Metacognition is "cognition about cognition", or "knowing about knowing". It comes from the root word "meta", meaning beyond. 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.