Home⇛Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal⇛vol. 25 no. 9 (2024)

Metacognitive Awareness as a Predictor of Chemistry Problem-Solving Skills among MSU-Lanao National College of Arts and Trades Junior High School Students

Mariam Diriposun

Discipline: others in psychology

 

Abstract:

This study investigates the relationship between high school students' metacognitive awareness—specifically in planning, monitoring, and evaluation—and their Chemistry problem-solving skills, framed by Polya’s four steps of problem-solving: understanding the problem, devising a plan, implementing the plan, and re-evaluation. Conducted with students from MSU-Lanao National College of Arts and Trades (MSU-LNCAT) during the Academic Year 2023-2024, the research utilized a non-experimental quantitative design with a predictive correlational approach. Data were collected using the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) and the Chemistry Problem-Solving Test Questionnaire (PSTQ). Descriptive statistics and Kendall’s Tau Correlation were applied for analysis, revealing that while students demonstrated high metacognitive awareness and strong problem-solving skills, no significant correlation was found between these variables (p-value = 0.566, Kendall’s Tau = 0.046). This unexpected result suggests that further investigation is needed to explore the factors influencing the relationship between metacognitive awareness and Chemistry problem-solving skills.



References:

  1. Aaron, R., Alex, F., Turner, P. C., & Maxwell, G. (2022). Assessing the impact of metacognitive post-reflection exercises on problem-solving skillfulness. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 18(1), 1–10.
  2. Agustian, H. Y., & Seery, M. K. (2017). Reasserting the role of pre-laboratory activities in chemistry education: A proposed framework for their design. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 18(4), 518–532. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7RP00140A.
  3. Alavi, H., & Hoseini, A. (2009). The effect of educational factors on the academic performance of university students in chemistry. Chemical Education Journal (CEJ), 13(2).
  4. Azizah, U., Nasrudin, H., & Mitarlis. (2019). Metacognitive skills: A solution in chemistry problem solving. Journal of Physics Conference Series, 1417(1), 012084. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1417/1/012084.
  5. Braithwaite, D. W., & Sprague, L. (2021). Conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and metacognition in routine and non-routine problem-solving. Florida State University: Cognitive Science.
  6. Brederode, M. E. van, Zoon, S. A., & Meeter, M. (2020). Examining the effect of lab instructions on students' critical thinking during a chemical inquiry practical. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 21(4), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0RP00020E.
  7. Chisholm, J. M. (1999). The effect of metacognition, critical thinking, gender, and gender role identification on academic achievement in the middle years. (Master's thesis). Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
  8. Fadilah, S., Prastiti, T. D., Dafik, & Hobri. (2020). The metacognition of elementary students in object changes learning with SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review). IOP Publishing.
  9. Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906-911.
  10. Güner, P., & Erbay, H. N. (2021). Metacognitive skills and problem-solving. International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES).
  11. Idawati, Setyosari, Kuswandi, & Ulfa. (2020). Investigating the effects of problem-solving methods and cognitive flexibility on improving university students' metacognitive skills. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists.
  12. Lai, E. R. (2011). Metacognition: Literature review. Retrieved from https://moodle.elac.edu/pluginfile.php/111973/mod_resource/content/0/Metacognition_Literature_Review_Final.pdf.
  13. Lamon, M. (2022). Learning theory: Constructivist approach. Web Solutions LLC. Retrieved from https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2174/Learning-Theory-CONSTRUCTIVIST-APPROACH.html.
  14. Livingston, J. A. (2003). Metacognition: An overview. ERIC Document No: ED474273. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/.
  15. Ocak, G., Doğruel, A. B., & Tepe, M. E. (2021). An analysis of the relationship between problem-solving skills and scientific attitudes of secondary school students. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 8(1), 72-83. https://doi.org/10.33200/ijcer.780710
  16. Rahman, U. F. (2010). Impact of metacognitive awareness on the performance of students in chemistry. Contemporary Issues In Education Research, 3(10), 39–44.
  17. Seery, M. K., et al. (2019). Unfinished recipes: Structuring upper-division laboratory work to scaffold experimental design skills. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(1), 53–59. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00511.
  18. Sevgi, S., & Karakaya, M. (2020). Investigation of metacognition awareness levels and problem-solving skills of middle school students. International Online Journal of Primary Education, 9(2), 260-270.
  19. Sternberg, R. J., Glaveanu, V., Karami, S., Kaufman, J. C., Phillipson, S. N., & Preiss, D. (2021). Meta-intelligence: Understanding, control, and interactivity between creative, analytical, practical, and wisdom-based approaches in problem-solving. Journal of Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence9020019.
  20. Wicaksono, S. C. R., Mardiyana, & Siswanto. (2020). An analysis of the student metacognition level in problem-solving via problem stories in the materials of the two-variable equation system. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), 7(4), 1493-1499.

Tools


Copyright © 2026  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic