Current Issues in Measurement of Metacognition in Science Education: With a Focus on Previous Studies Using Psychological Scales

Abstract

Developing students’ metacognitive ability is particularly important in science education and has been studied by many researchers and teachers. However, it is difficult to assess (measure) students’ metacognitive ability correctly. The off-line method, which measures students’ metacognitive ability using questionnaires employing psychological scales, can provide information in a short period of time, but the method’s validity was considered to be low (e.g., Harada, Hisasaka, Kusaba & Suzuki, 2020). The purpose of this study was to collect studies that measured students’ metacognitive ability in science using such scaled questionnaires, in order to review the statistics and researchers’ interpretations. The results indicate that we should strive for the following two outcomes, (1) To conduct a conceptual replication of previous studies,. and (2) To develop upon basic research to refine the measurement of metacognition.