The Importance of Motivation for the Development of Metacognition, Self-Regulated Learning and Autonomy

Comprend des références bibliographiquesSeveral years ago the author noticed that many of her first-term students, coming from high school, seemed unclear about the methods of intellectual work to put into practice to learn better. Wanting to facilitate their transition into the world of college education, she decided to introduce them to some learning strategies, including note-taking and reading strategies. The students listened to her attentively, and seemed generally interested. However, it seemed clear that her teachings, for the most part, and especially for the weaker students, went unheeded. This led her to take an interest in self-regulated learning and motivation, two concepts intimately linked to the development of student autonomy. In this article, she will discuss the methods that she implemented in her classes, in light of her thoughts about these concepts, in order to promote metacognition in her students and help them to develop strategies for learning (or cognitive strategies) that are relevant and effective for them, and that they would be able to mobilize autonomously