Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Epistemic metacognition in context: evaluating and learning online information

  • Published:
Metacognition and Learning Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined epistemic metacognition as a reflective activity about knowledge and knowing in the context of online information searching on the Web, and whether it was related to prior knowledge on the topic, study approach, and domain-specific beliefs about science. In addition, we investigated whether Internet-based learning was influenced by epistemic metacognition and the individual differences examined. Seventy 8th grade students were interviewed retrospectively after searching for online information about the scientifically controversial topic of dinosaur extinction. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed. Findings showed that participants expressed reflections about the simplicity/complexity, certainty/uncertainty, source, and justification of knowledge at different levels of sophistication, according to three patterns of epistemic metacognition. Prior knowledge was not related to epistemic metacognition in the search context, while study approach and epistemic beliefs about science were associated significantly, although modestly, with aspects of online knowledge evaluation. Moreover, findings revealed that Internet-based learning was influenced by overall science-related epistemic beliefs. Learning from Internet sources was also affected by study approach and epistemic reflections about the justification of online knowledge, as well as by the interaction between beliefs about the justification of scientific knowledge and beliefs about the justification of the knowledge accessed concerning the topic.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In the literature, the constructs of approach to learning and approach to studying are used in an interchangeable way to refer to how students’ perform various school tasks and activities. The boundaries of the study activity are indeed fuzzy (Winne & Hadwin, 1998). In this paper we use the construct study approach as the students’ task was to learn more on the topic by searching, reading, and synthesizing information provided by Web pages. These activities are among the features that distinguish studying from the subsuming category of learning activities (Winne & Hadwin, 1998).

  2. In the epistemological beliefs literature, terms such as “sophisticated” and “naïve” or “more advanced” and “less advanced” are used. We retain them for reasons of clarity and not to attribute any unfortunate connotation to the terms. In accordance with Schommer-Aikins (2002), we think that what differentiates an advanced epistemological thinker from a less advanced one is, for example, that the belief in certain and simple knowledge is predominant in the latter and the exception in the former.

References

  • Alexander, P. A., Kulikowich, J. M., & Schulze, S. K. (1994). The influence of topic knowledge, domain knowledge, and interest on the comprehension of scientific exposition. Learning and Individual Differences, 6, 379–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, P., & Linn, M. (2002). Beliefs about science: How does science instruction contribute? In B. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology. The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 321–346). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J. (1979). Individual differences in study processes and the quality of learning outcomes. Higher Education, 8, 381–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brand-Gruwel, S., Wopereis, I., & Vermetten, Y. (2005). Information problem solving by experts and novices: Analysis of a complex cognitive skill. Computers in Human Behavior, 21, 487–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I. (2008). Personal epistemology, understanding of multiple texts, and learning within Internet technologies. In M. S. Khine (Ed.), Knowing, knowledge and beliefs: Epistemological studies across diverse cultures (pp. 377–404). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Strømsø, H. I. (2006). Epistemological beliefs, interest, and gender as predictors of Internet-based learning activities. Computers in Human Behavior, 22, 1027–1042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., Strømsø, H. I., & Samuelstuen, M. S. (2005). The relationship between Internet-specific epistemological beliefs and learning within Internet technologies. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 33, 141–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brem, S. K., Russell, J., & Weems, L. (2001). Science on the Web: Student evaluations of scientific arguments. Discourse Processes, 32, 191–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bromme, R., Pieschle, S., & Stahl, E. (2009). Epistemological beliefs are standards for adaptive learning: A functional theory about epistemological beliefs and metacognition.

  • Buehl, M. M., Alexander, P. A., & Murphy, P. K. (2002). Beliefs about schooled knowledge: Domain specific or domain general? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27, 415–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chi, M. T. H. (1997). Quantifying qualitative analyses of verbal data: A practical guide. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6, 271–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiu, M. M., Chow, B. W.-Y., & Mcbride Chang, C. (2007). Universals and specifics in learning strategies: Explaining adolescent mathematics, science, and reading achievement across 34 countries. Learning and Individual Differences, 17, 344–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. B., & Slotta, J. D. (2000). Evaluating media-enhancement and source authority on the Internet: the Knowledge Integration Environment. International Journal of Science Education, 22, 859–871.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conley, A. M., Pintrich, P. R., Vekiri, J., & Harrison, D. (2004). Changes in epistemological beliefs in elementary science students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 186–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornoldi, C., & Colpo, G. (1995). Nuove prove di lettura MT per la scuola media inferiore (New MT tests of reading comprehension for the middle school). Florence: Organizzazioni Speciali.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornoldi, C., De Beni, R., Zamperlin, C., & Meneghetti, C. (2005). AMOS 8-15. Abilità e motivazione allo studio: Prove di valutazione per ragazzi dagli 8 ai 15 anni (AMOS 8-15: Ability and motivation to study: Evaluation scales for students aged 8–15). Trento: Erickson.

    Google Scholar 

  • diSessa, A. A., Elby, A., & Hammer, D. (2003). J’s epistemological stance and strategies. In G. M. Sinatra & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Intentional conceptual change (pp. 237–290). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Entwistle, N. J. (2000). Approaches to studying and levels of understanding: The influences of teaching and assessment. In C. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 15, pp. 156–218). New York: Agathon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Entwistle, N. J., & McCune, V. (2004). The conceptual bases of inventories measuring study strategies in higher education. Educational Psychology Review, 16, 325–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fidel, R., Davies, R. K., Douglass, M. H., Holder, J. K., Hopkins, C. J., Kurshner, E. J., et al. (1999). A visit to the information mall: Web searching behaviour of high school student. Journal of American Society for Information Science, 50, 24–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fogg, B. J., Kameda, T., Boyd, J., Marshall, J., Sethi, R., Sockol, M., et al. (2002). Stanford-Makowski Web credibility study 2002: Investigating what makes Web sites credible today. A Research report by the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab & Makowski & Company. Stanford University. Available at www.webcredibility.org

  • Greene, J. A., Azevedo, R., & Torney-Purta, J. (2008). Modeling epistemic and ontological cognition: Philosophical perspectives and methodological directions. Educational Psychologist, 43, 142–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartley, K., & Bendixen, L. D. (2001). Educational research in the internet age: Examining the role of individual characteristics. Educational Researcher, 30, 22–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirsh, S. G. (1999). Children’s relevance criteria and information seeking on electronic resources. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50, 1265–1283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofer, B. K. (2000). Dimensionality and disciplinary differences in personal epistemology. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 378–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofer, B. K. (2004). Epistemological understanding as a metacognitive process: Thinking aloud during online searching. Educational Psychologist, 39, 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (1997). The development of epistemological theories: beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning. Review of Educational Research, 67, 88–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (eds). (2002). Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, P. A., & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). Developing reflective judgement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitchener, K. S. (1983). Cognition, metacognition, and epistemic cognition. Human Development, 26, 222–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, D. (2000). Metacognitive development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 178–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, D., & Weinstock, M. (2002). What is epistemological thinking and why does it matter? In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 121–144). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuiper, E., Volman, M., & Terwel, J. (2005). The web as an information resource in K-12 education: Strategies for supporting students in searching and processing information. Review of Educational Research, 75, 285–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazonder, A. W., & Rouet, J. F. (2008). Information problem solving instruction: Some cognitive and metacognitive issues. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 753–765.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leu, D. J. (2002). Literacy and technology: Deictic consequences for literacy education in an information age. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (pp. 743–770). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lonka, K., & Lindblom-Ylanne, S. (1996). Epistemologies, conceptions of learning, and study practices in medicine and psychology. Higher Education, 31, 5–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, L., & Scirica, F. (2006). Prediction of students’ argumentation skills about controversial topics by epistemological understanding. Learning and Instruction, 16, 492–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, L., & Boldrin, A. (2008). Epistemic metacognition in the context of information searching on the Web. In M. S. Khine (Ed.), Knowing, knowledge and beliefs: Epistemological studies across diverse cultures (pp. 377–404). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, L., Gava, M., & Boldrin, A. (2008). On warm conceptual change: The interplay of text, epistemological beliefs, and topic interest. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 291–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, L., Boldrin, A., & Ariasi, N. (in press). Searching the Web to learn about a controversial topic: Are students epistemically active? Instructional Science. doi:10.1007/s11251-008-9089-y.

  • Moos, D. C., & Azevedo, R. (2008a). Exploring the fluctuation of motivation and use of self-regulatory processes during learning with hypermedia. Instructional Science, 36, 203–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moos, D. C., & Azevedo, R. (2008b). Self-regulated learning with hypermedia: The role of prior domain knowledge. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33, 270–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muis, K. R. (2007). The role of epistemic beliefs in self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist, 42, 173–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muis, K. R., Bendixen, L. D., & Haerle, F. (2006). Domain-generality and domain-specificity in personal epistemology research: Philosophical and empirical reflections in the development of a theoretical framework. Educational Psychology Review, 18(1), 3–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muis, K. R., & Franco, G. M. (2009). Epistemic profiles and metacognition: Support for the consistency hypothesis.

  • Perry, W. G., Jr. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pieschl, S., Stahl, E., & Bromme, R. (2008). Epistemological beliefs and self-regulated learning with hypertext. Metacognition and Learning, 3, 17–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A. R., Garcia, T., & McKeachie, W. J. (1991). A manual for the use of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan,-National Center for Research to Improve Postsecondary Teaching and Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qian, G., & Alvermann, D. (1995). Role of epistemological beliefs and learned helplessness in secondary school students’ learning science concepts from text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87, 282–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richter, T., & Schmidt, S. (2009). Epistemological beliefs and epistemic strategies in self-regulated learning.

  • Rieh, S. Y. (2002). Judgment of information quality and cognitive authority in the Web. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53, 145–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, D., & Swan, K. (2004). Self-regulated learning and internet searching. Teachers College Record, 106, 1804–1824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rouet, J. F. (2006). The skills of document use: From text comprehension to web-based learning. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rouet, J. F., & Coutelet, B. (2008). The acquisition of document search strategies in grade school students. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22, 389–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schacter, J., Chung, G., & Dorr, A. (1998). Children’s Internet searching on complex problems: Performance and process analyses. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 49, 840–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schommer, M. (1990). Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 498–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schommer, M. (1994). Synthesizing epistemological belief research: Tentative understanding and provocative confusions. Educational Psychology Review, 6, 293–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schommer-Aikins, M. (2002). An evolving theoretical framework for an epistemological belief system. In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 103–118). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinatra, G. M., Southerland, S. A., McConaughy, F., & Demastes, J. (2003). Intentions and beliefs in students’ understanding and acceptance of biological evolution. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(5), 510–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stadtler, M., & Bromme, R. (2008). Effects of the metacognitive computer-tool met.a.ware on the web search of laypersons. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 716–737.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stahl, E., & Bromme, R. (2007). The CAEB: An instrument for measuring connotative aspects of epistemological beliefs. Learning and Instruction, 17, 773–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stahl, E., Pieschl, S., & Bromme, R. (2006). Task complexity, epistemological beliefs and metacognitive calibration: An exploratory study. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 35, 319–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stathopoulou, C., & Vosniadou, S. (2007). Exploring the relationship between physics-related epistemological beliefs and physics understanding. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32, 255–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strømsø, H. I., Bråten, I. (2009). The role of personal epistemology in the self-regulation of Internet-based learning.

  • Strømsø, H. I., Bråten, I., & Samuelstuen, M. S. (2008). Dimensions of topic-specific epistemological beliefs as predictors of multiple-text understanding. Learning and Instruction, 18, 513–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, C. C. (2004). Beyond cognitive and metacognitive tools: The use of Internet as an “epistemological” tool for instruction. British Journal of Educational Technology, 35, 525–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, C. C. (2008). The use of Internet-based instruction for the development of epistemological beliefs: A case study in Taiwan. In M. S. Khine (Ed.), Knowing, knowledge and beliefs: Epistemological studies across diverse cultures (pp. 273–285). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vermunt, J. D., & Vermetten, Y. J. (2004). Patterns in student learning: Relationships between learning strategies, conceptions of learning, and learning orientations. Educational Psychology Review, 16, 359–384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, R. M., Kupperman, J., Krajcik, J., & Soloway, E. (2000). Science on the Web: Students online in a sixth-grade classroom. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 9, 75–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wathen, C. N., & Burkell, J. (2002). Believe it or not: Factors influencing credibility on the Web. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53, 134–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein, C. E., Zimmerman, S. A., & Palmer, D. R. (1988). Assessing learning strategies: The design and development of the LASSI. In C. E. Weinstein, P. A. Alexander & E. T. Goetz (Eds.), Learning and study strategies. Issues in assessment, instruction, and evaluation (pp. 25–40). New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinstock, M., Neuman, Y., & Tabak, I. (2004). Missing the point or missing the norms? Epistemological norms as predictors of students’ ability to identify fallacious arguments. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 77–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winne, P. H., & Hadwin, A. F. (1998). Studying as self-regulated learning. In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunlosky & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Metacognition in educational theory and practice (pp. 277–304). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy

    Lucia Mason, Angela Boldrin & Nicola Ariasi

Authors
  1. Lucia Mason
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Angela Boldrin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nicola Ariasi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lucia Mason.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mason, L., Boldrin, A. & Ariasi, N. Epistemic metacognition in context: evaluating and learning online information. Metacognition Learning 5, 67–90 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-009-9048-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-009-9048-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation