This is Jennifer Gonzalez welcoming you to episode 232 of the cult of pedagogy podcast.

In this episode we're going to talk about how metacognition can optimize learning.

Here's a scenario you might be familiar with.

Here's a scenario you might be familiar with. A person, maybe you, maybe someone you know, studies

for hours to prepare for a test, hours, days even. And when the test day comes they completely blow it. I don't

understand, they say, I studied so hard, I thought I knew that stuff. The act of thinking about our own thinking, of knowing what we know and don't know, is referred to in academic circles as metacognition, and it plays a huge role in how well our brain holds on to information.

If we can get a better understanding of how metacognition works,

we can tap into it to improve our learning and teach our students to do the same.

To help us do that is my guest Megan Someraki, a professor of cognitive psychology at

Rhode Island College.

Megan's area of expertise is in human learning and

memory and applying the science of learning in educational contexts. In

2023 she co-wrote a book called Ace That Test, a student's guide to learning better, which offers

evidence-based learning strategies students can use to study more effectively.

On today's episode, Megan and I talk about what metacognition is, what it looks like when

our metacognitive monitors are wonky, and how learners can leverage it to optimize learning and

stop putting in the wrong kinds of effort when studying.

One important note in our conversation Megan refers to a concept called Retrival Practice.

She explains what it means, but if this is a new term for you, now is a great time to learn what it is.

We have covered this term a lot in this podcast, so I recommend you go over to Kult to Pedagogy, click the word blog in the menu,

scroll down to where it says browse by topic, and click the phrase retrieval practice.

That'll take you to all seven articles and

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