The Journey of the Megacognitive Learner – Metacognition is a term that refers to the process of deliberately thinking about one’s own thinking. It means being conscious of not only what you are thinking about, but having awareness of how you are processing the information with the intention of improving your learning. You will no doubt have heard JD say that we focus as much on process as content; metacognitive strategies are a really important element of how we educate our learners. Really exciting research has shown that metacognition can be improved over time through practice and development. In fact, brain scans show more gray matter in the anterior prefrontal cortex (the area of the brain responsible for metacognition) in people who regularly engage in metacognitive strategies. Our Leelanau Learners come to our community with a variable range of metacognitive experiences. Some have attended schools in which metacognition is built into the culture; others have not encountered such strategies. Without metacognition, students can develop misconceptions about...

As a music teacher at the The Leelanau School for 23 years, one of my goals in this very special community is to make music a part of everyone’s life. Whether as a guitar student in one of my classes, as a songwriter in winter term, or simply as someone who sings at the top of their lungs while walking from class to class – I feel that music lifts each soul.