Context-based learning and metacognitive prompts for enhancing scientific text comprehension

ABSTRACT

Context-based learning (CBL), promoting students' scientific text comprehension, and fostering metacognitive skills, plays an important role in science education. Our study involves CBL through comprehension and analysis of adapted scientific articles. We developed a module which integrates metacognitive prompts for guiding students to monitor their understanding and improve their scientific text comprehension. We investigated the effect of these metacognitive prompts on scientific text comprehension as part of CBL in chemistry. About 670 high school chemistry students were randomly divided into three groups exposed to high- and low-intensity CBL. One of the high-intensity groups was also exposed to metacognitive prompts. Research tools included pre- and post-questionnaires aimed at measuring students' conceptual chemistry understanding and metacognitive knowledge in the context of reading strategies, before and after exposure to the CBL. Chemistry understanding was reflected by students' ability to identify the main subject of the adapted article and by explaining concepts both textually and visually. We found that high-intensity CBL combined with metacognitive prompts improved students' chemistry understanding of the adapted scientific articles and the ability to regulate their learning. Our study establishes that reading context-based adapted scientific articles advances students' conceptual chemistry understanding. These gains are strongly amplified by domain-specific metacognitive prompts.     

Environmental,cognitive, and metacognitive influences on text revision: Assessing the evidence

To assess progress in understanding text revision, we review research reported since 1980, when process analyses of writing were beginning (Fitzgerald, 1987). A modernized version of the revision model by Flower, Hayes, Carey, Schriver, and Stratman (1986) was used to organize findings about how revision is influenced by environmentally posed rhetorical problems and actual text variables; by cognitive knowledge, strategies, and representations of the text being revised; by metacognitive understanding, monitoring, and control of knowledge and strategies; by interactions among these environmental, cognitive, and metacognitive influences; and by how working memory limits those interactive influences. These influences have been studied with a rich diversity of research approaches, and even though no part of the modernized model has been studied fully, and even though interactions of the model's parts have been examined minimally, clearly interpretable results have been reported about all of the model's parts. Substantial and encouraging progress has been made toward understanding text revision, and the stage has been set for more progress. We suggest investigations to increase understanding of revision and to promote integration of research and theory about reading and writing.     

Developing higher-order reading skills in mainstream primary schools: A metacognitive and self-regulatory approach

The ability to read relies upon not just decoding, but also comprehending text. Being a good comprehender requires strategic reading and implies the use of comprehension strategies. Research indicates that readers who are taught several reading comprehension strategies have better reading skills than those only taught a single strategy. One multiple strategy reading comprehension intervention was evaluated using a mixed-model quasi-experimental design. Intervention and control conditions groups were assessed at pre- and post-test points with standardised reading comprehension abilities, measured as the primary outcome measure. Implementation science principles were observed and evaluated. The schools all served areas of low socio-economic status. 74 pupils (aged 9–10) in five classes in four primary-level mainstream schools in a Scottish local authority were recruited as participants. Training was provided to participating schools by the first author and the programme was delivered in four sessions of 45 minutes per week for 8 weeks. An ANCOVA revealed a statistically significant effect of condition. Statistically significant scores were also evident in the secondary outcome measures of decoding of target word skills, children’s self-reports of their reading strategy use and recreational reading frequency. Implementation tools indicated that the intervention was acceptable and feasible to implement. Implications of introducing this multiple strategy reading comprehension programme and of the evaluation of implementation are discussed.     

元认知监控的发展

自上世纪八十年代以来,关于元认知监控的研究已取得许多有价值的研究成果。其中,关于元认知监控的发展规律上也得到广泛的关注。但是受到实验范式、实验条件、实验材料等的影响,关于该研究点上仍有许多问题值得探索。     

Questioning as thinking: a metacognitive framework to improve comprehension of expository text

Despite a push to develop high levels of active engagement in learning by helping students reflect, refine and extend their ideas through effective questioning strategies, evidence suggests that teacher‐dominated interaction patterns permeate classroom instruction. This Initiate, Respond and Evaluate process leads students to maintain a passive stance towards learning and non‐engagement with text. As a result students fail to develop the strategies to solve comprehension problems and monitor their own learning with text. In contrast, effective, active instructional patterns provide students with opportunities to negotiate textual meaning. Through the use of the Question as Thinking framework we provide teachers with tools to enable pupils to reflect on their reading and understanding of expository texts. This article describes a framework for questioning designed to assist in the development of an active instructional pattern promoting the joint negotiation of meaning.     

The benefits of metacognitive reading strategy awareness instruction for young learners of English as a second language

This paper presents a small‐scale study examining the effects of metacognitive reading strategy instruction on English language learners' reading comprehension in a Hong Kong international school. Twenty‐five primary school (Grade 5) students who learn English as a second language participated in this study. Metacognitive instruction was incorporated into 10 process‐based reading lessons. Data were collected from notes learners took during reading, post‐reading reflection reports, teacher‐facilitated group discussions and two types of reading tests. Results revealed that the young learners could articulate several knowledge factors that influenced their reading. In addition, learners reported a better understanding of the nature and demands of reading, a deeper awareness of metacognitive knowledge in improving reading comprehension and increased confidence in handling reading exercises. The learners also showed enhanced reading performance compared to those in a control group without metacognitive intervention. This study highlights the potential of metacognitive instruction to enhance primary school English learners' reading literacy.     

The effect of test expectations on study strategies and test performance: a metacognitive perspective

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether university students can adjust their study strategies to meet the cognitive demands of testing; a metacognitive self‐regulatory skill. One hundred and fifty undergraduates attended three lectures as part of a course on the psychology of individual differences. These participants were then assigned randomly to each of two groups. In the first group, the participants were instructed to study for a test that required deep‐level cognitive processing. In the second group, the participants were instructed to study for a test that required surface‐level cognitive processing. Results of the study showed that university students do adjust their study strategies so that they are in line with the cognitive processing demands of testing. It was also found that study strategies mediated the relationship between the type of test items expected and the test performance.     

The relation between intellectual and metacognitive skills in early adolescence.

The first objective of this study was establishing to what extent metacognitive skill is associated with intelligence. As a second objective, the impact of hints on the execution of metacognitive skills was investigated. Both issues have major implications for the training and transferability of metacognitive skills during performance on a representative school task. First, a standardized intelligence-test was administered to a group of first-year secondary-school students. Next, these students solved six math word problems, three without metacognitive hints and three including these hints. Metacognitive skilfullness was assessed through systematical observation, while learning performance consisted of performance on a math task and grade point average (GPA). Results show that without hints metacognitive skilfulness is the main predictor of initial learning, while intelligence additionally enters the regression equation after the presentation of metacognitive hints. GPA also appears to be predicted by a combination of intellectual and metacognitive skills. Consequences for the early acquisition of metacognitive skills are discussed.     

元认知策略对改善大学生认知效能的实证研究

基于元认知理论的本质和大学公共英语教学的特点,选取90名非英语专业大学生进行了元认知策略意识培养的教学实验。实验表明,元认知策略的使用与英语成绩的提高呈显著正相关,在英语教学过程中有意识地进行元认知策略培养对改善大学生的认知效能是积极有效的。     

Exploring metacognitive strategies and hypermedia annotations on foreign language reading

The effective use of reading strategies has been recognized as an important way to increase reading comprehension in hypermedia environments. The purpose of the study was to explore whether metacognitive strategy use and access to hypermedia annotations facilitated reading comprehension based on English as a foreign language students’ proficiency levels. The primary investigation finding revealed that the strategies used the most were problem-solving strategies, followed by global strategies, whereas support strategies were used the least. The specific strategy of guessing content was used much more frequently which was reliably predicted by their comprehension scores; on the contrary, reading slowly might hinder hypermedia reading comprehension. Regarding the frequency of access to annotations, background information was viewed the most frequently, while word glossary was identified as least frequently; no significant relationship, however, was observed among proficiency levels, frequency of annotation use, and reading strategies. Based on further think-aloud investigation results, limitations and future research are discussed and presented.     

不同民族中学生英语阅读的元认知意识研究

采用英语阅读的元认知意识问卷对汉族、纳西族和彝族中学生进行测查。结果表明 :( 1 )3种民族中学生英语阅读的元认知意识水平随着年级的升高呈现出提高的趋势 ;( 2 )汉族与纳西族中学生英语阅读的元认知意识水平整体上具有一致性 ,彝族中学生英语阅读的元认知意识水平呈现出优于汉族和纳西族的趋势。基于此 ,教师在英语阅读教学中应加强对学生元认知意识的培养。     

Multimodality,learning and decision-making: children's metacognitive reflections on their engagement with video games as interactive texts

This study examines how 31 middle-school children conducted multimodal analyses of video games. Over four consecutive days, students played video games for 30 minutes and then wrote written reflections about the multimodal symbols within the game and how these symbols influenced their interpretation and decision-making processes during gameplay. Students produced 124 reflections in total, which were analysed via template analysis to determine how children metacognitively reflected on different types of multimodal symbols and used those symbols to comprehend the games and make decisions. Results illustrate how students engaged in metacognitive semantic and syntactic processes with a variety of multimodal symbols, such as written language, dynamic visuals and abstract symbols, during gameplay that aided their understanding of the games and influenced their decisions. This study contributes to the limited empirical research on video game literacies and illustrates children's meaning-making processes while engaged with video games as multimodal interactive texts.     

Using metacognitive strategies in teaching to facilitate understanding of light concepts among year 9 students

Background: Enhancing students’ metacognitive abilities will help to facilitate their understanding of science concepts.

Purpose: The study was designed to conduct and evaluate the effectiveness of a repertoire of interventions aimed at enhancing secondary school students’ metacognitive capabilities and their achievements in science.

Sample: A class of 35 Year 9 students participated in the study.

Design and methods: The study involved a pre-post design, conducted by the first author as part of the regular designated science programme in a class taught by him.

In order to enhance the students’ metacognitive capabilities, the first author employed clearly stated focused outcomes, engaging them in collaborative group work, reading scientific texts and using concept mapping techniques during classroom instruction. The data to evaluate the effectiveness of the metacognitive interventions were obtained from pre- and post-test results of two metacognitive questionnaires, the Metacognitive Support Questionnaire (MSpQ) and the Metacognitive Strategies Questionnaire (MStQ), and data from interviews. In addition, pre-test and post-test scores were used from a two-tier multiple-choice test on Light.

Results: The results showed gains in the MSpQ but not in the MStQ. However, the qualitative data from interviews suggested high metacognitive capabilities amongst the high- and average-achieving students at the end of the study. Students gains were also evident from the test scores in the Light test.

Conclusion: Although the quantitative data obtained from the Metacognitive Strategies Questionnaire did not show significant gains in the students’ metacognitive strategies, the qualitative data from interviews suggested positive perceptions of students’ metacognitive strategies amongst the high- and average-achieving students. Data from the Metacognitive Support Questionnaire showed that there were significant gains in the students’ perceptions of their metacognitive support implying that the majority of the students perceived that their learning environment was oriented towards the development of their metacognitive capabilities. The effect of the metacognitive interventions on students’ achievement in the Light test resulted in students displaying the correct declarative knowledge, but quite often they lacked the procedural knowledge by failing to explain their answers correctly.     

The interplay between self-determined motivation,self-regulated cognitive strategies,and prior achievement in predicting academic performance

The present study examined the interplay between self-determined motivation and the use of cognitive strategies in predicting university students’ academic performance while taking into account the effect of prior achievement. A theory based model was tested using structural equation modeling on a sample of 764 Italian university students. Results showed that prior achievement influenced students’ academic performance and their motivation and use of cognitive strategies. Critical thinking was the only cognitive strategy which proved to have a significant impact on students’ academic performance. Autonomous motivation had an indirect positive impact on academic performance through its influence on the critical thinking strategy. Controlled motivation had a direct negative impact on academic performance. On the whole, our findings suggest that autonomously motivated students tend to achieve better academic performance by using critical thinking, while students who are driven by controlled motivation have lower academic performance.     

The effects of metacognitive instruction on solving mathematical authentic tasks

The present study investigates the differential effects of cooperative-learning with or without metacognitive instruction on lower and higher achievers' solutions of mathematical authentic tasks. Participants were 91 seventh graders who studied in three classrooms. Data were analyzed by using qualitative and quantitative methods. Results indicated that students who were exposed to the metacognitive instruction within cooperative learning (COOP+META) significantly outperformed their counterparts who were exposed to cooperative learning with no metacognitive instruction (COOP). The positive effects of COOP+META were observed on both authentic and standard tasks. In addition, the findings show the positive effects of COOP+META method on lower and higher achievers. The practical implications of the study are discussed.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies among Arabic language students

This study investigates cognitive and metacognitive strategies in learning oral Arabic among students at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. The concept of these strategies was derived from the self-regulated learning framework, which consists of five components, namely rehearsal, elaboration, organization, critical thinking, and metacognitive strategies. The purposes of this study are to investigate the level of cognitive and metacognitive strategies used (1) among UiTM students; (2) between students with different prior experiences, namely, some of them had an experience of 5 years in learning Arabic in secondary school (abbreviated by SWE) and some of them did not have any experience at all (abbreviated by SNE); (3) between students of different gender; and (4) between students with the interaction of different gender and prior experience. The sample of this study consists of 183 students and employs a questionnaire adapted from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The study revealed that (1) all UiTM students used cognitive and metacognitive strategies at a moderate level; (2) SWE scored significantly higher than SNE in all five components of cognitive and metacognitive strategies; (3) females scored significantly higher than males in rehearsal, organization, and metacognitive strategies; and (4) there were no statistically significant differences noted in all components between students with the interaction of prior experience and gender. This study had some classroom implications. It suggested that some improvement and changes in learning oral Arabic should be made in terms of selecting learning materials, implementing oral Arabic activities, and learning tasks, which will stimulate the use of all strategies, as well as conducting proficiency tests instead of achievement tests. Students should also be exposed to the learning techniques which used all these strategies extensively and collaborative activities may be carried out among students with mixed prior experience and gender.     

元认知参与并促进第二语言阅读的学习

通过分析元认知知识,得出结论：元认知知识的应用对于学习者提高阅读水平,提升阅读速度和保证阅读质量起着非常重要的作用。元认知监控策略的应用可以促进学习者对学习内容即元认知客体的消化和吸收。     

Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive processes in low verbal ability learners: Use of diagrams in computer-based training environments

This study investigated how instructionalstrategies can support learners' knowledgeacquisition and metacomprehension of complexsystems in a computer-based trainingenvironment, and how individual characteristicsinteract with these manipulations. Incorporating diagrams into the trainingfacilitated performance on measures ofintegrative knowledge (i.e., the integrationand application of task-relevant knowledge),but had no significant effect on measures ofdeclarative knowledge (i.e., mastery of basicfactual knowledge). Diagrams additionallyfacilitated the development of accurate mentalmodels (as measured via a card sorting task)and significantly improved the instructionalefficiency of the training (i.e., higher levelof performance was achieved with less mentaleffort). Finally, diagrams effectivelyscaffolded participants' metacognition,improving their metacomprehension accuracy(i.e., their ability to accurately monitortheir comprehension). These beneficial effectsof diagrams on learners' cognitive andmetacognitive processes were found to bestrongest for participants with low verbalability. Results are discussed in terms ofimplications for the design of adaptivelearning systems.     

国外超常儿童的认知发展研究综述

在最近 10年关于超常儿童的研究 ,已经把研究的重点从什么是超常儿童转移到了超常儿童如何进行思维 ,尤其是关于儿童早期阶段思维方面的研究。文章从认知发展的角度 ,对超常儿童在认知速度、背景知识、元认知、问题解决和策略能力等四个方面进行了综述 ,并指出了以后研究超常儿童的方向。     

成人学习研究--成人元认知能力的研究及成人元认知能力相关因素的研究报告

成人学习的研究是一项涉及到心理学、社会学、成人教育学等多学科、多领域的研究范畴。而在成人学习领域中对成人元认知能力的研究,则是研究成人学习能力与其相关影响因素的一个突破点。