Wales Journal of Education

Metacognition in the Foundation Phase: Using VSRD to Help Young Children Talk about their Thinking

Authors: , ,

Abstract

The extent to which children in the Foundation Phase are capable of metacognition is contested. Although projects based on metacognitive approaches have reported success with young children, the association between some aspects of metacognition and reflected abstraction has led others to question the extent to which young children are capable of metacognition. This paper reports on a small scale project, funded by the Welsh Educational Research Network (WERN) which used video stimulated reflective dialogue (VSRD) to help young children to talk about their thinking. The VSRD discussions were based on short episodes that were selected and videoed by the children themselves. The strategies employed helped the children in the case study schools to talk about their thinking and examples of dialogues associated with metacognitive processes are discussed.

Keywords:

How to Cite: Tanner, H. , Jones, S. & Lewis, H. (2011) “Metacognition in the Foundation Phase: Using VSRD to Help Young Children Talk about their Thinking”, Wales Journal of Education. 15(1).