Research Report: Metacognition and School Mathematics

Abstract

Metacognition refers to the knowledge and control one has of one's cognitive functioning, that is, what one knows about one's cognitive performance and how one regulates one's cognitive actions during performance. In recent years, a growing number of psychologists and educators have been discussing and investigating the role and significance of metacognition on various aspects of academic performance (Flavell 1979). Most of the theorizing and research concerning metacognition has been in reference to performance on reading and memory tasks (Baker and Brown 1984; Schneider 1985), but lately mathematics educators have begun studying the role of metacognition in the performance of mathematical tasks. These mathematics educators are convinced that what one knows or believes about oneself as a learner and doer of mathematics and how one controls and regulates one's behaviors while working through mathematical tasks can have powerful effects on one's performance (Garofalo and Lester 1985; Kilpatrick 1984; Schoenfeld, in press; Silver 1985).