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Interactive assessment of metacognition: Exploratory study of a procedure for persons with severe mental retardation

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Abstract

Metacognition is an important construct for the understanding of mental retardation and the design of educational treatment for this population. However, assessment procedures used for the testing of metacognition do not seem appropriate for these subjects. This article presents an interactive assessment procedure that uses a game-like task. Results show that this format adequately reflects low levels of self-regulation in persons with mental retardation and, more important, individual differences among these individuals in a manner not possible with more static approaches. Adaptive behaviour and learning of metacognition in a cognitive enrichment programme are used as external criteria, with significant correlations between these and interactive assessment scores. Implications for educational practice and assessment of metacognition are discussed.

Résumé

La métacognition s’avère un concept approprié pour une meilleure compréhension du retard mental et des approches pédagogiques adaptées à cette population. Cependant, les méthodes d’évaluation utilisées pour mesurer la métacognition ne semblent pas s’adapter à leurs besoins. L’article propose une méthode d’évaluation interactive qui met en place un exercice type-jeu. Les résultats obtenus démontrent que cette méthode fait apparaître des niveaux d’autorégulation faibles chez les personnes souffrant d’un retard mental. Qui plus est, elle révèle des différences interindividuelles entre aux qui ne sont pas décelées avec des approches trop figées. La faculté d’adaptation et l’apprentissage de la métacognition ont été utilisés en tant que critères externes. De corrélations significatives entre ces deux critères et les résultats de l’évaluation interactive sont apparues. Leurs possibles incidences sur la pratique pédagogique/éducative et l’évaluation de la métacognition sont sujets à discussion.

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Saldaña, D. Interactive assessment of metacognition: Exploratory study of a procedure for persons with severe mental retardation. Eur J Psychol Educ 19, 349–364 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173215

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