Metacognition is “cognition about cognition”, “thinking about thinking”, or “knowing about knowing” and higher order thinking skills. It comes from the root word meta, meaning beyond.[1] It can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving. [1] There are generally two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition, and regulation of cognition.[1]
[1] Metcalfe, J., & Shimamura, A. P. (1994). Metacognition: knowing about knowing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.