This article investigates the perceptions and lived experience of practising middle years' and pre-service teachers of English in their efforts to make sense of, and use metacognition. The investigation focuses on metacognition as a means to enhance student learning by fostering self-awareness of their students' thinking as they engage in reading, writing and problem solving in English classrooms. Metacognition is considered an essential cognitive process for successful learning; however, to explain metacognition using a reductionist approach does little to enable teachers to fully integrate this important concept into their pedagogical practices. In this small study, participants reported on their prior knowledge and understandings of metacognition, citing their source of this knowledge, and understandings of metacognition, and whether the Australian Curriculum informed and guided their understandings about metacognition. They also reflected on their experience and efforts to interpret their understandings and how they embed, or might embed metacognition into their classroom practice.