Metacognitive resources during the solving process of a physics problem

Abstract

This paper describes an exploratory study that characterizes some metacognitive skills used by students in an introductory college physics course. These skills are reported and analysed in the context of solving problem situations in the field of magnetism. Ideas from the theoretical framework of Hammer, Redish et al. (Hammer & Elby, 2003; Hammer et al., 2005), according to which cognition is the result of the contextual activation of cognitive resources, are used. In this framework the metacognition is analysed together with the cognitive productions of the subjects. Our research findings show that the students, considered novices, have a set of metacognitive skills that might be used as basis for the design of instructional environments that would overcome the idea of the limitation of the desired behaviors of novices and, as such, would be more efficient.