Off-line metacognition in children with mathematics learning disabilities

This thesis is devoted to the relationship between off-line metacognition and mathematical problem solving skills in lower-elementary-school children. The question underlying this thesis is whether or not off-line metacognition has some ‘value added’ in the assessment and treatment of young children with mathematics learning disabilities. Since Flavell (1976), metacognition has become a general multidimensional construct. Unfortunately, despite all the emphasis on metacognition, it became clear that currently researchers use different concepts for overlapping phenomena and employ different methods to assess these phenomena. The purpose of this thesis is to help to clarify some of the issues on the conceptualization of metacognition. Furthermore, it is investigated if some of the metacognitive parameters can be combined into a smaller number of supervariables. It is concluded that off-line metacognitive skillfulness (a combination of prediction and evaluation skills) explains about 16% of the variance in mathematical problem solving in young children. Two instruments to unravel off-line metacognitive skillfulness (EPA and EPA2000) are presented. Several studies with EPA2000 (De Clercq, Desoete & Roeyers, 2000) appeared to underline the importance of off-line metacognition to differentiate children with mathematics learning disabilities from children with age-adequate mathematics performances. However, not all children with mathematics learning disabilities showed a metacognitive deficiency. Our data underlined that there might be a sort of mathematics learning disabilities spectrum, with different (meta)cognitive profiles in young children. It might therefore be important to assess off-line metacognitive skills in children with mathematics learning disabilities. Another question underlying this thesis is whether an intervention on off-line metacognition has some value added on the treatment of children with mathematics learning disabilities in grade 3. The findings from our intervention study indicated that prediction is a modifiable skill. Moreover, we found positive treatment outcomes by adding an aspect of off-line metacognition on traditionally used mathematical problem solving treatments. In addition, the findings of this thesis indicate that motivating children or ordinary exposure to mathematical problem solving exercises is not enough to stimulate children’s metacognitive skills. Off-line metacognitive skills need to be explicitly taught in order to develop.

Grantor dc:publisher

Ghent, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Year dc:date

2001

Author dc:creator

• Desoete, Annemie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Roeyers, Herbert

• Social Sciences

Statement dc:rights

• info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/522137
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/522137/file/1874176

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:archive.ugent.be:522137