Exploring metacognitive development in the context of peer assisted writing using on-line and off-line methods

Abstract

The exploration of metacognition in the context of Peer Assisted Writing (PAW) is an under-researched area. This study aims to address this issue in one primary school. A PAW programme that included four pairs of pupils from a composite Primary 6/7 class was timetabled over five weeks. There were three sessions of approximately 45 minutes each week during which each pair of pupils jointly planned and wrote a story. The stories followed the school writing programme. Qualitative and quantitative analysis, collected using action research and case study design, is used to investigate how a PAW programme supports pupils’ metacognitive and writing development. The complex issues of metacognition are examined. On-line and off-line assessment methods tell us about metacognitive outcomes of PAW. The results show that the different assessment methods (Video Recording of the PAW sessions, Think Aloud when Prompted and Pupil View Templates) reveal a range of metacognitive outcomes that together help to complete a fuller picture of pupils’ thinking and learning abilities and social emotional well-being. The results evidenced that PAW fosters metacognition. Qualitative results suggested that writing is a complex, metacognitive process and it was necessary to extend the range of sub-components of information management. The results confirmed the views that development of knowledge of metacognition and regulation of metacognition are mutually dependent on each other and also that development of regulation of metacognition can take place in early primary school. Additionally, there was confirmation for research that proposed writing as ‘applied metacognition’. Quantitative analysis indicated that pupils engaged in PAW made substantial progress and that PAW particularly benefited pupils with weaker writing skills.