Yang tidak kuketahui antara Palembang - Melaka (Cerita Kuliah di Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)

Duduk manis dalam Bus Trans Internasional Melaka - KL

Mungkin rata-rata sebagian orang akan berfikir dengan lirih dan nyinyir dalam hati, untuk apa melakukan perjalanan yang beresiko, jauh berhari-hari dari Kota Palembang ke Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia, dengan perjalanan darat dan laut, 6 Jam dari Palembang - Jambi, 10 Jam dari Jambi - Pekanbaru, 5 Jam dari Pekanbaru - Dumai, bermalam kemudian 2,5 Jam menyeberang dengan menggunakan kapal cepat dari Dumai - Melaka, dilanjutkan dengan 2,5 jam Bus trans internasional dari Melaka ke KL Sentral.

Sungguh... saya rasa sisi praktis dalam diri inipun akan menimbang begitu... konyol.

Ini bukan persoalan jauh atau beresiko... tapi ini adalah kehidupan yang prosesnya seharusnya bisa dinikmati, dan sungguh tidak banyak orang yang dapat menikmati proses seperti ini... ini adalah tentang suatu kesadaran untuk mensyukuri hidup dan kehidupan yang telah diberikan oleh Allah SWT....

Saya lantas teringat dengan teori yang disampaikan oleh Simon Sinek, "In this time all people want to sit and win practically on the top, but they just simply denied for what is called delayed gratification".

Po. Ratu Intan di Kota Jambi

Singkatnya perjalanan saya dari Palembang - Kuala Lumpur menempuh 3 hari perjalanan, dan ini kali kedua Saya melakukan perjalanan ini. Tujuan saya hanya sebetulnya ingin mengurus administrasi kuliah ke UKM dan menemui supervisor untuk bimbingan disertasi, mengingat mata kuliah pengantar sudah habis di semester 3 ini.

Kesibukan di pagi hari PO. Ratu Intan di Kota Jambi

Perjalanan dimulai dari Palembang berangkat pukul 22.00 wib, saya pun menuju PO. Ratu Intan Travel untuk berangkat ke Kota Jambi. Selama perjalanan tidak ada yang istimewa, hanya kesibukan dan kepadatan truk angkutan barang di daerah Betung, mobil travel pun melaju kencang menembus heningnya malam, sembari pak sopir terjaga dan berkelakar dengan voice chat nya sesama sopir. Saya pun hanya tertidur sambil menunggu sampai di Kota Jambi esok paginya, sambil menikmati sakit pinggang yang tak kunjung hilang.

Tiket Palembang - Pekanbaru

Perjalanan darat menggunakan travel dari Jambi menuju Pekanbaru saya tempuh dalam masa 10 Jam, travel berangkat dari Po tepat pada pukul 09.00 pagi, Saya memiliki pengalaman yang nyaman ketika memilih armada pada Po ini, karena armada yang dimiliki cukup baru dan nyaman. Selama perjalanan menuju Pekanbaru tidak ada pemandangan yang wow, kecuali kebun kelapa sawit membentang dari keluar pinggiran kota Jambi, saya estimasi 250 Km menuju Pekanbaru rata-rata semua perkebunan kelapa sawit, cerita bapak sopir travel kalau melihat perkebunan sepanjang jalan yang tidak ada pagarnya itu... pasti punya warga setempat.

Dua kali mobil berhenti untuk istirahat, selama perjalanan banyak cerita bapak sopir yang dibagikan kepada kami, mulai dari cerita mistis, kecelakaan penumpang dan lain sebagainya, pun hanya untuk membuat bapak sopir fokus dalam pekerjaan nya membawa kami ke Pekanbaru.

Jambi - Pekanbaru (Estimate local time)

Oh ya, pagi sekali sebelum mobil berangkat ke Pekan (bahasa travel untuk Kota Pekanbaru), saya memesan hotel/penginapan... nantinya sesampai saya di Kota Dumai, dalam perjalanan kali ini saya memilih hotel yang dekat dengan Kantor Indomal Ekspres (kantor kapal cepat Dumai - Melaka) yaitu Andys Nur Penginapan, tarif sekitar Rp. 85 rb/malam saja, selain murah kita tinggal berjalan saja menyeberang ke kantor Indomal Ekspres, sekitar 80 m saja berjalan kaki.

Sesampai di Pekanbaru jalur masuk ke kota sedikit terhambat karena banyak truk-truk besar seperti truk kelapa sawit, minyak dan trailer mengantri masuk ke kota, perjalanan mulai melambat namun akhirnya saya sampai di Pekanbaru dengan selamat tepat pukul 20.00 malam. Saya istirahat sebentar dengan membeli nasi bungkus untuk dimakan di perjalanan menuju ke Dumai langsung.

Apakah perjalanan saya berhenti? Oh belum pemirsa, setibanya Saya di Pekanbaru dan turun di PO. Ratu Intan, saya kemudian berjuang lagi menyambung travel yang menuju Kota Dumai dengan menggunakan jasa travel Azka Travel (sebelum sampai di Pekanbaru, saya minta bantuan pak sopir Ratu Intan untuk memesan travel keberangkatan pukul 20.00 langsung ke Dumai). Alhamdulillah saya pun tiba 15 menit lebih awal sebelum melanjutkan kembali perjalanan ke Dumai.

Perjalanan menuju Dumai akan saya tempuh dalam masa 5 jam perjalanan, dan estimasi tiba pada pukul 02.00 malam, apa jam 2 malam !!!??? hehehe... tenang selama perjalanan saya banyak menemui penumpang hilir mudik antara Pekanbaru - Dumai, ada yang kerja di Pekanbaru pulangnya ke Dumai, dan dalam perjalanan saya kali ini saya ditemani oleh 2 orang penumpang dari Jakarta yang baru landing (pekerja Pertamina) dan 1 orang perempuan yang kerjanya di Pekanbaru. Yah kalau dikatakan aman atau tidak, saya bisa simpulkan selama 2 kali perjalanan ini relatif aman, kota Dumai sengaja di setting menjadi kota transit, pertemuan jalur sutera pulau sumatera dahulu kala hingga saat ini. 

Penginapan Andys Nur Dumai

Masjid Taqwa (seberang Andys Nur penginapan)

Sesampainya di Kota Dumai, pas pukul 02.30 pagi Saya langsung menuju hotel untuk istirahat (Andys Nur Penginapan), kurang lebih 15 jam perjalanan saya tempuh hanya untuk mengejar kapal cepat di Pagi hari pada pukul 09.00, karena kapal cepat di Indomal Ekspres hanya berangkat 1 kali 1 hari dari Dumai menuju Melaka.

Sarapan pagi di Gantino Baru (sebelah Indomal Ekspres)

Pagi hari di Kota Dumai saya mulai dengan membeli tiket kapal cepat di Indomal Ekspres, tak menunggu lama datang dengan menunjukkan dan meninggalkan paspor, pada pukul 08.00 pagi saya membayar di loket dengan harga tiket pada saat ini Dumai - Melaka Rp. 320 Ribu (1 kali perjalanan) plus ditambah Rp. 50 Ribu untuk cukai di Imigrasi pelabuhan nanti.

Bosan menunggu, saya mencari tempat untuk sarapan, dan terlihat pas disebelah Indomal Ekspres ada tempat makan yang cukup lama mungkin saya pikir, karena ramai orang sarapan pagi disana, yaitu Boffet GANTINO BARU, saya melihat banyak para orang tua berumur yang makan disini, pikir saya duh ini rumah makan pasti sudah lama dan recommended, hehehe... sebab banyak opa2 dan oma2 juga yang sarapan pagi disini. Menu nya ada lontong sayur, ada nasi minyak dan lain sebagainya. Over all suasana dan rasa makanan cukup enak dan nyaman.

Sarapan pagi ditemani dengan pengamen khas melayu

Suasana dalam kapal cepat Dumai - Melaka

Suasana dalam kapal cepat Dumai - Melaka

Tepat pukul 09.30 pagi saya checkout dari hotel dan menuju ke pelabuhan untuk naik kapal, proses menuju ke pelabuhan Dumai kami diantar dengan menggunakan mobil khusus penumpang dari kantor Indomal Ekspres. Masuk ke pelabuhan cukup lancar, yang saya terkejut adalah tidak ada proses screening barang, check point paspor and then kita langsung masuk ke kapal. Terlihat dalam suasana kapal rata-rata dipenuhi oleh warga negara malaysia dan warga negara Indonesia yang berobat, banyak cerita selama saya bulak balik Indo - Malay adalah kualitas pengobatan di negeri jiran ini sudah diakui, sehingga banyak sekali saya lihat warga negara Indonesia (khususnya warga keturunan Tionghoa) yang berobat ke Malaysia.

Snack yang diberikan oleh pihak Kapal Indomal Ekspres

Lebih kurang 2,5 jam perjalanan menyeberang antara Dumai - Melaka, saya pun akhirnya sampai di Melaka tepat pukul 13.30 waktu Malaysia (12.30 Waktu Indonesia). Di sepanjang perjalanan alhamdulillah cuaca cukup bagus dan bersahabat, gelombang laut tidak terlalu tinggi dan cuaca pun terik.

Sesampai di Imigrasi Melaka, saya pun masuk ke dalam antrian imigrasi. Tanpa ada halangan yang berarti, saya untuk ke sekian kalinya masuk ke negeri jiran ini dengan mudah (at least you're a student rite? yeah, you're recommended to come, please come... with smile surrounded at immigration staff) dan saya pun kembali masuk ke Malaysia (what a journey !!! saya bersyukur masuk ke negeri yang kalau boleh dilihat secara geografis berbanding lurus dengan Indonesia, akan tetapi ketika saya masuk ke melaka, it's totally different! I feel sad for my country :(

Terminal Bas Melaka

Saat tiba di pelabuhan melaka setelah saya masuk, saya pun bergegas mencari counter telekomunikasi untuk mengaktifkan kartu Hotlink saya yang sudah expired, ya... hampir 3 bulan libur semester, so pasti nomor saya yang lama sudah hangus. Kartu Hotlink yang dijual disini memang sedikit mahal selisih RM 10 dari kedai biasa, tapi ya mau gimana lagi, akhirnya saya beli dan menghubungi istri dan keluarga, saya sudah sampai di Melaka, Malaysia.

Oh iya untuk uang Ringgit saya sudah persiapkan dari Palembang, namun jika belum ada boleh tukar di kapal seperlunya, kurs nya boleh dibilang moderate lah, masih sama dengan ketika saya menukar di Palembang.

Untuk menuju ke terminal bas melaka, saya memilih naik Grab (angkutan online terbesar di Malaysia) dengan harga RM 10, banyak juga taksi di depan pelabuhan akan tetapi sangat berbahaya (istilah samseng) yaitu taksi lama yang sering menipu penumpang dengan tarif tidak masuk akal, jadi hati-hati kalau naik dari pelabuhan melaka menuju ke terminal bas melaka, anda sebaiknya berjalan dulu sedikit ke belakang pelabuhan menuju museum melaka, karena kalau memesan di main entrance anda bisa terjebak dengan cara-cara sopir taksi yang kasar dan cenderung kriminal (yang kayak gini masih ada di beberapa tempat di malaysia). Keluar dari pelabuhan dan jalan ke belakang menuju museum lalu pesan lah Grab menuju terminal bas melaka.

Terminal Bas Melaka

Sesampai di terminal bas melaka, kurang lebih 15 menit perjalanan, saya pun masuk untuk sholat dan sekedar makan siang disini, alhamdulillah untuk suasana terminal jauh la ya dibandingkan kita di Indonesia, disini nyaman, sejuk dan tidak ada preman-preman nya, tiket bas pun banyak yang menuju KL, gak usah khawatir setiap jam ada perjalanan menuju ke KL (TBS - Terminal Bersepadu Selatan). Tiket untuk 1 kali perjalanan Melaka - TBS sebesar RM 10.

Tiket Bas Melaka - TBS (KL)

Rest Area (Pom Bensin) Sepanjang perjalanan Melaka - KL

Rest Area (Pom Bensin) Sepanjang perjalanan Melaka - KL

Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) - KL

Perjalanan dari terminal bas melaka menuju TBS - KL, saya tempuh dalam masa 2,5 jam menggunakan bus Delima (bus trans Internasional ini bisa sampai ke Thailand) dan Interconnected dengan moda transportasi MRT, KTM dan sebagainya. Anda bisa kemana pun dari terminal ini, terminal ini sengaja dibangun untuk moda transportasi bas internasional, tujuan nya banyak sekali, mau ke Thailand, SG bahkan ke Eropa bisa dari sini hehehe... Sangat nyaman dan murah... So... kalau dah masuk negeri jiran ni, tak usah lah khawatir sama begal dan lain sebagainya, duduk manis and enjoy the trip, okay :)

 Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) - KL

Sesampai di TBS, saya langsung menuju ke Stasiun KTM untuk melanjutkan perjalanan ke UKM, Kajang dengan menggunakan kereta listrik, dan biaya yang diperlukan sekitar RM 3. Saya pun santai sebentar, sambil membeli roti dan padanan minum untuk sembari menikmati perjalanan.

Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) - KL

Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) - KL

Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) - KL

Suasana MRT Menuju UKM, Kajang

Akhirnya, setelah kurang lebih 3 hari perjalanan darat dan laut saya pun sampai di Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, dan alhamdulillah langsung masuk ke asrama Za'ba. Sudah gak sabar pingin makan sepuasnya disini, yaaaa... di asrama ini, 24 jam caffe dengan menu-menu dari seluruh dunia ada, mau chinese, american, arabian, bahkan kampung pun ada, plus suasana kampus yang gak ada matinya, hello disini pukul 02.00 malam pun masih banyak yang berdiskusi dan belajar out door, welcome to UKM Malaysia, welcome back to campus :) Alhamdulillah...

Welcome drink :) 

Kolej Pendeta Za'ba, UKM 

Wadda boy :)

Cont.

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LIVE Talk Show E-Commerce di TVRI Sumsel

Jum'at 08 Mei 2015, Saya berkesempatan untuk di undang sharing mengenai perkembangan teknologi e-commerce dan bagaimana cara yang paling sederhana untuk membangunnya. Tampil perdana kali nya di depan televisi yaitu, TVRI Sumsel dan memberikan materi pada bidang ilmu yang Saya fokus dan berkarir di dalamnya... sungguh...  ada perasaan gugup, ada perasaan lucu juga... tidak dapat digambarkan..hehe.. Begini rasanya menjadi seorang Narasumber di Televisi.

Preview

Singkat kata "Mengasyikkan" juga... hehehe... :D

Saya jadi ketagihan untuk bisa terus tampil lagi, itu juga seandainya ada yang mau mengundang lagi hihi.. :p

Banyak teman-teman lama yang Saya temui disini sewaktu masih berkarir di media dulu... Ada yang masih menjadi cameraman namun ada juga yang sudah menjadi floor director (FD). Jadi rasanya kangen ingin kembali ke masa-masa bekerja di TV Lokal dulu... Suasana nya begitu entertained, santai dan jauh dari rasa penat, karena pada prinsipnya seniman itu maunya bebas berekspresi, ketawa-ketawa teruuuss hehe.. namun ya begitulah industri.. begitulah bisnis... kita harus beradaptasi di dalamnya.

Awal persiapan cukup cepat juga, karena teman Saya menghubungi satu hari sebelum Acara tersebut akan LIVE tayang di TVRI Sumsel. Tapi Alhamdulillah semuanya lancar...

Studio TVRI Sumsel (Green Screen Mode)

Pembahasan di TVRI Sumsel kali ini lebih banyak membahas trend perkembangan gaya hidup seseorang dalam melakukan kegiatan jual beli, yang selama ini dalam bentuk konvensional orang harus bertemu face to face dan mencari produk yang diinginkan serta harus langsung datang ke tempat tersebut, kini.. aktifitas jual beli bisa dengan mudah cukup melalui mobile phone, dan pasti trend dan peluang nya akan semakin meningkat pesat.

Alhamdulillah acara LIVE nya berjalan dengan lancar, banyak juga yang mengirimkan SMS dan menelepon.. mudah-mudahan temanya bisa bermanfaat bagi pemirsa yang membutuhkan.. Terima kasih TVRI Sumsel, semoga semakin jaya selalu :)

Berikut file tutorial "15 Menit membuat E-commerce" yang telah sesuai telah Saya janjikan:

TUTORIAL E-COMMERCE ZAID AMIN

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Cara Mendapatkan Surat Penerimaan (LoA) dari Universitas di Luar Negeri.

Courtesy of:
http://madeandi.com/2012/05/30/cara-mendapatkan-surat-penerimaan-loa-dari-universitas-di-luar-negeri/

Untuk melamar beasiswa luar negeri guna meneruskan S2 atau S3, kadang diperlukan surat penerimaan dari salah satu universitas. Beasiswa ALA (Australian Leadership Awards) atau Endeavour, misalnya, mensyaratkan kandidat harus sudah diterima di sebuah universitas di Australia. Hal ini menandakan bahwa beasiswa akan diberikan hanya kepada orang yang layak secara akademik untuk meneruskan pendidikan di Australia. Dengan kata lain, penyandang dana beasiswa “ingin terima beres” bahwa orang yang diberi beasiswa pasti akan diterima untuk meneruskan pendidikan di institusi di Australia. Hal ini berbeda dengan beasiswa ADS (Australian Development Scholarship), misalnya, yang tidak mensyaratkan kandidat harus diterima di universitas di Australia terlebih dahulu.

Bukti penerimaan dari universitas di luar negeri ini biasa disebut dengan Letter of Offer atau Offer of Admission atau Letter of Acceptance (LoA) . Surat ini dikeluarkan jika sesorang sudah melakukan pendaftaran dengan dokumen yang disyaratkan. Di negara maju seperti Australia, semua universitas menyediakan fasilitas pendafaran online. Berbeda dengan di Indonesia yang biasanya melibatkan ujian, pendaftaran sekolah S2 atau S3 di luar negeri umumnya tanpa tes langsung, cukup dengan berkas sesuai persyaratan.

Persyaratan yang ditetapkan oleh masing-masing universitas tentu berbeda tetapi umumnya adalah dokumen yang menerangkan kualifikasi akademik (ijazah, transkrip) dan kualifikasi bahasa asing (TOEFL, IELTS, dll). Selain itu ada juga jurusan tertentu yang mensyaratkan hasil tes Graduate Record Examination (GRE) atau Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Jurusan khusus lainnya mungkin juga memiliki persyaratan khusus yang saya tidak paham. Kadang-kadang surat rekomendasi juga diperlukan sebagai persyaratan wajib atau tambahan. Ada universitas yang mensyaratkan kandidat menulis essay atau karya tulis singkat tentang topik tertentu dan ada juga yang mensyaratkan lebih ‘serem’ dari itu, misalnya menyerahkan karya yang pernah diterbitkan. Soal biaya, ada yang mengenakan biaya atau uang pendaftaran ada yang tidak. Universitas Wollongong misalnya, tidak mensyaratkan kandida membayar biaya pendaftaran jika dilakukan secara online. Jika ada biaya pendaftaran, biasanya bisa dibayar dengan kartu kredit atau international money transfer. Intinya, semua persyaratan biasanya dijelaskan dengan lengkap dan ada check list di websitenya.

Hal pertama yang harus dilakukan adalah melihat persyaratan pendaftaran di universitas yang diinginkan. Masih bingung cara memilih sekolah di luar negeri? Silakan baca tulisan ini. Bagi mereka yang merencanakan sekolah master by research atau PhD, pendaftaran ini dilakukan setelah berinteraksi dengan professor calon pembimbing. Silakan baca tulisan saya tentang cara menghubungi calon pembimbing.

Fasilitas pendafraran S2 atau S3 disediakan secara online. Untuk University of Wollongong, misalnya, prosesnya ada di https://smp.uow.edu.au/app/servlet/Student. Jika tidak tahu linknya secara langsung, bisa melakukan pencarian di website universitas yang dituju dengan kata kunci “admission” atau teliti websitenya dan lihat link informasi seputar “prospective students” atau “future students” atau “apply now” atau “apply online” atau “join us” atau semacam itu. Jika teliti mencari, Anda PASTI bisa menemukan informasi pendaftaran mahasiswa baru di website setiap universitas.

Pendaftaran sekolah ini pada dasarnya adalah proses mengisi formulir dan melengkapi semua dokumen secara online. Umumnya pendataran ini menggunakan akun (account) tertentu yang dibuat saat mendaftar sehingga Anda bisa mencicil proses pendaftaran. Misalnya hari ini ingin mendaftar di Universitas of Wollongong, silakan kunjungi link di atas dan buat akun pribadi Anda. Setelah itu, mulai isi informasi yang sudah dimiliki seperti indentitas diri. Jika kemudian sampai pada bagian yang belum bisa dijawab atau memerlukan dokumen tertentu yang belum tersedia maka aplikasi yang belum selesai itu bisa disimpan. Di lain hari Anda bisa login lagi dan melanjutkan proses pendaftarannya.

Karena umumnya pendaftaran ini melibatkan banyak persyaratan, sebaiknya Anda mencermati dan menyiapkan semua persyaratan sebelum mulai mendaftar. Semua persyaratan itu akan diserahkan secara elektronik dengan cara mengunggahnya (upload) saat pengisian formulir. Oleh karena itu, pastikan semua dokumen berbentuk digital (misalnya hasil scan). Meski terlihat menyeramkan, kadang banyak persyaratan yang tidak harus diserahkan saat mendaftar. Misalnya, jika Anda belum memiliki nilai TOEFL atau IELTS, bagian ini bisa dikosongkan. Jika Anda tetap ‘nekat’ mengajukan lamaran yang tidak lengkap maka Anda kemungkinan besar tetap mendapat surat penerimaan atau LoA tetapi yang ‘conditional’ atau bersyarat karena ada dokumen yang belum terpenuhi. Surat penerimaan ini akan menjadi unconditional atau full jika persyaratan yang kurang itu sudah dilengkapi. Dokumen yang umumnya diserahkan belakangan misalnya sertifikat IELTS/TOEFL, transkrip nilai, ijazah (karena saat mendaftar belum wisuda, misalnya). Meskipun umumnya universitas bisa memberikan LoA yang conditional meskipun syaratnya belum lengkap ada juga universitas yang hanya memproses kandidat yang memenuhi syarat dan menyerahkan dokumen secara lengkap. Silakan perhatikan di website masing-masing.

Perlu diperhatikan, umumnya beasiswa yang mensyaratkan LoA mewajibkan kandidat untuk menyerahkan unconditional LoA atau “full offer” tapi ada juga beasiswa yang bisa menerima “conditional” LoA saat mendaftar meskipun kemudian kandidat harus melengkapi persyaratan lain. Intinya, untuk bisa bersekolah di institusi di luar negeri, tentu saja kandidat HARUS mendapatkan “unconditional” LoA pada akhirnya. Oleh karena itu, jika masih punya waktu sebaiknya lengkapi dulu SEMUA persyaratannya sebelum mendaftar di sebuah institusi di luar negeri.

Saya bekerja sebagai international student advisor di University of Wollongong yang tugasnya menghubungi calon mahasiswa yang sudah mendaftar dan diberi LoA tetapi masih conditional. Dari pengalaman selama ini, sangat banyak yang mendaftar di Universitas di Australia untuk mendapatkan LoA untuk digunakan dalam pendaftaran beasiswa. Umumnya persyaratan yang kurang atau belum memenuhi criteria adalah terkait kemampuan berbahasa Inggris. Seorang kawan yang melakukan pendaftaran secara online di University of Wollongong bisa menerima LoA dalam waktu kurang dari seminggu dari saat dia mengajukan lamaran secara online. LoA tersebut tentu saja conditional jika dia belum menyerahkan persyaratan secara lengkap.

Inti dari tulisan ini adalah bahwa untuk mendapatkan surat penerimaan atau Letter of Offer atau Letter of Acceptance dari universitas di luar negeri tidaklah sulit. Prosesnnya sangat mudah dan semuanya online sehingga bisa dari mana saja. Yang terpenting tentu saja adalah menyiapkan persyaratan yang lengkap dan mengikuti proses yang tidak selalu sederhana. Di luar persoalan akademik, mendapatkan surat penerimaan dari universitas di luar negeri adalah juga perihal kesabaran. Selamat berjuang.

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Metacognition

Metacognition is defined as "cognition about cognition", or "knowing about knowing". It can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving.There are generally two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition, and regulation of cognition.

Metamemory, defined as knowing about memory and mnemonic strategies, is an especially important form of metacognition. Differences in metacognitive processing across cultures have not been widely studied, but could provide better outcomes in cross-cultural learning between teachers and students.

Some evolutionary psychologists hypothesize that metacognition is used as a survival tool, which would make metacognition the same across cultures. Writings on metacognition can be traced back at least as far as De Anima and the Parva Naturalia of the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

 J. H. Flavell first used the word "metacognition".He describes it in these words:

    Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one's own cognitive processes and products or anything related to them, e.g., the learning-relevant properties of information or data. For example, I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; [or] if it strikes me that I should double check C before accepting it as fact.
    —J. H. Flavell (1976, p. 232).

A. Demetriou, in his theory, one of the neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development, used the term hypercognition to refer to self-monitoring, self-representation, and self-regulation processes, which are regarded as integral components of the human mind. Moreover, with his colleagues, he showed that these processes participate in general intelligence, together with processing efficiency and reasoning, which have traditionally been considered to compose fluid intelligence.

Metacognition also thinks about one's own thinking process such as study skills, memory capabilities, and the ability to monitor learning. This concept needs to be explicitly taught along with content instruction. Metacognitive knowledge is about our own cognitive processes and our understanding of how to regulate those processes to maximize learning. Some types of metacognitive knowledge would include: 1. Person knowledge (declarative knowledge) which is understanding one's own capabilities. 2. Task knowledge (procedural knowledge) which is how one perceives the difficulty of a task which is the content, length, and the type of assignment. 3. Strategic knowledge (conditional knowledge) which is one's own capability for using strategies to learn information. Young children are not particularly good at this; it is not until upper elementary where students start to develop the understanding of strategies that will be effective.

Different fields define metacognition very differently. Metacognition variously refers to the study of memory-monitoring and self-regulation, meta-reasoning, consciousness/awareness and auto-consciousness/self-awareness. In practice these capacities are used to regulate one's own cognition, to maximize one's potential to think, learn and to the evaluation of proper ethical/moral rules.

In the domain of experimental psychology, an influential distinction in metacognition (proposed by T. O. Nelson & L. Narens) is between Monitoring—making judgments about the strength of one's memories—and Control—using those judgments to guide behavior (in particular, to guide study choices). Dunlosky, Serra, and Baker (2007) covered this distinction in a review of metamemory research that focused on how findings from this domain can be applied to other areas of applied research.

In the domain of cognitive neuroscience, metacognitive monitoring and control has been viewed as a function of the prefrontal cortex, which receives (monitors) sensory signals from other cortical regions and through feedback loops implements control (see chapters by Schwartz & Bacon and Shimamura, in Dunlosky & Bjork, 2008).

Metacognition is studied in the domain of artificial intelligence and modelling. Therefore, it is the domain of interest of emergent systemics. It has been used, albeit off the original definition, to describe one's own knowledge that we will die. Writers in the 1990s involved with the musical "grunge" scene often used the term to describe self-awareness of mortality.[citation needed]
 

* Components
Metacognition is classified into three components:
 

Metacognitive knowledge (also called metacognitive awareness) is what individuals know about themselves and others as cognitive processors.Metacognitive regulation is the regulation of cognition and learning experiences through a set of activities that help people control their learning. Metacognitive experiences are those experiences that have something to do with the current, on-going cognitive endeavor.

Metacognition refers to a level of thinking that involves active control over the process of thinking that is used in learning situations. Planning the way to approach a learning task, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating the progress towards the completion of a task: these are skills that are metacognitive in their nature.

Metacognition includes at least three different types of metacognitive awareness when considering metacognitive knowledge:
 

Declarative Knowledge: refers to knowledge about oneself as a learner and about what factors can influence one's performance. Declarative knowledge can also be referred to as "world knowledge".
 

Procedural Knowledge: refers to knowledge about doing things. This type of knowledge is displayed as heuristics and strategies.A high degree of procedural knowledge can allow individuals to perform tasks more automatically. This is achieved through a large variety of strategies that can be accessed more efficiently.
 

Conditional knowledge: refers to knowing when and why to use declarative and procedural knowledge.It allows students to allocate their resources when using strategies. This in turn allows the strategies to become more effective.

Similar to metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive regulation or "regulation of cognition" contains three skills that are essential.
 

Planning: refers to the appropriate selection of strategies and the correct allocation of resources that affect task performance.

Monitoring: refers to one's awareness of comprehension and task performance 

Evaluating: refers to appraising the final product of a task and the efficiency at which the task was performed. This can include re-evaluating strategies that were used.

Similarly, maintaining motivation to see a task to completion is also a metacognitive skill. The ability to become aware of distracting stimuli – both internal and external – and sustain effort over time also involves metacognitive or executive functions. The theory that metacognition has a critical role to play in successful learning means it is important that it be demonstrated by both students and teachers.

Students who demonstrate a wide range of metacognitive skills perform better on exams and complete work more efficiently. They are self-regulated learners who utilize the "right tool for the job" and modify learning strategies and skills based on their awareness of effectiveness. Individuals with a high level of metacognitive knowledge and skill identify blocks to learning as early as possible and change "tools" or strategies to ensure goal attainment. Swanson (1990) found that metacognitive knowledge can compensate for IQ and lack of prior knowledge when comparing fifth and sixth grade students' problem solving. Students with a high-metacognition were reported to have used fewer strategies, but solved problems more effectively than low-metacognition students, regardless of IQ or prior knowledge.

Metacognologists are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, the nature of the task at hand, and available "tools" or skills. A broader repertoire of "tools" also assists in goal attainment. When "tools" are general, generic, and context independent, they are more likely to be useful in different types of learning situations.

Another distinction in metacognition is executive management and strategic knowledge. Executive management processes involve planning, monitoring, evaluating and revising one's own thinking processes and products. Strategic knowledge involves knowing what (factual or declarative knowledge), knowing when and why (conditional or contextual knowledge) and knowing how (procedural or methodological knowledge). Both executive management and strategic knowledge metacognition are needed to self-regulate one's own thinking and learning.

Finally, there is no distinction between domain-general and domain-specific metacognitive skills. This means that metacognitive skills are domain-general in nature and there are no specific skills for certain subject areas. The metacognitive skills that are used to review an essay are the same as those that are used to verify an answer to a math question.

Metacognitive experience is responsible for creating an identity that matters to an individual. The creation of the identity with meta-cognitive experience is linked to the identity-based motivation (IBM) model. The identity-based motivation model implies that "identities matter because they provide a basis for meaning making and for action." A person decides also if the identity matters in two ways with meta-cognitive experience. First, a current or possible identity is either "part of the self and so worth pursuing" or the individual thinks that the identity is part of their self, yet it is conflicting with more important identities and the individual will decide if the identity is or is not worth pursuing. Second, it also helps an individual decide if an identity should be pursued or abandoned.

Usually, abandoning identity has been linked to meta-cognitive difficulty. Based on the identity-based motivation model there are naive theories describing difficulty as a way to continue to pursue an identity. The incremental theory of ability states that if "effort matters then difficulty is likely to be interpreted as meaning that more effort is needed." Here is an example, a woman who loves to play clarinet has come upon a hard piece. She knows that how much effort she puts into learning this piece is beneficial. The piece had difficulty so she knew the effort was needed. The identity the woman wants to pursue is to be a good clarinet player, having a metacognitive experience difficulty pushed her to learn the difficult piece to continue to identify with her identity. The entity theory of ability represents the opposite. This theory states that if "effort does not matter then difficulty is likely to be interpreted as meaning that ability is lacking so effort should be suspended." Based on the example of the woman playing the clarinet, if she did not want to identify herself as a good clarinet player, she would not have put in any effort to learn the difficult piece which is an example of using metacognitive experience difficulty to abandon an identity.
 

* Relation to sapience

Metacognologists believe that the ability to consciously think about thinking is unique to sapient species and indeed is one of the definitions of sapience.[citation needed] There is evidence that rhesus monkeys and apes can make accurate judgments about the strengths of their memories of fact and monitor their own uncertainty,while attempts to demonstrate metacognition in birds have been inconclusive. A 2007 study has provided some evidence for metacognition in rats, but further analysis suggested that they may have been following simple operant conditioning principles, or a behavioral economic model.

* Metacognitive strategies

Metacognitive-like processes are especially ubiquitous when it comes to the discussion of self-regulated learning. Being engaged in metacognition is a salient feature of good self-regulated learners[citation needed]. Groups reinforcing collective discussion of metacognition is a salient feature of self-critical and self-regulating social groups[citation needed]. The activities of strategy selection and application include those concerned with an ongoing attempt to plan, check, monitor, select, revise, evaluate, etc.

Metacognition is 'stable' in that learners' initial decisions derive from the pertinent fact about their cognition through years of learning experience. Simultaneously, it is also 'situated' in the sense that it depends on learners' familiarity with the task, motivation, emotion, and so forth. Individuals need to regulate their thoughts about the strategy they are using and adjust it based on the situation to which the strategy is being applied. At a professional level, this has led to emphasis on the development of reflective practice, particularly in the education and health-care professions.

Recently, the notion has been applied to the study of second language learners in the field of TESOL and applied linguistics in general (e.g., Wenden, 1987; Zhang, 2001, 2010). This new development has been much related to Flavell (1979), where the notion of metacognition is elaborated within a tripartite theoretical framework. Learner metacognition is defined and investigated by examining their person knowledge, task knowledge and strategy knowledge.

Wenden (1991) has proposed and used this framework and Zhang (2001) has adopted this approach and investigated second language learners' metacognition or metacognitive knowledge. In addition to exploring the relationships between learner metacognition and performance, researchers are also interested in the effects of metacognitively-oriented strategic instruction on reading comprehension (e.g., Garner, 1994, in first language contexts, and Chamot, 2005; Zhang, 2010). The efforts are aimed at developing learner autonomy, interdependence and self-regulation.

Metacognition helps people to perform many cognitive tasks more effectively.[1] Strategies for promoting metacognition include self-questioning (e.g. "What do I already know about this topic? How have I solved problems like this before?"), thinking aloud while performing a task, and making graphic representations (e.g. concept maps, flow charts, semantic webs) of one's thoughts and knowledge. Carr, 2002, argues that the physical act of writing plays a large part in the development of metacognitive skills.

Strategy Evaluation matrices (SEM) can help to improve the knowledge of cognition component of metacogntion. The SEM works by identifying the declarative (Column 1), procedural (Column 2) and conditional (Column 3 and 4) knowledge about specific strategies. The SEM can help individuals identify the strength and weaknesses about certain strategies as well as introduce them to new strategies that they can add to their repertoire.

A regulation checklist (RC) is a useful strategy for improving the regulation of cognition aspect of one’s metacognition. RCs help individuals to implement a sequence of thoughts that allow them to go over their own metacogntion.[32] King (1991) found that fifth-grade students who used a regulation checklist outperformed control students when looking at a variety of questions including written problem solving, asking strategic questions, and elaborating information.

Metacognitive strategies training can consist of coaching the students in thinking skills that will allow them to monitor their own learning. Examples of strategies that can be taught to students are word analysis skills, active reading strategies, listening skills, organizational skills and creating mnemonic devices.

* Meta-Strategic Knowledge
“Meta-Strategic Knowledge” (MSK) is a sub-component of metacognition that is defined as general knowledge about higher order thinking strategies. MSK had been defined as “general knowledge about the cognitive procedures that are being manipulated”. The knowledge involved in MSK consists of “making generalizations and drawing rules regarding a thinking strategy” and of “naming” the thinking strategy.

The important conscious act of a meta-strategic strategy is the “conscious” awareness that one is performing a form of higher order thinking. MSK is an awareness of the type of thinking strategies being used in specific instances and it consists of the following abilities: making generalizations and drawing rules regarding a thinking strategy, naming the thinking strategy, explaining when, why and how such a thinking strategy should be used, when it should not be used, what are the disadvantages of not using appropriate strategies, and what task characteristics call for the use of the strategy.[36]

MSK deals with the broader picture of the conceptual problem. It creates rules to describe and understand the physical world around the people who utilize these processes called Higher-order thinking. This is the capability of the individual to take apart complex problems in order to understand the components in problem. These are the building blocks to understanding the “big picture” (of the main problem) through reflection and problem solving.[37]

* Characteristics of Theory of Mind: Understanding the mind and the "mental world": 

False beliefs: understanding that a belief is only one of many and can be false.

Appearance–reality distinctions: something may look one way but may be something else.

Visual perspective taking: the views of physical objects differ based on perspective.

Introspection: children's awareness and understanding of their own thoughts.

* Mental Illness and Metacognition 

  Sparks of Interest

In the context of mental health, metacognition can be loosely defined as the process that "reinforces one's subjective sense of being a self and allows for becoming aware that some of one's thoughts and feelings are symptoms of an illness.[38]" The interest in metacognition emerged out of a concern for an individual’s ability to understand their own mental status compared to others as well as the ability to cope with the source of their distress. These insights into an individual's mental health status can have a profound affect on the over-all prognosis and recovery. Metacognition brings many unique insights into the normal daily functioning of a human being. It also demonstrates that a lack of these insights compromises ‘normal’ functioning. This leads to less healthy functioning. In the Autism spectrum, there is a profound inability to feel empathy towards the minds of other human beings. In people who identify as alcoholics, there is a belief that the need to control cognitions is an independent predictor of alcohol use over anxiety. Alcohol may be used as a coping strategy for controlling unwanted thoughts and emotions formed by negative perceptions. This is sometimes referred to as self medication.

* Implications
Well’s and Matthew’s theory proposes that when faced with an undesired choice, an individual can operate in two distinct modes: ‘object’ and ‘Metacognitive.’ Object mode interprets perceived stimuli as truth, where Metacognitive mode understands thoughts as cues that have to be weighted and evaluated. They are not as easily trusted. There are targeted interventions unique of each patient, that gives rise to the belief that assistance in increasing metacognition in people diagnosed with schizophrenia is possible through tailored psychotherapy. With a customized therapy in place clients then have the potential to develop greater ability to engage in complex self-reflection. This can ultimately be pivotal in the patient's recovery process. In the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder spectrum, cognitive formulations have greater attention to intrusive thoughts related to the disorder. "Cognitive Self-Consciousness" are the tendencies to focus attention on thought. Patients with OCD exemplify varying degrees of these ‘intrusive thoughts.’ Patients also suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder also show negative thought process in their cognition.

With any metacognition strategy, the general consensus is to believe that they are good. But in all actuality some may be very harmful. Cognitive-Attentional Syndrome (CAS) characterizes a Metacognitive model of emotion disorder. CAS is consistent with the constant with the attention strategy of excessively focusing on the source of a threat. This ultimately develops through the client’s own beliefs. Metacognitive therapy attempts to correct this change in the CAS. One of the techniques in this model is called Attention Training (ATT). It was designed to diminish the worry and anxiety by a sense of control and cognitive awareness. Also ATT trains clients to detect threats, test how controllable reality appears to be.

* Works of art as metacognitive artifacts
The concept of metacognition has also been applied to reader-response criticism. Narrative works of art, including novels, movies and musical compositions, can be characterized as metacognitive artifacts which are designed by the artist to anticipate and regulate the beliefs and cognitive processes of the recipient, for instance, how and in which order events and their causes and identities are revealed to the reader of a detective story. As Menakhem Perry has pointed out, mere order has profound effects on the aesthetical meaning of a text. Narrative works of art contain a representation of their own ideal reception process. They are something of a tool with which the creators of the work wish to attain certain aesthetical and even moral effects.

Courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacognition

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