Metacognitive skills and self-regulated learning
Metacognitive skills concern a person's ability to think about their own thinking. Metacognition means that the student is aware of how they learn and of the processes involved in learning. It encompasses both knowledge of one's own thinking and the ability to regulate it by planning, monitoring and evaluating one's learning. Through these processes students can become aware of how they learn best and adapt their strategies to the demands of different tasks.
Closely linked to metacognition is self-regulated learning, which describes how students actively steer their own learning by setting goals, choosing and using strategies, tracking their own progress and reflecting on their results. Self-regulated learning therefore presupposes that students develop an awareness of their learning and take active responsibility for their knowledge development.
Research shows that metacognitive strategies and self-regulated learning can be highly significant for students' learning and school performance. In an experimental study by Arianto and Hanif (2024), researchers examined how teaching that included metacognitive strategies affected students' self-efficacy and problem-solving ability in science. The study involved 100 students in year 5, divided into four groups of about 25 students each. Two groups served as experimental groups and received teaching in which metacognitive strategies were integrated into the instruction, while two groups served as control groups and received more traditional teaching without explicit training in metacognition.
In the experimental groups, students were supported in planning their work, asking themselves questions, monitoring their understanding and evaluating their learning as they went along. The strategies were used as a natural part of the teaching rather than as a separate activity, which meant that students continually practised reflecting on their own thinking. In the control groups, the learning process was steered to a greater extent by the teacher, and students were not given the same opportunity for systematic reflection on their learning.
The results showed that both metacognitive strategies and self-regulated learning mattered for students' learning, but in somewhat different ways. Above all, students taught with the help of metacognitive strategies developed higher self-efficacy than students in the control groups. When students were given the opportunity to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning, their belief in their own ability to succeed with schoolwork was strengthened. The study also showed positive effects on students' problem-solving ability, which suggests that metacognitive strategies can contribute to more active and conscious learning.
Arianto, F., & Hanif, M. (2024). Evaluating metacognitive strategies and self-regulated learning to predict primary school students' self-efficacy and problem-solving skills in science learning. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 8(3), 301–319. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPR.202428575