Developing Metacognitive Instructors through a Guided Journal

Metacognitive instructors incorporate awareness and timely self-regulation in their teaching practice to support their current students’ learning. This exploratory study, using mixed methods, gathered empirical data to extend the work on student metacognition by documenting teacher experiences with metacognitive instruction, the impact of instructor use of a guided journal on the development of metacognitive instruction practices, and students’ perceptions of instructor responsiveness to their learning and engagement. Journal Intervention (N = 40) and Control (N = 33) instructors from five institutions and their students (N = 796) responded to multiple questionnaires throughout a semester. Data revealed significantly more baseline familiarity with and engagement in reflective teaching than metacognitive instruction for both groups. Within the Intervention group, qualitative data consistently suggested a positive impact from engagement with the journal, especially with respect to an increased focus on learning objectives and student engagement (rather than on content coverage) in pre-lesson planning, and on being aware of how students were achieving the learning objectives. Significant positive correlations were found between instructor use of the journal and student ratings of instructor responsiveness to their learning and engagement, and instructor use of effective instructional practices. Although instructors were enthusiastic overall about using the journal and incorporating metacognitive instruction, they did report barriers including time, existing habits, and uncertainty about alternate instructional practices. Based on our findings, we share strategies for using our journal prompts as a tool to facilitate faculty development of metacognitive instruction.

Metacognitive Learning Approach in Affecting Students’ Self-Regulated Learning in Writing Course

The research aimed to investigate the effect of metacognitive instruction on students' self-regulated learning (SRL) writing for Indonesian EFL students to have appropriate grammar and meaningful learning experiences. The methodology used was a quasi-experimental design. The research participants were 50 students from the University of Muhammadiyah East Kalimantan (UMKT) English department who took a writing course. The participants were divided into the experimental group that was taught with metacognitive instruction. In contrast, although the same teacher taught the control group and had similar learning materials, the teacher did not use metacognitive instruction. The data was taken through pre-test and post-test and analyzed through independent t-test with statistics tool SPSS. The results showed that the experimental group has a higher SRL score with significant results in overall score even though there is one component that is different from previous studies, namely knowledge of cognition. Some suggestions were proposed.

L2 Listening Expertise: A Deliberate Practice Approach

The significant role listening plays in second language acquisition is now well-established. However, despite changes in the perception of second language (L2) listening, it remains an under-researched skill. Listening is the most challenging of the four language skills in terms of both learning and teaching. This calls for more research to tackle issues with the teaching and learning of L2 listening. Expertise is thought to be the end result of engaging in extensive amounts of deliberate practice. However, metacognitive instruction and deliberate practice done separately are rarely enough to achieve L2 listening expertise. Thus, this article proposes a new approach to L2 listening, in which metacognitive instruction is an essential element, but not an end in itself. This new approach to L2 listening integrates both metacognitive instruction and deliberate practice to gain benefits and overcome the shortcomings in the two approaches. Therefore, the combining of metacognitive instruction with deliberate practice challenges the current approach to teaching L2 listening.

Using metacognitive strategy instruction in a TED Talks-based L2 listening programme

<p><b>The ephemeral nature of listening makes it challenging to teach and learn as a language skill. One approach to addressing this challenge is to focus on listening strategy instruction. This thesis investigates process-based metacognitive instruction in a pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme at a New Zealand university using two research methods: a situation analysis (Phase 1) and a quasi-experimental study (Phase 2). </b></p> <p>The Phase 1 situation analysis investigated teacher and learner perspectives and practices in teaching and learning listening in the programme. Data consisted of a survey, focus groups with learners, interviews with teachers, and classroom observations. The findings revealed that the teachers (n=15) give equal time to teaching all four skills, although they find listening to be the most difficult skill to teach. The teachers are guided by a three-stage approach when using the listening textbook and supplementary materials. However, they find selecting supplementary materials time-consuming and problematic. The teachers also prioritised using metacognitive and vocabulary-based activities but expressed a need for more guidance in using perception activities (e.g., distinguishing word boundaries) in listening lessons. The learners (n=63) reported being positive about their listening in general but were not confident listeners. They preferred audio-visual and entertainment resources to audio-only and factual resources when listening. They reported an awareness of metacognitive (e.g., planning and evaluation and directed attention) and vocabulary-based (e.g., mental translation and problem solving) strategies. In lessons, the learners believed that product-based activities (e.g., comprehension questions) were more helpful than process-based activities (e.g., listening journals) for their listening improvement. These findings indicate the teachers and learners have some awareness of metacognitive instruction but further guidance in using process-based listening frameworks could help address learners’ difficulties. </p> <p>Phase 2 used a quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of a TED Talks-based metacognitive intervention on the learners’ use of listening strategies. The intervention consisted of five TED Talks-based listening lessons delivered in two modes; either self-study (n=13) or classroom instruction (n=11). A third group, a control group (n=9), received regular listening instruction but did not receive any TED Talks-based metacognitive strategy instruction. Data were collected via surveys, focus group interviews, and journal data and analysed using inferential statistics. The results showed that the self-study group showed meaningful gains in one strategy subscale (planning and evaluation). Although this gain was more than the other groups, there was minimal change. Further, only the classroom instruction group showed meaningful gains in before-listening and listening behaviour, although these gains were marginal. After receiving different types of metacognitive instruction, the results showed both the classroom instruction and self-study group approached their listening differently but identified the same listening difficulties. Both groups found resource familiarity helpful for their listening comprehension, but had difficulties using visual aids, taking notes, and understanding the speaker while-listening. Thus, although metacognitive instruction had a minimal impact on the use of listening strategies by learners, guided listening resource selections helped them interact with the listening text. </p> <p>This thesis presents theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications for research. Theoretically, the research contributes to our understanding of how theoretically derived accounts of the L2 listening process can be translated into instructional models. Methodologically, the thesis highlights how established research methods (i.e., quasi-experimental study, situation analysis) can be complemented by listening-specific research instruments (e.g., listening journals) which provide a richer emic perspective on the topic being investigated. Pedagogically, this thesis has shown how TED Talks can be selected using McGrath’s guiding principles (Field, 2008) and Romanelli, Cain, and McNamara’s (2014) Essential Aspects and used as the basis for process-based listening lessons.</p>

Using metacognitive strategy instruction in a TED Talks-based L2 listening programme

<p><b>The ephemeral nature of listening makes it challenging to teach and learn as a language skill. One approach to addressing this challenge is to focus on listening strategy instruction. This thesis investigates process-based metacognitive instruction in a pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme at a New Zealand university using two research methods: a situation analysis (Phase 1) and a quasi-experimental study (Phase 2). </b></p> <p>The Phase 1 situation analysis investigated teacher and learner perspectives and practices in teaching and learning listening in the programme. Data consisted of a survey, focus groups with learners, interviews with teachers, and classroom observations. The findings revealed that the teachers (n=15) give equal time to teaching all four skills, although they find listening to be the most difficult skill to teach. The teachers are guided by a three-stage approach when using the listening textbook and supplementary materials. However, they find selecting supplementary materials time-consuming and problematic. The teachers also prioritised using metacognitive and vocabulary-based activities but expressed a need for more guidance in using perception activities (e.g., distinguishing word boundaries) in listening lessons. The learners (n=63) reported being positive about their listening in general but were not confident listeners. They preferred audio-visual and entertainment resources to audio-only and factual resources when listening. They reported an awareness of metacognitive (e.g., planning and evaluation and directed attention) and vocabulary-based (e.g., mental translation and problem solving) strategies. In lessons, the learners believed that product-based activities (e.g., comprehension questions) were more helpful than process-based activities (e.g., listening journals) for their listening improvement. These findings indicate the teachers and learners have some awareness of metacognitive instruction but further guidance in using process-based listening frameworks could help address learners’ difficulties. </p> <p>Phase 2 used a quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of a TED Talks-based metacognitive intervention on the learners’ use of listening strategies. The intervention consisted of five TED Talks-based listening lessons delivered in two modes; either self-study (n=13) or classroom instruction (n=11). A third group, a control group (n=9), received regular listening instruction but did not receive any TED Talks-based metacognitive strategy instruction. Data were collected via surveys, focus group interviews, and journal data and analysed using inferential statistics. The results showed that the self-study group showed meaningful gains in one strategy subscale (planning and evaluation). Although this gain was more than the other groups, there was minimal change. Further, only the classroom instruction group showed meaningful gains in before-listening and listening behaviour, although these gains were marginal. After receiving different types of metacognitive instruction, the results showed both the classroom instruction and self-study group approached their listening differently but identified the same listening difficulties. Both groups found resource familiarity helpful for their listening comprehension, but had difficulties using visual aids, taking notes, and understanding the speaker while-listening. Thus, although metacognitive instruction had a minimal impact on the use of listening strategies by learners, guided listening resource selections helped them interact with the listening text. </p> <p>This thesis presents theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications for research. Theoretically, the research contributes to our understanding of how theoretically derived accounts of the L2 listening process can be translated into instructional models. Methodologically, the thesis highlights how established research methods (i.e., quasi-experimental study, situation analysis) can be complemented by listening-specific research instruments (e.g., listening journals) which provide a richer emic perspective on the topic being investigated. Pedagogically, this thesis has shown how TED Talks can be selected using McGrath’s guiding principles (Field, 2008) and Romanelli, Cain, and McNamara’s (2014) Essential Aspects and used as the basis for process-based listening lessons.</p>

Metacognitive Instruction for Sustainable Learning: Learners’ Perceptions of Task Difficulty and Use of Metacognitive Strategies in Completing Integrated Speaking Tasks

This mixed-methods study investigated English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners’ perceptions of task difficulty and their use of metacognitive strategies in completing integrated speaking tasks as empirical evidence for the effects of metacognitive instruction. A total of 130 university students were invited to complete four integrated speaking tasks and answer a metacognitive strategy inventory and a self-rating scale. A sub-sample of eight students participated in the subsequent interviews. One-way repeated measures MANOVA and structure coding with content analysis led to two main findings: (a) EFL learners’ use of metacognitive strategies, in particular, problem-solving, was considerably affected by their perceptions of task difficulty in completing the integrated speaking tasks; (b) EFL learners were not active users of metacognitive strategies in performing these tasks. These findings not only support the necessity of taking into account learners’ perceptions of task difficulty in designing lesson plans for metacognitive instruction, but also support a metacognitive instruction model. In addition, the findings provide empirical support for the utility of Kormos’ Bilingual Speech Production Model. As the integrated speaking tasks came from a high-stakes test, these findings also offer validity evidence for test development in language assessment to ascertain sustainable EFL learning for nurturing learner autonomy as an ultimate goal.

Metacognitive instruction with young learners: A case of willingness to communicate, L2 use, and metacognition of oral communication

This classroom-based, quasi-experimental study explored the impact of metacognitive instruction designed to promote young learners’ (1) willingness to communicate (WTC), (2) participation in communicative activities, and (3) metacognitive knowledge of oral communication. Forty-four Grade 3 students (8–9 years old) from two intact classes participated in the study. The learners in Class A ( n = 23) engaged in a series of activities designed to increase their metacognition in relation to WTC, while Class B ( n = 21) served as the control. Three outcome measures were explored in the pre-post design: (1) WTC questionnaire; (2) second language (L2) production during group work; and (3) empty WTC pyramids that the participants drew before and after the intervention. In addition, post-intervention interviews were conducted to understand the learners’ metacognitive knowledge of oral communication. The results showed that the intervention did not have an observable impact on the learners’ WTC. However, their metacognitive knowledge of oral communication was heightened after the intervention. The behavioral data showed that the experimental participants produced the target language more and that group members started to share turns more evenly. The study concludes that metacognitive instruction can be a useful pedagogical tool to improve L2 learners’ metacognition as well as classroom participations patterns, even with young learners whose metacognition can be obscure or inaccurate.

Effectiveness of Metacognitive Instruction on Students’ Science Learning Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

This study examined the effectiveness of metacognitive instruction on science learning achievement using a meta-analytic procedure. Statistical analyses were performed using the software Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) Version 3 developed by Biostat, Inc. Based on the findings, the overall effect size (ES=0.808) revealed that the use and integration of metacognition in science instruction has a significantly large and positive effect on student learning achievement. Moderator analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the effect sizes of the individual studies when grouped according to the student’s level of education and the scientific disciplines being studied. However, the obtained positive and large effect sizes suggested that the use and integration of metacognition can be effectively implemented whether students are in the elementary, secondary or tertiary level, be it Biological or Physical Science. Moreover, the metacognitive strategies employed by individual studies are mostly found to be integrated with ICT mainly metacognitive prompts; other practices were student-led metacognitive discussions, concept mapping, metacognitive writing, and metacognitive practice and training. This result establishes the effectiveness of the use and integration of different metacognitive strategies to improve student learning. Thus, science teachers must be equipped with pedagogical knowledge on the implementation and integration of metacognition in classroom instruction.