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Metacognition and mathematics education

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Abstract

The role of metacognition in mathematics education is analyzed based on theoretical and empirical work from the last four decades. Starting with an overview on different definitions, conceptualizations and models of metacognition in general, the role of metacognition in education, particularly in mathematics education, is discussed. The article emphasizes the importance of metacognition in mathematics education, summarizing empirical evidence on the relationships between various aspects of metacognition and mathematics performance. As a main result of correlational studies, it can be shown that the impact of declarative metacognition on mathematics performance is substantial (sharing about 15–20% of common variance). Moreover, numerous intervention studies have demonstrated that “normal” learners as well as those with especially low mathematics performance do benefit substantially from metacognitive instruction procedures.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Wolfgang Schneider

  2. Department of Educational Research, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

    Cordula Artelt

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Correspondence to Wolfgang Schneider.

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Schneider, W., Artelt, C. Metacognition and mathematics education. ZDM Mathematics Education 42, 149–161 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-010-0240-2

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