Abstract
Our cognitive-motivational process model (Vollmeyer & Rheinberg, 1998) assumes that motivational factors (i.e., mastery confidence, incompetence fear, interest, and challenge) affect performance via mediators. Previous studies (Vollmeyer, Rollett, & Rheinberg, 1997) found that strategy systematicity and motivational state during learning mediate the impact of initial motivation on the learning of a complex system. Potential mediators could be other cognitive (e.g., hypothesis testing) and metacognitive aspects, in that more motivated learners (high mastery confidence, low incompetence fear, high interest) analyse more deeply. Verbal protocols from 44 students who learnt to control a complex dynamic system were collected. We measured their initial motivation (on the four factors specified), then during learning we assessed their strategy systematicity and motivational state. Additionally, we analysed the verbal protocols to obtain indicators of learners’ cognitive and metacognitive processes. Performance measures were levels of knowledge acquisition and application. The cognitive-motivational process model was replicated. Qualitative cognitive aspects were added as mediators, however, the results for metacognition were problematic, partly because participants gave relatively few clearly expressed metacognitive statements.
Résumé
Notre modèle de processus cognitivo-motivationnel (Vollmeyer & Rheinberg, 1998), suppose que les facteurs motivationnels (i.e., confiance dans sa maîtrise, crainte de l’incompétence, intérêt, et défi) affectent la performance par l’intermédiaire de médiateurs. Des études antérieurs (Vollmeyer, Rollett, & Rheinberg, 1997) ont montré que la systématicité de la stratégie et l’état motivationnel pendant l’apprentissage d’un système complexe. Les médiateurs pontentiels peuvent concerner d’autres aspects cognitifs et métacognitifs, étant donné que les apprenants les plus motivés (niveau élevé de confiance dans sa maîtrise, faible crainte de son incompétence, niveau élevé d’intérêt) analysent plus profondément. On a recueilli les protocoles verbaux de 44 étudiants qui apprenaient à contrôler un système dynamique complexe. On a mesuré leur motivation initiale (sur les quatre facteurs spécifiés) puis, durant l’apprentissage, on a évalué leur systématicité stratégique et leur état motivationnel. En plus, on a analysé les protocoles verbaux afin d’obtenir des indicateurs de processus cognitifs et métacognitifs d’apprentisage. Les mesures de performance utilisées ont été des niveaux d’acquisition et d’application de connaissances. On a alors répliqué le modèle de processus cognitivomotivationnel à ces données. Les aspects cognitifs qualitatifs ont été introduits, en plus, comme médiateurs, mais les résultats relatifs à la métacognition ont été problématiques du fait, en partie, que les participants ont fourni relativement peu d’énoncés méta-cognitifs exprimés clairement.
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Vollmeyer, R., Rheinberg, F. Motivation and metacognition when learning a complex system. Eur J Psychol Educ 14, 541–554 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172978
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172978