Metacognition and evidence analysis instruction: an educational framework and practical experience

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Information Science

Background:

• Metacognitive skills' role in evidence analysis is under-researched.
• The integration of evidence analysis steps via metacognition is not well understood.
• Current understanding of metacognition in evidence analysis and its instruction is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a model for identifying critical thinking and metacognitive skills in evidence analysis instruction.
• To demonstrate using systematic review/meta-analysis tools to enhance metacognitive skills.
• To provide a framework for addressing student weaknesses in evidence analysis.

Main Methods:

• Developing an instructional model based on educational theory and research.
• Utilizing freely available systematic review and meta-analysis software.
• Focusing on higher-order metacognitive skills within the evidence analysis process.

Main Results:

• A proposed model for integrating metacognitive skills into evidence analysis instruction.
• Demonstration of how systematic review tools can target higher-order thinking.
• A framework designed to address common student learning gaps.

Conclusions:

• The proposed instructional framework can foster critique and elaboration in evidence analysis.
• This work provides a conceptual basis for future research on metacognition in evidence analysis.
• Enhanced metacognitive instruction can improve students' evidence analysis capabilities.