Nursery World - 'Learning to learn' boosts children's development

Children as young as three can benefit from developing ‘learning to learn’ skills, which can boost children’s attainment by seven months, according to new research.

A child's developing awareness of their own mental processes is known as metacognition.

A new report by the Education Endowment Foundation says that evidence shows that developing children’s metacognition can be particularly beneficial for disadvantaged children.

It offers seven practical, evidence-based recommendations to support teachers to develop metacognitive skills in their pupils and ‘myth busts’ common misconceptions.

In primary school, this could mean that pupils learn different strategies for remembering different English spelling patterns, so that they’re able to spell more difficult words.

One misconception focuses on the belief that metacognition can only be developed in older pupils. According to the report, 'children as young hve been able to engage in a wide range of metacognitive and self-regulatory behaviours, such as setting themselves goals and checking their understanding. They also show greater accuracy on tasks they have chosen to accept than on tasks they would have preferred to opt of.'

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