Metacognitive Skills and Problem-Solving

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the metacognitive strategies that middle school students used in the process of solving problems individually. The study group consisted of 37 middle school students in the eighth grade. The students were asked one non-routine word problem, and their written answers were collected. After solving the problem, the students filled out a self-monitoring questionnaire that requested them to reflect retrospectively on the metacognitive strategies they employed for the problem. In order to obtain detailed data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six students, three of whom gave correct responses and the other three gave wrong answers to the problem. The data was analyzed through the model of metacognitive activity during problem-solving. The results showed that metacognitive skills have a significant effect on students’ problem-solving success. The study found that students with high metacognitive skills tend to solve the problem correctly by using appropriate strategies, mathematical notations and logical reasons. The results also revealed that students with poor metacognitive skills have difficulties in understanding the problem, selecting appropriate strategies, and finding correct answer. Although the students thought the opposite, it was concluded that their habits of checking, detecting, and correcting mistakes in their solutions were poor.