Student Use of Metacognitive Approaches During a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience.

Program Abstract: Research scientists likely develop strong metacognitive skills from repeatedly planning and completing research projects and experiencing successes and failures. We had two primary research questions. Q1: To what extent do students report engaging in metacognition during their summer research experience, and how does this compare to their previous lab/research experiences? Q2: To what extent do students enrolled in a metacognitive intervention report more frequent use of metacognitive strategies compared to students not enrolled in that intervention? We found that all students reported more frequent use of metacognitive approaches during summer research compared to their prior lab/research experiences, with those enrolled in the metacognitive intervention showing only modest increases. Other data indicate that while students also reported small gains in their research skills, there were no differences in any other survey responses including those related to their attitude towards science, their understanding of science or their understanding of the research process.