Metacognition and Metacognitive Skills: Intellectual Skills Development Technology

Introduction

The emergence of knowledge- and information-based civilization imposes new requirements on approaches to professional expertise development. Intellectual activity prevails in any professional performance as modern civilization has formed a new society which is characterized by complicated information technologies, intensive information flows, and a high level of interpersonal communication (Valeyeva et al., 2016). Complex professional performance sets the challenge of developing university students’ intellectual skills through making their professional training knowledge-intensive to form an intelligent individual.

Insufficient attention to developing students’ intellectual skills may result in their intellectual inactivity which implies avoiding intellectual efforts and cognitive performance as well as displaying shallow, inert, instable, unconscious, and imitative intellectual processes, including thinking (Akimova & Kozlova, 1992).

In this regard, the importance of considering intellectual development as one of the most significant tasks of training students in university degree programs is evident (Karimov & Kazakova, 2015; Egorychev, 2014). Scientists share a common opinion that a professional should demonstrate a wide range of skills and expertise together with deep knowledge in appropriate research areas. Both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise applicable for future profession in combination with high intellect can be considered as the basis for efficient professional performance.

This chapter aims at studying the problem of intellectual skills development. In accordance with the aim the following research objectives are defined:

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  Articulate the nature of metacognition;

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  Define the place of metacognition in the framework of intellectual skills;

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  Articulate the structure of intellectual skills;

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  Examine with the help of the experiment the educational possibilities for using special techniques in training university students to catalyze the development of their intellectual skills.

This chapter contains in the ‘Background’ the main approaches to understanding the intellectual skills development process which are underlying our research. A resolution is reached that intellectual skills are very important for future specialists and, therefore, it is necessary to intentionally create conditions for their development in students.

The main part of the chapter ‘Intellectual skills development technology’ consists of three parts. In the first part theoretical questions of intellect-metacognition are studied, definitions and contents of these notions are given. A conclusion is made that the main metacognition processes are: setting goals, defining the conditions of their achievements, constructing the program activities, and monitoring the results.

In the second part the analysis of intellectual skills structure and contents are given. The research methodology is defined and proved skills of the pilot research as articulated: command of the basic intellectual operations, methods of understanding complex information, skills to carry out reflexive activity.

In the third part the intellectual skills development, pilot research is described and its results are discussed. Research design includes: key intellectual skills definition, the development methods selection, and, the level of development assessment. The obtained results were compared to the control group who studied the standard education program. The results of the experiment prove that significant changes have occurred in the students’ structure of motivation. The analysis of the experimental results shows positive dynamics in the intellectual skills development among the students of the experimental group. The use of the technology of intellectual development allowed enhancing motivation, understanding and reflection by students.

In ‘Conclusion’ the chapter is summarized and a conclusion is made on the importance of intentional intellectual skills development with university students. The authors’ intellectual skills development technology as proposed allows to fulfill it.

Background

Main ideas and principles of teaching for intellectual developing are given in the works of Vygotsky, L.S. (1978, 1982, 1983), Galperin, P.Ya. (1985), Piaget, J. (1972), Davydov, V.V. (1986, 2000), Elkonin, D.B. (1989), Flavell, J.H. (1976), Brown, A.L. (1978). Ideas stated by these authors underlie our research as taken up below.