The Big6 and Metacognition
Very recently, I realized just how valuable the Big6 is for helping anyone to talk about what they are doing in terms of “process.” We have lots of ways to talk about content – the subjects or departments or courses or classes or topics or assignments:
subject – Science
department – High School Science
course – Geology
class – 9th grade Earth Science
topic – earthquakes
assignment – report on tectonic plates
When we hear about any of the above, we pretty much know what it’s about. But, how do we describe what something is about in terms of process? If a student is learning about earthquakes, where is she or he in terms of process?
That’s where the Big6 comes in. A student can tell you something like, “I am studying earthquakes and working on questions for my homework. I understand the questions okay, and I am looking for the answers to the questions in my textbook. So, I guess I am okay with task definition, and I am working on location and access and use of information.”
If we talked with the student, we could probably get even more specific – “In terms of location and access, you already have the textbook, right? So, are you scanning and skimming to find the appropriate sections, which is Big6 stage 3.2 – finding information in sources – or are you actually reading for understanding (Big6 4.1) and looking for what’s relevant (Big6 stage 4.2)?
It only recently hit me that it’s more than okay to talk to students (of all ages) this way. It’s really useful because it helps people to be able to talk about what they are doing – to reflect on their process and describe it.
That’s learning about learning – that’s metacognition – that’s how the Big6 comes in to play. The Big6 provides a vocabulary for talking about process, and that can be really valuable for students in terms of
- being aware of their style and approach,
- having something to fall back on when they get stuck, or
- finding ways to improve.
More to follow….
Mike
