Teaching Writing Assessment: Does Metacognitive Awareness-Raising Work?
الموضوعات : نشریه زبان و ترجمه
Mojgan Kouhpayehzadeh Esfahani
1
,
Mojgan Rashtchi
2
,
Ali Asghar Rostami Abousaidi
3
,
Bahram Mowlaie
4
1 - English Department, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - English Department, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - English Department, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
4 - English Department, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
الکلمات المفتاحية: Self-regulation, Writing Assessment, Cognitive-Based Assessment Instruction, Metacognitive-Based Assessment Instruction,
ملخص المقالة :
The present quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design investigated the effects of metacognitive awareness on developing Iranian EFL learners’ assessment ability. Forty-one male and female upper-intermediate level learners in two intact classes from an English language school in the Tehran province were selected based on convenience sampling. The classes were randomly assigned to the Cognitive-Based Assessment Instruction Group (CAIG) the and Metacognitive-Based Assessment Instruction Group (MAIG). A general proficiency test administered before the treatment verified the participants’ homogeneity. The Metacognitive Awareness Writing Questionnaire and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire were also administered before and after the study to measure participants’ metacognitive awareness level and self-regulation. The MAIG used metacognitive strategies such as planning, monitoring, and revising to assess English essays. The CAIG performed assessments based on cognitive strategies and a Writing Rubric. The participants’ improvement in assessment was measured every other session during the treatment. After the treatment, the participants took two writing posttests (rehearsed and unrehearsed writing topics). Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) results showed that the MAIG outperformed the CAIG in both posttests, and raising metacognitive awareness could significantly enhance the participants’ assessment ability. The Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM-ANOVA) and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that the MAIG participants’ performances were significantly better than the CAIG on seven writing assessments. The MAIG’s self-regulation was also significantly higher. This study has implications for materials developers, EFL teachers, and syllabus designers to focus on raising metacognitive awareness in writing assessment.
Aryanjam, L., Rashtchi, M., & Maftoon, P. (2021). Boosting reading achievement by employing learner autonomy curriculum: Effects of strategy instruction. Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(3), 51-70.
Begum, R., & Liton, H. A. (2018). Needs and demands of 21st-century learning skills: A reflective approach. International Journal of English Language, Literature and Translation Studies, 5(1), 222-232 https://www.re searchgate.net/publication
Beiki, M., Raissi, R., & Gharagozloo, N. (2020). The differences between Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions and their instructional practices regarding cooperative learning. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 7(1), 1847420. https://doi. org/10.1080/23311983.2020.1847420
Boeree, C. G. (2006). Albert Bandura. Personality theories.
Capel, A., & Sharp, W. (2014). Objective first student's book with answers with CD-ROM. Cambridge University Press.
Cer, E. (2019). The instruction of writing strategies: The effect of the metacognitive strategy on the writing skills of pupils in secondary education. SAGE 9(2), 1-17. https:/ /doi.org /10.1177 %2F2158244019842681
Chanski, S. (2015). Assessing writing through metacognitive and reflective practice. Language Arts Journal of Michigan, 31(1), 53-56. https:// doi.org/ 10.9707/ 2168-149X.2097
Clauss, J. M., & Geedey, C. K. (2010). Knowledge surveys: Students' ability to self-assess. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(2), 14-24.
Desoete, A. (2008). Multi-method assessment of metacognitive skills in elementary school children: How you test is what you get. Metacognition and Learning, 3(3), 189-206. https:/ /doi.org /10.100 7/s11409-008-9026-0
Dinsmore, D. L., Alexander, P. A., & Loughlin, S. M. (2008). Focusing the conceptual lens on metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning. Educational Psychology Review, 20(4), 391-409. https:// doi.org /10.100 7/s10648-008-9083-6
Farahian, M. (2015). Assessing EFL learners’ writing metacognitive awareness. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 11(2), 39-51. https:// www.re searchgate.net/publication/282852758
Farahian, M. (2017). Developing and validating a metacognitive writing questionnaire for EFL learners. Issues in Educational Research, 27(4), 736-750. https:// www.researchgate.net/publication
Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem-solving. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), The Nature of Intelligence (pp. 231-235). (Lawrence Erlbaum)
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive–developmental inquiry. American psychologist, 34(10), 906-910. https://d oi .org/10.1037/0003-06 6X .34.10.906
Goudarzi, E., & Ghonsooly, B. (2014). The relationship between metacognitive awareness and test-taking strategies and their effects on the test performance of Iranian EFL learners. International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 5(1), 598-608. https:/ /www .resear chgate.n et/publication
Gray, C. D., & Kinnear, P. R. (2012). IBM SPSS statistics 19 made simple. Psychology Press.
Hartman, H. J. (2001). Metacognition in learning and instruction: Theory, research and practice (Vol. 19). Springer Science & Business Media.
Lane, P., Gobet, F., & Cheng, P. (2000). Learning-based constraints on schemata. In Proceedings of the Twenty-second Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society., 776-781https:// doi.org/1 0. 33 89/fpsyg.2015.01785
Lee, I., & Mak, P. (2018). Metacognition and metacognitive instruction in second language writing classrooms. TESOL Quarterly, 52(4), 1085-1097. https:// doi.or g/10.1002/tesq.436
Luce, C., & Kirnan, J. P. (2016). Using indirect vs. direct measures in the summative assessment of student learning in higher education. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(4), 75-91. https:// doi.org /10.144 34/josot l.v16i4.19371
Maftoon, P., Birjandi, P., & Farahian, M. (2014). Investigating Iranian EFL learners’ writing metacognitive awareness. International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 3(5), 37-51. https:/ /doi. Org /10 .58 61/i jrse. 2014 .896.
Matusov, E., & Hayes, R. (2000). Sociocultural critique of Piaget and Vygotsky. New Ideas in Psychology, 18(2-3), 215-239.
McMillan, J. H., & Hearn, J. (2008). Student self-assessment: The key to stronger student motivation and higher achievement. Educational Horizons, 87(1), 40-49.
Nimon, K., & Williams, C. (2009). Evaluating performance improvement through repeated measures: A primer for educators considering univariate and multivariate designs. Research in Higher Education Journal, 2, 1-20. https ://www.researchgate.net/publication
Oudman, S., van de Pol, J., & van Gog, T. (2021). Effects of self-scoring their math problem solutions on primary school students’ monitoring and regulation. Metacognition and Learning, 1-27. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 07/s11409-021-09281-9
Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS. Routledge.
Pintrich, P. R., & De Groot, E. V. (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 82(1), 33-40. https: //doi.o rg/10.1037/0022-0663. 82 .1. 33
Rasakumaran, A., & Patrick, J. (2019). Schema Theory and Cognitive Aspects of Reading. Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 24(4), 26-30. https:// doi.org/10.9790/0837-2404032630
Rashtchi, M., & Khani, P. (2010). Improving Iranian EFL learners’ oral proficiency through metacognitive strategies instruction. Journal of English Language Studies, 1(4), 137-156.https:// www.s emantic scholar.org/paper/
Rashtchi, M., & Khoshnevisan, B. (2020). Lessons from critical thinking: how to promote thinking skills in EFL writing classes. European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 5(1), 34-47. https://doi.org/10.46827/ejfl.v5i1.3153
Rolheiser, C., & Ross, J. A. (2001). Student self-evaluation: What research says and what practice shows. In R. D. Small & A. Thomas (Eds.), Plain talk about kids (pp. 43-57). http:// www. cdl.or g/reso urce-l ibrary/articles/self_eval.php
Ruban, L. (2003). Developing minds: A resource book for teaching thinking. Roeper Review, 25(2), 89-90.
Sayin, A., & Kahraman, N. (2020). A measurement tool for repeated measurement of assessment of university students’ writing skill: Development and evaluation. Journal of Measurement and Evaluation in Education and Psychology, 11(2), 113-130. https://d oi.org/10. 21031/ep od.639148
Selpia, D., & Purnawarman, P. (2018). The use of Ilearn in online indirect writing assessment: An investigation into students’ perceptions. Eleventh Conference on Applied Linguistics (CONAPLIN 2018), Indonesia.
Teng, F. (2019). The role of metacognitive knowledge and regulation in mediating university EFL learners’ writing performance. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 14(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2019.1615493
Teng, M. F., Qin, C., & Wang, C. (2021). Validation of metacognitive academic writing strategies and the predictive effects on academic writing performance in a foreign language context. Metacognition and Learning, 3(189), 1-24. https:// doi.org/10. 1007/s11409-021-09278-4
Torrance, H. (2007). Assessment as learning? How the use of explicit learning objectives, assessment criteria, and feedback in post‐secondary education and training can come to dominate learning. Assessment in Education, 14(3), 281-294. https:// doi.org/ 10.1080 /09695940701591867
Tosuncuoglu, I., & Kirmizi, Ö. (2019). A review on writing metacognitive awareness of Turkish advanced level EFL learners. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 6(1), 136-149.
Vygotsky, L., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Xiao, Y. (2007). Applying metacognition in EFL writing instruction in China. Reflections on English Language Teaching, 6(1), 19-33. https:// www.r esearchgate.net/publication
Zimmerman, B. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory into practice, 41(2), 64-70. https://d oi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip41022 .
