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You’ve probably had that familiar conversation after school:
“What did you learn today?”. And your child replies, “I don’t know. Nothing really.”
It’s not that they didn’t learn anything; it’s that they may not yet know how to think about their learning. That’s where metacognition comes in.
Metacognition means thinking about your thinking. It’s the ability to understand how you learn, recognise what strategies work best for you, and take control of your own learning process.
When students develop metacognitive skills, they become more confident and independent learners who can plan, monitor, and evaluate their progress effectively.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness helps students understand their goals, strengths, and areas for growth. It allows them to reflect on what motivates them and identify how prepared they are to tackle new challenges.
Self-regulation
Self-regulation is the ability to take charge of one’s learning. If a strategy isn’t working, metacognitive learners can adapt and try a different approach. This flexibility builds resilience and helps them view mistakes as opportunities to improve rather than setbacks.
Knowledge transfer
True learning happens when students can apply what they know in new and unfamiliar situations. By connecting ideas across subjects and solving real-world problems, students deepen their understanding and strengthen their ability to use knowledge creatively and meaningfully.
In 2024, Nord Anglia Education partnered with Boston College and Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education to launch the Metacognition Research Project, inviting many schools, including St Andrews, to participate. This ongoing initiative features multiple research projects exploring different ways in which metacognitive skills can help students become confident, creative thinkers and problem-solvers in an ever-changing world.
A baseline study on metacognition conducted by Boston College across 17 Nord Anglia schools between February and April 2024 surveyed 2,429 students from Years 3 to 9 and 389 teachers from early years through Year 13.
The results showed strong support for metacognitive learning from the students:
Over 50% of the students agreed that it improves their thinking and helps them succeed both in and beyond school, reporting noticeable gains in creativity, collaboration, curiosity, and self-awareness.
84% said they had become better at recognising their strengths
75% felt more independent.
The teachers' responses were equally positive, with over 80% agreeing that metacognition enhances learning and prepares students for life beyond the classroom.
The case for embedding metacognitive thinking throughout the Primary and High School curriculum is strong. At St Andrews, this has taken shape through the introduction of our ‘Learner Ambitions’, also known as the 6Cs—a set of six essential skills and mindsets identified as key attributes for student success: compassion, creativity, commitment, critical thinking, curiosity, and collaboration.
To help students actively develop and reflect on these skills at St Andrews, we implemented ‘Thinking Routines’ – the routines and practices to build metacognitive skills – to be implemented in six-week blocks focusing on each of the 6Cs, based on the research done by Nord Anglia in collaboration with Project Zero, a research centre at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
For example, during a six-week focus on a Learner Ambition such as curiosity, students use Thinking Routines like “See, Think, Wonder”—a simple strategy that encourages students to observe closely, interpret what they notice, and ask thoughtful questions to deepen curiosity and understanding across all subjects. Then, students note their reflections on achieving a goal.
Importantly, this process is not graded. Instead, it gives students the space to understand themselves as learners, practise essential metacognitive skills, and develop the habits of mind that underpin lifelong learning and personal development.
At St Andrews, we are committed to helping our students take ownership of their learning, think deeply, and use their skills in every challenge they face—both in school and beyond. By nurturing metacognitive thinking, we prepare our students for a future where they can confidently shape their own paths and succeed in whatever they aspire to do or be.