Metacognitive Experiences, Self-Concept, and Self-Regulation

Abstract

The study aimed at identifying the role of metacognitive experiences (ME), such as feeling of difficulty, estimate of solution correctness and estimate of effort exerted, in the formation of one's self-concept in the mathematics domain and in selfregulation. The idea was that when one enters an achievement situation, one's selfconcept in the respective domain will influence the ME evoked in response to the task at hand. The ME, in their turn, will influence and shape one's task-specific selfconcept and through it one's more general self-concept in the respective academic domain. To test these predictions a longitudinal study was designed, in which 172 students of 5th and 6th grade participated. On the first testing, they were given a questionnaire tapping their self-concept in mathematics and two verbal mathematical problems. Before and after problem solving, ME were measured on a 4-point scale. After that, a questionnaire addressing their self-concept in verbal mathematical tasks was administered. On the second testing, one week later, the same process was repeated, with two more mathematical problems, which were more difficult than the initial two. On the third testing, the same procedure was followed with all 4 mathematical problems. Students' ability in mathematics was represented by their respective school marks. Path analysis confirmed the predictions stated. It was found that exisiting self-concept influences ME which, along with information from task processing, feed back on self-concept and update it. Thus self-regulation becomes more adaptive to reality demands.

Metacognitive knowledge of effort, personality factors, and mood state: their relationships with effort-related metacognitive experiences

“…Essentially, it is an evaluation of one's capacity. Efklides and Petkaki (2005) found that selfconcept affects mood as well as ME, such as feeling of difficulty and estimate of effort (see also Efklides & Tsiora, 2002). (3c) Motivation.…”

“…This is due to the fact that both monitoring and control have various facets that interact with each other and with other factors. Such factors are previous knowledge and skills, personality factors, as well as situational factors affecting performance (Efklides et al, 1997(Efklides et al, , 1998(Efklides et al, , 1999Efklides & Tsiora, 2002).…”

Metacognitive Self-Confidence in School-Aged Children

“…In adults, academic self-concepts (see Efklides and Tsiora 2002 ;Kröner and Biermann 2007 ) and metacognitive self-beliefs regarding competencies of one's own reasoning abilities positively predicted con fi dence levels after controlling for accuracy of performance (Kleitman 2008 ;Kleitman and Stankov 2007 ;Stankov and Lee 2008 ) . Our fi ndings indicate similar results with children.…”

Metacognitive Experiences: The Missing Link in the Self-Regulated Learning Process

“…This is so, because they feed on one's self-concept and motivation and, thus, influence future decisions regarding the engagement, or not, in similar tasks (Efklides & Tsiora, 2002). Therefore, metacognitive experiences are critical for selfregulated learning.…”