. A professor notices some students are anxious and overwhelmed. An appropriate metacognitive prompt would be: What strategies can you use to approach this?” “Don’t worry, just do your best. “Let’s review the main steps again.” “The exam covers everything we learned
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is: “What strategies can you use to approach this?”
Explanation:
Metacognition refers to the process of thinking about and controlling one’s own learning and thinking. In the context of students feeling anxious or overwhelmed, an appropriate metacognitive prompt encourages them to reflect on their own strategies for managing the situation. The question “What strategies can you use to approach this?” helps students to think about specific ways they can manage their anxiety or focus their efforts, thus promoting self-regulation and a sense of control over their learning.
Here’s why the other options are not as effective in this context:
- “Don’t worry, just do your best.” While this statement might be meant to reassure students, it doesn’t prompt them to think critically about their own thought processes or how to manage their feelings or actions in response to anxiety. It might not help the student build specific strategies for managing stress.
- “Let’s review the main steps again.” This is more about revisiting content than about addressing the student’s metacognitive awareness of how they are approaching the material. While review can be helpful, it doesn’t directly address the student’s emotional or cognitive state.
- “The exam covers everything we learned.” This statement might increase anxiety rather than reduce it, as it reinforces the idea that students need to recall all the material. It doesn’t offer strategies for managing the overwhelming feeling of having too much to cover.
Metacognitive prompts, such as “What strategies can you use to approach this?”, encourage self-reflection, help students manage stress, and guide them toward problem-solving techniques, all of which are valuable for overcoming anxiety and improving performance.
