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Metacognitive Knowledge

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Metacognitive Knowledge

Development, Application, and Improvement

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Joke van Velzen

INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING, INC.
Charlotte, NC • www.infoagepub.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

   A CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
       http://www.loc.gov

ISBN: 978-1-64113-022-6 (Paperback)

           978-1-64113-023-3 (Hardcover)

           978-1-64113-024-0 (ebook)

Copyright © 2017 Information Age Publishing Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission
from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to my family.
Thank you Gerard,
Lindsey, and Marlon.

Contents

Preface

1     Metacognitive Knowledge

2     The Research Project

3     Worthwhileness and Materials

4     Metacognitive Knowledge

5     Applying Metacognitive Knowledge: Effective Planning

6     Developing Metacognitive Knowledge: Self-Induced Self-Reflective Thinking

7     Improvement Techniques: Deliberate Practice and Hypothesis Testing

8     Synthesis

9     Instructional Implications in Constructing Metacognitive Knowledge: Can Inquiry-Based Learning Provide for a Solution?

A     General Method of the Research Project

B     Research Report on the Mathematics Teachers Study

C     Research Report on the Mathematics TPT-I Study

D     Research Report on the First-Language Teachers

E     Research Report on the First-Language TPT-I Study

F     Research Report on the Pilot I and Pilot II Studies Regarding Learning

G     Research Report on the First-Language TPT-II Study

H     Research Report on the KMPP-II Study

I     Research Report on the KLPP-I Study

J     Research Report on the GKLP-II Study

K     Research Report on the Learning Plan and Learning Improvement Techniques Studies

L     Research Report on the Mathematics Effective Planning Study Regarding the Mathematics TPT-I Study

M     Research Report on the First-Language Effective Planning Study

N     The Scoring of SISRT for the U2-Students and the U3-Students

References

About the Author

Preface

An important goal in contemporary educational psychology research is adolescent students’ development of higher-order thinking, which includes, among other things, that these students become competent and independent learners and problem solvers. This goal comes from the notion of education for life that emphasizes that students can direct their learning and problem solving of their own accord. Especially high school students can encounter difficulties in independent learning and problem solving when they make the transition to higher education. To counter this, these students need to possess, among other things, metacognitive knowledge, which they may have insufficiently.

This book offers new insights about late adolescent students’ understanding of their metacognitive knowledge regarding learning and problem solving. It offers a description of a research project conducted to obtain a better understanding of the students’ abilities and views with respect to what their metacognitive knowledge encompasses and how they attempt to develop, apply, and improve this knowledge regarding learning and the solving of mathematical and first-language problems in a more effective way of their own accord. Specifically, the results of the studies of the research project enable us to understand metacognitive knowledge better, in that it provides explanations about the students’ development of this knowledge across domains. This book offers further details in terms of providing evidence for theory building regarding metacognitive knowledge.

The reason for writing this book came from my interest and questions concerning students’ metacognitive knowledge: I wondered whether they could construct this knowledge of their own accord, merely by advising them to reflect on their experiences, when so much time in school, college, and university needs to be devoted to support them in constructing cognitive knowledge. When, accordingly, I consulted the research literature, it seemed that adolescent students could face difficulties in developing metacognitive knowledge, while we still know too little about how to support students in developing, applying, and improving this knowledge. Before I knew it, I became enthusiastic about this interesting research subject. Next, the research project took place, which consisted of 19 studies and included 1,412 participants.

This book is written for researchers and of course, anyone interested in learning, thinking, and metacognition. It is my hope that especially researchers interested in metacognitive knowledge will find value in this book, as much more research is needed about this knowledge. Additionally, this book can be informative to researchers, students, and teachers interested in education, cognitive psychology, and methodology, in that it covers the following subjects: learning, problem solving, reflection, journal writing, deeply understanding mathematics, deeply understanding the first language, deliberate practice, hypothesis testing, teachers, teacher educators, and mixed methods research.