Fostering kindergarteners' metacognition

• Main Author: Pappas Schattman, Sarantoula Sandra
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: Ann Arbor ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 2005
• Subjects: Developmental psychology; Mathematics education
• ISBN: 0542316730; 9780542316739

This investigation examined the effectiveness of an intervention designed to facilitate mathematical competence by enhancing kindergarteners' metacognitive knowledge and regulatory skills. The participants were 44 children ranging in age from 4 years 10 months to 6 years 10 months in three public school kindergarten classrooms located in New York. Approximately equal numbers of children were from lower and middle socioeconomic (SES) families. Children from each SES group were randomly assigned to conditions (i.e., treatment and no-treatment groups). The effectiveness of the intervention was assessed through appropriate pre- and post-test comparisons of the groups on various metacognitive abilities. These were measured primarily by pre- and post-test individually administered clinical interviews concerning children's mathematical problem solving. Measures of mathematical knowledge and language ability were also employed as covariates. The results indicate that the ability to accurately describe one's thinking improved after participation in the intervention. The findings also indicate that the intervention produces an increase in the ability to recognize and correct mistakes. Further, improvements in the capacity to express thinking and ability to recognize mistakes were stronger in the middle SES group than the lower SES group. The results suggest that with instruction, young children are capable of developing metacognitive skills before the onset of formal schooling. Implications for education are also discussed.