The effect of self-organized learning environments (SOLEs) pedagogy on the different aspects of learners’ metacognitive skills in the Physical Sciences classroom

Abstract

The development of metacognitive skills should be holistic, which implies that it should focus on different (metacognitive skills) aspects. However, the literature indicates that metacognitive skills are often investigated in general terms with little focus on their aspects. In response to the established findings this far, the current study aimed to examine the effect of Self-organized learning environments (SOLEs) pedagogy on the different aspects of learners' metacognitive skills in Physical Sciences classrooms. The study employed the quasi-experimental design in which four (two urban and two rural) groups (155 participants) were involved. Data were gleaned using a metacognition-self assessment scale (MSAS) questionnaire and analysed using descriptive (means and effect size) and inferential (t-test) statistics. The results indicate that SOLEs pedagogy improved all aspects of metacognitive skills, but empathy towards others improved more than other aspects such as Respect shown to me, Respect shown to others, and Respect shown towards problem-solving. The current study concludes that SOLEs pedagogy can holistically develop metacognitive skills as it improves all aspects of metacognitive skills. In addition, SOLEs pedagogy makes learners empathetic toward each other during the learning process, which results in a conducive learning environment.