Using multiple methods to engage learners with the metacognitive approach

Through initial engagement with my colleagues before the semester started, we identified a need to use multiple methods to help develop students’ understandings of the approach and then to reinforce and support them to apply it in their ongoing learning. The four key methods were: students’ reflections on the pre-semester assessment survey; enriching student understanding through a metacognitive booklet; nurturing student independent learning through weekly learning plans and reflections; and creating a collaborative English language learning environment through a ‘wall magazine’.

4.2.1 Reflecting on the pre-semester survey

The pre-semester survey served as more than just a set of questions to assess the students’ knowledge and prior use of metacognition in their reading of English. It also helped the students to reflect on the elements of the metacognitive approach in relation to all aspects of language learning.

In this, it proved important that the survey had been translated into Indonesian and that the language was carefully chosen to support the students’ initially varied understanding of the concepts of metacognition. Students retained a copy of the survey for their own reference, and could refer to it when they made their weekly learning plans and reflections. In part this supported them in monitoring their own development and in discussing their progress with their peers.

Formally, the survey was only discussed in class in Weeks 1 and 14, when they were asked to complete it. However, in retrospect, in each weekly tutorial it would have been useful to prompt students to refer to their earlier responses and to reflect upon

and/or discuss their responses related to each week’s focus theme. For example, in Week 4 when we discussed self-efficacy, a more explicit link to the questions may have helped students develop a deeper understanding of the concept, particularly in being able to explain in which “areas” of English their confidence had increased and in which areas they needed further confidence.

While students were not explicitly asked to indicate how beneficial they found the survey to be in supporting their learning, there were indications of its usefulness. Observations, overheard discussions and written reflections suggested that a majority of students used the initial survey as a quick reference to remind themselves of key metacognitive elements and that this proved beneficial in focusing their reflections.

4.2.2 The metacognitive booklet

The metacognitive booklet (appendix 13) was essential in providing a deeper understanding of the metacognitive approach, not only for the students but also for the teachers. It was useful that this information was written in Indonesian, using accessible and precise language which assisted the students’ to understand and implement the concepts to support their learning.

In hindsight, while the booklet conveyed theoretical information, it lacked concrete examples. It is likely that the use of authentic and practical examples could have increased the booklet’s relevance and applicability to the students’ situations, and assisted them to understand the value of the concepts in their day-to-day learning. For example, the concept of attribution was perhaps least well understood by the students. The booklet might have provided an example (for instance) of two students who were experiencing difficulties learning English one of whom attributed their difficulties to their English teacher and the other to their effort and strategies. Such a story might have emphasised the value of internal attribution and a focus on what students can actively do to improve their own learning context.

4.2.3 Weekly learning plans and reflections

As teachers we realised that, in order for the students to grow metacognitively and develop into self-regulated learners, they needed to become willing and committed to taking the responsibility for learning into their own hands. Clearly this would not take

place by just coming to class and listening to the teachers. The students needed to spend more time learning English outside of class and beyond the teachers’ supervision. Our central task was, therefore, to encourage the students to spend more time learning English on their own. This did not come easy for many students, since outside the classroom there were few familiar contexts for them which required or demanded the use of English. Furthermore, few students had experience in making learning plans and reflecting upon them. All this required regular guidance from the teachers on the importance of planning and reflection.

Reading the students’ first and second learning plans and reflections, we teachers came to realise that many students lacked focus and direction, and discussions in class revealed that many students had never played an active role in planning or reflecting on their learning prior to joining our class. The teachers agreed that, in order for the reflective journals to work for the students, they needed to be more structured in their detail. This would assist the learners to focus in-depth on the metacognitive themes and the elements of language learning. From our initially very open and unstructured suggestion to students to use their journal to set goals and reflect on how these were achieved, by Meeting 4 we recognised the need to provide students with more scaffolding. In the teachers’ meeting (Meeting 4), we agreed that students needed to be assisted in making learning goals that were specific and reachable. We decided to spend some time in Week 7 discussing the issue with the students in our respective class.

In Week 7, I spent an hour of class time working with my own group of the students to discuss and provide examples of how they might structure their weekly learning plan. We discussed the need for dates, specific learning goals, activities, and reflections on the goals and activities (my reflection/Week 7). From Week 7, the students’ learning plans were more structured. As will be further discussed (section 5.1.3) many students became more self-motivated from the process of setting independent learning goals. Student S02 (Refl.4) shows this link:

I think use day planning is very effective. When we have planning in our minds but we are not try to write it, it’s can’t be success and always fail because the planning in our mind can disturb with other thing. So, if we write our planning we can be more focus. I believe if I use this planning strategy every day, I can study English more easy than before. I can know what

must I do today. although my daily planning is not perfect, but I believe someday I can write it more good, and my English also.

When I left class I came across four colleagues and we had a conversation about what we did in our respective classes. We noted that we were wanting to be process oriented, rather than materials oriented, and that our task was building students’ character (attitudes etc.).We were aiming at student empowerment, which was not properly addressed before. I could see that there was a positive tone in the teachers’ words, and was happy that we, as teachers, did more than just teaching the materials we had prepared; we facilitated students to be autonomous/independent/self- regulated (My reflection/Week 7).

What we teachers learned from nurturing student independent learning was that the students needed scaffolding in order to make realistic goals and to reflect appropriately upon them. Once they had gained the experience and confidence which comes from focus and direction, they were able to set realistic learning goals and reflect upon them independently, which in turn assisted them to become more self- regulated in learning.

4.2.4 The ‘wall magazine’

One of the challenges facing the students learning English in a foreign language context was lack of relevance of English outside of the classroom context. Since English was only learnt in class, and not used in daily communication, we identified the need to create an environment on campus where students could practise and reinforce what they were learning with their peers. While we could have worked ourselves to create such an environment for the students, consistent with our goals for students to become more self-regulated, we recognised the benefit of involving them directly in this activity.

In the meetings with my colleagues before the semester started, I raised the idea of establishing a ‘wall magazine’ on campus. This was conceptualised as a display, created by the students, on decorated boards around the campus, but outside the classrooms. The displays consisted of a collection of articles and comments made by the students on themes which they selected themselves in conjunction with the weekly themes and readings used in the classroom. The students were encouraged to create such displays

(appendix 12) in groups, to read and give comments on each other’s work, either on the board or in their written reflections.

All semester one students, who were taught by the four colleagues and myself, responded to the wall magazine idea enthusiastically (section 3.3.2 gives information about the total number of semester one students). They formed into groups of 4 to 6 and chose a chairperson, secretary and treasurer. They met outside class time, without teacher supervision, to decide on a theme to convey via the magazine. Every week each group took turns displaying their work on the board. Displays such as these were seen as highly innovative and had not been a feature of the campus before. Since there were six English classes and each class had about 4-6 groups, the displays considerably enlivened the campus environment.

In our interactions with students we identified that the wall magazine provided a number of benefits for students. For example, they contributed to a positive and motivational learning environment. As one student described, they “widened our horizon, and made us creative. Campus atmosphere became more lively” (S01). The practice enhanced cooperation amongst the students, as they read each other’s work, providing added incentive to engage in more diverse English language experiences than the ones prescribed in class: “I can get a lot of information from the wall magazines, a lot of which I may never have encountered/known before” (S04). The approach also helped develop the students’ self-regulation in learning English as they took more self-responsibility for identifying their own and each others’ errors in expression: “I can gain various information and can learn tenses, grammar, and find new vocabulary from other learning materials” (S09). Another student stated that “The wall magazines created the English atmosphere which in turn makes me used to the English language” (S02).

These responses had their counterpart in the teachers’ comments (Meeting 4):

We are happy (proud) about their effort, such as making weekly wall magazines. Although we did not remind them of this, they do it themselves: an indication of being more autonomous; but we need to encourage other students to read the publications (Ms. Wati).

I could see the changes happening to all semester one students. They were enthusiastic about the wall magazines. These magazines create an English atmosphere on Campus. At the end of the day, learning should be fun, and the wall magazines help make English learning a fun experience (Mr. Yudi).

The students’ positive responses (as reflected in Meeting 4) reinforced the teachers’ belief in the benefits of the wall magazine as means to promote self-regulated learning in the campus environment. Having an environment conducive to English on campus supported student learning, not only in class but also outside class. This worked as a stimulus for students, since the use of English outside formal learning settings is otherwise limited (There is certainly English use outside Sanata Dharma university, but it is not employed in daily communication; it is limited to certain venues such as English seminars, in hotels or some tourist spots serving foreign customers).

Looking back, by debriefing students on the strategies they were using, we could have created closer connections between in-class and out-of-class activities in order to provide greater encouragement and reinforcement regarding their capacity to learn independently. This would also have invited questions from peers, and so initiate authentic language use. In addition, there would have been a transfer of effective learning strategies among students. In this way, the classroom learning would have been more engaging and enriching as only part of a larger whole-learning experience.