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Updated: May 24, 2025
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Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
Published on: September 11, 2021
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Young children's metacognition in problem-solving through question-asking.
1Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Republic of Korea.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|March 5, 2025
Summary
Young children
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Metacognition, including monitoring, control, and knowledge, is crucial for problem-solving.
- Understanding how metacognition develops in early childhood is essential for educational interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the manifestation and contribution of young children's metacognition to problem-solving via question-asking.
- To examine age-related differences in metacognitive skills and their impact on inquiry.
Main Methods:
- 101 children (4-6 years) engaged in a 20-questions task.
- Assessed confidence monitoring, question types (constraint-seeking, confirmation, ineffective), and metacognitive knowledge.
- Recorded correct answers to evaluate problem-solving success.
Main Results:
- Older children showed more accurate confidence monitoring and increased confidence with information gain.
- Older children employed more effective control strategies, asking more constraint-seeking questions.
- Metacognitive knowledge regarding the game improved with age, with 4-year-olds showing notable understanding.
Conclusions:
- Children's metacognitive skills, particularly confidence monitoring and effective questioning, are key predictors of problem-solving success.
- Findings highlight the developmental trajectory of metacognition in early childhood and its role in inquiry-based learning.
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