Knowledge Surveys

Contributors: Shirley Yu, Laura Wenk, Matthew Ludwig
Developed at the 2008 workshop, The Role of Metacognition in Teaching Geoscience.

Course level: intro

Description of the metacognitive tactic:
Knowledge Surveys

Goals for using this tactic

  • Learning goals:
    Provide students with explicit learning objectives in the form of actual prior test items to guide self-monitoring.
    Provide instructors with information of students strengths and weaknesses prior to and throughout instruction.
  • Self-regulation goals:
    Students will be constantly aware and reminded of the specific learning objectives and their current comfort level in meeting these objectives.

How this tactic helps students meet that goal:
Knowledge surveys will be implemented prior to instruction and following instruction potentially daily, weekly, and also especially prior to exams.

Additional references or resources:
Perkins, Wirth, and Nuhfer have published extensively on the use of knowledge surveys.

See more examples of strategies for teaching metacognition