Active learning: effects of core training design elements on self-regulatory processes, learning, and adaptability

This article describes a comprehensive examination of the cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes underlying active learning approaches; their effects on learning and transfer; and the core training design elements (exploration, training frame, emotion control) and individual differences (cognitive ability, trait goal orientation, trait anxiety) that shape these processes. Participants (N = 350) were trained to operate a complex, computer-based simulation. Exploratory learning and error-encouragement framing had a positive effect on adaptive transfer performance and interacted with cognitive ability and dispositional goal orientation to influence trainees' metacognition and state goal orientation. Trainees who received the emotion-control strategy had lower levels of state anxiety. Implications for development of an integrated theory of active learning, learner-centered design, and research extensions are discussed.     

高中生数学元认知水平调查问卷的设计与编制*

对于元认知能力的评价和测试一直以来都是研究的难点,特别是就数学学科而言,已有研究多围绕数学问题解决过程中元认知监控水平的评价以及能力的培养展开,鲜有全面评价学生数学学习元认知水平的问卷。同时,没有针对高中生编制的元认知水平调查问卷。故本研究在已有研究的基础上,对已有的问卷进行修正和完善,通过征求专家意见与样本测试和数据分析,形成《高中生数学元认知水平调查问卷》。该问卷具有较好的内容效度和结构效度。信度方面,问卷整体的内部信度为0.952,分半信度为0.931,重测信度为0.946,说明问卷具有很好的内部一致性和测量稳定性。     

Examining the validity of scores from an instrument designed to measure metacognition of problem solving

The authors' purpose in this study was to gather evidence on the validity of scores on an instrument designed to evaluate levels of metacognition in problem solving--Swanson's 15-item metacognition questionnaire (1990, 1993). Forty-three participants took part in this study: 21 professors and 22 graduate students from several Western and Midwestern campuses in the fields of psychology and educational psychology. A Kendall Coefficient of concordance (W) was performed to determine the consistency of ranked responses for professors, students, and both groups combined, and to determine whether their responses matched those of the scoring key for the instrument we studied. This analysis indicated problems for some of the responses to this instrument, as demonstrated through the ranking task developed in this study. Many of the professors disagreed with the ranking of the responses suggested by Swanson. There is certainly a need for more instruments to validly measure metacognition. This instrument is one that, with some modification, might be used more in research on metacognition.     

国内元认知的相关研究及其展望

元认知这一概念是由美国发展心理学家弗莱维尔(Flavell)在1976年正式提出来的。至今,学者们对其进行了广泛深入的研究,无论是在理论还是实证方面都取得了丰硕的成果。文章首先对元认知(metacognition)的概念作了阐述,接着陈述了当前关于元认知的结构比较认可的两分法以及三分法,并提出了关于元认知结构的看法。然后对目前国内元认知的相关研究做一综述,最后文章在分析过去研究所存在问题的基础上提出了对元认知研究的展望。     

Orientation Toward Intrinsic Motivation Mediates the Relationship Between Metacognition and Creativity

Metacognition and motivation are considered key facets of self-regulation in various contexts. Recent studies identified a link between metacognition and creative performance, with metacognitively aware students performing more creatively and exhibiting higher levels of intrinsic and identified extrinsic motivation. The present study aims to examine the relationship between metacognition, orientation toward intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, and creative performance. One hundred nineteen university students completed the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) and Scale of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom and performed four verbal creativity tasks (product improvement task, consequences task, and two unusual uses tasks). The partial correlation network showed that all the creativity tasks were uniquely related to at least one facet of metacognition, and that the most complex task (product improvement task) was linked to both metacognitive knowledge and regulation. Furthermore, the structural equation model indicated that orientation toward intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship between metacognition and creative performance, explaining 16% of the variance in creative performance.     

大学生元认知特点与非智力因素关系的研究

研究考察大学生元认知各成份特点与学生学习动机、坚持性、学习方法等非智力因素之间的相互关系。研究表明学生元认知各成份之间的发展并不均衡,元认知的监控能力较薄弱。在元认知整体水平上存在性别差异。元认知的发展水平与非智力因素之间存在着正相关。     

The Moral Metacognition Scale: Development and Validation

Scholars have advocated for the inclusion of metacognition (i.e., the extent to which one thinks about one’s thinking) in our understanding of the ethical decision making process and in support of moral learning. An instrument to measure metacognition as a domain-specific capacity related to ethical decision making (i.e. moral metacognition) is not found in the current literature. This research describes the development and validation of the 20-item Moral Metacognition Scale (MMS). Psychometric properties of the scale were assessed by exploration (Study 1) and confirmation (Study 2) of the factor structure, and the demonstration of convergent (Studies 3 and 4), discriminant (Studies 3 and 4), and predictive (Study 4) validity. Moral metacognition, as measured by the MMS, was significantly correlated with ethical awareness and ethical judgment. Limitations of our research, suggestions for future exploration, and practical implications are discussed.     

元认知与面部认知的结合：切入点及方法

元认知是对认知的认知,包含认知的各个方面,近年来元认知与面部认知的结合开始得到关注。两者结合切入点包括元认知错觉(达克效应和自我中心偏见)在面部认知中的适用性,以及面部认知现象(异族效应和熟悉度优势)在元认知中的适用性。研究方法根据测量时间点和评估对象的选取而各有侧重。当前研究尚停留在元认知监测层面,未来可扩展至面部认知的元认知控制、与机器学习结合等方向,为理解面部认知提供新角度,扩展其应用价值。     

Metacognition,Executive Functions and Aging: The Effect of Training in the Use of Metacognitive Skills to Solve Mathematical Word Problems

The aim of our research was to study the effects of metacognition training on the performance of older adults solving mathematical word problems. A further aim was to study the links between metacognition and executive function. Thirty-two subjects aged over 60, divided into an experimental and a control group, took part in this study which involved five training sessions. Results show that metacognition training enhanced the two metacognition components (knowledge and skills) and the mathematical problem-solving capacities of the participants. They also suggest that the use of metacognition by older people to solve mathematical word problems is supported by executive functions (updating, shifting) and particularly by processing speed.     

初中学生学业延迟满足

采用问卷法,从自我调控学习的角度对208名初中学生学业延迟满足进行研究。研究发现不同目标取向对学业延迟满足有不同影响,任务取向对学业延迟满足有积极影响,趋向型自我取向对学业延迟满足有负面作用。学业延迟满足作为一种自我调控能力,能够预测学生在学习过程中元认知策略的运用情况,但对学业成绩无显著影响。     

Metacognition and metarepresentation: is a self-directed theory of mind a precondition for metacognition?

Metacognition is often defined as thinking about thinking. It is exemplified in all the activities through which one tries to predict and evaluate one’s own mental dispositions, states and properties for their cognitive adequacy. This article discusses the view that metacognition has metarepresentational structure. Properties such as causal contiguity, epistemic transparency and procedural reflexivity are present in metacognition but missing in metarepresentation, while open-ended recursivity and inferential promiscuity only occur in metarepresentation. It is concluded that, although metarepresentations can redescribe metacognitive contents, metacognition and metarepresentation are functionally distinct.     

教学活动条件下大学生英语写作元认知的特点

根据Flavell的元认知理论框架,拟订了写作元认知教学的原则,并以此对两个班62名一年级大学生进行了一系列针对大学生英语写作元认知的教学活动。通过采用开放式问卷和周记调查,探究了在教学活动条件下大学生写作元认知的特点。周记调查表明:教学活动条件下,大学生的英语写作元认知特点反映出教学原则的构想,即英语写作元认知体现为元认知知识和元认知体验两大要素。元认知知识由任务知识、主体知识和策略知识构成,元认知体验分为积极与消极体验。开放式问卷结果表明:英语写作元认知有一定的发展性。这些结果验证并丰富了Flavell的元认知理论,对我国大学英语写作教学实践有着重要的启示。     

熟悉感来源:相异-归因假设述评

有关熟悉感的研究,近几年已经取得了进展。继Jacoby等在再认记忆研究中对熟悉感的产生得出的流畅启动假设后,Whittlesea等人通过大量的实验,从一个新的角度对熟悉感的产生进行了解释,提出了相异-归因假设。该文旨在对这一假设的主要观点、对元认知领域的重要意义及其存在的不足进行述评,以便进一步的探讨。     

市场元认知和市场社会智力

对市场元认知和市场社会智力的研究正在成为消费者行为研究的新趋势之一。该文首先简要介绍了市场元认知和市场社会智力的概念及其发展背景;其次解释了市场元认知和市场社会智力的终身发展性和情境特定性;然后介绍了这方面研究的应用和新进展,同时阐述了其对研究思路及方法的指导作用;最后评价了这一发展趋势,并展望了其对中国消费心理学的影响。     

“Play it Again”: a new method for testing metacognition in animals

Putative metacognition data in animals may be explained by non-metacognition models (e.g., stimulus generalization). The primary objective of the present study was to develop a new method for testing metacognition in animals that may yield data that can be explained by metacognition but not by non-metacognition models. Next, we used the new method with rats. Rats were first presented with a brief noise duration which they would subsequently classify as short or long. Rats were sometimes forced to take an immediate duration test, forced to repeat the same duration, or had the choice to take the test or repeat the duration. Metacognition, but not an alternative non-metacognition model, predicts that accuracy on difficult durations is higher when subjects are forced to repeat the stimulus compared to trials in which the subject chose to repeat the stimulus, a pattern observed in our data. Simulation of a non-metacognition model suggests that this part of the data from rats is consistent with metacognition, but other aspects of the data are not consistent with metacognition. The current results call into question previous findings suggesting that rats have metacognitive abilities. Although a mixed pattern of data does not support metacognition in rats, we believe the introduction of the method may be valuable for testing with other species to help evaluate the comparative case for metacognition.     

元认知研究的理论意义

简要介绍了弗劳威尔、布朗等人的元认知理论和斯登伯格的元成份理论。这些理论的基本思想是一致的──重视认知主体对自身认知活动的计划、监控、评价和调节。元认知思想与皮亚杰的形式运算、自我调节以及平衡化思想有着深刻的内在一致性。而且,无认知的本质可以用控制论思想加以说明。     

Metacognitive-like information seeking in lion-tailed macaques: a generalized search response after all?

Previous research has demonstrated that Old World primates (both apes and monkeys) seek information about the location of a hidden food item, unless they are privy to the hiding process. This has been cited as evidence of metacognition. However, these results could also be interpreted using non-metacognitive accounts, including a generalized search response to uncertainty, in which subjects reach for food when it is seen, or search for food until it is spotted. In the present research, lion-tailed macaques were tested on an object-choice task. Conditions varied with respect to the visibility of the baiting process, and whether the location of the hidden food could be inferred by logical exclusion. Additionally, the hidden food could be located visually before a choice was made, by peering under the objects through a Plexiglas tray. Across conditions, monkeys consistently looked for the food when it had not been seen, even if its location could be inferred, despite the fact that these monkeys are capable of inference by exclusion. This suggests that apparently ‘metacognitive’ information seeking in monkeys may instead reflect a generalized search strategy. Alternatively, it is possible that monkeys only have metacognitive access to certain types of knowledge, including that obtained visually. Results are discussed with respect to the likelihood of metacognition in this species and the evolutionary emergence of metacognition across species.     

The Contribution of Personality Traits,Motivation, Academic Risk-Taking and Metacognition to the Creative Ability in Mathematics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which personality traits, motivation, academic risk-taking, and metacognition explain the mathematical creative ability of high school students. The participants were 217 9th-grade students that were exceptionally high achievers. The participants responded to a set of measures about personality traits, motivation, academic risk-taking, metacognition, and creative ability in mathematics. The results revealed that although openness to experience and consciousness were significantly correlated with creative ability in mathematics, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism were not correlated with the creativity scores. Moreover, intrinsic goal orientation followed by openness to experience was the most significant predictor of mathematical creative ability. Academic risk-taking was not significantly correlated with creative ability. Although knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition showed moderate correlations with creative ability in mathematics, they failed to predict creative ability.     

Meditation focused on self-observation of the body impairs metacognitive efficiency

In the last decade of research on metacognition, the literature has been focused on understanding its mechanism, function and scope; however, little is known about whether metacognitive capacity can be trained. The specificity of the potential training procedure is in particular still largely unknown. In this study, we evaluate whether metacognition is trainable through generic meditation training, and if so, which component of meditation would be instrumental in this improvement. To this end, we evaluated participants’ metacognitive efficiency before and after two types of meditation training protocols: the first focused on mental cues (Mental Monitoring [MM] training), whereas the second focused on body cues (Self-observation of the Body [SoB] training). Results indicated that while metacognitive efficiency was stable in MM training group, it was significantly reduced in the SoB group after training. This suggests that metacognition should not be conceived as a stable capacity but rather as a malleable skill.     

Domain-specific and domain-general processes underlying metacognitive judgments

Metacognition and self-awareness are commonly assumed to operate as global capacities. However, there have been few attempts to test this assumption across multiple cognitive domains and metacognitive evaluations. Here, we assessed the covariance between “online” metacognitive processes, as measured by decision confidence judgments in the domains of perception and memory, and error awareness in the domain of attention to action. Previous research investigating metacognition across task domains have not matched stimulus characteristics across tasks raising the possibility that any differences in metacognitive accuracy may be influenced by local task properties. The current experiment measured metacognition in perceptual, memorial and attention tasks that were closely matched for stimulus characteristics. We found that metacognitive accuracy across the three tasks was dissociated suggesting that domain specific networks support an individual’s capacity for accurate metacognition. This finding was independent of objective performance, which was controlled using a staircase procedure. However, response times for metacognitive judgments and error awareness were associated suggesting that shared mechanisms determining how these meta-level evaluations unfold in time may underlie these different types of decision. In addition, the relationship between these laboratory measures of metacognition and reports of everyday functioning from participants and their significant others (informants) was investigated. We found that informant reports, but not self reports, predicted metacognitive accuracy on the perceptual task and participants who underreported cognitive difficulties relative to their informants also showed poorer metacognitive accuracy on the perceptual task. These results are discussed in the context of models of metacognitive regulation and neuropsychological evidence for dissociable metacognitive systems. The potential for the refinement of metacognitive assessment in clinical populations is also discussed.