This paper reports an intensive study of problem-solving activity of female
students at the senior secondary level. The study focussed both on the mathematical
processing and the underlying cognitive and metacognitive activities that led to that
processing. Response maps were used to analyse and categorize the written responses
from individual students while videotaped problem solving sessions and structured and
free response interviews probed the students’ metacognitive knowledge, strategies, decision
making, beliefs and affects.Metacognitive activities were involved in all phases of the
solution process with key points in students’ solutions identifiable in terms of the cognitivemetacognitive
framework of Garofalo and Lester (1985). On average more time was spent
on orientation and execution activities with little time being spent on organisation and
verification activities, however, the successful groups spent less time on orientation than the
other groups. All successful groups displayed a high number of key points where metacognitive
decisions could influence cognitive action. Success was accompanied by a tendency
to engage in a high number of organisational activities, regulation of execution activities
and evaluation activities particularly evaluation of execution but fewer opportunities where
metacognitive decisions could influence cognitive actions during orientation.
KEY WORDS: Cognitive-metacognitive framework, metacognition, strategies, problemsolving,
orientation, organization