Metacognition and Complex Learning

Abstract

Metacognition constitutes a strategic dimension of contemporary learning because it enhances students’ ability to monitor, evaluate, and regulate their own learning processes. This theoretical-reflective essay discusses its role in complex educational contexts, with an emphasis on health education, a field marked by uncertainty, decision-making, theory-practice integration, ethical responsibility, and lifelong learning. It is argued that metacognition should not be understood as a spontaneous disposition on the part of the student, but rather as a formative competency to be taught, practiced, assessed, and supported by intentionally designed environments. Assessment, feedback, clinical simulation, debriefing, guided self-assessment, the use of video, and post-practice reflection are analyzed as tools capable of expanding the learner’s awareness of performance, errors, progress, and strategies for improvement. The role of artificial intelligence as a resource for personalized feedback, adaptive tutoring, dashboards, and longitudinal analysis is also discussed, without disregarding risks such as cognitive dependence, superficial reflection, and the outsourcing of thought. It is concluded that metacognition is essential for developing critical, self-regulated, ethically responsible individuals capable of continuing to learn in complex educational and professional settings.