Metacognition, Self-Regulation, and Self-Regulated Learning: Research Recommendations

Much research has been conducted on metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning, but the articles in this special issue make it clear that we still have many unanswered questions. Recommendations for research include providing clear definitions of processes, identifying relevant theories, ensuring that assessments clearly reflect processes, linking processes with academic outcomes, conducting more educational developmental research, and tying processes firmly with instructional methods. Collectively, these recommendations will enhance our understanding of metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning and will lead to solid implications for educational policy and practice.     

Focusing the Conceptual Lens on Metacognition, Self-regulation, and Self-regulated Learning

The terms metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning appear frequently in the educational literature and are sometimes used interchangeably. In order to explore the theoretical and empirical boundaries between these three constructs and the perceptions or misperceptions that their broad and often unqualified application may engender, an analysis of their use within contemporary research was undertaken. A PsychInfo database search was conducted and 255 studies were identified for a comprehensive data table. Analysis of these data revealed trends that suggest nesting of the constructs in definition and keyword explication. However, important differences emerged in the measures of these three constructs and in environmental factors such as prompting. Implications for future research are discussed. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Not just Piaget; not just Vygotsky,and certainly not Vygotsky as alternative to Piaget

There have been many interpretations published on the relative importance of the work of both Vygotsky and Piaget: often to the detriment of the latter. This article represents an attempt to discover the meaning and intention of the former by going back to the specifics of what he said and wrote. By reference to what they said of each other it is argued that by the early 30s they had reached almost identical positions regarding child development, and that the work of each is complementary to that of the other. The implications of this position for a theory of intervention for cognitive acceleration are then discussed.     

Metacognition and affect: What can metacognitive experiences tell us about the learning process?

This paper aims at highlighting the importance for learning of one of the facets of metacognition, namely metacognitive experiences (ME) that comprise feelings, judgments or estimates, and online task-specific knowledge. The emphasis is on the affective character of ME, which has received little attention in the past. Unlike online task-specific knowledge, which is conscious and analytic, the other ME are products of nonconscious, nonanalytic inferential processes. Because of their nature, ME can trigger either rapid, nonconscious control decisions or conscious analytic ones. However, ME can make use of both the affective and the cognitive regulatory loops, and this has a series of implications for learning. Evidence is presented regarding the relations of ME with affect and cognition, and the implications of the lack of accuracy of ME for the self-regulation of learning. Particular emphasis is given on judgment of learning, feeling of difficulty, and feeling of confidence. The challenges for future research on metacognition are underscored.     

Compare and Contrast the Theories of Piaget and Vygotsky

正Cognitive developmental theories deal with the processes ofthinking progress,including memory,attention,problem solvingand decision-making,from childhood through adolescence to adult-hood.In this essay I will compare and contrast the developmentaltheories of Piaget and Vygotsky,both of which play an importantroleintheresearchofcognitive development.Piaget's developmental theory is a cognitive developmentaltheory which is mainly about the nature and development of human     

皮亚杰与维果斯基知识建构观的比较

皮亚杰的认知建构论与维果斯基的心理发展理论都深刻影响着建构主义理论的形成和发展。本文在分析两种理论的基础上,对两者的知识建构观进行了深入的比较,并进一步阐释了它们对于教育实践活动的指导意义和作用。     

大学语文教学中元认知能力与培养探析

元认知是一个社会心理学科的术语，通过对元认知理论和学习策略进行分析，探索其在大学语文学习和思维过程的重要性。在大学语文教学中培养学生元认知策略和能力，对提高学生学习语言效率，对深化大学语文教学改革具有一定的现实意义。     

Metacognition in Mathematical Problem Solving

Metacognition is considered by most educationists as an element necessary for many cognitive tasks. In problem solving, it has been said that possessing knowledge alone is insufficient and problem solvers need to exhibit high level cognitive skills like “self-regulation skills” (also known as metacognitive strategies) for successful problem solving.

A study on students' metacognitive strategies was carried out with over a thousand secondary and pre-university students from 12 schools. A questionnaire adapted from Biggs (1987) was administered to students at various levels (Secondary 2, Secondary 4, Pre-University 1), from different academic tracks (General, Science, Arts) and academic streams (Special, Express, and Normal). They were required to self-report on their metacognitive beliefs; their use of metacognitive strategies in mental tasks involving memory, problem solving and comprehension; and their attitudes towards the learning of various academic subjects. 20 items from the questionnaire which were related to problem solving were categorized into four stages, namely, orientation, organisation, execution and verification and data from these items were analysed.

Some findings that emerged were:

• (a) Normal stream students exhibited a lower usage of metacognitive strategies as compared to students from the Express and Special streams.

• (b) Metacognitive strategies used by Normal stream students tended to be of the “surface” type.

• (c) There was no significant difference in the frequency of usage of metacognitive strategies between students from different academic tracks.

• (d) During the problem solving process, students spent most time on evaluation of answers rather than on monitoring their understanding.

• (e) Students from different levels (Secondary 2, Secondary 4 and Pre-University) exhibited similar frequency of usage of metacognitive strategies in problem solving.

• The implications of these findings on future research and development projects as well as the teaching of metacognitive strategies are discussed in the paper.

     

元认知理论及其研究现状

本文对30多年来国内外关于元认知的研究进行了综述，介绍了元认知概念产生的思想渊源、基本含义、结构、实质、评定方法，元认知理论在教育领域和身心健康领域的应用。最后对元认知研究中存在的主要问题及研究前景作了简要分析。     

元认知与学生网络自主学习

网络环境为学生的英语自主学习提供了有利条件,然而学生的自主学习能力不高导致学生在网络自主学习中漫无目的、迷茫、缺乏信心等。元认知能使学生进行自我计划、自我监督、自我评价、自我反思、自我管理,恰好能有效解决网络学习中存在的问题。因此,有必要培养学生的元认知意识、进行以任务为基础和以过程为导向认知策略教学和进行电子学习档案管理以丰富学生的元认知体验,从而提高学生的元认知能力,增强学生的网络自主学习能力。     

元认知及其在外语教学中的应用

本通过对元认知的概念、分类及其策略的认识以及对元认知研究发展的探讨，阐明了培养学生元认知的重要性。它带给外语教学的启示是：树立元认知教学观，对学生进行元认知训练以及建立相应的反馈机制，从而提高学生元认知水平，可以增强学生的学习能力，使之成为成功的学习。本还提出了帮助学生发展元认知的三个个性化策略。     

英语写作教学中元认知策略训练的应用

在心理学认知研究的启发下,本文认为,英语写作教学中要贯穿元认知策略训练,在加强写作教学效果的同时,进一步培养学生自主性学习能力。     

两种儿童认知发展观的比较探究

维果茨基与皮亚杰的争论代表了发展心理学两条截然不同的发展路线,开创了认知建构主义与社会建构主义两种模式.对两人关于儿童认知发展观的不同与相同之处进行比较探究,旨在为当代认知发展的理论建构与教育实践提供新的契机.     

Mathematics anxiety as a function of multidimensional self-regulation and self-efficacy

This study tested the veracity of a model of Mathematics Anxiety as the end-point of related self-regulatory and self-efficacy processes. Data were collected in India from 232, eighth grade students on the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and the Mathematics Anxiety Scale. Demographic information such as student’s gender, age, marks scored in last mathematics exam and occupation of both parents was also collected. The measures in the study were tested to ascertain their psychometric properties, including any effect that gender had on these properties. A Structural Equation Model of Mathematics Anxiety was then constructed and evaluated based in the measures tested in the related measurement models.     

More flowers or more roses? A life with Piaget and Vygotsky

The significance of the work of Piaget and Vygotsky in particular, as well as that of other thinkers, is discussed in this presentation. This ‘after‐dinner’ paper raises questions about the ways in which ideological assumptions and other contextual factors impact upon theory development, just as they impact upon policy and practice. Further it is argued that, thanks to present day communication systems and travel, contemporary thinkers are able to access ‘other ways of seeing’, to share ideas, cross both geographical and interdisciplinary boundaries, and debate the values and dilemmas of pluralism. Lastly, the paper urges early childhood professionals to explore the notion of agreed absolutes relating to the treatment of children throughout the world.     

论元认知与英语阅读

元认知是认知主体对自身认知活动的认识。元认知由元认知知识、元认知体验和元认知监控三部分组成。元认知能力与学生的英语阅读水平显著相关，元认知能力较强的学生英语阅读水平通常也较高，教师应注重培养学生的元认知能力：丰富学生的元认知知识，强化学生的元认知体验，加强学生的元认知监控。     

Metacognition, achievement goals, study strategies and academic achievement: pathways to achievement

The purpose of this research was to develop and test a model of effective self-regulated learning. Based on effort expenditure we discerned effective self-regulators and less effective self-regulators. The model comprised achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach and -avoidance goals), metacognition (metacognitive knowledge, regulation and experience), study strategies (metacognitive, deep cognitive, surface cognitive and resource management strategies) and academic achievement. The relationships in the model were tested with controlling for intellectual ability, gender and age. The results showed that effective self-regulated learning involved two pathways: a metacognitive and a strategy pathway. The first pathway involved a positive relationship of mastery goals and a negative relationship of performance-avoidance goals with metacognition. Metacognition positively affected the use of the four study strategies. The strategy pathway involved positive effects of mastery and performance-approach goals on the use of metacognitive and deep cognitive strategies. Further, performance-approach goals positively affected the use of surface cognitive and resource management strategies. The use of metacognitive and resource management strategies had a positive and the use of surface cognitive strategies had a negative effect on exam scores.     

Assessment in the Evaluation of Self-Regulation as a Process

The role of assessment is central to the current work in the field of self-regulation research, to the conceptualizations derived from empirical work, and to the operationalisation of its concepts in individual and classroom implementations. The various instantiations of the concept of self-regulation, all presuppose a detailed accounting of many different components, with each of them being represented by a variety of proxy variables which can be measured to establish the appropriate level at which the individual or group in question is functioning or performing. A review of the literature reveals a very diverse set of models and assessment instruments, many attempting to establish constructs with serious definitional problems, and conceptual overlaps. It is necessary then to establish their validity and the exact nature of their participation, as well as a clear differentiation between them. The assessment instruments which have been used so far are equally diverse, addressing the demands of the various components of the self-regulation models used and the different aspects emphasized in the research, including socio-cultural, cognitive, and volitional aspects. It is essential, to study carefully the relationship between assessment and the elements of the self-regulation process. This careful analysis will lead to a refinement of the instruments used, to the development of appropriate assessment methodologies and strategies, and to a richer conceptualization of the self-regulatory process (SR) based on empirical assessment data to inform the theory and model construction.     

Evolution of Research Methods for Probing and Understanding Metacognition

This paper reports on the development, self-critique and evolution of research methods for interpreting and understanding students’ metacognition that were developed through the Metacognition and Reflective Inquiry (MRI) collaborative study. The MRI collaborative was a multi-year, multi-case, research study that investigated the elusive nature and character of high school students’ metacognition across formal and informal science learning contexts. The study’s research design comprised a series of integrated, layered, interpretive case studies which were conducted in a hermeneutic fashion over a 3 year period. The implementation of each case study provided an opportunity for the researchers to reflect critically on the research methods used to elucidate metacognition and hence refine the individual and collective capacity, responsiveness and fruitfulness of the methods used. This paper discusses the evolution of these methods and the lessons that the entire study provides for the conceptualization of other qualitative-interpretivist studies.     

元认知理论视野下的外语师资培训

元认知是对认知的认知，即以认知作为研究对象的认知。这一概念包括三方面的内容：元认知知识、元认知体验和元认知监控。教师的教学活动从本质上说是一种认知活动，受训教师具有作为成人学习者的需要和特点，外语师资培训应从自我反思意识的加强和自我反思能力的训练两方面提高外语教师元认知监控能力。