David Whitebread

Development of metacognition and Self-regulated learning in young children: Role of collaborative and Peer-assisted learning

The authors present findings from a large 2-year study exploring the development of self-regulatory and metacognitive abilities in young children (aged 3 to 5 years) in educational naturalistic settings in the United Kingdom (English Nursery and Reception classrooms). Three levels of analysis were conducted based on observational codings of categories of metacognitive and self-regulatory behaviors. These analyses supported the view that, within the 3- to 5-year age range, there was extensive evidence of metacognitive behaviors that occurred most frequently during learning activities that were initiated by the children, involved them in working in pairs or small groups, unsupervised by adults, and that involved extensive collaboration and talk (i.e., learning contexts that might be characterized as peer-assisted learning). Relative to working individually or in groups with adult support, children in this age range working in unsupervised small groups showed more evidence of metacognitive monitoring and control. Relative to children in supervised groups, they also showed more evidence of “other” and “shared” regulation. The implications for research, theory, and educational practice are discussed.

The effectiveness of nurture groups on student progress: evidence from a national research study

Nurture groups (NGs) are a form of provision for children with social, emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. Although the first groups were established over 30 years ago, growth in the number of NGs in the UK has been exponential over the past ten years. This study attempts to assess the effectiveness of NGs in promoting positive social, emotional and educational development. The study set out to measure: (1) the effects of NGs in promoting pupil improvement in the NGs; (2) the extent to which these improvements generalised to mainstream settings; and (3) the impact of NGs on whole schools. Statistically significant improvements were found for NG pupils in terms of social, emotional and behavioural functioning. NGs which had been in place for more than two years were found to be significantly more effective than groups which had been in existence for less than two years. Pupils with SEBD in mainstream classrooms improved in behavioural terms significantly better than pupils with and without SEBD attending schools that did not have NG provision. The greatest social, emotional and behavioural improvements took place over the first two terms, whilst improvements in behaviours associated with cognitive engagement in learning tasks continued to improve into the third and fourth terms. This study suggests that NGs are a highly promising form of provision for young children with a wide range of SEBDs. There is also good evidence to suggest that successful NGs contribute to the development of the ‘nurturing school’.

Developing independent learning in the early years

This paper describes a research project currently running in Cambridgeshire Foundation Stage settings exploring the development of independent learning in young children. In the first year the project has explored the work of 16 practitioners working with 3–5 year old children, using a range of methodologies including questionnaires, interviews and reflective dialogues (based on video recordings of particular classroom episodes), reflective journals and child assessment checklists. The development of the range of abilities involved in becoming a self-regulating, independent learner has been conceptualised in terms of research and theory relating to the development of ‘metacognitive’ abilities and dispositions. It is argued that, while the development of independent learning is generally accepted as an important educational aim, current trends in Primary education which have encouraged a more teacher-directed approach, are not helpful. The paper advances a model of independent learning which is based on developmental psychological research, and presents interim findings from the project which suggest that even our youngest children are capable of considerable independence in their learning. While particular pedagogical techniques and approaches need to be developed, many of these are well-established and researched, and can be shown to be effective in fostering independent learning abilities within the Primary school context.

Real-time tracking of motor response activation and response competition in a stroop task in young children: A lateralized readiness potential study

The ability to select an appropriate motor response by resolving competition among alternative responses plays a major role in cognitive performance. fMRI studies suggest that the development of this skill is related to the maturation of the frontal cortex that underlies the improvement of motor inhibition abilities. However, fMRI cannot characterize the temporal properties of motor response competition and motor activation in general. We studied the development of the time course of resolving motor response competition. To this end, we used the lateralized readiness potential (LRP), an ERP measure, for tracking correct and incorrect motor cortex activation in children in real time. Fourteen children and 14 adults took part in an animal-size Stroop task where they selected between two animals, presented simultaneously on the computer screen, which was larger in real life. In the incongruent condition, the LRP detected stronger and longer lasting incorrect response activation in children than in adults. LRP results could explain behavioral congruency effects, the generally longer RT in children than in adults and the larger congruency effect in children than in adults. In contrast, the peak latency of ERP waves, usually associated with stimulus processing speed, could explain neither of the above effects. We conclude that the development of resolving motor response competition, relying on motor inhibition skills, is a crucial factor in child development. Our study demonstrates that the LRP is an excellent tool for studying motor activation in children.

A Multidimensional Analysis of Parent–Child Interactions During Academic Tasks and Their Relationships With Children's Self-Regulated Learning

This study explored the extent to which parents were able to scaffold their childrens Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) in the context of authentic academic tasks and attempted to identify specific dimensions within the parent–child interaction (socioemotional and instructional) that were related to childrens SRL. Fifteen Chilean parents and their underachieving primary-aged children participated in set of six SRL-enhancing activities in the areas of reading comprehension and mathematical problem solving. Individual assessments of childrens SRL in the same curriculum areas were carried out before and after these activities. The assessment outcomes revealed that, although at the group level children showed positive changes in some aspects of SRL (metacognitive knowledge and regulation of cognition), individual variation was also noticeable within the group. Childrens evidence of SRL during the parent–child activities was related to both social and instructional dimensions of the interaction. SRL posttest outcomes, however, showed stronger associations with instructional behaviors.

Interactions between Children's Metacognitive Abilities, Working Memory Capacity, Strategies and Performance during Problem-Solving.

This paper reports two related studies intended to explore the interactions between children’s metacognitive abilities, their working memory capacity, the development and selection of strategies and their performance on problem-solving tasks. In the first study, a sample of 20 children aged 5 and 6 were presented with a reclassification task. In the second study, a sample of 72 children aged 6, 8 and 10 were presented with a multidimensional discrimination learning (MDL) task. Data was collected related to the children’s metacognitive abilities, working memory capacity, response strategies and task performance. The results indicated that performance on both tasks was dependent upon developmentally changing interactions between these various aspects of cognitive functioning. In particular, the relationship of working memory capacity to performance was dependent upon metacognitive abilities. The results also suggested that metacognitive awareness did not directly affect performance, but that such a relationship was dependent upon the development of strategic control. The implications of these results for understanding U-shaped behavioural growth and other common developmental patterns are discussed. Within the educational sphere, the study emphasises the significance and possibility for children as learners of fostering certain kinds of metacognitive ability.RésuméCet article rapporte les résultats de deux recherches destinées à explorer les interactions entre capacités métacognitives de l’enfant, capacité de la mémoire de travail, développement et sélection de stratégies, et performances à des tâches de résolution de problème. Dans la première étude, un échantillon de 20 enfants âgés de 5 ou 6 ans, était soumis à une tâche de reclassification. Dans la deuxième recherche, un échantillon de 72 enfants âgés de 6, 8 ou 10 ans était confronté à une tâche d’apprentissage de discrimination multidimensionnelle. Les résultats montrent que les performances aux deux tâches, dépendent des changements développementaux dans l’interaction entre les différents aspects du fonctionnement cognitif cités plus haut et mesurés dans cette recherche. En particulier, les relations entre mémoire de travail et performance dépendent des compétences métacognitives. Les résultats montrent aussi que la conscience métacognitive n’affecte pas directement les performances, mais que la relation entre les deux dépend du développement du contrôle stratégiques. Les explications des ces résultats pour l’interprétation des patrons de développement courants ou des évolutions en forme de U sont discutées. Dans le champ de l’éducation, l’étude contribue à mettre en valeur l’intérêt et la possibilité d’encourager le développement de certains types de capacités métacognitives.

Preschool children's social pretend play: supporting the development of metacommunication, metacognition and self-regulation

This paper presents an overview of the conceptual, developmental and functional aspects of metacommunication in preschool childrens social pretend play. While the relationship between the representational aspects of social pretend play and positive developmental outcomes is well researched, metacommunicaton in social pretend play remains a largely under-researched phenomenon. A definition of social pretend play is proposed leading to propositions as to its specific functions for young childrens learning and development. In particular, it is hypothesised that the development of metacommunication during social pretend play may make an important contribution to the early development of metacognition and self-regulation. Having proposed these specific functions for metacommunication, the implications of this for adult involvement in naturally occurring social pretend play are discussed. Identifying more specifically the components of social pretend play which support specific aspects of learning can inform pedagogical innovations, and the realisation of the full educational potential of social pretend play. While this review highlights some important conceptual, developmental and pedagogical issues in relation to metacommunicaton in social pretend play, these aspects clearly require elaboration. Suggestions are made for further research on metacommunciation development, and the conditions which support its emergence and development.

The development of inhibitory control: an averaged and single-trial Lateralized Readiness Potential study

Inhibitory control (IC) is an important contributor to educational performance, and undergoes rapid development in childhood. Age-related changes in IC were assessed using an in-depth analysis of reaction time, the Lateralized Readiness Potential (LRP), and other event-related potential (ERP) measures to control for speed of processing. Five-year-olds, 8-year-olds and adults completed an adapted Stroop task. Both reaction time and ERP results suggest that IC does develop in this age range, over and above changes in speed of processing. The LRP identified two processes that contribute to IC. These processes develop at different rates--an early process, involving how the conflict is initially responded to is mature by age 5, while a later process, involving how the conflict is overcome is still developing after 8 years of age. We propose that these early and late processes reflect interference suppression and response inhibition, respectively. Further, a single-trial analysis of the LRP in the incongruent condition provides evidence that the LRP is consistent across trials and functionally similar in each age group. These results corroborate previous findings regarding the development of IC, and present a new and useful tool for assessing IC across development.

Metacognition in Young Children: Current Methodological and Theoretical Developments

The established orthodoxy within metacognition research has been that metacognitive skills emerge around the age of 8–10 years. However, this position has been challenged by recent research at both the methodological and theoretical levels. Methodologically, it is now recognised that research relying on self-report or verbally-based methodologies may significantly underestimate the metacognitive performance of young children. Recent studies have used observations of children’s behaviours in naturalistic settings and found evidence of metacognitive and self-regulatory behaviours in much younger children. This methodological advance is closely tied to the development of theoretical models of the emergence of metacognition and its relation to other early cognitive developments. This chapter reviews current research using observational methods, and tasks which reduce the dependence on young children’s verbal abilities, which has explored metacognitive development in typically developing young children, and in young children with learning and motor difficulties. Within the typically developing group, studies are reported which have explored the relation between early metacognition and inhibition, theory of mind and conceptual development.

Self-regulated Learning and Conceptual Development in Young Children: The Development of Biological Understanding

Within an understanding of metacognition as a process embedded within the self-regulated learning construct, this chapter presents a review of different theoretical models relating the concepts of self-regulated learning and metacognitive skills to models of conceptual change and learning in a domain. This review stresses a developmental perspective and an in-depth analysis of these relationships within the scientific domain. In this context, theories of self-regulated learning and intentional conceptual change are analysed and discussed in the light of recent evidence from empirical studies. Evidence will also be presented from an empirical study, carried out by the authors, which illustrates the relationship between these constructs in the early years of schooling in relation to the biological domain. Through a multiple case study approach and a microgenetic perspective, eight cases belonging to the third grade of primary school were followed during one academic semester. The data collected involved observations of the children in the multiple contexts of collaborative group work activities within the classroom and individual activities and assessments which varied in their demands upon domain-specific knowledge and cognitive strategies. Implications for the relationship between self-regulated learning and conceptual change in science learning are discussed, including theoretical implications and practical suggestions to foster learning through interventions in the science classroom. The predominant type of metacognition observed in this study was of on-line regulation, namely, planning, monitoring, control and reflection during students learning. The article also examines the interrelationships between metacognition and intentional conceptual change (ICC) and between metacognition and self-regulation.