Study on the correlation between metacognitive skills and concept gaining of biology at several learning models

The empowerment of students’ skill is essential to be done. One of the students’ skills that can be empowered is their metacognitive skills. A person should be provided with metacognitive skills in order to improve his thinking ability. Metacognition is defined as the knowledge of cognition and control of cognition (Flavell, 1979). In some studies metacognitive skill is often used for cognitive psychology research and psychology education. However, not only in that field, metacognitive skill is also important in the learning field. The empowerment of metacognitive skills of learners will be able to give impacts on their cognition processes.

Metacognitive skill is often associated with a person's think ability. Several studies investigating about a person's cognitive skill suggested that there was a correlation between metacognition and metamemory, critical thinking and even motivation (Lai, 2011). Metacognitive skills also are needed by students when they are dealing with challenging tasks so that the students can face these challenges. When students face these tasks, three meta-cognitive skills (planning, monitoring, evaluating) are very helpful. Students usually do not realize that they have been planning, monitoring, and evaluating their learning (Woolfolk, 2010).

Anyone having thinking ability well-trained will be able to solve a problem. Someone who has been accustomed to using his thinking skills well will be able to find the right solution to solve a problem. It is often associated with a person’s concept gaining of what he is learning. Veenman, Wilhelm, and Beishuizen (2004) stated that metacognition could give significant contribution to learning especially those related to intellectual ability. Furthermore, it was also explained that the empowerment of a person’s metacognitive skills can be related with his her cognition.

Metacognitive skill also can improve a person’s academic skill based on his/her age and cognitive ability. It can also empower a person’s ability to read a reading material, to write, as well as ability related to math skills, problem solving, and retention (Dignath, Buttner & Langfeldt, 2008). Slavin (2013) stated that metacognitive skills of a person will be able to help him/her in learning and will even help to know how he/she can learn best. This statement is in line with Schraw’s statement (1998) saying that one purpose of metacognitive skills empowerment is in order the students understand how a certain task should be carried out.

There have been many researches investigating metacognitive skills and concept gaining. One type of researches that has been conducted is the correlation regression between metacognitive skills and concept gaining. The researches have been carried out at the level of elementary schools (Zen, 2010; Basith, 2011), junior high schools (Siswati & Corebima, 2016) and senior high schools (Arifin, 2013; Ardila, 2013, and Fauziyah, 2013). Almost all of the researches showed that there were a significant positive correlation between metacognitive skills and concept gaining. Erfani and Azad (2013) conducted a research on the correlation between StateMeta-Cognition and creativity with students’ academic achievement.

The correlation between students’ metacognitive skills and learning results in science subjects had previously been revealed by (Singh, 2012). Similarly Olorundare (2011) showed that there was a strong correlation between the students’ self-efficacy and their learning results. Some research findings indicate that a person’s metacognitive ability is correlated with his academic ability. Perfect and Schwartz (2004) stated that metacognition had a positive correlation with the students’ learning and understanding. Therefore, the students who are aware of their metacognitive skills will be able to improve their learning and academic ability.

Those researches were carried out on the basis of one particular model. The learning models used in these researches were the Problem Based Learning (Zen, 2010), Jigsaw (Basith, 2011), Reciprocal Teaching (Arifin, 2013), Think Pair Share (Siswati & Corebima, 2016), thinking Empowerment by Questioning (Ardila, 2013). Another research by Chikmiyah and Sugiarto (2012) showed that there was a significant and strong correlation between students’ metacognitive knowledge and their learning results in the implementation of TPS learning strategy. Several research findings have shown that there was a correlation between metacognitive skills and concept gaining/learning results, but is it always so in one learning model or several learning models? Further researches are still needed to obtain the answers related to this issue.

One way that can be done is by conducting a survey research. The research survey is conducted by collecting a number of data to be re-analyzed and compared with the previous research result. By knowing the correlation tendency uncovered in the results of this study, a general conclusion about the correlation between metacognitive skills and concept gaining can be drawn. After a general description of the correlation between metacognitive skills and concept understanding on a learning model or several learning models is revealed, it can be explained what things to be done by further similar researches. In this case, for example, it can be concluded that from the many previous researches, that there is a correlation between metacognitive skills and concept gaining, is it still necessary to conduct a research to uncover the correlation between metacognitive skills and concept gaining; or not necessary. If it is still necessary to conduct a research investigating whether or not there is a correlation between metacognitive skills and concept gaining, should it be done repeatedly only to uncover the correlation, or directing the research of the correlation to the other direction. This research is expected to give an answer to it.