Improvement of metacognition skills within high school general chemistry

Abstract

Within my science classroom at Germantown High School, students seem to lack the ability, or desire, to evaluate their own understanding of material. These underdeveloped metacognitive skills negatively affect both their grade as well as, their participation in class and their overall attitude towards science. Research has shown the importance of metacognition, or thinking about your own thinking, in students, and especially in chemistry students. Many students lack the knowledge and experience to conduct this type of thinking. Within this study, I used specific lessons and techniques that focus on modeling and practicing techniques to develop metacognitive skills. No quantitative changes where found within student use of the metacognitive techniques or their grades, but significant changes were seen in students' ability to accurately understand their own skill level.