The aim of the present study is to explore the effects of Meta?strategic Knowledge (MSK) on scientific inquiry learning. MSK is a subcomponent of metacognition defined as general, explicit knowledge about thinking strategies. Following earlier studies that showed considerable effects of explicit instruction of MSK regarding the strategy of variables control, the present study explores whether similar effects are found in two additional scientific thinking strategies: Define Research Questions and Formulate Research Hypotheses. Participants were 119 eighth?grade students from six classes of a heterogeneous school. Equal numbers of low?achieving and high?achieving students were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The findings showed dramatic developments in students? performance following instruction. The effect of the treatment was preserved in a delayed transfer test. Our findings show that explicit teaching of MSK had a stronger effect for low?achieving students than for high?achieving students. The implications of the findings for teaching and learning in the context of scientific inquiry are discussed.

The concept of metacognition refers to one’s knowledge and control of one’s own cognitive system. However, despite being widely used, this concept is confusing because of several reasons. First, sometimes it is not at all clear what is cognitive and what is metacognitive. Second, researchers often use the same term, namely, “metacognition” even when they refer to very different aspects of this complex concept. Alternatively, researchers may use different terms to indicate the same metacognitive elements. Another foggy matter is the interrelationships among the various components of metacognition discussed in the literature. This conceptual confusion regarding the concept of metacognition and its sub-components calls for in-depth theoretical and conceptual clarifications. The goal of this article is to portray a detailed example of a conceptual analysis of meta-strategic knowledge (MSK) which is one specific component of metacognition. This specific example is used to draw a general model for conceptual analyses of additional metacognitive components. The approach suggested here is to begin with a clear definition of the target sub component of metacognition, followed by a systematic examination of this sub component according to several dimensions that are relevant to metacognition in general and to that sub component in particular. The examination should include an analysis of how the details of the definition of the target sub-component refer to: (a) general theoretical metacognitive issues raised by prominent scholars; (b) definitions formulated and issues raised by other researchers who have investigated the same (or a similar) sub-component and, (c) empirical findings pertaining to that sub-component. Finally, it should be noted that since metacognition is a relational rather than a definite concept it is important to situate the context within which the conceptual analysis takes place.

Recent studies have begun to show that epistemic thinking, thinking about knowledge and knowing, may play an important role in online learning processes such as searching, evaluating, and integrating multiple online sources. The purpose of this study is to characterize the epistemic thinking of elementary school students as they study online. This goal is achieved by using the Epistemic Understanding Questionnaire (Kuhn et al., 2000), and thinking aloud during two open-ended online tasks, followed by retrospective interviews (Hofer, 2004). The participants of this study are 42 Israeli sixth graders. Preliminary results show that epistemic thinking is related to performance of key online learning strategies such as evaluation, integration, and construction and justification of arguments based on multiple online sources. The study analyzes the interplay between epistemic metacognition and strategic performance.