1 Looking at Metacognition from a cultural perspective Minjuan Wang Xiaoyan Pan Associate professor of English, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

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Looking at Metacognition from a cultural perspective

Minjuan WangXiaoyan Pan

Associate professor of English, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

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Trojan Horse

Metacognitive Lesson: Check your assumptions!

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Titanic

Metacognitive Lesson: Know your weaknesses!

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Maginot Line

Metacognitive Lesson: Know when to adapt!

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Metacognition involves thinking about one’s own cognitive processes Thinking about one’s thinking, learning,

reasoning, problem solving, … Metacognition is essential for effective

learning in complex situations

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Task constraints

Plan &Set Goals

Evaluate& Adapt

Apply Strategies& Monitor

Beliefs about learning

Motivation

Knowing one’s strengths & weaknesses

(Butler, 1997; Pintrich, 2000; Winne & Hadwin, 1998)

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Beliefs about learning impact SRL cycle: Learning is quick/easy vs.

hard/effortful Being a good learner is innate

vs. develops

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Beliefs aboutintelligence

Self-efficacy

Learning goals

Productivestrategies

Learning/Performance

gains

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Changing beliefs: SummaryBy working to change students’

beliefs about learning/intelligence, we can see: Sustained changes in belief (for months)

Increased motivation/effort More positive attitudes Improved performance (even after a delay)

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Teaching students to plan

Consider student as an independent learner (e.g., in online learning environment)

Critical skills: Setting learning goals, planning

PlanSet Goals

EvaluateAdapt

Apply StrategiesMonitor

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What is Culture? Beliefs and behaviors accepted within

communities that may range from small family units to

national or intra-national systems

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Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Power Distance (PDI) Individualism/Collectivism Masculinity (MAS) Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), and

Long Term Orientation (LTO) (Hofstede, 1991)

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Power Distance and Learning

Element Low PD High PD Knowledge perception It is a “truth” accessible

for everyone. It is “wisdom” only transmitted by a guru.

Communication Two-way communication, students speak spontaneously.

One-way communication, students speak only when invited by the teacher.

Confrontation and criticism

Allowed. Not allowed.

Preferred age of teachers

Younger teachers. Older teachers.

Roles perception Equals. Learned- centered.

Respect. Teacher- centered.

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Individualism-Collectivism

Element Low IDV High IDV Perception of Knowledge

Students expect to learn how to do. Education is a way of gaining prestige.

Students learn how to learn. Education is a way of improving oneself.

Communication Students will only speak up when called personally by the teacher.

Students will speak in response to a general invitation by the teacher.

Confrontation and criticism

Not allowed. Allowed.

Roles perception -Need of community -Preference treatment (i.e. ethnic, religious affiliation) -Nobody can loose face

- Need of independence. -Strictly impartial. -Weak face consciousness.

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Uncertainty Avoidance

Element Low UA High UA Perception of Knowledge

Vague, broad. Precise, detailed.

Communication

Plain language

Academic language

Confrontation and criticism

Not Allowed. Interpreted as personal disloyalty.

Allowed. Interpreted as stimulating exercise.

Roles perception

Teachers know everything.

Teachers can say “I don’t know”.

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Cultural differences in

•Beliefs about learning• Hard vs. easy• Knowledge transmission vs. construction

•Goal setting• Just to get a degree• Or really want to learn

•Perceptions of• communication• role of the instructor• classroom conduct• deadlines

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A wrapper is an activity that surrounds a pre-existing learning or assessment task and fosters students’ metacognition

One can build a self-monitoring wrapper around any pre-existing part of a course (lecture, homework, test)

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Time efficient (Students and faculty will use them) Students are doing the task anyway Wrapper only adds a few minutes of time

Metacognition practice is integrated with the task Students are self-monitoring in the context

where it is needed Feedback on accuracy can be built in Wrapper support can be gradually faded

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How they work:1. Instructor creates self-assessment questions that

focus on skills students should be monitoring2. Students answer questions just before homework3. Complete homework as usual4. After homework, answer similar self-assessment

questions and draw their own conclusions

“This homework is about vector arithmetic… How quickly and easily can you solve problems that involve vector subtraction?”“Now that you have completed this homework, how quickly and easily can you solve problems…?”

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Metacognitive skills and beliefs about learning have consequences for students’ learning and performance.

Teaching metacognition – introducing these new skills and beliefs, and giving students practice at applying them – improves students’ learning.

Low-cost interventions can have big payoffs, so try it!

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Aronson, J. M. (ed.). (2002). Improving academic achievement: Impact of psychological factors on education. San Diego: Academic Press.

Azevedo, R., & Cromley, J. G. (2004). Does training on self-regulated learning facilitate students' learning with hypermedia? Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(3), 523-535.

Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246-263.

Butler, D. (1997). The roles of goal setting and self-monitoring in students' self-regulated engagement of tasks. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

Ertmer, Peggy A., & Newby, Timothy J. (1996). The expert learner: Strategic, self-regulated, and reflective. Instructional Science, 24(1), 1-24.

Henderson, V. L., & Dweck, C. S. (1990). Motivation and achievement. In S. S. Feldman & G. R. Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 308-329). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121-1134.

Pintrich, P. R. (2000). The role of goal orientation in self-regulated learning. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 451-502). San Diego: Academic Press.

Winne, P. H., & Hadwin, A. F. (1998). Studying as self-regulated learning. In D. Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. Graesser (Eds.), Metacognition in educational theory and practice (pp. 277-304). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.