Metacognition and self-regulated learning: closing the gap PISA 2025 revealed
PISA 2025 shows few students plan their studying or check their understanding. How to teach metacognition: plan, monitor and evaluate, with examples.
Key takeaways
- Across the OECD, only 37% of students say they often plan their approach to studying, and 49% ask themselves questions to check understanding.
- Curiosity, perseverance, help-seeking, goal setting and growth mindset are all positively associated with science performance in PISA 2025.
- Students with a growth mindset scored 28 points higher in science on average across the OECD.
- Metacognition can be taught explicitly through a plan–monitor–evaluate cycle.
- Teachers model it best by thinking aloud.
What PISA 2025 found about how students learn
PISA 2025 looked closely at student engagement: motivation (curiosity and perseverance), agency (goal setting and help-seeking) and attitudes such as growth mindset. These dimensions are positively associated with science performance and with each other.
- 57%
- of students do not find learning new things boring, a share that fell in 60 systems after 2022
- 60%
- put in extra effort when work becomes challenging
- 37%
- often plan their approach to studying
- 49%
- ask themselves questions to check their understanding
On average across the OECD, 69% of students have a growth mindset, believing intelligence can be developed, and they score 28 points higher in science than those with a fixed mindset. Most students seek help when needed: 77% ask teachers and 82% ask classmates. Girls generally report higher curiosity, perseverance, help-seeking, goal setting and growth mindset, while boys tend to report higher cognitive adaptability. Advantaged students report more engagement across all dimensions.
What metacognition means
Metacognition is thinking about your own thinking and learning. Self-regulated learners use it to set goals, choose strategies, monitor whether a strategy is working and adjust. The Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance on metacognition and self-regulated learning recommends that teachers explicitly teach these strategies, model their own thinking and promote metacognitive talk in the classroom.
The plan–monitor–evaluate cycle
| Stage | Student questions | Teacher move |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | What is the task asking? What do I already know? Which strategy will I use? | Share success criteria; model how to break down the task |
| Monitor | Is this working? Do I understand this paragraph? Where am I stuck? | Pause points; think-aloud; prompt self-questioning |
| Evaluate | How well did it go? What would I do differently next time? | Short written reflection; compare with success criteria |
Five ways to teach metacognition
- Think aloud. Solve a problem in front of the class and narrate your decisions, including mistakes and corrections.
- Teach study planning. Given that only 37% of students often plan their approach, model a study plan: goal, time, strategy and a check.
- Use self-questioning prompts. Put question stems on the wall or on worksheets: “How do I know this is right?”
- Normalise help-seeking. Teach students how to ask a good question, what they have tried and where they are stuck.
- Praise strategy, not just talent. Feedback on effort and approach supports a growth mindset.
Metacognition and AI
AI can short-circuit metacognition if it hands students an answer before they have planned or monitored anything. It can also support it: students can ask AI to quiz them, explain a step they misunderstood or critique their plan. The difference lies in who is doing the thinking. See AI literacy classroom activities for tasks that keep students in charge.
Frequently asked questions
What is metacognition in education?
Metacognition is thinking about one’s own learning: planning how to approach a task, monitoring understanding while working and evaluating how well a strategy worked.
How does growth mindset relate to PISA 2025 performance?
Across OECD countries, students with a growth mindset scored 28 points higher in science on average than students with a fixed mindset.
How can teachers teach self-regulated learning?
Model thinking aloud, teach study planning explicitly, provide self-questioning prompts, normalise help-seeking and give feedback on strategies.
Sources
- OECD (2026), PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Executive summary ↗
- OECD (2026), PISA 2025 Denmark country note ↗
- Education Endowment Foundation, Metacognition and self-regulated learning guidance report ↗
Figures are adapted from OECD (2026), PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Future-Ready Students, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/73451bc5-en, published under CC BY 4.0. This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries. SparkSchool AI is not affiliated with or endorsed by the OECD.