Purchase a notebook for each metacognitive log you want to create. Since the metacognitive log is a useful reflective technique, do this for all subjects that require note-taking from textbooks or long readings. For college courses, use separate metacognitive logs for each subject.
Use metacognitive logs to determine what you want to learn about and how you want to approach a project. For example, as you take notes to create a project that focuses on the biography of a specific individual in history, you write details about that person's life. One detail strikes you as particularly interesting. You write a marginal note to suggest you could use this detail of the historical figure's life to frame a lot of the work he did later in life. Use marginal notes to describe discoveries and connections between information.
Connect new information you learn as you read with information you already know. For example, if you know about the importance of mountain weather patterns to mountain ecosystems and you read a new paragraph on the ways in which mountain weather patterns occur, you could note this is related to your previous knowledge of ecology by flagging the information with a green highlighter. Use flags and codes in your logs to connect pieces of information.
Take notes about the thinking strategies you are using to analyze the information. For example, if you are asked to decide on an appropriate hypothesis for a science experiment, take marginal notes that describe how you came to determine the most appropriate hypothesis. Use a diagram or mind map to display the logical process you used.
Plan and evaluate your thinking processes. Use marginal notes, mind maps, and diagrams to describe the way in which you approached a topic. Use the same metacognitive tools to evaluate the ways in which the approach worked and did not work for you. For example, take the mind map of your logical process you used to determine how to choose a hypothesis for a science experiment. Add notes around the mind map to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of this approach.