The Relationship Between Students' Metacognition and Graphic Organisers: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Abstract Metacognition is a complex cognitive function that is considered to be one of the most important goals of education. One of the most effective ways to enhance metacognition suggested in the literature is using graphic organisers. However, it is unclear how graphic organisers can facilitate metacognition and what the relationship between them is. The present study is a scoping review that fills this gap and maps the current literature regarding metacognition, graphic organisers and their relationship. Online databases were used to identify papers, from which 25 of them were selected. The results of the review show that there are three types of graphic organisers-metacognition relationship: (1) graphic organisers are used in interventions to enhance metacognition, (2) a combination of graphic organisers and metacognition activities is used in interventions to enhance learning outcomes, and (3) graphic organisers are used to evaluate metacognition. The review also highlights the need for further studies in the field that use experimental design and include younger learners, and diverse subjects, learning domains and contexts. The present study concludes by offering instructional insights for designing metacognition interventions by utilising graphic organisers as aids.