Metacognition (original) (raw)
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Current directions in psychological science, 2000
Standing of the mind has been valuable in highlighting the earliest forms of metacognition. By age 3, children have acquired some awareness of themselves and oth ers as knowers. They distinguish thinking about an object from actu ally perceiving it, and begin to re fer to their own knowledge states, using verbs such as think and know (Flavell, 1999). By age 4, they un derstand that others' behavior is guided by beliefs and desires and that such beliefs may not match their own and could be incorrect. This so-called false belief under standing is a developmental mile stone because it connects assertions to their generative source in hu man knowers. These early years are also a period of rapidly devel oping awareness of how one has come to know that what one claims is so?that is, awareness of the sources of one's knowledge. knowledge is thereby acquired, in a highly deliberate, rule-governed, and therefore metacognitively con trolled process.
METACOGNITION AND YOUNG CHILDREN'S THEORY OF MIND: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
Metacognition" essentially means cognition about cognition; that is, it refers to second order cognitions: thoughts about thoughts, knowledge about knowledge or reflections about actions. Flavell (1981) distinguishes between metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive experience. A number of metacognitive strategies are described aiming to help teachers to develop independent learners who can control their own learning and learn how to learn for life. Children's 'Theory of Mind' ( TOM ) is the "understanding children have of their own and others' minds and of the relation between the mind and the world, which enables them to predict and explain actions by ascribing mental states, such as beliefs, desires and intentions to themselves an to other people" ( Astington, 1991). This review attempts to facilitate our understanding of how young children think and how they behave on the basis of this thinking. The link between 'Metacognition' and 'Theory of Mind' follows then, with a discussion on the similarities and differences between Metacognition and Theory of Mind as well as the convergences of the two research areas. Key Words: 'Theory of Mind', 'Metacognition' 2 METACOGNITION AND YOUNG CHILDREN'S THEORY OF MIND METACOGNITION: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Psychology in general and developmental psychology in particular, are presently awash in a "meta" flood (metacognition, metamemory, metaperception, metalanguage, and so on). It seems that these constructs reflect a relatively new, stimulating and very attractive research perspective as suggested by a number of review articles (Brown, 1987, During the last 40 years metacognition has become one of the major fields of cognitive developmental research. Research activity in metacognition began with John Flavell, who is considered to be the "father of the field" and thereafter a considerable amount of empirical and theoretical research dealing with metacognition can be registered. Moreover, a number of strategies aiming to enhance children's metacognitive abilities have been suggested, which teachers through all educational levels can apply in their instruction. Such strategies are set out in the relevant section dealing with the development of Metacognition in practice (see p.16) and contribute to both the promotion of critical thinking in education and staff development. 3 METACOGNITION AND YOUNG CHILDREN'S THEORY OF MIND
Conceptualizing and assessing metacognitive development in young children
2014
Historically, early cognitive skills have been underestimated, largely as a function of the ways these competencies have been measured, which is particularly pervasive in the area of metacognition. Only recently have researchers begun to detect evidence of metacognition in preschool-aged children through the use of observational assessment tools (e.g., Whitebread et al., 2007, 2009). While these observational methods are a more sensitive way to capture metacognition in young children, their exclusive use may not result in a comprehensive depiction of early metacognitive competency. In this study, we describe the development of a metacognitive knowledge interview (McKI) and what it reveals about metacognitive processes in preschool-aged children. The McKI was tested for feasibility and sensitivity with 42 preschoolers. Findings indicate that the McKI is (a) a developmentally appropriate sensitive measure for 3-5 year olds, (b) capable of eliciting articulated metacognition when engag...
2015
The paradigm shift from the teacher centered to the learner centered approach hassubjected the learners to be independent of their study. Metacognitive abilities enhance self-instruction, self-awareness about one’s knowledge andstrategies to solve real life problems. This study monitors metacognitiveabilities in children of ages 5-7 years and 8-11 years. The study also investigates how metacognitiondevelops during childhood and what could be the possible causes of theacquisition of these metacognitive skills? Is it maturation or environment orboth and how can it be enhanced? A qualitative method was used and the approachwas strictly naturalistic. Two groups from Government Bilingual Primary SchoolMuea, Buea were selected through purposive sampling; 43 participants from classtwo (N=43) and 65 participants from class four (N=65), a metacognitive observationtool was designed based on Flavell’s model of cognitive monitoring. Aninterview was conducted with the teachers of classes two an...
Metacognition: A Literature Review Research Report
2011
Metacognition is defined most simply as “thinking about thinking.” Metacognition consists of two components: knowledge and regulation. Metacognitive knowledge includes knowledge about oneself as a learner and the factors that might impact performance, knowledge about strategies, and knowledge about when and why to use strategies. Metacognitive regulation is the monitoring of one’s cognition and includes planning activities, awareness of comprehension and task performance, and evaluation of the efficacy of monitoring processes and strategies. Recent research suggests that young children are capable of rudimentary forms of metacognitive thought, particularly after the age of 3. Although individual developmental models vary, most postulate massive improvements in metacognition during the first 6 years of life. Metacognition also improves with appropriate instruction, with empirical evidence supporting the notion that students can be taught to reflect on their own thinking. Assessment o...
Metacognitive Development in Early Childhood: New Questions about Old Assumptions
Trends and Prospects in Metacognition Research, 2010
Age-related improvements in children's ability to monitor and regulate their mental operations are widely recognized to be a driving force in cognitive development, underlying age-related improvements in accuracy on a wide variety of tasks. Thus, a major focus of metacognitive research is the development of these skills during childhood. This work has primarily focused on achievements in middle childhood, largely because prevailing views hold that young children have extremely limited abilities in this domain. However, there is good evidence to suggest that young children may be more metacognitively skilled than previously assumed. This chapter reviews previous research, as well as recent findings from naturalistic and experimental studies to argue that critical milestones in metacognition are achieved in early childhood, providing the foundation for learning in a host of domains and subsequent metacognitive development.
Historically, early cognitive skills have been underestimated, largely as a result of the ways these competencies have been measured, which is particularly pervasive in the area of metacognition. Only recently have researchers begun to detect evidence of contextualized metacognition in 3–5 year old preschool children through the use of observational assessment tools (e.g., Whitebread et al. J Cogn Educ Psychol 3:433-455, 2007, Metacognition Learn 4:63-85, 2009). While these observational methods are a more sensitive way to capture metacognition in young children, their exclusive use may not result in a comprehensive depiction of early metacognitive competency. In the current study, we
Development of metacognitive skillfulness: A longitudinal study
Learning and Individual Differences, 2010
This study shows the results of a two-year longitudinal study where the same participants were followed for two consecutive years as they enter secondary school (aged 12-14 years). The main issue was to investigate the development of both the quantity and the quality of metacognitive skills. Another issue was to establish whether the development of metacognitive skillfulness is intelligence-related or relatively intelligenceindependent. Finally, the generality vs. domain-specificity of developing metacognitive skillfulness was investigated. Thirty-two secondary school students participated in this study. While thinking aloud they performed two different tasks representing two different domains: A text-studying task for history and a problem-solving task for math. Participants' intellectual ability, metacognitive skillfulness and learning performance were assessed. Results show a quantitative as well as a qualitative growth in metacognitive skillfulness. Furthermore, results of both years show that metacognitive skillfulness contributed to learning performance (partly) independent of intellectual ability. A parallel development of metacognitive and intellectual ability was found. Finally, metacognitive skills predominantly appear to be general. Domainspecific metacognitive skills, however, played a substantial, but minor role as well in both years. Instructional implications are being discussed.