Metacognitive Experiences in Problem Solving

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThis chapter focuses on metacognition and one particular aspect of it, namely, metacognitive experiences (ME). A question that immediately comes to mind is why metacognition, which is a cognitive phenomenon, is included in a book on motivation. First of all, the functional approach to motivation, which is basic in this book, requires the study of the interaction of motivation with cognition. Sorrentino and Higgins (1986) were pioneers in this approach, which gave significant insights in motivational research. However, cognition may take various forms and cannot be fully understood unless metacognition is taken into consideration. Metacognition has to do with awareness of cognition, that is, what we know about cognition, and is closely tied to consciousness and self-regulation. The question is if metacognition forms part of the mechanism that explains the operation of motivation and selfregulation, and if yes, what it accomplishes.One way of introducing metacognition into motivational research and theory is to ask if metacognition, as a dependent variable, is affected by motivational variables besides the cognitive ones, and, secondly, if metacognition, as independent variable, effects behavior and even one's affect. In the latter case, metacognition assumes motivational and/or self-regulatory power. In what follows, we shall provide evidence to support this double nature of metacognition, based on studies carried out in the School of Psychology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. We shall argue that metacognition, in the form of metacognitive experi- 297A.

Individual differences in school mathematics performance and feelings of difficulty: The effects of cognitive ability, affect, age, and gender

“…Furthermore, on-line task-related experiences form dynamic systems that have as epicenter the task but are independent from it. They flow and change along with task solution (Efklides, Petropoulou, & Samara, 1997). This very nature of on line experiences explains why in our study we did not find any direct and immediate feedback effect of FOD on affective variables.…”

Metacognitive Components in Learning to Learn Approaches

“…The latter have explicitly introduced the implication and influence of psycho-affective factors on the metacognitive elements (laying an emphasis on motivational factors). These experiences are named "metacognitive" in the sense that they are the product of a cognition monitoring process (Efklides, 2001). Efklides (2008, p. 279) defined metacognitive experiences as being "what the person is aware of and what she or he feels when coming across a task and processing the information related to it".…”

“…These two aspects of knowledge and control (we will refer to them later) are found in the definitions proposed by Brown (1987 2 ), Efklides (2001) and Noël (1997); the last two referring to the model of Nelson and Narens (1990).…”

An investigation of the relationship between metacognition and mathematics achievement

“…Metacognition means an individual's awareness of his own thinking processes and his ability to control these processes (Cakiroglu 2007;Desoete and Ozsoy 2009;Flavell 1979Flavell , 1999Huitt 1997;Hacker and Dunlosky 2003;). Metacognition is a model of cognition, which acts at a metalevel, and is related to the object-world, through the monitoring and control function (Efklides 2001). It is observed that modern studies discuss the metacognition under three main facets: Metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive control (Desoete and Roeyers 2006;Flavell 1979;Nelson and Narens 1990;Otani and Widner 2005;Ozsoy et al 2010;Sungur 2007) and metacognitive experiences (Efklides 2001(Efklides , 2008Flavell 1979).…”

“…Metacognition is a model of cognition, which acts at a metalevel, and is related to the object-world, through the monitoring and control function (Efklides 2001). It is observed that modern studies discuss the metacognition under three main facets: Metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive control (Desoete and Roeyers 2006;Flavell 1979;Nelson and Narens 1990;Otani and Widner 2005;Ozsoy et al 2010;Sungur 2007) and metacognitive experiences (Efklides 2001(Efklides , 2008Flavell 1979). ''Metacognitive knowledge is knowledge we retrieve from memory and regards what the person knows or believes about him/ herself and the others as cognitive beings, their relations with various cognitive tasks, goals, actions or strategies as well as the experiences s/he has had in relation to them'' (Efklides 2001, p. 299).…”