Metacognitive Theory Research Articles

Mapping metacognitive genre awareness with L1 and L2 writers: Investigating novices’ engagement with an occluded genre

This study examines L1 and L2 English-speaking undergraduates’ engagement with an occluded, promotional genre – the personal statement (PS). Using a case study design, the researchers explored the experiences of three novice writers with no prior exposure to PSs, as the students applied to a university-sponsored grants competition that required them to produce the genre. Drawing upon metacognition theory, the researchers investigated (1) students’ metacognitive genre awareness of the PS prior to composing, along with (2) the challenges that students faced when attempting to compose the genre for the first time. Special attention is paid to comparing the similarities/differences among the L1 and L2 writers. Data for the study included semi-structured interviews, multimodal visualizations, and stimulated recalls. The findings show shared areas of metacognitive genre awareness among the case study participants, in addition to multiple differences between L1 and L2 writers. Despite such differences, all students struggled with aspects of procedural knowledge when composing the occluded genre, encountering similar challenges. Implications are discussed for writing researchers and practitioners, including the potential of multimodal visualizations as a tool for tapping into learners’ metacognition and genre awareness.

Did Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Symptoms Predict Stress- and Trauma-Related Symptoms in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic? Results from a Two-Wave Study on a Sample of Polish Internet Users.

According to metacognitive theory, Cognitive Attentional Syndrome (CAS) is a transdiagnostic factor and a main mechanism of psychopathology maintenance. The main goal of this study is to examine whether CAS predicted stress- and trauma-related symptomatology in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic and three months later. Initially, 1792 participants were recruited online via social media; the data were collected at two time points. The measures included the Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Questionnaire, the Adjustment Disorder-New Module 20, the International Trauma Questionnaire, and additional measures. Structural equation modeling was conducted in order to determine the relations between the reported stressors, CAS, and symptomatology. At both time points, CAS was a significant mediator between the stressors and symptoms of adjustment disorder. Despite the decrease in the intensity of adjustment disorder symptoms between waves, it was a significant predictor of other psychopathologies at both time points, except for traumatic stress. The findings confirm the assumption that CAS is a transdiagnostic factor of psychopathology and has a mediating role in the relationship between stressors and adjustment disorder and co-occurring symptomatology. The effect was particularly significant in the initial phase of the pandemic, which was highly stressful for many people.

Activating accounting students’ decision-making skills through a reflective self-assessment workshop on learning styles

Given the impact of technological advances on the work environment of accountants, stakeholders are increasingly emphasising that accounting education should develop the decision-making skills of students. While thinking critically, globally and intuitively comes naturally to some accounting students, many others prefer sensing and sequential learning styles (ways of thinking and processing information). Students need to be aware of their dominant learning styles to enable self-regulation and ensure that they develop the necessary decision-making skills to be successful in diverse subjects, topics and types of assessments, as well as in their future careers. This action research study documents the development and implementation of a reflective self-assessment workshop on learning styles for accounting students in South Africa. The workshop, which was informed by the theory of metacognition and self-regulated learning, increased students’ self-awareness regarding their dominant learning styles (the majority favoured a sequential learning style over a global one) and facilitated a metacognitive process whereby students could identify learning strategy deficiencies and plan remedial actions. Feedback revealed that students felt more prepared for their studies after the workshop. The guidelines for adaptive strategies per learning style developed during this study could also help accounting students strengthen their decision-making skills.

Stress, Grit, Satisfaction With Life, and Remediation of Prelicensure Nursing Students.

Stress and poor academic performance often lead to high levels of nursing school attrition. To explore nursing students' perceived stress, grit, and satisfaction with life, and assess the effectiveness of a remediation program for students at risk for poor academic performance. Perceived stress, grit, and satisfaction with life were measured, and the effect of remediation given to at-risk students was studied. Examination and psychometric scores were compared between remediation and nonremediation groups. The remediation group had higher levels of perceived stress and a lower satisfaction with life compared with the rest of the cohort. Remediation significantly improved examination scores of at-risk students although scores remained lower than those among nonremediation students. Perceived stress and grit scores were high in nursing students, and satisfaction varied among age groups. Remediation based on metacognitive theory significantly improved at-risk students' examination scores.

Assessing students' metacognitive strategies in e-learning and their role in academic performance

The presence of e-learning as a new way of learning in the education system has attracted the interest of researchers worldwide. Nowadays, higher education still uses the e-learning system as a part of the learning method. The important issue in E-learning is how to promote academic performance. Metacognition theory argued that academic performance is determined by students’ metacognitive skills. Through metacognitive skills, students set their own goals, learning, monitoring, and evaluating in e-learning. Less is, however, known about how students involve metacognitive strategies in e-learning in the Indonesian context. Also, there is a scarcity of empirical evidence about the role of metacognitive strategies on academic performance in the Indonesian context. The purpose of this study is to assess students' metacognitive strategies and their impact on academic performance (i.e., engagement and achievement) in the e-learning context. One hundred and fifty students participated in the present study. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling were performed for data analysis. The result of this study revealed that students have high skills in metacognitive strategies in e-learning. Our study suggested that metacognitive strategies for self-regulated learning were found to be significantly associated with achievement and engagement in e-learning. In comparison, metacognitive for time and environment was only significantly associated with students' engagement but not with achievements. The contribution of this study to academic practice was explored.

The metacognitive experience of time passing in Chinese college students: scale development, structure verification, and influencing factors.

The experience of time passing (ETP) is also the consciousness of the progress of life. ETP contributes to time regulation and life management, which basically conforms to the metacognitive theory. Also, the traditional Chinese cultural approach to time emphasizes ETP. It is an indispensable part of Chinese education and culture to strengthen one's appreciation of time by emphasizing the passage of time. In combination with the above two points, ETP equals metacognitive experience of time passing (METP) to a certain extent. However, we currently know little about the connotations of METP. To better understand traditional Chinese time culture, and referring to the concept of metacognition and model of time experience as proposed by Western scholars, the current study combined the results of open and semi-structured interviews, to explore the structure of METP in Chinese college students and developed a questionnaire with which to measure it. Using convenience sampling, 2,876 college students were recruited, the interview, and the reliability and validity tests were carried out. Five hundred and seventy-nine college students were tested a second time to investigate the correlation validity between METP and Ruminative Responses, time attitude, and meaning in life. The results led to the development of the METP Scale which contains 15 items and assesses two factors: ruminative and emotional experience of time passing. The two-factor model was well fitted, and invariable in measurements across gender, grade, and major. The internal consistency coefficients of the scale and its two factors ranged from 0.82 to 0.89, the half-point reliability between 0.76 and 0.88, and the retest reliability ranged from 0.77 to 0.78. METP Scale has good correlation validity, meanwhile, the results of regression analysis showed that symptom rumination, positive past, negative present, positive future, and searching for meaning in life significantly predict the intensity of METP.

The Green Consumption Behavior Process Mechanism of New Energy Vehicles Driven by Big Data—From a Metacognitive Perspective

Green consumption behavior is the embodiment of pro-environmental behavior, which is of great value to curb carbon emissions. However, the existing research on the model construction and quantitative analysis of the psychological process of green consumption behavior needs to be further explored. Therefore, on the basis of green consumption behavior and metacognitive theory, this study constructs a conceptual model of a psychological process with a psychological control source, green consumption attitude, three aspects of metacognition, and green consumption behavior and puts forward the hypothesis of an action mechanism. This study combines text mining technology and expert knowledge to establish a user review mining dictionary and mines the variables in the quantitative conceptual model through word embedding to test empirically the mechanism hypothesis. The results show that psychological control source has a significant impact on green consumption behavior, and green consumption attitude plays a partial mediating role between them. Metacognitive knowledge plays a moderating role between the psychological control source and green consumption behavior; metacognitive experience plays a moderating role between the psychological control source and green consumption attitude. Metacognitive monitoring plays a moderating role between green consumption attitude and green consumption behavior. In view of the above research results, we put forward the following countermeasures and suggestions: For organizations, it is necessary to identify green consumption groups, attach importance to green consumption experience, perform well in green marketing, and improve the competitiveness of green products; for decision makers, it is necessary to control strictly the industry standards of the green product market and perform well not only in the quality supervision of green products but also in the post-market construction of green products.

A self-case study of the female doctoral student's own creative metacognition on art expressions: Based on the theory of creative metacognition (CMC)

What is the secret of a female doctoral student's creative artistic expression? Is this creative artistic expression controllable? Can this creative artistic expression be interdisciplinary? Does this creative artistic expression apply to every ordinary person? This case study aims to explore how a female doctoral student uses the creative metacognition to express creativity and identity in creative art design activities. The theoretical framework, based on the creative metacognitive theory (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2013) helps to meta cognize and qualitatively analyze the art cases. Through this study, it is confirmed that an impact of a female doctoral student's creative metacognition model on creative artistic expression through applying one's own identity, potential, and creativity to carry out artistic conceptions, creations, and practices. The significances of this study lie in this research reveals how a female doctoral student made creative artistic expression, even cross-disciplinary and how to evaluate and manage their own artistic expressions in a creative metacognitive way; and guide every common individual to better aware and understand one's own pros and cons to make creation and artist expressions. Moreover, the meta-cognitive model of a female doctoral student's creative artistic creation uncovered in this study give more insights to researchers, leaders, instructors, students, and other relevant people in the field of creativity, creative metacognition, and arts, to promote deeper comprehension and application of creative metacognition, creativity, and artistic creation.

Consciousness influences in ToM and Metacognition functioning - An artificial intelligence perspective

Consciousness is a cognitive function that maintains its eternal character as long as it is strengthened and enriched by the optimal functioning of the corresponding neural networks of the brain, which are stimulated during its activation. The present study explores its relationship with the cognitive functions of the Theory of Mind and Metacognition and briefly explains their approach through Artificial Intelligence. The selection of the bibliographic review contributed to the utilization of the existing scientific knowledge and research data for the most effective analysis and study of the subject. The observations made throughout the research highlight the pivotal role of consciousness in the evolution of the aforementioned cognitive processes, as it is at the core of their development. Essentially, the research seeks to emphasize the importance of consciousness in the functioning of the Theory of Mind and Metacognition, as it serves as the springboard for the perception and understanding of our existence, significantly influencing our further social and cognitive development.

Psychometric Validation of the German Adaptation of the Temporal Metacognition Scale

Abstract Temporal metacognition (TMC) is defined as the ability to consciously self-regulate cognitive focus on the past, the present, and the future by utilizing metacognitive skills, emotions, knowledge, and experience. TMC stems conceptually from the idea of a balanced time perspective — the ability to switch between time horizons — and it builds upon the major theories of metacognition. We validated the German version of the Temporal Metacognition Scale (TMCS) translated from the Polish original with n = 226 native German speakers. Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the three-factor model obtained in the original Polish version with the following subscales: Metacognitive Temporal Control, Cognitive Reconstruction of the Past, and Goal-Oriented Metatemporal Interconnectedness. All three scales yielded acceptable internal consistency. Their correlations with the subscales of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Deviation from the Balanced Time Perspective, and other conceptually related psychological constructs, such as personality traits, well-being, experiencing emotions, and other features of metacognition, provide evidence for the validity of the German version of the TMCS.

Analysis of the Teaching Strategy of English Continuation Task in Senior High School from the Perspective of Metacognitive Theory

With the emergence of new question type in the English reform of college Entrance examination, the academia has set off a research craze of "continuation task".This paper uses questionnaires and interviews with teachers to investigate and study the implementation, effect and existing problems of continuation task in senior high school English reading.Based on the teaching status and existing problems, this paper puts forward three strategies to improve the teaching effect of continuation task from the perspective of metacognitive theory, in order to help front-line English teachers in senior high schools effectively implement continuation task teaching, improve students' ability and level of continuation task, and thus improve students' English learning effect.

Social Opportunities or Barriers to Metacognition: A Case Study of Social Factors for Pre-Service Teachers’ Metacognition

<p style="text-align:justify">This mixed method case study examined potential influences of social agents or immediate environments on individuals’ metacognition. Via quantitative methodologies, 122 pre-service teachers’ metacognition was measured by the Turkish Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, and metacognitive components did not show any variations across majors, locations of previous studies, the highest degree of education in the family, frequently communicated friends, and regions. Regression analyses revealed that friends were a significant predictor for metacognition. Also, focus group interviews were analyzed thematically via deductive codes regarding the theory of metacognition. Findings confirmed that friends may support individual metacognition at all levels, metacognitive knowledge, regulation, and experiences through cooperation, modeling, reflections, discussions, feedback, and peer evaluation. Pre-service teachers’ engagement on the social media may also support their regulatory strategies due to models’ task performances or by their reflecting upon those performances. Teachers and family may support metacognitive knowledge, specifically career goals via expectations, anecdotes, and experiences. On the other hand, schools and the Turkish culture may impose some limitations on the youth, and they may engage in reflection and self-questioning to manoeuvre negative experiences or conflicts. Thereby, cross-national and longitudinal studies are highly suggested to explicate the social foundations of metacognition.</p>

The effectiveness of a proposed program in the light of metacognitive theory in developing social competence among student members of the school student parliament in Jordan

The study of individuals’ skills and their various social and conversational competencies at early ages, enables us to predict collective and psychological performance and social, behavioral and emotional compatibility in advanced stages, with the increase in violence phenomena in its various forms in Jordanian universities, and in light of the recommendations of previous studies on the need to intensify research on student parliaments school and its role in enhancing and developing students’ competence and social skills in the pre-university stage, as well as in light of the recommendations of the political leadership on the need to strengthen and support the youth category and enable them to participate in decision-making and build the future of the state and prepare them for that through school student parliaments, so the researcher began to seek to identify and define Philosophy and foundations of a proposed program that can be an entry point for the development of social competence among high school students, based on the philosophical foundations of each of the school student parliament, social competence, social skills and metacognitive strategies, as well as the social, mental, behavioral and cultural characteristics of high school students. Methodology: It follows the quasi-experimental curriculum and design for its relevance to the intentional samples, and a measure of social efficiency that he built and presented to a group of specialized arbitrators, to suit the intended age stage, and a proposed program that he built and implemented during the academic year 2018-2019, and it consists of 10 training sessions with two training sessions per week. The duration of one session is one hour, and two quasi-experimental and one control groups, with 24 individuals in each group, 12 males and 12 females, with two measurements before and after the other.

Cultural adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the multidimensional cognitive attentional syndrome scale (MCASS)

ABSTRACT The cognitive attentional syndrome (CAS) is a core concept within metacognitive theory. The premise of the CAS is related to metacognition, however its role in psychopathology is distinct. Due to the complex nature of the CAS, a theoretically driven and psychometrically sound self-report measure of the CAS for the Arabic population is yet to be developed. We translated the Multidimensional Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Scale (MCASS) into the Arabic language and tested its structural validity. The MCASS was translated according to the standard guidelines of forward-translation followed by backward-translation. In Study 1, the MCASS was administered to a larger sample (N = 1027), selected from 22 Arabic-speaking countries in the Arab League countries, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the factor structure of the measure. Those who participated in Study 1 were excluded from participating in Study 2. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used in Study 2 (N = 567) to assess the latent factor structure of MCASS, which supported a six-factor model. Results support multidimensional assessment of the CAS using the MCASS, and demonstrate suitability for use in Arab speaking samples. Implications of this study and recommendations for use of the Arabic version of MCASS are discussed.

Beliefs Acceptance Model (BAM): A Tokenistic Approach to Reconceptualising Knowledge in Teacher Education Programmes (TEPs)

This paper argues that issues related to pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning can no longer be limited to research findings. There is an urgent need for such findings to inform curricular choices in teacher education programmes. The existence of these beliefs can no longer be ignored in the choices that shape the teacher education curricula. There is a need to acknowledge the important role they play in pre-service teachers’ professional identities, and thus require integration into the formation of future teachers’ being. Thus, the paper argues that persistence in ignoring pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning may continue to produce unreflective, unprepared graduates who lack confidence both in themselves and in the institutions that produce them. Hence, this theoretical paper proposes the beliefs acceptance model (BAM) which combines elements of the metacognitive and attribution theories as a framework for understanding why it is essential to foreground the beliefs of pre-service teachers in teacher education programmes. The primary aim of this paper is to examine how both theories, conceptualised as a model, can be used to engage with pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning in teacher education programmes. This paper will not only contribute to knowledge in the teacher education programmes, but can also be useful for curriculum planners and other stakeholders in higher education institutions in general. Keywords: Attribution theory, teaching and learning, Metacognitive theory, Pre-Service Teachers, teacher educators, academic developers, beliefs acceptance model

Supporting thinking about thinking: examining the metacognition theory-practice gap in higher education

Metacognition is the knowledge and regulation of one’s cognition and has been associated with academic performance across all levels of education, including higher education (HE). Previously, a gap has been reported between extensive metacognition research and elaboration of theory versus minimal inclusion of metacognition in teaching practice in primary and secondary education. The present study investigated whether this theory-practice gap extends to HE. Furthermore, we took a novel approach to evaluating academics’ broad and implicit inclusion of metacognitive supportive practices (MSPs) in their teaching practice. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to evaluate awareness of metacognition and inclusion of 16 MSPs in undergraduate teaching among 72 academics in scientific disciplines at a UK research-intensive university. We found that a minority of academics (27/72, 37.5%) were familiar with metacognition and, of those who were, they typically emphasised knowledge of cognition, rather than regulation of cognition. Nonetheless, all respondents incorporated at least two MSPs in their teaching, although typically in a limited fashion, emphasising knowledge and understanding of discipline content rather than cognitive regulation. Compared to academics without a teaching qualification, respondents holding or working towards a teaching qualification used significantly more MSPs, earlier in their career, and used significantly more MSPs aligned with regulation of cognition. This study demonstrates that the metacognition theory-practice gap extends to HE and highlights the scope for staff development programmes to better support students’ metacognitive development relevant for their studies and post-graduation careers.

The Benefits of an Interdisciplinary Approach to Mathematics Education on Issues Around Computation in School.

We present arguments in favor of an interdisciplinary approach in mathematics education. As an instance, we briefly recall how cognitive neuropsychologists promoted intense finger gnosis acquisition, i.e., acquiring the ability to mentally represent one’s fingers, at an early age. Mathematics educators definitely recommended the development of finger gnosis but examined its limits. They also presented arguments in favor of developing flexible mental calculation as a goal of arithmetical instruction in elementary school. In this context we describe the training of “Zahlenblick” as a way to foster flexible mental calculation and connect it with concepts from the theory of metacognition. We illustrate how precisely this branch of metacognition demands further interdisciplinary research. In our analysis, “Zahlenblick” extends to acquiring an eye for proportions, beyond just whole numbers. We illustrate how useful it would be to better understand the neural underpinnings responsible for the advantages of so-called natural frequencies, compared with percentages or probabilities, and of icon arrays for representing them. Such natural frequencies are adequate formats for the early confrontation with decision-making under risk.

The network structure of dysfunctional metacognition: Analysis of the MCQ-30

The Metacognitive Control System (MCS) model gives central importance to maladaptive metacognition in psychological vulnerability and disorder. The metacognitions questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30) is widely used to assess such metacognitions and to establish their effects. Previous studies consistently demonstrate that the MCQ-30 consists of five latent factors, with some factors showing wide-ranging positive associations with symptoms and some demonstrating more specific symptom links. Questions remain concerning relationships between MCQ-items (or domains) and the most central of these outside of the latent-factor model. In the present study we set out to explore the internal structure of the MCQ-30 using network analysis and estimated two graphical Gaussian models, one with items- and one with domains, in an unselected sample (N = 1080). The robustness and stability of the networks, as well as the node predictability were assessed. Among our observations was that the items of the MCQ-30 appeared to cluster in meaningful substructures, corresponding to metacognitive theory. Furthermore, “need for control” was the most centrally placed domain, suggesting it plays an important role in the network and that its activation has a strong influence on other nodes. The theoretical and clinical implications of the current findings are discussed in light of the metacognitive model of psychological disorder.

The Relationship Between Metacognition, Meta-worry, Rumination, and Cognitive-Attentional Syndrome in Iranian Combat Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) metacognitive model is considered a model with good power. There are not enough data that this model is appropriate to combat veterans with chronic PTSD. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between metacognition components, including metacognitive beliefs and attitudes, meta-worry, rumination, and cognitive-attentional syndrome (CAS), in Iranian combat veterans with PTSD. Methods: The population of this study included all combat veterans referred to the rehabilitating center of Sari, Mazandaran province in 2016. After a clinical interview by a clinical psychologist, the veterans were divided into three groups (PTSD, non-PTSD, and non-traumatized). These three groups matched in age, gender, and socio-economic status. Exclusion criteria for three groups were as follows: Those who had a significant psychiatric disorder that has been active during the research plan. Moreover, data gathering instrument used in the current research was Metacognition Questionnaire [including Metacognitive Questionnaire (MCQ), Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS), Cognitive-Attentional Syndrome Scale (CAS-1), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and Meta-worry Questionnaire (MWQ)]. One-way variance analysis was used to compare groups in terms of metacognition, meta-worry, rumination, and CAS. Conclusions: Consistent with the metacognitive model of PTSD, metacognition components, ruminative responses, cognitive-attentional syndrome, and meta-worry have significant differences with non-PTSD and non-traumatized. It appears that meta-cognitive components are more disruptive in PTSD patients than other control groups. This finding could be integrated into the metacognition theory.

Episodic remembering and affective metacognition

The aim of this article is to clarify, in the light of philosophical and psychological research on affective metacognition, the nature of the episodic feeling, which determines what it is like to remember or relive in one’s mind an episode from one’s own past. The hypothesis defended is that the episodic feeling is a metacognitive experience, which rests on mechanisms that monitor the source of the relevant information. Although there is presently no direct psychological evidence for the existence of the episodic feeling, studies on a specific kind of feelings of knowing, which are especially tied to episodic memory, can help cast light on the nature of the episodic feeling. Overall, the hypothesis that the episodic feeling is a metacognitive experience squares well with a general theory of metacognition. It leads to a two-tiered account of episodic remembering. On this account, the phenomenology characteristic of episodic remembering is extrinsic to the memory state itself. When we have a memory, it feels episodic only if it is properly monitored at the metacognitive level. However, an episodic memory can be attributed to a subject in the absence of an episodic feeling. The memory itself can be a mere unconscious mental condition, as in some cases of tip-of-the-tongue experiences, or its content can be transparent to the subject via a conscious imagining.