Ep 14 - Thinking About Thinking: How Metacognition Transforms Learning, with Nathan Burns

In this episode I sat down with metacognitive thinking expert Nathan Burns. Over the 45 minute episode we covered the following questions: Nathan, could you start by telling us a little about your journey into education and what first drew you to the field of metacognition? Metacognition is a term many educators have heard, but not everyone feels confident explaining it. How would you define metacognition in simple terms, and could you share some concrete classroom examples to bring it to life? Metacognition is often cited as one of the highest-impact strategies in education, particularly within the EEF Toolkit with an estimated impact of +8 months. Why do you think metacognition is so powerful, and what is it about this approach that leads to such strong outcomes? What are some of the common misconceptions teachers and leaders have about metacognition — and where do schools sometimes go wrong when trying to implement it? For classroom teachers across different phases, what are some practical strategies they can begin using immediately to embed metacognitive thinking into everyday teaching and learning? Beyond individual classrooms, how can schools and leaders create the conditions for metacognition to become part of whole-school culture rather than a standalone initiative? Finally, if teachers and leaders took one key idea away from our conversation today to reflect on in their own practice, what would you want it to be?