The effect of online project-based learning on metacognitive awareness of middle school students

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of online project-based learning on students’ metacognitive awareness. The participants of the research were 53 students attending 6th grade. The research was carried out using the mixed method approach and it was conducted with the action research model. Pre-test and post-test quantitative data were analysed with Paired-Samples T test in SPSS 22.0 package program. Semi-structured interviews were made with 10 of the research participants and the obtained qualitative interview data was analysed in the Nvivo software. According to the quantitative findings of the study, online project-based learning improved the students’ metacognitive awareness. In accordance with the qualitative findings of the study, the categories of supervision, task, monitoring and self-awareness were formed under the theme of metacognitive awareness. In the supervision category the highest frequency was determined as the time-wasting prevention code, under the task category the highest frequency was the information access code, under the monitoring category the highest frequency was the self-evaluation code for learning, and under the personal awareness category the highest frequency was the evaluation code for learning. It was concluded that the qualitative findings of the research supported its quantitative findings.

KEYWORDS:

• Online project-based learning
• metacognitive awareness
• metacognition
• middle school students

Acknowledgement

This study was produced from the doctoral thesis conducted by the first researcher under the supervision of the second researcher.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics statement

Ethics committee permission was granted for the research participants with the decision numbered 25/3 on 04.12.2020 by the “Social and Human Sciences Research Ethics Committee” of Fırat University.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fatih Kalemkuş

Fatih Kalemkuş worked as an information technologies teacher at the secondary school level in the previous years. He works as a lecturer at Kafkas University in Turkey. He researchs on instructional technologies.

Müzeyyen Bulut-Özek

Müzeyyen Bulut-Özek works on educational technologies. He works as an associate professor at Firat University in Turkey.