How can metacognition help students in 16-19 education?

More than 100 leaders, teachers and colleagues from across England’s 16–19 sector came together at a conference co-hosted by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Gatsby Charitable Foundation to explore how metacognition can strengthen student independence, confidence and outcomes.

The day was opened by Professor Becky Francis CBE, Chief Executive of the EEF, who reflected on the importance of the 16-19 sector in breaking the link between family income and educational attainment. This was followed by a keynote presentation from Alex Quigley, who set out why metacognition matters for teaching and learning. Alex explored the evidence base for metacognitive approaches for 16–19 year-olds, as well as their importance and applicability across a range of contexts and qualifications.

Delegates then heard from Dr Jonah Bury and Dr Anushay Mazhar from Oxford MeasurEd, who shared interim findings from the 16-19 metacognition practice review which is investigating how this concept is understood and adopted across the sector. This practice review will inform EEF guidance on metacognition for 16-19 students, due to be published in early 2027.

Across the day, breakout sessions led by leaders and teachers gave delegates the opportunity to explore how metacognitive approaches are being used in different post-16 contexts and qualification types. Sessions considered how leaders can strengthen professional conversations about teaching; how teachers can make expert thinking visible through modelling and “think alouds”; how students can be supported to plan, monitor and evaluate their work more independently; and how metacognition can be used to remove barriers to deep, long-lasting learning in GCSE English resits.

Other sessions focused on practical classroom strategies, including the use of exam wrappers to help students turn feedback into “feedforward”, structured approaches to exam-question deconstruction, ways to make independent learning more accessible for students with additional needs and ways to integrate metacognition in initial teacher education and in subjects such as construction.

Across the conference, metacognition was highlighted as a practical, evidence-informed approach that can be embedded in everyday teaching, assessment and professional development, rather than simply an abstract concept.

The event underlined the value of bringing evidence and practice together to strengthen teaching across the 16-19 sector with a strong shared commitment to using metacognition to support students’ developing independence. Gatsby and the EEF are grateful to all speakers, facilitators and delegates for contributing to a day of thoughtful discussion and shared learning.

To learn more about Gatsby and the EEF’s work in 16-19 education, including future events and updates:

• Subscribe to the the Gatsby Education newsletter to receive updates on our latest news and projects.
• Sign up to be the first to hear when the EEF’s guidance report is released, as well as updates on other areas of 16-19 work: Newsletters | EEF
• Join EEF’s community of educators, sharing their experiences to shape EEF’s work in the sector: EEF Exchange | EEF