Metacognition is commonly defined as thinking about your thinking.

However, it's more than simply thinking about your thinking. The key to this process is to exercise self-control and make choices in how you regulate your cognition and learning. Metacognition is a process that is used by elite learners to help them excel.

...high-achieving students use higher-quality forethought and self-reflective strategies than do poor-achieving students. Potentially, prompting students to engage in higher-quality strategies may increase students' awareness of their own learning and improve student learning outcomes.

https://youtu.be/P_b44JaBQ-Q

We have written several articles that will help you understand metacognition and how to use it to become an elite learner.

How to Read Academic Content Once and Remember it Forever

Slow-Reading is The New Deep Learning

The Learning Scientists Blog

Metacognition has been a hot topic in the research literature in recent years. Here's a small sample:

Increasing Student Metacognition and Learning through Classroom-Based Learning Communities and Self-Assessment

Computer-Supported Meta-reflective Learning Model via mathematical word problem learning for training metacognition

Measuring medical students' reflection on their learning: modification and validation of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ)

Cultivating Lifelong Learning Skills During Graduate Medical Training - PubMed

Knowledge of Learning Makes a Difference: A Comparison of Metacognition in Introductory and Senior-Level Biology Students - PubMed

Setting the Stage for Self-Regulated Learning Instruction and Metacognition Instruction in Musical Practice