Metacognitive knowledge in primary grades: A longitudinal study

Abstract

The purpose of th is longitudinal s t udy was to exp lo re the development of metacogniti ve knowledge in primary grade children (6-9 years, n==196) from pre-school to third grade. Knowledge about cogniti ve processes was obtained from children 's oral explanation s. The results indicated that the average metacognitive knowledge of the primary grade children developed significantly during the first three school years. The children knew much about simple factor s and strategies influencing cognitive activities. but after the first three school years, more complex strategies still remained unfamiliar to them. Moreover, the content analyses of children' s oral explanations revealed interesting differences in children's metacognitive thinking. There appeared to be two groups of children with either non-developing or developing explanations. In addition, the children understood mental processing better in memory and learning act ivit ies, whereas comp rehension processes were largely unknown to them.

Developmental dynamics of metacognitive knowledge and text comprehension skill in the first primary school years

“…Secondly, these individual differences seem to be rather stable or even increasing over time in MCK (e.g., Alexander et al 1995;Hannah and Shore 1995;Schwanenflugel et al 1997) and rather stable in RC (e.g., De Jong and Van der Leij 2002; Lerkkanen et al 2004;). However, some recent studies, looking more carefully at the individual transitions across time, have revealed different individual developmental trends, both progressive and regressive, thus changing the relative position of a number of children (in metacognition, see e.g., Annevirta and Vauras 2001; in RC, see e.g., Aunola et al 2002). Therefore, we cannot expect to find straightforward cumulative developmental trends in either skill domain.…”

“…There is no clear evidence for cumulative development either in MCK or in RC skill. Firstly, this means that there are noteworthy individual differences in the development of metacognitive thinking (Annevirta and Vauras 2001;Flavell 1988;Schneider and Sodian 1991) as well as in RC skill (Aunola et al 2002;Bast and Reitsma 1998;Poskiparta et al 1998;. Secondly, these individual differences seem to be rather stable or even increasing over time in MCK (e.g., Alexander et al 1995;Hannah and Shore 1995;Schwanenflugel et al 1997) and rather stable in RC (e.g., De Jong and Van der Leij 2002; Lerkkanen et al 2004;).…”

“…The repertoire of strategies and the wealth of declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge are often thought to represent the level of a person's metacognitive knowledge. For instance, young primary school children's skill to refer to mental processes in explaining verbally why their earlier chosen strategies were the most useful ones in certain cognitive activities has been used to describe the children's level of metacognitive knowledge (Annevirta and Vauras 2001).…”

“…During the first school years children's knowledge about cognitive processing is significantly increased, although it is not true of all children. In some longitudinal studies children were found who hardly developed at all during the first school years in metacognitive knowledge (e.g., Annevirta and Vauras 2001;Flavell 1988;Schneider and Sodian 1991). On the other hand, the different categories of metacognitive knowledge may have different developmental paths.…”

“…Certain cognitive processes may be more difficult to conceptualise than others, or they are typically less frequently attended to in different phases of children's lives. For instance, in their longitudinal study, Annevirta and Vauras (2001) found that children rarely began to understand cognitive processing in connection with comprehension before the 2nd grade (at the age of 8 or 9), whereas knowledge about remembering and learning seemed to develop earlier.…”