Can Metacognitive Strategies Help Novices Restructure Their Weather Forecast Strategies?.
This paper reports an exploratory case study of eleven students’ use of metacognitive processes in a technology-enhanced introductory meteorology course. The purpose of the case study was to investigate the effectiveness of technologically mediated reflective thinking activities for students enrolled in a large introductory science course for non-majors. The study analyzed how novices engaging in metacognitive activities monitored and changed personal conceptions about weather processes and how they used those conceptions to write forecasts. In addition to the reflective thinking activities, the case study group was interviewed to elicit details about their personal weather forecasting strategies. Among the eleven students in the case study group, several different strategic approaches to forecasting were noted. The report ends with some suggestions for further research and practice in the area of metacognition with college-aged students learning about science.
