The term was initially introduced by Flavell (1976), and there are several terms used to represent the same general idea of metacognition, e.g. metacognitive beliefs, executive skills, metacomponents, self-regulation, and judgments of learning (Veenman et al, 2006). The development of all of these terms relates to the myriad of definitions and foci associated with the term metacognition.
Flavell’s (1976) original framework described metacognition as knowing about your own cognitive processes and the ability to monitor and regulate one’s own thinking and actions. This general definition was expanded as more research focused on the development of metacognition, its relationship to other cognitive factors, and its education implications. Within this framework, metacognition was dissected into four categories: metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experiences, goals, and actions (Flavell, 1979). While distinct, all of these categories interacted and affected one another. However, this categorization of metacognition led the way for other researchers to focus on specific components of the overall general …show more content…
These self-assessments involve the ability of students to accurately predict and evaluate performance during and after a specific task. Most metacognitive accuracy research has focused on laboratory studies, specifically in memory research (Maki, 1998), and found a general over confidence in participants’ ratings of ability (Glenberg and Epstein, 1985). Recent research in an educational setting has also noted this tendency for students to overestimate their ability to perform on specific tests (Hacker, Bol, Horgan, and Ernest,