Metacognition and Conceptual Change

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on conceptual change and metacognition, explaining why two constructs are said to be necessarily intertwined. When considered in terms of an individual learner, the essence of a constructivist view of conceptual change is that it is the learner who must recognize his/her conceptions, evaluate these conceptions, decide whether to reconstruct the conceptions, and, if they decide to reconstruct, whether to review and restructure other relevant aspects of their understanding in ways that lead to consistency. Metacognition refers to the knowledge, awareness, and control of one's own learning. Metacognitive knowledge refers to knowledge of the nature and processes of learning, personal learning characteristics, and effective learning strategies and where to use them. Metacognitive awareness includes perceptions of the purpose of the current activity and personal progress through the activity. The links between conceptual change and metacognition seem to be an obvious consequence of the description of conceptual change. The processes of recognizing existing conceptions, evaluating them, deciding whether to reconstruct, and reviewing are all metacognitive processes; they require appropriate metacognitive knowledge, awareness, and control.