Effect of a computational scaffolding in the development of secondary students' metacognitive skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to design and validate a computational scaffolding to foster the development of metacognitive skills in high school students. The scaffolding was intended to provide support when developing the provided content units; it allowed students to set goals and organise time and resources. It also had a mechanism to monitor and control cognitive performance so that students could adjust their learning strategies according to the task needs. A quantitative methodology with a quasi-experimental design was used, and two B-Learning courses that included units in the areas of Chemistry, English, Mathematics and Social Sciences were designed. The course prepared for the experimental group included the scaffolding and the control group did not include it. At the end of the course, the groups answered the metacognitive awareness inventory and an analysis of variance ANOVA was applied, the results showed significant differences in the development of metacognitive skills.