Effectiveness of Metacognitive Instruction on Students’ Science Learning Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of metacognitive instruction on science learning achievement using a meta-analytic procedure. Statistical analyses were performed using the software Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) Version 3 developed by Biostat, Inc. Based on the findings, the overall effect size (ES=0.808) revealed that the use and integration of metacognition in science instruction has a significantly large and positive effect on student learning achievement.  Moderator analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the effect sizes of the individual studies when grouped according to the student’s level of education and the scientific disciplines being studied. However, the obtained positive and large effect sizes suggested that the use and integration of metacognition can be effectively implemented whether students are in the elementary, secondary or tertiary level, be it Biological or Physical Science. Moreover, the metacognitive strategies employed by individual studies are mostly found to be integrated with ICT mainly metacognitive prompts; other practices were student-led metacognitive discussions, concept mapping, metacognitive writing, and metacognitive practice and training. This result establishes the effectiveness of the use and integration of different metacognitive strategies to improve student learning. Thus, science teachers must be equipped with pedagogical knowledge on the implementation and integration of metacognition in classroom instruction.