Metacognition in the Classroom: Motivation and Self-Awareness of Mathematics Learners

Abstract

Metacognition as a dimension of learning ranks highest in the revised Bloom's Taxonomy of cognitive tasks. In this paper we illustrate how it can be incorporated into a repeated exercise in the mathematics classroom, through a specific case study in the context of a liberal arts mathematics course. Through the semester, students were asked weekly to evaluate their own progress and review their development in light of their personal goals. We observed positive affective changes (including engagement levels) in the students through the course of the semester. We argue that the weekly metacognitive and self-reflective activities helped students keep their focus on learning deeply and allowed them to remain engaged and motivated through the semester. A brief theoretical discussion is included, and other possible contexts suitable for the activities described are suggested.

Metacognition in schools: what does the literature suggest about the effectiveness of teaching metacognition in schools?

“…There is also sophisticated research demonstrating a strong link between pupils' abilities to overcome challenges and their wellbeing (Waaler et al 2013). The most well-established research concerns the relationship between metacognition and motivation (see Karaali 2015, for a useful review of the literature), which generally suggests that there is a symbiotic link between the two: greater motivation leads to improved metacognition, which leads to greater motivation, and so on.…”

Digital Teaching Materials and Their Relationship with the Metacognitive Skills of Students in Primary Education

“…Accordingly, significance is found in the relationship between the use of mathematics applications and metacognitive knowledge. Metacognition is related to mathematical skills, and this relationship may be two-way, whereby the mathematical exercises help to develop metacognitive knowledge [22,64]. In turn, mathematical skills are related to spatial skills, which might explain the significant results in both areas [64,65].…”

“…Suitable feedback on each task's performance might be based on the learning process through monitoring, guidance, and self-assessments for metacognitive development [10]. At the same time, feedback can help students self-regulate their learning, thereby reinforcing their engagement and the achievements of their goals [22,47].…”

“…This highlights the importance of metacognition in regulating and controlling learning [14][15][16]. These processes in may also establish an important relationship with other variables, such as students' cognitive processes and motivation to perform classroom tasks [12,[17][18][19][20][21][22]. This research stream includes several studies, such as those by Pintrich [2], Magno [9], and Schmitt and Sha [23].…”

Attitudes and Experiences in Liberal Arts Mathematics

“…Motivation to do mathematics is formed over many years and countless mathematical experiences, and students may have had limited opportunities for positive experiences in mathematics. Students may consciously choose a productive and positive attitude towards mathematics-but only when they are exposed to assignments and tasks that resonate with their personal goals [17]. In his 2012 Outstanding Professor lecture at CSU Fullerton, Martin Bonsangue speaks about "math stories"-particularly those belonging to students who have performed poorly in a mathematics course or have chosen to avoid mathematics altogether [5].…”