Developing Primary Students’ Group Metacognitive Processes in a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Environment

This study investigated the development of group metacognition by three small groups of middle-grade primary school students engaged in the collaborative construction of computer-based mathematical models. The three groups of students were part of a cohort of 30 Grade 4-5 students engaged in the construction of mathematical models within the context of a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. These three groups were chosen for the group metacognition study because they were seriously malfunctioning, little co-operation was evident between them and most of their time was spent on non-productive conflict. During the six week period of the study, the three groups were provided with sets of metacognitive scaffolds and strategies to facilitate group metacognition. The design of the metacognitive scaffolds and strategies was informed by a conceptual framework that was derived from the literature in the fields of metacognition, cooperative learning, cooperative group metacognition, and computer-supported collaborative learning. The study found that providing the students with metacognitive scaffolds and strategies resulted in positive changes in the students’ cooperative work and increased levels of knowledge-building activity. The students formed a ‘collective cognitive responsibility’ for their group work and developed an understanding of how to contribute effectively to the knowledgebuilding progress of the group.