Metacognitive learning strategies: differential development patterns in high school

The main objective of this study is to identify the development of students’ self-reported use of metacognitive learning strategies during high school. Therefore, the study analyses the differential development patterns of 1,432 students, between grade 10 and 12, in a longitudinal sample. The results suggest that, from a global perspective, there is no development of students’ self-reported use of metacognitive learning strategies during high school. The expected gender-specific differences in favour of female students are replicated in this sample. However, the self-reported use of monitoring and evaluation strategies tends to converge between genders during high school, whereas the differences in the self-reported use of planning strategies remain stable. The consequences for the understanding of metacognitive development are discussed.     

Prompting undergraduate students’ metacognition of learning: implementing ‘meta-learning’ assessment tasks in the biomedical sciences

To succeed at post-secondary education, it’s essential that students develop an understanding of their own knowledge and learning processes. This metacognition of learning, or ‘meta-learning’, helps students to become more effective learners, as they become more aware of their self-regulatory processes and recognise the effectiveness of their study strategies. To increase biomedical science students’ self-awareness, we have designed and implemented meta-learning assessment tasks across our biomedical science courses. Most students reported that meta-learning tasks had a positive impact on their learning, as they prompted self-regulatory processes of forethought and self-reflection. We found that students were equally likely to change or not change their study strategies across subsequent semesters. Those students that did not change were generally high achievers, believing their study approaches were most effective, but their performance did not improve across semesters. In contrast, students who adapted, mostly by modifying how they appraised and rearranged records or improved planning and time management, performed less well overall but significantly improved their performance across semesters. Meta-learning tasks may prompt students to become more self-reflective and independent learners by affecting their approach to learning, enabling them to reflect on their study strategies, adapt and improve performance, and may enable the development of lifelong learning skills.     

The correction of errors committed with high confidence

Most theories predict that when people indicate that they are highly confident they are producing their strongest responses. Hence, if such a high confidence response is in error it should be overwritten only with great difficulty. In contrast to this prediction, we have found that people easily correct erroneous responses to general information questions endorsed as correct with high-confidence, so long as the correct answer is given as feedback. Three potential explanations for this unexpected hypercorrection effect are summarized. The explanation that is tested here, in two experiments, is that after a person commits a high-confidence error the correct answer feedback, being surprising or unexpected, is given more attention than is accorded to the feedback to low-confidence errors. This enhanced attentional capture leads to better memory. In both experiments, a tone detection task was presented concurrently with the corrective feedback to assess the attentional capture of feedback stimuli. In both, tone detection was selectively impaired during the feedback to high confidence errors. It was also negatively related to final performance, indicating that the attention not devoted to the tone detection was effectively engaged by the corrective feedback. These data support the attentional explanation of the high-confidence hypercorrection effect.     

Overconfidence in children's multi-trial judgments of learning

The underconfidence with practice effect (UWP) refers to the finding that people's judgments of learning shift from overconfidence to underconfidence on and after a first study-test trial (Koriat, Ma'ayan, & Sheffer, 2002). Finn and Metcalfe (2007, 2008) proposed that people show UWP because they use their memory of prior test performance as a cue to make subsequent judgments of learning and inadequately account for new learning (i.e. the Memory for Past Test (MPT) heuristic). In contrast to adults, 3rd and 5th graders' judgments showed persistent overconfidence on and after a first study-test trial. A second experiment tested children's ability to remember their prior test performance. Children's prior performance discriminations were accurate for items that they answered correctly on the prior trial, but were overconfident for items they had answered incorrectly indicating that their continued overconfidence was a result of faulty memory, rather than a failure to use the MPT heuristic.     

Multi-method assessment of metacognitive skills in elementary school children: how you test is what you get

Third grade elementary school children solved tests on mathematical reasoning and numerical facility. Metacognitive skillfulness was assessed through think aloud protocols, prospective and retrospective child ratings, teacher questionnaires, calibration measures and EPA2000. In our dataset metacognition has a lot in common with intelligence, but planning measured with teacher ratings plays a role above and beyond IQ. Moreover, we found that skills are generally related, but that it is more appropriate to assess them separately. In addition, results show the value of an experienced teacher as actual measure of metacognitive planning skills. Our dataset suggests convergent validity for prospective and retrospective child ratings, but no significant relationship with the other metacognitive measures. Metacognitive skillfulness combined with intelligence accounts for between 52.9% and 76.5% of the mathematics performances. The choice of diagnostic instruments highly determines the predicted percentage. Consequences for the assessment of metacognitive skills are discussed.     

An assessment-based model for exploring the solving of mathematical problems: Utilizing revised bloom’s taxonomy and facets of metacognition

This paper provides a method that can be used to review the teaching, learning, and/or assessment of mathematics at either (or both of) the senior secondary and undergraduate levels. In this paper, how this method could be enacted is exemplified by considering the case of integral calculus. The method uses Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (RBT) (Anderson et al., 2001) in conjunction with Efklides’s metacognition framework (Efklides, 2006, 2008) to design questions to address the different RBT cognitive processes and knowledge types. Using these two frameworks can help develop questions that target broader student thinking and a range of cognitive processes, including constructive ones, than traditional questions reach. In doing so, this method can be a starting point for Faculties seeking to reform their delivery and assessment of mathematics.     

Socially mediated metacognition and learning to write

Writing can be viewed as a recursive process involving both cognitive and metacognitive processes. Task, environment, individual cognition and affective processes all impact on producing written text. Recent research on the development of metacognition in young children has highlighted social constructivist and socio-cultural factors. Metacognition is seen as facilitated through collaborative tasks and through talk. This study investigated the peer construction of metacognition in 5-7-year-old children engaged on collaborative writing tasks. Six year 1 and year 2 classes were involved in the project (n = 172). 25 h of video observation data, teacher and researcher reflections and structured field notes were analysed qualitatively using ATLAS ti software. The written texts produced in these sessions were analysed using a qualitative content analysis, looking specifically for evidence of the process of text construction and metacognition. The findings provide evidence of young children's ability to engage in metacognitive talk and to use metacognition intentionally in the co-construction of written texts. The relationships between children and their talk partners mediated the effect of pre-determined ability in literacy. Teachers’ direct questioning aimed at reflection on the writing process did not always support metacognitive dialogues. Drawing on recent models of metacognition and writing the paper highlights the role of social factors in developing metacognition and illustrates the ways in which young children negotiate task demands during shared writing tasks.     

英语阅读元认知训练的实验研究

以208名非英语专业大一学生为实验对象,分析了课堂上元认知训练对学生英语阅读所产生的可能效果.实验进行了前测、后测、问卷调查和访谈.结果表明,元认知训练能显著提高学生的英语阅读能力,并能促进学生更主动地把元认知知识应用于阅读,提高他们自主学习的能力;问卷调查和访谈显示了学生对训练总体持认同态度,但还存在分歧.本文指出了这次实验的教学启示.     

Metacognition gains in public health graduate students following in-class peer evaluation

Peer evaluation provides an opportunity to give and receive feedback on work in a structured setting. Instructors can utilise peer evaluation as an opportunity to teach and for students to practice metacognition along with other professional skills. Second year Master of Public Health students in a professional development capstone course participated in a peer evaluation for two writing assignments. Students were administered pre- and post-surveys about their perceptions of peer evaluation. First years were administered the survey as a comparison group. Mixed methods were used to: (1) examine second years’ perceptions of skills gained/practiced after engaging in peer evaluation, (2) compare perceptions of peer evaluation in second to first years, and (3) measure agreement across skills gained following peer evaluation compared to self-reported competencies in their final capstone ePortfolio assignment. Results demonstrate gains in metacognition of professional skills and strong agreement of the skills reported following peer evaluation and self-reported competencies.     

元认知及其在外语教学中的应用

本通过对元认知的概念、分类及其策略的认识以及对元认知研究发展的探讨，阐明了培养学生元认知的重要性。它带给外语教学的启示是：树立元认知教学观，对学生进行元认知训练以及建立相应的反馈机制，从而提高学生元认知水平，可以增强学生的学习能力，使之成为成功的学习。本还提出了帮助学生发展元认知的三个个性化策略。