum time.
As such, applying metacognitive strategies must be supported with robust professional development focused on how it can be adapted and integrated into different disciplines.
Nonetheless, metacognition emerges as a powerful mechanism for enhancing reading comprehension. By incorporating explicit teaching, goal-setting, monitoring, and self-reflection, teachers of all domains can equip students with invaluable metacognitive strategies to navigate complex texts successfully. This approach not only enhances reading comprehension but cultivates autonomous learners too.
Debbie Tremble is assistant headteacher for teaching and learning at John Taylor High School in Staffordshire. She has 20 years’ experience in education, undertaking a variety of roles including head of English and trust lead for English and literacy. Debbie is an SLE for English, ELE for Staffordshire Research School, and is currently partaking in an NPQLTD. Follow her on X (Twitter) @mrs_tremble
Further information & resources
- Babayiğiti: Examination (of) the metacognitive reading strategies of secondary school sixth grade student, International Journal of Progressive Education (15,3), 2019: https://tinyurl.com/598bexkp
- Boulware-Gooden et al: Instruction of metacognitive strategies enhances reading comprehension and vocabulary achievement of third-grade students, The Reading Teacher (61,1), 2007: https://tinyurl.com/45nbd6wt
- Dunlosky & Lipko: Metacomprehension: A brief history and how to improve its accuracy, Current Directions in Psychological Science (16, 4), 2007.
- EEF: Metacognition and self-regulation, Teaching and Learning Toolkit, 2021: https://tinyurl.com/z48sryj9
- EEF: Reading comprehension strategies, Teaching and Learning Toolkit, 2021: https://tinyurl.com/bdzbehjr
- Kongduang: Applying metacognition into reading comprehension, International Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Studies (5,6), 2020.
- Ofsted: Key stage 3: The wasted years? 2015: https://tinyurl.com/4zcb27np
- Ofsted: ‘Now the whole school is reading’: Supporting struggling readers in secondary school, 2022: https://tinyurl.com/ycxydhms
- Quigley: The makings of metacognition, The Confident Teacher (blog), 2018: https://tinyurl.com/yc2yc67a
- Quigley, Muijs & Stringer: Metacognition and self-regulated learning: Seven recommendations for teaching self-regulated learning &metacognition, EEF, 2018: https://tinyurl.com/mr3cpp6w
- Scarborough: Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In Handbook for Research in Early Literacy, Neuman & Dickinson (eds), Guilford Press, 2001.
- Soto et al: Reading comprehension and metacognition: The importance of inferential skills, Cogent Education (6:1), 2019.