Metacognition & Executive Control By Ruth Garner Presented by Pat Edwards & Hakim Shahid Rdg. 707

Creators of Bodies of Research Metacognition: Developmental Psychologists Executive Control: Cognitive Psychologists

Metacognition Defined “Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes and products or anything related to them.” (Flavell, 1976)

Metacognitive Variables  Knowledge about ourselves  Knowledge of tasks we can or cannot accomplish  Knowledge of strategies we ultilize to execute cognitive faculties

Metacognitive Experiences Past metacognitively-used knowledge now serve as mental “experience elements”.

Relations among Metacognitive Elements Metacognitive experiences can prompt revision of metacognitive knowledge Metacognitive experiences can prompt additional metacognitive experiences Metacognitive strategy use can induce both cognitive strategy use Each of the components of metacognition can prompt each of the others

Executive Control Strategic processing during cognitive activity is executive control Information processing approaches focus on input into and output from the human cognitive system Control processes direct the activities through cognitive activities The executive can slow down and allocate extra processing to problem areas

Executive Control and Reading Comprehension Skilled readers monitor and revise strategies to perform at high levels Skilled readers determine what to read and how to read it more strategically

Executive Processes Planning, monitoring, and evaluating one’s informational processing skills by deciding on: the nature of the problem the nature of the problem performance components relevant to solving tasks performance components relevant to solving tasks how to strategically combine performance components how to strategically combine performance components selecting mental representation for information selecting mental representation for information allocating resources for solving problems allocating resources for solving problems monitoring solution processes monitoring solution processes Key point : Executive routines can be taught to help students learn to learn Sternberg (1984)

Boundaries Between Metacognition and Executive Control Metacognition grew out of Piagetian theory - adult-child clinical interviews - development of knowledge, conscious access and awareness Executive control rooted in information processing - instruction for symbol manipulation, storage, input-output, and information flow - relies on task analysis - emphasizes control learners bring or do not bring, success or failure at orchestrating Both stress metacognitive and cognitive strategies used by learners Both emphasize active organisms at the center of active cognitive processing

Unresolved Conceptual Issues Overlap and uniqueness must be made clear Relation between metacognitive knowledge and content knowledge Lack of success of explaining how metacognitive knowledge, skills, and strategies develop

Metacognition, Executive Control and Reading Comprehension PPoorer and younger readers focus on reading as a decoding task rather than a meaning-getting task CComprehension problems among poor readers with adequate decoding skills attributed to failure to participate actively and strategically while engaged in the reading process SStudents must learn to focus on the processes they are using when they study Key point: If students learn to think about the cognitive and metacognitive processes demanded in a task, they can define their goals and study appropriately. (Hadwin & Winne, 1996; Pressley, 1995)