Metacognitive Issues Research Articles

Outpatient care for adolescents' and young adults' mental health: promoting self- and others' understanding through a metacognitive interpersonal therapy-informed psychological intervention.

Psychological distress may result in impairment and difficulty understanding oneself and others. Thus, addressing metacognitive issues in psychotherapy may improve psychopathology in adolescents and young adults (AYAs). We aimed to compare metacognitive interpersonal therapy (MIT)-informed psychotherapy with other treatment-as-usual (TAU) therapies. We administered the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale, the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S) scale, and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) at baseline (BL) and at treatment termination (the endpoint was at 6 months and any last results obtained before that term were carried forward in analyzes). Patients received concomitant psychiatric and psychological treatment. Sixty AYAs were involved in the study. There was a significant reduction in symptomatology after the intervention. Twelve patients (17%) dropped out; treatment adherence was 83%. In the MIT group, 2 patients dropped out (11%), and in the TAU group, 9 patients dropped out (19%). All scales showed a significant reduction in symptoms between baseline (BL) and the 6-month endpoint: GAF (χ2 = 6.61, p < 0.001), BPRS (χ2 = 6.77, p < 0.001), and CGI (χ2 = 7.20, p < 0.001). There was a greater efficacy for the MIT group in terms of symptom reduction on the BPRS (t = 2.31; p < 0.05). The study confirmed the efficacy of early and integrated care in adolescence and suggested greater symptom reduction for a psychotherapeutic intervention focused on stimulating mentalization skills. The study indicates the usefulness of this type of approach in the treatment of adolescent psychopathology. Due to the small sample size, the results need replication.

Demographic Characteristics, Motivation and Perception of Change as Determinants of Memory Compensation Self-Reports After Acquired Brain Injury.

IntroductionIndividuals with brain injuries experience cognitive and emotional changes that have long-lasting impacts on everyday life. In the context of rehabilitation, surveys have stressed the importance of compensating for memory disturbances to ease the impact of disorders on day-to-day autonomy. Despite extensive research on the nature of neurocognitive impairments following brain injury, few studies have looked at patients’ perceptions of these day-to-day compensations. This study examines these perceptions; in particular, what brain-injured people believe they do to compensate for memory deficiencies in everyday life. It also investigates the determinants of reported compensation strategies (age, gender, perceived stress, change awareness and motivation to succeed).MethodsEighty patients and 80 controls completed the French Memory Compensation Questionnaire, a self-report measure of everyday memory compensation. Five forms of compensation were investigated: External and Internal strategies, Reliance on social help, and investments in Time and Effort, along with two general factors: the degree of importance attached to Success (motivation) and perceptions of Change. Participants also completed measures of demographic and emotional aspects that may affect everyday compensation perceptions.ResultsThe brain-injured group reported significantly more frequent use of memory compensation strategies than controls, with the exception of External aids. Large effects were observed for Reliance and Effort. Demographic, motivation and perception of change determinants were found to have different effects depending on the compensation strategy, and mediated the direct effect of brain injury on reported compensation.ConclusionClinical and rehabilitation neuropsychologists often seek to have a better sense of how their patients perceive their compensatory behaviors. In practice, such an understanding is needed to help select appropriate methods and improve the long-term impact of rehabilitation programs: memory rehabilitation will fail if neuropsychologists do not deal, first and foremost, with the emotional and metacognitive issues surrounding traumatic brain injury (TBI), rather than focusing on cognitive efficiency.

Knowledge production, learning, and (meta)cognition in international relations theory: a case study in Brazil

Este artigo investiga a aprendizagem e a produção de conhecimento teórico na graduação em Relações Internacionais (RI) no Brasil. Consideramos que as dificuldades do estudante para ler/escrever textos acadêmicos se relacionam a questões metacognitivas e escolhas teóricas no âmbito acadêmico. Essa hipótese fundamenta-se tanto no contexto educacional brasileiro, que prioriza conceituações, no lugar do raciocínio analítico, quanto na predominância de abordagens positivistas tradicionais, desconectadas da situação de países em desenvolvimento como o Brasil. A fundamentação teórica compreende princípios da pedagogia crítica e das ciências cognitivas, com foco em quatro ações metatextuais com a escrita: reportar, sumarizar, analisar e teorizar (NEVES, 2015). Para descrever a produção dos estudantes, propôs-se a 35 alunos da disciplina “Teoria das RI I” um roteiro de leitura diagnóstico sobre um capítulo de livro teórico. As respostas para quatro das questões mostram que a falta de pensamento autônomo na disciplina se reflete na compreensão dos alunos, expressa por meio da escrita perfunctória. Consequentemente, nega-se a possibilidade de se tornarem sujeitos ativos na compreensão e transformação da política internacional. Quanto à leitura/escrita, reflexões sobre os aspectos metacognitivos do aprendizado precisam ser incluídas não apenas no ensino da linguagem, mas também nas disciplinas teóricas, especialmente no trato com textos acadêmicos.

2. METACOGNICIÓN Y FORMATO DEL ÍTEM EN LA SOLUCIÓN DE PROBLEMAS

El presente artículo refiere una investigación sobre la posible interacción entre el formato del ítem y los aspectos metacognitivos en los resultados obtenidos por los examinados en la solución de problemas. Para el estudio, a través de un enfoque cuantitativo, se utilizaron tres preguntas formuladas en formato de selección, de respuesta corta y de respuesta abierta respectivamente y un cuestionario de preguntas no cognitivas orientado a recoger información sobre aspectos metacognitivos tales como conocimiento autopercibido, uso de estrategias cognitivas para solución de problemas y actividades de regulación cognitiva. A través de variados análisis estadísticos se logró concluir que los aspectos metacognitivos son factores que deben considerarse en la evaluación del aprendizaje mediante solución de problemas y que el comportamiento del examinado en relación a estas variables es diferencial en función del formato en que se presente una pregunta.

Relationships between Metacognition, Self-efficacy and Self-regulation in Learning

The ability to manage study activities by themselves is one of the educational goals that learners should achieve at the end of secondary school. Self-regulation, however, includes a variety of metacognitive issues. Firstly, self-regulated students should be aware of the mental processes they rely on when performing cognitive tasks, of the degree of autonomy they are allowed in managing study activities and of how effective they are in facing school demands. Secondly, students should be able to plan and monitor study activities strategically. Thirdly, students should identify the kind of learning which is expected to be reached. A sample of 130 students were administered 5 different of questionnaires designed to investigate the metacognitive awareness (MAI: Schraw & Dennison, 1994), the perception of autonomy in school learning (AILI: Elishout-Mohr, Van Daalen-Kapteijns, & Meijer, 2004), the sense of self-efficacy (Adaptive Self-Efficacy Scale: Sibilia, Schwarzer, & Jerusalem, 1995), the attitudes of study strategies (LASSI: Weinstein & Palmer, 2002), and the questionnaire on the conceptions of learning (QAPCOL: Perez-Tello, Antonietti, Liverta-Sempio, & Marchetti, 2002). Results revealed that self-regulated learning is linked to metacognitive skills such as planning, monitoring, evaluation and concentration. In addition, the knowledge and the proper use of learning strategies – such as the selection of the main ideas in a text – constitutes a related set of metacognitive skills. Finally, it was found that the acquisition of metacognitive knowledge, skills and attitudes is linked to autonomy in the study and to self-efficacy.

Paving a clear path in a thick forest: a conceptual analysis of a metacognitive component

The concept of metacognition refers to one’s knowledge and control of one’s own cognitive system. However, despite being widely used, this concept is confusing because of several reasons. First, sometimes it is not at all clear what is cognitive and what is metacognitive. Second, researchers often use the same term, namely, “metacognition” even when they refer to very different aspects of this complex concept. Alternatively, researchers may use different terms to indicate the same metacognitive elements. Another foggy matter is the interrelationships among the various components of metacognition discussed in the literature. This conceptual confusion regarding the concept of metacognition and its sub-components calls for in-depth theoretical and conceptual clarifications. The goal of this article is to portray a detailed example of a conceptual analysis of meta-strategic knowledge (MSK) which is one specific component of metacognition. This specific example is used to draw a general model for conceptual analyses of additional metacognitive components. The approach suggested here is to begin with a clear definition of the target sub component of metacognition, followed by a systematic examination of this sub component according to several dimensions that are relevant to metacognition in general and to that sub component in particular. The examination should include an analysis of how the details of the definition of the target sub-component refer to: (a) general theoretical metacognitive issues raised by prominent scholars; (b) definitions formulated and issues raised by other researchers who have investigated the same (or a similar) sub-component and, (c) empirical findings pertaining to that sub-component. Finally, it should be noted that since metacognition is a relational rather than a definite concept it is important to situate the context within which the conceptual analysis takes place.

Information problem solving instruction: Some cognitive and metacognitive issues

Children, teenagers, and adults abundantly use the Web to search for information. Yet this high frequency of use stands in marked contrast with the users’ relatively low awareness and mastery of metacognitive skills to search the Web effectively and efficiently. This paper provides a review of five different studies that sought to overcome these skill deficiencies by various kinds of instructional and environmental support. Following a discussion on the use of cognitive models of the search process in designing Web searching instruction and support, the studies’ findings are considered in view of their aim and approach in supporting metacognition.

Assessment to improve learning in higher education: The BEAR Assessment System

This paper discusses how assessment practices in higher education can improve or hinder learning. An example is given to illustrate some common educational practices that may be contributing to underpreparation and underperformance of students. Elements of effective learning environments that may better address underlying metacognitive issues are discussed. The principles of the Berkeley Evaluation & Assessment Research Assessment (BEAR) System are introduced, and their use to improve learning is described in the context of the UC Berkeley ChemQuery project.

A Framework for Supporting Metacognitive Aspects of Online Inquiry Through Software-Based Scaffolding

Major educational policy groups call on learners to engage in inquiry-based activities. With a growing amount of information now available online, there is an increased focus on online inquiry where learners ask research questions; search digital libraries and other information sources; and read, assess, and synthesize that information. Metacognitive skills are important for engaging in complex practices like online inquiry, but those skills are weak in novice learners. In this article, we propose a framework that describes the types of metacognitive problems that learners exhibit during online inquiry and the ways that software can serve a scaffolding function to address those problems and support learners through those metacognitive issues. Specifically, we consider how three categories of metacognition relate to online inquiry—task understanding and planning, monitoring and regulation, and reflection—and the issues learners face within each. Our framework describes different types of scaffolding features from a range of software tools that can support learners with the identified metacognitive issues in different ways, such as by describing online inquiry task structures for better task understanding, making planning an explicit activity, helping learners see online inquiry task spaces and strategies to monitor and regulate work, and describing to learners the important aspects of online inquiry that they should reflect on during their work. A common thread with these scaffolding features is the fact that they make different aspects of metacognition, which tends to be implicit to learners, more explicit so learners can engage in the metacognitive activity that they otherwise tend to bypass.

Effective and ethical and interviewing of young children in pedagogical context

SUMMARY Ethical and effective interviewing of young children in relation to their learning is a challenging and complex process. This paper describes the use of an experience-based flexible and focused interview methodology in a study based on young children's views and understandings of number. It shows how the approach used builds on previous work in relation to interviewing children for pedagogical purposes. The fourteen children interviewed as part of the study were just beginning school and they ranged in age from 4 years 1 month to 5 years 1 month. The nature of the interviews carried out with the children is discussed and characterised. This characterisation is in terms of the approach to the questioning; the focus on the exploration and development of the child's thinking; and the intensity of the experience for both child and adult. The flexible approach to interviewing taken in this study was seen to be very successful in eliciting children's views and understandings of number in a sensitive and ethical way. It is argued that such an approach can help to address some of the perceived difficulties with the use of an interview methodology with young children in educational contexts. It also illustrates how, in such conditions, children's agency is discernible; their awareness of metacognitive issues is expressed; and their numerical thinking is developed. The findings indicate that child interviews can be a powerful and effective method of researching and assessing children's learning.

Vygotsky as Precursor to Metacognitive Theory: III. Recent Metacognitive Research within a Vygotskian Framework

Abstract This article reviews some recent metacognitive projects inspired by Vygotskian theory. These include research on children's memory development, on the mother‐child dyad, and on the origin and function of adaptive inner speech. Two examples of instructional research with problem learners are given as well. In a final section, concluding the series of three articles to which this one belongs, it is suggested that among the metacognitive issues still moot, the problems of task variables, the relationship between metacognition and motivation, and the transsituational character of metacognition, may profitably be researched within a Vygotskian perspective.