Visitors Talk: Mariette van Loon, University of Zurich

Abstract

Self-monitoring and control of learning are central components of metacognition. Monitoring refers to judgments about understanding and performance, for example how certain a person is that they have understood learned material. Control involves the actions taken on the basis of these monitoring judgments, such as deciding to restudy items for which one is uncertain. Metacognitive skills are highly important for learning, and recent findings suggest that they are even more predictive of school achievement than intelligence. Monitoring and control skills develop gradually across childhood and adolescence, with substantial individual differences between children in their metacognitive skills and their development. In this talk, I will discuss how metacognition can be measured on task, show findings on its development, and examine its relation to cognitive abilities and learning outcomes.