Does being unaware predict being unskilled? Analyzing the predictive ability of the Metacognition Awareness Inventory
Students’ perceptions of how well they know information ultimately impact the study choices they make. The more accurate these perceptions are, the more prepared students are to be academically successful. Thus, the current study aimed to find an efficient way to quickly identify students who struggle with this self-assessment, and ultimately classroom performance, using a tool designed to assess metacognitive ability. Participants first completed a metacognition scale designed to assess learning strategies – the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). Next, the participants were administered a 29-minute lecture followed by a brief exam at the end of the lecture. There were three types of metacognitive judgements used in this study: a) A global predictive judgment, b) item-by-item confidence judgments, and c) a global postdictive judgment. The exam results were compared to participants’ self-report on the MAI and participants’ judgements. It was hypothesized that participants with higher MAI scores would do consistently better on the post-lecture exam than participants with lower MAI scores and be more accurate with their metacognitive judgments. Additionally, it was hypothesized that participants in the lowest metacognitive quadrant on the MAI would be overconfident in their predictions of exam performance. Neither hypothesis was supported: The MAI does not appear to be a reliable measure for predicting accuracy of metacognitive judgments or immediate academic performance.
Cognition and Perception, Educational Psychology
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