Philippine E-Journals

Metacognitive Processes of Experts and Novices in the Visual Arts

Lilia C. De Jesus

 

Abstract:

Metacognition is conceived as an aspect of the human thinking process, the knowledge that people have about the way that cognitive processes work (Benjafield, 1997), and the “ability to reflect, control, and understand in a self-aware mode of one’s learning and cognition” (Shcraw & Dennison, 1994). The metacognitive processes of experts and novices in the visual arts were explored in length both qualitatively and quantitatively along patterns of metacognitive processes posited by Wilson (1999), which proceeds from awareness, evaluation and regulation. The study covers only the two most popular artistic genres, namely painting and sculpture. Research participants were limited to living visual artists in the Philippines. From each of the two fields, six visual artists, three experts and three novices, were chosen for the study. For the metanarrative analysis, the cases were organized around themes that looked into the metacognitive skills of artists in relation to their artistic production. Data were based on multiple documentation methods including observations, audio recording of the semi-structured 22-itemsurvey questionnaire together with a modified 52- item Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) sourced from Schraw and Dennison (1997). Minimum and maximum scores, means, standard deviations, and Mann-Whitney U Test were used for the quantitative analysis. The study has shown that the visual artists did not follow Wilson’s sequence of metacognitive processes, with most of the artists already having a combination of regulation and evaluation as a second step in the process of art creation, though all three stages occurred. Research findings are expected to yield insights on innovative and engaging art-making and research in a strongly metacognitive-oriented visual art education curriculum.