Abstract
The main objective of the study reported was to explore the effect on young children's critical thinking of a peer-tutoring training embedded with the metacognitive processes required for problem-based learning and, consequently, for critical thinking. The sample consisted of 90 first- and third-grade pupils (45 pairs) randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The experimental tutors received the Peer Mediation training, an intervention containing embedded metacognitive processes. The control children received a general preparation for peer-assisted learning. Following their respective preparations, all the children participated in a peer-tutoring condition, videotaped for 25 min and subsequently analyzed with an adaptation of the Newman et al. (Interpers Comput Technol 3(2):56-77, 1995) content analysis instrument. Analysis of the discourse conducted during the tutoring session indicated that the tutors and tutees in the experimental groups exhibited greater depth of critical thinking, demonstrated in the higher Quality of Discourse Ratio calculated, than did the tutors and tutees in the control group. The findings supported previous results showing the efficacy of the Peer Mediation for Young Children mediation-training program, with its embedded metacognitive competencies, for reinforcing young children's higher-order thinking. Implications for educators are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 384-398 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of Science Education and Technology |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:2. The papers by Shomaker, Lipson and Meleis, Barbee, and Brink were presented at a one-day conference on International Nursing: The Cross-Cultural Context held on 6 May 1986 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The conference was co-sponsored by the Council for Nursing and Anthropology and the Transcultural Nursing Society. Tape recordings of the proceedings can be obtained from: Kennedy Recordings,RR 6, Edmonton, Alberta. Financial support for the conference wasprovided by the Alberta Cultural Heritage Foundation, the University of Alberta, Xerox Corporation and Ross Laboratories. Some of the 81 papers presented, mainly those addressing nursing education and nursing care issues, are published as Recent Advances in Cross-Cultural Nursing (Morse 1988). The articles in this Special Issue of Medical Anthropology are those considered to be of greatest interest to medical anthropologists.
Keywords
- Critical thinking
- Metacognition
- Peer tutoring
- Problem-based learning