Review of Research Trends on Metacognition in Science Education in Japan

Abstract

Metacognition has a high affinity with regard to academic ability, motivation and learning strategies, so research on metacognition in science education in Japan is increasing. However, it is difficult for many researchers to study metacognition because metacognition is ill-defined as a concept, and is itself a higher cognitive function. This article aims to review the research trends and examine questions for future research on metacognition in science education in Japan by means of literature research. The 34 articles were collected from five major educational journals by using the CiNii and the J-STAGE database. Two inclusion criteria were identified: (1) the study title, subtitle, abstract, or keywords, had to include the word “metacognition,” (2) the study had to include a reference to science education. The result showed that there was much research activity around instructional design and learning strategies for prompting students’ metacognitive activities, however, the research on instructional strategies for acquiring metacognitive knowledge of scientific thinking / inquiry still requires a significant amount of work. A challenge that may need to be addressed is the method of assessment of metacognition, which is fundamental to the promotion of future research.