Differences in students' metacognitive strategy knowledge,motivation, and strategy use: A typology of self-regulated learners

Metacognitive strategy knowledge, motivation, and learning strategies play an important role in self-regulated learning (SRL). However, little is known about different profiles of self-regulated learners in schools that prepare students for the university entrance certificate. The aim of this study was to examine intraindividual differences in the patterns of students' SRL. In this 2-wave longitudinal study, 897 students were involved. Latent class analyses revealed four-cluster solutions at the beginning as well as at the end of the school year. Maximal self-regulated learners with the highest levels on all cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational components of SRL reported the highest grades in the academic subject of German (first language) at both measurement points, followed by motivated and strategic learners. Students with a low level on several SRL components reported the lowest grades. Further, the results indicated changes in profiles of SRL over time.     

The effect of individual differences in the development of metacognitive strategy knowledge

The aim of this study was to investigate the development of metacognitive strategy knowledge (MSK) during schooling at the upper secondary education level and to examine its relation with individual student characteristics. This longitudinal study with two measurement points analyzed a sample of students in grades 10 and 11 from 19 schools preparing students for university in Switzerland. The findings showed no development of MSK within a single year of school. Individual differences appeared in the level and the change of MSK over time. Female students as well as students with higher SES displayed higher MSK than male students and students with lower SES at the first measurement point. Furthermore, SES predicted changes in MSK over time. Between learning motivation and MSK as well as self-efficacy and MSK, high correlations were found at t1. Neither learning motivation nor self-efficacy had an effect on the change of MSK over time. The results show that there is still substantial potential for MSK development at the upper secondary education level. Implications for education and further studies are discussed.     

Exploring metacognitive strategy use during note-taking for students with learning disabilities

This mixed-methods study analysed over 200 interviews from 20 seventh-grade students with learning disabilities (LD). Students were instructed how to use a note-taking intervention during science lectures. The interview analyses were supported by pre- and post-intervention quantitative data. Data suggest that the intervention helped students identify important information; systematised the process of listening to, interpreting and using that information; and offered students a means by which to organise the information they were hearing. A discussion about metacognition and attention explores how these processes altered students’ awareness of their own learning, as well as how they equipped students with a new strategy for holding onto and translating information from their science lectures into a useful set of notes. These findings have implications for how theorists conceptualise the relationship between metacognition and attention and how teachers use scaffolding to support the learning of students with LD.     

Structures of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategy use for reading comprehension of geometry proof

In this study, we explored the structural relationship between the students’ perceived use of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies (CMRS) and their reading comprehension of geometry proof (RCGP), and we also examined the differences in students’ perceived use of reading strategies among the poor, moderate and good comprehenders. A sample of ninth graders (N = 533) completed a RCGP test and then the CMRS questionnaire. In the exploratory factor analysis with one subsample (n = 150), principal component analysis was used to extract factors of CMRS use for improving the CMRS instrument. Another subsample of students (n = 370) participated in the study on the confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modelling method. Results revealed that the use of metacognitive reading strategies exerts an executive function over that of cognitive reading strategies, which directly influenced students’ RCGP. Our interesting findings were that good comprehenders tended to employ more metacognitive reading strategies for planning and monitoring comprehension and more cognitive reading strategies for elaborating proof compared with the moderate comprehenders, who in turn employed these strategies more often compared with the poor comprehenders.     

The ability to estimate knowledge and performance in college: A metacognitive analysis

While in college students learn a great deal of new knowledge, and over time successful students learn to update their knowledge as new concepts, facts, and procedures are acquired. The metacognitive ability to accurately estimate one's knowledge was hypothesized to be related to academic achievement in college. The two studies reported in this paper examined the relationship between a measure of metacognitive word knowledge (the KMA) and performance in college. Using undergraduate gpa in a number of academic domains as criterion measures, this research provides support for the validity of the KMA as a predictor of success in college. Suggestions for further research relating performance on the KMA to learning in complex domains are offered.     

Improving self-regulation, learning strategy use, and achievement with metacognitive feedback

Comprehension of science topics occurs when learners meaningfully generate relationships and conceptions about what they read. In this generation process, learners’ cognitive and metacognitive regulation is one of the most critical factors influencing learning. However, learners are not always successful in regulating their own learning, especially in computer-based learning environments (CBLEs) where they are alone. Based on this rationale, the present study was designed to examine the effects of two scaffolding strategies—generative learning strategy prompts and metacognitive feedback—on learners’ comprehension and self-regulation while learning the human heart system in a CBLE. Participants were 223 undergraduate student volunteers. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to conceptualize and empirically test a model that explains mediating processes among variables. Results revealed that the combination of generative learning strategy prompts with metacognitive feedback improved learners’ recall and comprehension by enhancing learners’ self-regulation and better use of highlighting and summarizing as generative learning strategies.     

昌吉学院非英语专业少数民族大学生元认知策略使用情况调查

本研究通过对昌吉学院非英语专业少数民族大学生元认知策略使用情况的调查,分析了学生元认知策略的总体及各个构成因素的使用情况及大学英语四级成绩优、中、差学生在元认知策略总体及各个构成因素上存在的差异和男女学习者在使用元认知策略存在的差异。结果表明,民族大学生使用元认知策略的频率偏低;成绩优良的学生对元认知策略的使用明显大于成绩差的学生,且差异显著;不同性别的学生使用元认知策略的频率和方式也有所不同,但在元认知策略的使用上不存在显著性差异。     

Students' metacognitive knowledge in English language listening

Ⅰ. Introduction What knowledge and beliefs do students have about learning to listen in English language? Are students aware of their mental processes during listening? How can we find out what students know? This article is an attempt to answer these questions. We may ask ourselves why it is important for teachers to understand what students know about listening. There are at least three reasons. Firstly, there is evidence to believe     

元认知知识在外语阅读教学中的作用

20世纪70年代以来，Flavell对元认知知识进行了诸多研究。他认为，元认知知识是个体已获得的世界知识的一部分，元认知知识对外语阅读教学的重要作用在于：有利于发展学习的自主性、有利于提高学习的动机、有利于增强学习的责任感、有利于发挥元认知策略的有效性、有利于鉴别学习的阅读品质。     

Instructional metacognitive knowledge: A qualitative study on conceptions of freshmen about instruction

Many studies have pointed to the limited direct effectiveness of instructional interventions and one explanation of this has drawn attention to the importance of 'instructional metacognitive knowledge'. In this exploratory study, instructional metacognitive knowledge of university freshmen is addressed by means of a survey covering: (a) instruction in general, (b) instruction in two different environments, and (c) specific delivery systems and concrete instructional interventions. While some differences appeared in the answers on different sets of questions, also large similarities were found. The results show students' knowledge about instruction to be mainly affected by their instructional experiences. The students' view is 'reactive' and places instructional agents at the core of the instructional process. The findings provide additional support for the importance of correspondence between learners' and teachers' views on instructional interventions if forms of support for students' learning are to be effective.     

英文写作成功者与不成功者的元认知知识对比研究——一项针对中国英语专业大学生的实证调查

写作者的元认知知识在复杂的写作认知活动中起着重要的作用,不同水平的写作者具有不同的元认知知识。通过实证调查对比研究中国英语专业大学生中英文成功写作者与不成功写作者在元认知知识方面的异同点,并与现存的相关发现作一比较,以期为写作教学提供有益启示。     

Assessment of metacognitive knowledge in students with special educational needs

This study investigated whether and, if so, how metacognitive knowledge can be assessed validly in students with special educational needs in a large-scale assessment like the German National Educational Panel Study. In total, 804 sixth-grade students including both regular school students attending the lowest track of secondary education (Hauptschule) and students with special educational needs in learning participated in the study. A scenario-based test of metacognitive knowledge focusing primarily on different aspects of strategy knowledge was implemented. In order to investigate optimal testing conditions, two conditions that varied in terms of administration mode were compared: autonomous reading as in regular test settings and a read-aloud condition. Reading speed and reasoning abilities were assessed as control variables. As expected, regular school students outperformed students with special educational needs in the metacognitive knowledge test. In addition, higher correlations between metacognitive knowledge and reading speed emerged in the autonomous reading condition compared to the read-aloud condition. Contrary to our expectations, a differential boost due to the testing accommodation of reading aloud was, however, only observed in regular students but not in students with special educational needs. The results are discussed with regard to educational and assessment-relevant approaches.     

对大学英语听力教学中元认知策略的研究

随着教育体制改革的不断深入,我国高等院校的教育水平也不断提高。大学英语教育作为高等教育中的重要组成部分,一直深受社会各界的广泛关注。近年来,为适应现代社会对大学生英语水平要求的不断提高,对于大学英语教学中听、说、读、写等各个环节的教学工作都进行了相应的创新和改革。作为一门语言学科,大学英语的学习包括输入和输出两部分内容,这就要求学生必须能够听懂英文、会讲英文。其中,听力作为语言输入的重要过程,是学生的必备技能之一。然而,我国目前大学生英语听力教学中仍存在着诸多问题,直接关系着学生对英语的理解,制约着学生整体英语水平的提高。     

Self-regulating activity: use of metacognitive guides in the interpreting classroom

This research studies the development of metacognitive skills in students of consecutive interpreting from German into Spanish. The purpose is to discover which self-regulating processes appear after introducing a specific pedagogical action based on metacognitive guides. Our hypothesis is that self-regulating activity will increase as work with the guides advances. We also analyse the changes which occur as the course progresses. The analysis of the corpus enables us to describe metacognitive activity in consecutive interpretation students and also to justify the introduction of a component of self-regulation in teaching andlearning processes. The research contributes to pedagogical development in consecutive interpretation since it sheds light on how to use effective teaching and learning patterns that can lead to self-regulation.     

Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction in regular class lessons

The quality of teachers’ knowledge about how people learn influences students’ learning outcomes. Similarly, the quality of students’ knowledge about how they learn influences their engagement in self-regulated learning and consequently, their learning achievement. There is a gap between research findings that support these two premises and teaching–learning practices in classrooms. In this paper we describe attempts to reduce this gap. In Study 1 we surveyed early adolescent students’ cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and demonstrated that students’ cognitive and metacognitive strategy knowledge has substantial room for improvement. In Studies 2 and 3 we collaborated with teachers to embed explicit cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction, using learning protocols, into regular class lessons. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the learning protocols slipped readily into teachers’ typical lesson designs, scaffolded teachers’ delivery of strategy instruction, and scaffolded some students’ acquisition of strategy knowledge, although progress was sometimes slow. Recommendations are presented for supporting teachers and students to engage with cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction.     

概念图:一种促进知识建构的学习策略

概念图是一种促进建构性学习与教学的有效策略。本文在简介概念图基本原理的基础上 ,着重分析了概念图作为一种学习策略 ,在促进知识建构中的作用 :运用概念图 ,诊断学生的前概念 ;运用概念图 ,促进知识的整合 ;运用概念图 ,改变学生的认识方式 ;运用概念图 ,促进对话与合作。     

元认知策略培训对大学生英语自主学习能力的影响

随着教学主体逐步实现由教师为中心向学生为中心的过渡,学生自主学习能力的培养越来越受到外语教育界的重视。元认知策略是培养学习者自主学习能力的一条重要途径。本文介绍了自主学习的重要性,回顾了元认知策略与自主学习的相关理论,描述了元认知策略的培训过程并通过实证研究进一步证明通过元认知策略的培训可以培养学生的自主学习能力。