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Category: Project

Description: Metacognition is typically assessed verbally. However, many verbal metacognition tasks require language skills and conscious metacognitive awareness that may not be sufficiently developed, especially for preschool children. Thus, using verbal assessments as an estimate for metacognition may be potentially misleading as children's metacognitive strategies used in everyday situations differ from these verbal judgments. One way to address this shortcoming is to observe children's metacognition behavior in behavioral tasks. In the current study, we observed children's metacognitive behavior in an unsolvable task. Kindergarteners were asked to build a wooden snake according to a plan. Their behavior was video recorded. We will code metacognitive monitoring behaviors (e.g., checking the picture, inspecting pieces, and comparing pieces) and control behaviors (e.g., seeking, grouping, and adjustments) to analyze metacognitive behavior. We will investigate potential developmental differences in metacognitive behavior between children enrolled in the first vs. second kindergarten year. By providing a task with high ecological validity and systematically analyzing different monitoring and control strategies, the study will contribute to filling existing knowledge gaps in the metacognitive literature.