Which type of strategies are used by learners to plan, regulate and monitor their learning? Example: highlighting important information.

• A. Metacognitive Strategies
• B. Cognitive Strategies
• C. Socio-Affective Strategies
• D. Compensation Strategies

Answer: (A)

Metacognitive strategies involve the learner taking control of their own learning by planning what to do, monitoring how it’s going, and adjusting approaches as needed. This includes setting study goals, deciding which strategies to use (for example, how to approach a chapter), actively checking your understanding as you go, and changing tactics if you’re not making progress.

In practice, you might plan a study session by deciding to focus on understanding the main arguments, choose strategies like skimming headings first, annotating key points, and periodically pausing to paraphrase what you’ve read. You’d then monitor your understanding—checking if you can explain concepts in your own words or if you still feel unsure—and adjust by trying a different method, such as summarizing aloud or doing practice questions.

Highlighting important information is a specific technique that can be used within a metacognitive approach, but the essence of metacognition is the planning, monitoring, and adjusting of your learning process itself. It’s about directing your learning, not just executing a task.

Cognitive strategies, socio-affective strategies, and compensation strategies describe other types of techniques, but they don’t capture the ongoing self-regulation and planning involved in metacognition.