In summary the findings of this study confirm the need to incorporate
in teaching methods those procedures that facilitate students’ problemsolving
performance by encouraging them to make full use of their available
cognitive and metacognitive resources. This involves the provision of
learning situations that give experience in knowing how to make conscious
use of available metacognitive information in order to predict future events,
and to plan appropriate responses in order to reach a problem solution. An
astute choice of classroom problems with associated follow-up time for reflection
and discussion of both appropriate and inappropriate approaches to
solutions is one necessary inclusion. Such reflection and discussion should
include the discussion of metacognitive activities that were (or should have
been) used. It is crucial that students enhance their abilities to focus on the
selection of relevant information, the construction of a feasible model, and
APPLYING MATHEMATICS AND METACOGNITION 187
the testing of that model, as well as the employment of monitoring and
verification strategies.
In essence, metacognition concerns decision making and decision making
involves using both strategic and temporal resources to determine the
appropriate response. Both the speed and accuracy of this process of response
selection is influenced and linked to the number of decisions to
be made, the number of options to be selected from, the total time perceived
by the student to be available for decision making and the perceived
time-cost associated with incorrect decisions. As has been observed in
this investigation, students’ decision making about temporal resources is
crucial to their success and students need sufficient practice in problem
solving during an extended time interval in order to develop appropriate
mechanisms for dealing with efficient use of time.
Finally, two further general observations follow from the outcomes of
the research.
Firstly, the results indicate that a symbiotic relationship exists between
the cognitive, metacognitive, and affective elements of student problemsolving
activity. To attempt to treat affect as a separate issue from cognition
would be to go against all the evidence this study has provided. Teaching
approaches are needed through which both can be made overt and
interacting components of learning contexts.
Secondly, nothing in the research suggests that problem-solving will
be enhanced by a focus on so-called generic skills. We have noted that
teaching which encourages compartmentalised knowledge and stereotyped
expectations works against the development of problem-solving expertise
which is consistent with studies elsewhere. However, equally, students
were defeated through lack of conceptual understanding and automated
facility with essential mathematical skills. More knowledge, rather than
less is required, but it must be introduced and applied in problem contexts
in which the various metacognitive strategies are consciously brought to
bear.