The effects of individual or group guidelines on the calibration accuracy and achievement of high school biology students

A 2 × 2 factorial design was employed in a quasi-experiment to investigate the effects of guidelines in group or individual settings on the calibration accuracy and achievement of 82 high school biology students. Significant main effects indicated that calibration practice with guidelines and practice in group settings increased prediction and postdiction accuracy. A significant interaction showed that students who practiced calibration in groups using guidelines showed the greatest accuracy in their predictions and postdictions. Students in the guidelines condition and in the group setting condition had significantly higher achievement scores. The findings of this study suggest that the use of guidelines and group settings can promote calibration accuracy and achievement in high school biology courses.     

小学生数学元认知水平调查问卷的设计与编制

为定量测评小学生的数学元认知水平,以小学5-6年级学生为调查对象,在查阅相关文献与征询专家意见的基础上,利用项目分析、探索性因素分析、验证性因素分析等方法,进行自编问卷的修订与完善。正式问卷包含数学元认知知识、体验、监控3个一级维度,共33道题目(含测谎题)。问卷信度、效度指标良好,可作为小学5-6年级学生数学元认知水平的测评工具。     

Realizing the full potential of individualizing learning

The potential of individualization to transform learning that new technology makes possible has generated wide interest. We ask here whether individualization has been exploited to its maximum advantage. We explore its potential to provide individualized scaffolding at the meta-level of students’ reflection on their own thinking as they engaged in inquiry activity to support their reasoning about a multivariable causal system – a capability central to scientific thinking and higher-order thinking more broadly. In Study 1, middle-school pairs’ self-paced inquiry was individually guided by an adult who prompted them to question their assertions and strategies. Study 2 investigated how such scaffolding might be automated to provide individualization at scale. Delayed posttests for both studies involving new scenarios showed that gains in both inquiry and multivariable causal inference skills transferred to new content. Delayed far-transfer assessments showed that the intervention achieved its learning goals most effectively when an adult worked with a pair of students, compared to students working as a whole class (Study 1); students also learned effectively with an automated agent, but only when a human adult was also involved (Study 2). Implications are considered for developing and deploying technology that individualizes and supports self-directed, reflective meta-level thinking and learning, while remaining mindful of human social context.     

基于元认知视角下初中数学前概念的教学策略

初中是提高学生综合能力的关键阶段,能为未来的学习与成长奠定良好的基础。数学学科更是帮助学生建立、提高思维能力的重要学习科目。对于许多初中学生来说,他们虽然已经具备了一定的数学知识基础,但是在思维逻辑能力上仍处于初步培养的阶段。基于此,本文从培养学生元认知能力的角度出发,针对初中数学前概念的学习进行教学策略研究,以求在达到教学目的的同时对学生元认知能力进行培养。     

Peer Tutoring, Metacognitive Processes and Multimedia Problem-based Learning: The Effect of Mediation Training on Critical Thinking

The main objective of the study reported was to explore the effect on young children’s critical thinking of a peer-tutoring training embedded with the metacognitive processes required for problem-based learning and, consequently, for critical thinking. The sample consisted of 90 first- and third-grade pupils (45 pairs) randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The experimental tutors received the Peer Mediation training, an intervention containing embedded metacognitive processes. The control children received a general preparation for peer-assisted learning. Following their respective preparations, all the children participated in a peer-tutoring condition, videotaped for 25 min and subsequently analyzed with an adaptation of the Newman et al. (Interpers Comput Technol 3(2):56–77, 1995) content analysis instrument. Analysis of the discourse conducted during the tutoring session indicated that the tutors and tutees in the experimental groups exhibited greater depth of critical thinking, demonstrated in the higher Quality of Discourse Ratio calculated, than did the tutors and tutees in the control group. The findings supported previous results showing the efficacy of the Peer Mediation for Young Children mediation-training program, with its embedded metacognitive competencies, for reinforcing young children’s higher-order thinking. Implications for educators are discussed.     

Promoting a Culture of Thinking in the Young Child

Conscious of the interplay between nature and nurture in determining a child’s individuality and success in life, the author embarked a group of teachers in an action research project towards nurturing a culture of thinking in young children. Considering the positive effects of routines in early learning experiences, the research consisted in implementing thinking routines to engage young children’s minds in thinking activities. The study took place in two Reggio-inspired schools where participating teachers documented children’s work as part of their teaching. The documentation was a key element to make children’s thinking visible as they installed the culture and language of thinking in their classrooms. The study found that thinking routines build up positive attitudes about thinking and learning. By re-visiting their documented work children developed metacognitive and critical thinking skills which make them more alert to situations that call for thinking.     

Metacomprehension effects situated within an anchoring and adjustment framework

Low accuracy levels are often obtained when readers are asked to predict test performance over reading materials. Three investigations further explore the information readers use to make predictions during metacomprehension. Our results show that readers’ estimates are influenced by factors such as their initial impression of the reading task, based in part on their perceptions surrounding text genre and test item type. To explain these and other published results, a new framework for investigating metacomprehension using Tversky and Kahneman’s (Science, 185:1124–1131, 1974) anchoring and adjustment heuristic as a guide is proposed. We argue that readers anchor comprehension test performance on factors such as self-perceptions of reading ability and/or perceptions of the reading task and then insufficiently adjust their predictions to reflect the demands of the specific reading task at hand such as text difficulty.     

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。     

论数学思想与思维方法教学的创新

阐述了在高师数学教育改革中对于数学思想与思维方法教学创新的途径,对现代教育条件下高等数学尤其是高师数学的教学提出了一些具体实施的策略.     

元认知策略在大学英语教学中的研究与实践

介绍了元认知理论的概念、构成和在大学英语教学中引入元认知策略,阐述了在教学实践中如何加强元认知意识和如何培养元认知策略。探讨了元认知策略对提高大学英语教学效果的推动作用。