THE EFFECT OF METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES ON CHILDREN'S WRITING.

Abstract

This study explored the effects of metacognitive strategies on expository writing performance and metacognitive awareness of sixth graders. Metacognitive knowledge refers to students' ability to talk and write about the variables operating in expository tasks, the availability and appropriateness of strategies for producing expository text and how aspects of writing interact with the appropriateness of strategies available to the writer. High and low ability students were assigned to an experimental group who received instruction in metacognitive awareness strategies or to a control group. Three different types of measures included writing performance measures of syntax, mechanics and semantics/pragmatics; metacognitive awareness measures; and individual differences measures. The syntax and mechanics measures and the individual differences measures were standardized by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Results indicated no significant differences in either writing performance or metacognitive awareness for the two groups. Possible causal factors emerged: Expository writing performance was shown to be situation specific; a group design did not allow for a clear description of what factors contributed to the uneven performances; writers may not have performed well since a functional context and a source of motivation were lacking. Writing assessment and research design became the central issues of this study. Any comparison of two pieces of writing cannot reflect a writer's competence. Contextual factors influence the writer's performance on any task and a research design needs to allow for description of those factors.