Filling in the Distance Between Us: Group Metacognition During Problem Solving in a Secondary Education Course

While a body of research exists on individual metacognition, research on reflective communities is just beginning. This study generated a framework for conceptualizing metacognition in groups by describing likely components of group metacognition. I focused on a group of five preservice science teachers engaged in problem-based learning (PBL). The purpose of the PBL course was to help students gain useful concepts from the learning sciences to apply to teaching. I investigated forms of metacognition and the role reflective discourse played during the learning process. The group and facilitator were videotaped during PBL sessions. A segment of video to study further was identified through interaction analysis. I analyzed the discourse of this segment of the transcribed group discussion, and I examined the group’s final paper. Supplementary data sources included the interaction analysis transcript of the full 8-h videotape and, specifically, the comments the group made about the resources they used to solve the problem. Categories of group metacognition were identified, claims proposed, and recombined or rejected until saturation. I identified three components of group metacognition that helped the group members solve the instructional redesign problem: (1) metasocial awareness about other member’s expertise, (2) monitoring of understanding, and (3) monitoring of process. Future research directions and instructional implications are discussed.