Readings

Self analysis helps students learn maths

Researchers from Bar-Han University put two groups of 14year-olds into different learning environments to study time, distance and speed. The first group used a metacognitive approach - a method which helps pupils understand their own learning processes.
The students in this group took turns to read a problem aloud and then tried to solve the problem with other students in small groups, using metacognitive questioning. The questions were based on strategy, connection, reflection and comprehension.

The questioning encourages students to relate the new information they are presented with to any prior knowledge they have of similar problem solving.
The second group studied worked-out examples specifying each step in the solution process using a written explanation. Again students worked in small groups and each had the opportunity to read out a problem. Both groups of students were tested afterwards and those which had used the metacognitive method showed a better understanding than students of a similar ability who had learned using worked out examples.

Lower achievers benefited the most from using metacognitive methods.Researchers Zemira R Mevarech and Bracha Kramarski conclude: 'The findings indicate that the kind of task and the way group interaction is structured are two important variables in implementing cooperative learning, each of which is likely to have different effects on mathematical communication and achievement courses." The research paper will appear in The British Journal of Educational Psychology this month.