Metacognitive Experiences: The Missing Link in the Self-Regulated Learning Process

The measurement of online self-regulation processes is a very important issue and in this rejoinder to Ainley and Patrick (this issue) I am arguing that including measures of metacognitive experiences, in conjunction with measures of other affective experiences, in various phases of task processing can increase the reliability and validity of online measures and our understanding of the self-regulation process. Furthermore, behavioral and performance measures as well as thinking aloud protocols can enrich not only the reliability and validity of our measures but also our awareness of the factors involved in the formation of the various facets of subjective experiences, be it affective or metacognitive.

Self‐regulation of student epistemic thinking in science: the role of metacognitive prompts

The purpose of the present study is to examine the effectiveness of a metacognitive prompts intervention‐science (MPI‐S), which is based on the nature of science with 162 eighth‐grade science students. It was hypothesised that students exposed to the intervention will show higher levels of content knowledge and knowledge about the nature of science than students in a comparison group. Attempts were also made to determine what cognitive processes are triggered during the use of metacognitive prompts. Findings showed significant improvements in students’ content knowledge and nature of science. In addition, qualitative findings revealed that the experimental group made choices based on evidence in the inquiry unit whereas the comparison group made decisions based on authority. Educational implications for practice into the classroom are discussed.     

Read on—Fantasy Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste and Read On—Horror Fiction

The effect of the Copyright Revision Act on a large academic Reserve Rending Room's service to users, budget expenditures, and office procedures is described. How the library dealt with the key areas of "fair use" and the "spirit and intent" of the Law are discussed. Some solutions, such as purchasing back issues, reprints or additional copies of books, and more fully taking advantage of the Universal Serials and Book Exchange, are discussed. Issues regarding the Copyright Law and Reserve Rooms that need resolution are suggested.     

Using Web-based Pedagogical Tools as Scaffolds for Self-regulated Learning

The purpose of the present study was to confirm previous research findings that different categories of Web-based pedagogical tools (WBPT) (e.g., collaborative and communication tools, content creation and delivery tools) supported different self-regulated learning (SRL) processes (e.g., goal setting, self-monitoring), and to further examine which WBPT were most effective in supporting student SRL while completing course assignments. The sample surveyed consisted of 65 students enrolled in three distributed courses. A mixed methods methodological approach was implemented. As expected, quantitative analyses confirmed that different WBPT supported different SRL processes. In addition, analyses of qualitative data collected revealed that WBPT were highly effective in activating the use of SRL processes necessary to support specific types of learning tasks required for completion of course assignments. Educational implications for using WBPT as scaffolds for SRL are discussed.     

Special Teachers’ Educational Responses in Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the Domain of Social Skills Development

The acquisition of appropriate social skills is considered critical for a person’s social development and personal well-being. This consideration is far more crucial in the area of inclusive education, where the development of social skills in children with SEN has been associated with academic progress, social inclusion and successful transition to adult life. Special teachers are considered to be critical agents in designing and implementing school-based interventions targeting at the social development of students with SEN. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the responses of forty (40) Greek special education teachers about dealing with the difficulties experienced by students with SEN in the social domain. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and were coded and analysed according to the principles of the inductive data-driven analysis approach. The analysis revealed that special teachers had to respond to a wide range of difficulties concerning the students’ social skills that were mainly associated with the formation and maintenance of peer relations, the development of assertion, self-management, compliance and academic related skills. The participant teachers used a repertoire of strategies. However, their responses were not a part of a systematic social skills programming. Furthermore, many participants did not consider themselves efficient enough to create and implement such programmes. The paper concludes by highlighting the need to advance the initial training and professional development programmes of special teachers by incorporating courses related to designing and implementing multi-layered and holistic school-based interventions targeting at the social skills development of students with SEN.     

Theoretical Eclecticism in the College Classroom

In this article we argue that student learning is enhanced by theoretical eclecticism, which we define as intentionally drawing on different theories of learning when making instructional decisions to provide students with the instructional support they need to be successful. We briefly review the literature on four views of learning and on learner-centered approaches to instruction and then integrate this literature with Barr and Taggs (1995) distinction between the instruction paradigm and the learning paradigm. Finally, we present examples from a teacher education course to illustrate how theoretical eclecticism can be used to support student learning.Anastasia S. Morrone is the Executive Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning and an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the School of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She received her B.S. degree in Technical Communication from the University of Minnesota and her Ph.D. degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests center around instructional practices that promote college student motivation and learning. Terri A. Tarr is the Director of the Instructional Design and Development unit of the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Director of Associate Faculty Development at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. She earned the Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Purdue University as well as an M.A. in School Psychology and a B.A. in Psychology from Ball State University. Her special interests are individual differences in learning and effective practices in faculty development     

Metacognitive knowledge of effort, personality factors, and mood state: their relationships with effort-related metacognitive experiences

The present study aimed at identifying the effects of mood treatment, personality factors, and metacognitive knowledge of effort–i.e., conceptualization of effort and perceptions of effort regulation–on metacognitive experiences of students, particularly on their reported feeling of difficulty and estimate of effort. The sample comprised 474 students of 5th and 7th grade of both genders. The participants were tested in two phases. In the first phase, they were asked to respond to questionnaires measuring (a) metacognitive knowledge of effort, (b) maths self-concept, (c) goal orientations, and (d) a test of maths ability. In the second phase, participants were subjected to mood treatment–neutral, positive, and negative– and were asked to solve a mathematical problem. They also rated their prospective metacognitive experiences before solving the problem and the retrospective ones after solving it. Mood treatment interacted with gender in the case of performance but it had no effect on metacognitive experiences. A series of regression analyses showed that positive mood, personality factors, and feeling of difficulty predicted the prospective estimate of effort. Only feeling of difficulty and performance predicted the retrospective estimate of effort. No effect of metacognitive knowledge of effort on estimate of effort was found.     

Transitions to Competence: An Investigation of Adult Mediation in Preschoolers' Self-Regulation With a Microcomputer-Based Problem-Solving Task

The effectiveness of specific dimensions of adult mediation on preschoolers' self- regulation of a model-consultation strategy was evaluated using microcomputer puzzle tasks. Two trained tutors taught 61 children who were pretested and randomly assigned to one of four treatments devised to test two factors of mediation: access and analysis of a picture-puzzle model prior to or during problem solving. Tutorial interchanges of treatments were designed on the basis of the Vygotskian tenet that effective instruction includes a concern for children's actual and potential developmental levels and occurs through participation with others during problem solving. Measures of model-consultation were calculated from three videotaped sessions and used to assess children's self-regulation during treatment and in immediate and delayed posttests. Analyses revealed significant differences for the access and analysis effects in posttests, but only in the delayed posttest for the latter. Significant differences were found for the planned contrast in the delayed posttest. The study suggests that children's acquisition of the model-consultation can improve over a short period of time, although not immediately, with culturally mediated instruction and does not improve solely as a function of practice.