Giving Students Time and Confidence to Build Their Metacognition Skills

In middle school and high school, teachers and students typically celebrate the end result: the polished essay, the solved equation, the test grade. Constant evaluations make it difficult for students to conceptualize that academic success doesn’t have to be exclusively tied to outcomes; clarity, empowerment, progress, and improved metacognition skills also come from small wins.

In my high school special education classroom, I like to recognize students’ effort in the lead-up to final outcomes. Not in a vague “You tried your best” sort of way—more so appreciating the intentional choices that help students push ahead. For the last half-decade or so, I’ve called these small wins “the moves that mattered.”

After instituting simple reflection questions and reiterating the importance of the “moves that mattered,” I’ve noticed a mindset shift. Students aren’t just finishing assignments—they’re much more aware of how they reached an end point. Over time, they’ve also named their strategies and shared them with peers.

Below are a handful of the most useful reflections that my students have incorporated into their assignments, all of which have boosted their metacognition skills, too.

Rewrite the Question

David, a former student of mine, used to get quiet when he felt a question was too complex. Eventually, he tried a new approach during reading activities: He rewrote comprehension questions in a way that suited him better. “What’s the theme of the passage?” became “What’s the big idea this story is trying to show me?” The reframe helped David make sense of the task at hand, he told me.

When I asked him why, he said, “I couldn’t answer it the way it was written, so I had to change it to make sense in my head.” He developed more agency as he worked through otherwise-difficult problems, which proved to be encouraging for his classmates, too. It showed them that reworking a prompt isn’t giving up, it’s thinking through.

Check the Rubric Before Submitting

Skylar often hovered at the edge of meeting expectations. Shortly before turning in one of her assignments, she checked her paper line by line. She caught a formatting issue and added a stronger conclusion. It wasn’t something I’d asked her to do—it was something she did on her own.

We later unpacked Skylar’s process as a class and reframed the rubric as a tool that students could use before receiving final feedback, not just afterward. Her writing group began double-checking rubrics more regularly. Not because I required it, but because it helped them feel more prepared. Skylar’s attention to detail served as a reminder that tools like rubrics can guide learning, in addition to measuring learning.

Borrow a Classmate’s System

Rylee, a visual thinker, noticed that her classmate Piper was color-coding annotations: yellow for main ideas, green for details, blue for evidence. Rylee tried annotating for herself and found that it made the text more manageable. What started as silent borrowing turned into shared practice.

When I mentioned Rylee’s and Piper’s color-coding system during a strategy share, both girls were surprised by how many other classmates wanted to try it as well. Soon, students were creating their own annotation keys and comparing approaches. It was one of the clearest examples of peer-to-peer learning I’ve seen. Organic, low-stakes, and empowering.

Take a Breath and Start Again

Jeremy used to freeze when he made a mistake. One day, during a warm-up, I noticed him pause, close his eyes, take a breath, and calmly restart. After class, I asked about it. “I knew if I didn’t stop, I’d just keep messing up,” he said.

We talked about reset strategies and how athletes employ those same strategies. Soon, other students began sharing their own versions of resetting: flipping to a clean page, stretching hands, or taking a sip of water. Jeremy’s moment sparked a classroom norm that pausing isn’t quitting. It’s always a good idea to take a beat and refocus.

Ask a Friend to Check Your Work

My students and I have talked about how asking for feedback isn’t a sign of confusion—it actually brings clarity. Several students mentioned that it’s easier to take a risk when they know they can ask for a second set of eyes. Sometimes, a classmate’s suggestion or a simple “Tell me more” is all it takes to spark a stronger response.

Peer check-ins have become a positive routine in my classroom. I allow peer check-ins during step-by-step writing tasks where students are building out key details. For graded assignments like full-length essays, peer check-ins aren’t allowed, but I try to take the pressure off by encouraging students to think outside the box and trust their decision-making. Mistakes are OK.

Keep a ‘Personal Playbook’

I introduced my classroom to the idea of a “personal playbook,” a practical, student-owned tool kit for learning. Each student keeps a small, evolving list of three to five strategies that have helped them get through challenges—moves they’ve used, refined, or borrowed that they believe make a difference.

The playbooks live in various formats: taped inside a binder, saved on a Chromebook, or written in a corner of a notebook. It’s up to the student to pick the format they prefer and the strategies they like the most.

The playbooks aren’t just lists—they’re personalized, go-to guides for when students are facing down a blank page, a confusing prompt, or the urge to give up. We revisit them before major assignments, during goal-setting, or after a tough day. Over time, the playbook becomes a confidence anchor, a place that students can turn to and say, “I’ve done hard things before. I have ways to try again.”

One former student of mine, Nevaeh, kept her personal playbook taped inside the cover of her binder. Before writing assessments, she’d glance at it, almost like a pre-game ritual. Her top three strategies were “highlight verbs in the prompt,” “use the checklist,” and “take a pause if I get overwhelmed.” 

As a teacher, I’ve learned that pushing for specific metacognitive strategies isn't always effective. I’m here to offer advice and modeling, especially lightweight routines and end-of-task reflections like, “What move helped you today?” But what’s most important is letting students develop their metacognition skills by charting their own course. There’s a certain confidence that naturally results when students have the time and space to build out their own strategies, so they can “spot the spark” and see that the process matters as much as the results.