Abstract
Metacognition is thinking our thinking and control of thinking for learning. Metacognitive teaching strategies have the potential to influence students’ learning and performance. Evidence-based metacognition can develop with skilled practice, but many teachers and students in Nigeria struggle to substantially engage in metacognitive practices in the classrooms. This paper tries to look at the critical reasons for embedding metacognition in learning, what students and teachers should do, factors affecting what they do, and challenges they encounter when applying metacognition. The emphasis is narrowed down to fostering students’ thinking by encouraging their learning styles or study skills, control, monitoring and facilitating social metacognition. Some recommendations have been derived from the study, which includes: encouraging teachers to apply metacognition to help students learning outcomes; to embed metacognition in the curriculum of schools in Nigeria, etc.