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.     

促进学生科学资本构建:科学教育发展的新视角

科学教育是建设创新型国家、科教强国的重要支撑,培育更多优秀青少年学生学习和从事科技领域具有重要意义。“科学资本”由布迪厄的“资本”概念发展而来,被认为是预测青少年学生STEM职业期望的有效变量。为了更好地认识科学资本这一概念的本质及其教育价值,该文在对相关文献进行梳理的基础上,对科学资本的内涵进行了解析,对科学资本的构成维度进行了总结,对科学资本促进学生发展的价值进行了讨论,对如何将科学资本融入教育实践进行了介绍。该文认为具有丰富内涵的科学资本为审视科学教育提供了一个新的视角,为推进科学教育发展提供了新的着力点,即在培养学生科学素养的同时,应重视学生科学资本的发掘和构建;建议创设“学校—家庭—社会”协同育人环境,积极促进学生科学资本构建,增强学生与科学的亲密度,激励更多更优秀的学生在未来进入科技领域。科学资本及以其为导向的科学教学法为我国科学教育和科学教师培训提供了新的启示。     

Learning to Make Good Decisions: A Self-Regulation Perspective

Two studies were conducted to determine the extent to which feedback could improve the decision-making of adolescents and adults. In Experiment 1, 96 eighth graders and adults engaged in a task that required a choice between easy and hard questions. Two types of feedback (i.e., verbal and outcome) were used to help participants identify the type of question that would be most likely to earn them points. Results showed that (1) neither group benefited from verbal feedback, and (2) adults benefited more from outcome feedback than eighth graders. In Experiment 2, two types of feedback were once again employed in the context of a medical decision-making task. Fifty-five adults and adolescents participated. As was found in Experiment 1, adults seemed to benefit more from feedback than adolescents. In addition, intelligence was unrelated to performance. The results are interpreted within the perspective of a self-regulation model of decision-making.     

Metacognition as a Basis for Learning Support Software

In order to understand the task of instructional designers who produce learning support software, this paper reviews the influence of learning theory on instructional design, recent developments in computer technology, and the evolving role of the instructor as a facilitator of higher-order thinking. Constructivist principles of learning and an appreciation for the fact that the learner must become more independent and skilled in metacognitive self-assessment and self-management are fundamental to this changing role. Two cognitive tools that provide learner/user support for personal construction of knowledge systems are “MindMap” and “Learning FourMat Processor.” These tools are examined in the light of current learning theory and a recent study comparing the work of novice and expert writers using different forms of performance support. Recommendations are made for the development of a more complete set of cognitive tools that enables users to construct their own multimedia knowledge systems based on higher-order thinking and problem solving.     

在元认知能力的发展评估网络环境下自主学习——记一次“失败的”大学英语听力课程实验

元认知能力是自主学习能力的一个重要维度.检验大学英语听力自主学习模式的教学效果也可以从发展元认知能力的角度.配对样本t检验结果显示,经过三个学期的自主学习,学生的元认知能力并没有显著地变化.对于学生自主学习基本情况的调查也能很好地说明这一结果.最后,从几个方面分析了出现这种结果的原因,并指出当前最主要的任务是理清自主学习的概念,探明新的教学模式.     

Narrative-Based Learning Activities for Science Ethics Education: an Affordance Perspective

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Boasting a wide range of interactive and engaging features, narrative-based learning has become increasingly popular in educational settings....     

Time and Performance in Online Learning: Applying the Theoretical Perspective of Metacognition

Educational psychologists have found that metacognitive calibration predicts learning outcomes in self‐regulated learning. In this research the authors apply theories of metacognition from educational psychology and postulate that metacognitive calibration influences learning time and performance in online learning. Data gathered from 230 college students who completed online self‐regulated assignments in an introductory information systems course confirms that higher calibration accuracy leads to better performance on assignments, which contributes to higher exam grades. In addition, higher calibration accuracy also reduces the amount of time students spent on the online assignments. However, time spent on the assignments is not a mediator of the effect of calibration on learning performance. This research presents pioneering work in examining a holistic model that assesses the impact of metacognition in online learning on both assignment and exam level learning outcomes using field data collected through a natural learning setting. The findings highlight the need to include metacognitive calibration as one of the learner characteristics in research models addressing student performance in online learning.     

"做中学"科学教育实验初探

“做中学”科学教育实验是由韦钰院士积极倡导、教育部和科学技术协会于2001年5月共同发起的一项幼儿科学教育改革计划。这项改革计划已经实施了5个年头,成为我国科学教育改革的一大亮点,产生了广泛影响。     

Cognitive Load Theory: A Broader View on the Role of Memory in Learning and Education

According to cognitive load theory (CLT), the limitations of working memory (WM) in the learning of new tasks together with its ability to cooperate with an unlimited long-term memory (LTM) for familiar tasks enable human beings to deal effectively with complex problems and acquire highly complex knowledge and skills. With regard to WM, CLT has focused to a large extent on learning task characteristics, and to a lesser extent on learner characteristics to manage WM load and optimize learning through instructional design. With regard to LTM, explanations of human learning and cognition have mainly focused on domain-general skills, instead of domain-specific knowledge held in LTM. The contributions to this special issue provide a broader cognitive load view on the role of memory in learning and education by presenting the historical roots and conceptual development of the concept of WM, as well as the theoretical and practical implications of current debates about WM mechanisms (Cowan 2014), by presenting an updated model of cognitive load in which the physical learning environment is considered a distinct causal factor for WM load (Choi et al. 2014), by an experimental demonstration of the effects of persistent pain on the available WM resources for learning (Smith and Ayres 2014), and by using aspects of evolutionary educational psychology to argue for the primacy of domain-specific knowledge in human cognition (Tricot and Sweller 2014).     

科学写作：一个亟待重视的科学教育领域

科学写作是科学教育的重要组成部分,具有极其重要的作用和功能.科学写作在国外已引起一人们的高度重视,但国内有关科学写作的研究和实践还不被人们所关注.科学写作是指通过文字或图表等载体将人们对科学的理解和思维具体地呈现出来,它不仅是一种语言技能的表现,更是学习者对科学内容的理解和再现的反映,将学习者的内在认知活动具体化为外在表征.科学写作有助于学生将不同的概念进行连结,从而促进科学概念的发展;增进学生的认知策略和科学推理能力;促进师生之间的双向交流和沟通.     

Reforming Science Education: Part I. The Search for a Philosophy of Science Education

The call for reforms in science education has been ongoing for a century, with new movements and approaches continuously reshaping the identity and values of the discipline. The HPS movement has an equally long history and taken part in the debates defining its purpose and revising curriculum. Its limited success, however, is due not only to competition with alternative visions and paradigms (e.g. STS, multi-culturalism, constructivism, traditionalism) which deadlock implementation, and which have led to conflicting meanings of scientific literacy, but the inability to rise above the debate. At issue is a fundamental problem plaguing science education at the school level, one it shares with education in general. It is my contention that it requires a guiding “metatheory” of education that can appropriately distance itself from the dual dependencies of metatheories in psychology and the demands of socialization—especially as articulated in most common conceptions of scientific literacy tied to citizenship. I offer as a suggestion Egan’s cultural-linguistic theory as a metatheory to help resolve the impasse. I hope to make reformers familiar with his important ideas in general and more specifically, to show how they can complement HPS rationales and reinforce the work of those researchers who have emphasized the value of narrative in learning science. This will be elaborated in Part II of a supplemental paper to the present one. As a prerequisite to presenting Egan’s metatheory I first raise the issue of the need for a conceptual shift back to philosophy of education within the discipline, and thereto, on developing and demarcating true educational theories (essentially neglected since Hirst). In the same vein it is suggested a new research field should be opened with the express purpose of developing a discipline-specific “philosophy of science education” (largely neglected since Dewey) which could in addition serve to reinforce science education’s growing sense of academic autonomy and independence from socio-economic demands.     

基于转变学习观的农村远程教育学习支持服务

农村远程教育出于教育对象的特点,致使单纯以学习成绩来评价学习效果已经远远不够了.对农民的学习而言,学习观的改变才是带有根本件的改变.农村远程教育数字化学习港学习支持服务的实际工作经验表明:以建构主义理论指导学术性支持服务,以人本主义理论开展非学术性支持服务,可使农民学习者的学习观由被动机械的学习观逐渐转变为主动体验的学习观.     

As Science Students Become Science Teachers: A Perspective on Learning Orientation

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

元认知对数学学习的影响

数学元认知对学生学习数学的状况有着十分密切的关系。对数学元认知对数学学习产生的影响进行了概括和阐述。     

学习科学视域下的高等工程教育范式研究

我国高等工程教育在获得巨大发展的同时,也存在着质量不高、效果不佳等问题。本文从学习理论入手,分析传统学徒制在工程人才培养中的有效性所在,探究工程学习的机制和规律,论述建构主义学习理论对于高等工程教育的适用性,并以此理论为指引,对如何改进高等工程教育范式提出若干建议。     

Learning in Workplace Simulations in Vocational Education: a Student Perspective

In vocational education, workplace simulations (WPS) have been implemented to ensure a better connection between the educational setting and the labour market. Moreover, WPS are supposed to motivate students and promote self-directed learning. So far, however, not much is known about the way students experience these WPS. The aim of the present exploratory case study was to investigate students’ perceptions and preparedness for WPS and explore what factors they perceive to be relevant for their learning in these simulations. Forty students from three different pre-vocational secondary schools participated. Semi-structured group interviews were conducted and thematic analysis was used to examine the qualitative data. The results revealed that authentic WPS can increase student motivation and engagement. Learner characteristics regarded as relevant in WPS were motivation, responsibility, independence and discipline. For students, the presence and guidance of the teacher played an essential role in their working and learning effectively. They felt limited in making choices to direct their own learning. Assessment criteria were not transparent enough for students. Concluding, we found that students perceived factors closely related to self-regulated and self-directed learning to be relevant for their learning; however, these learning activities and processes have not yet been sufficiently promoted and supported in the investigated vocational schools. The study highlights design dilemmas for vocational practice and offers indications in how to match both learning environmental characteristics and teacher support tailored to learners’ needs.