Children's metamemory: A review of the literature and implications for the classroom
Keywords:
Metamemory, MetacognitionAbstract
In this paper we examine the development of children's metamemory and provide practical
implications of research findings for the classroom. In the first part of the paper we define
and discuss the global concept of metacognition, the component processes of metacognition
and the importance of each component to children's learning. We then examine the
development of children's knowledge about memory and ability to monitor memory (i.e.,
metamemory). We focus, in particular, on seven major research themes: children's
metamemory develops with age and experience, younger children are less aware than older
children of the benefits of categorization on recall, younger children use different strategies
than older children, children's causal attributions may affect metamemory, instructional
interventions must be appropriately timed, children will show more strategy transfer when
explicit instructions are provided and children overestimate their memory ability. We
discuss implications of these major themes for teachers of young children.
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References
Andreassen, C., & Waters, H. S. (1989). Organization during study: relationships between
metamemory, strategy use, and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81,
190-195.
Baker-Ward, L., Ornstein, P. A., & Holden, D. J. (1984). The expression of memorization in
early childhood. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 37, 555-575.
Bjorklund, D. F. (1980). Children's identification of category relations in lists presented for
recall. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 136, 45-53.
Bjorklund, D. F., Dukes, C., & Brown, R. D. (2009). The development of memory strategies.
In M. L. Courage & N. Cowan (Eds.). The Development of Memory in Infancy and
Childhood (pp. 146-175). Hove and New York: Psychology Press.
Bjorklund, D. F., & Zaken-Greenberg, F. (1981). The effects of differences in classification
style on preschool children's memory. Child Development, 52, 888-894.
Bjorklund, D. F., & Zeman, B. R. (1982). Children's organization and metamemory
awareness in their recall of familiar information. Child Development, 53, 799-810.
Borkowski, J. G., & Muthukrishna, N. (1992). Moving metacognition into the classroom:
"Working models" and effective strategy teaching. In M. Pressley, K. R. Harris, & J. T.
Guthrie (Eds.). Promoting Academic Competence and Literacy in School (pp. 477-501).
Toronto: Academic Press.
Brown, A. L., Campione, J. C., & Barclay, C. R. (1979). Training self-checking routines for
estimating test readiness: generalization from list learning to prose recall. Child
Development, 50, 501-512.
Brown, A. L., Campione, J. C., & Murphy, M. D. (1977). Maintenance and generalization of
trained metamnemonic awareness by educable retarded children. Journal of
Experimental Child Psychology, 24, 191-211.
Butler, D. L., & Winne, P. H. (1995). Feedback and self-regulated learning: A theoretical
synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 65, 245-281.
Butterfield, E. C., Nelson, T. 0., & Peck, V. (1988). Developmental aspects of the feeling-ofknowing.
Developmental Psychology, 24, 654-663.
Cavanaugh, J. C., & Perlmutter, M. (1982). Metamemory: A critical examination. Child
Development, 53, 11-28.
Chi, M. T. H. (1987). Representing knowledge and meta-knowledge: implications for
interpreting metamemory research. In R. H. Kluwe & F. E. Weinert (Eds.),
Metacognition, Motivation, and Understanding (pp. 239-266). Hillsdale, NJ.: Lawrence
Eribaum Associates, Inc.
Cultice, J. C., Somerville, S. C., & Wellman, H. M. (1983). Preschoolers' memory
monitoring: feeling-of-knowing judgments. Child Development, 54, 1480-1486.
Dunlosky, J., & Metcalfe, J. (2009). Metacognition. Los Angeles: Sage.
Efklides, A. (2008). Metacognition: Defining its facets and levels of functioning in relation
to self-regulation and co-regulation. European Psychologist, 13, 277-287.
Efklides, A. (2009). The role of metacognitive experiences in the learning process.
Psicothema, 21, 76-82.
Fabricius, W. V., & Cavalier, L. (1989). The role of causal theories about memory in young
children's memory strategy choice. Child Development, 60, 298-308.
Flavell, J. (1971). First discussant's comments: What is memory development the
development of? Human Development, 14, 272-278.
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitivedevelopmental
inquiry. American Psychologist, 34 (10), 906-911.
Flavell, J. H., Friedrichs, A., & Hoyt, J. (1970). Developmental changes in memorization
processes. Cognitive Psychology, I, 324-340.
Flavell, J. H., Miller, P. H., & Miller, S. A. (2002). Cognitive Development. (4th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Flavell, J., & Wellman, H. (1977). Metamemory. In R. V. Kail, & J. W. Hagen (Eds.).
Perspectives on the Development of Memory and Cognition (pp. 3-30). Hillsdale, NJ.:
Lawrence Eribaum Associates, Inc.
Ghatala, E. S. (1986). Strategy-monitoring training enables young learners to select
effective strategies. Educational Psychologist, 21, 43-54.
Ghatala, E. S., Levin, J. R., Pressley, M., & Goodwin, D. (1986). A componential analysis of
the effects of derived and supplied strategy and utility information on children's
strategy selections. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 41, 76- 92.
Ghatala, E. S., Levin, J. R., Pressley, M., & Lodico, M. G. (1985). Training cognitive
strategy monitoring in children. American Educational Research Journal, 22, 199-215.
Henry, L. A. & Norman, T. (1996). The relationships between memory performance, use of
simple memory strategies and metamemory in young children. International Journal
of Behavioral Development, 19, 177-199.
Kail, R. (1990). The Development of Memory in Children. (3'd ed.). New York: W. H.
Freemen and Company.
Koriat, A., Goldsmith, M., & Pansky, A. (2000). Toward a psychology of memory accuracy.
Annu. Rev. Psychol., 51, 481-537.
Kreutzer, M. A., Leonard, C., & Ravell J. H. (1975). An interview study of children's
knowledge about memory. Monographs of the Society for Research on Child
Development, 40,1-58.
Lockl, K., & Schneider, W. (2002). Developmental trends in children's feeling-of -knowing
judgments. International Journal of Behavior Development, 26, 327-333.
Lovett, S. B., & Ravelljhh, J. H. (1990). Understanding and remembering: children's
knowledge about the differential effects of strategy and task variables on
comprehension and memorization. Child Development, 61, 1842-1858.
Moynahan, E. D. (1973). The development of knowledge concerning the effect of
categorization upon free recall. Child Development, 44, 238-246.
Moynahan, E. D. (1978). Assessment and selection of paired associate strategies: A
developmental study. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 26, 257-266.
Nelson, T. 0., & Dunlosky, J. (1991) When people's judgments of learning (JOLs) are
extremely accurate at predicting subsequent recall: the "delayed-JOL effect".
Psychological Science, 2, 267-270.
O'Sullivan, J. T. (1996). Children's metamemory about the influence of conceptual relations
on recall. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 62, 1-29.
O'Sullivan, J. T., Howe, M. L., & Marche, T. A. (1996). Children's beliefs about long-term
retention. Child Development, 67, 2989-3009.
Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The role of metacognitive knowledge in learning, teaching, and
assessing. Theory Into Practice, 41 (4), 219-225.
Pressley, M., Borkowski, J. G., & O'Sullivan, J. (1980). Children's metamemory and the
teaching of memory strategies. In Forrest-Pressley, MacKinnon, Waller (Eds.).
Metacognition, Cognition, and Human Performance (pp. 111-153). Orlando:
Pressley, M., Levin, J. R., & Ghatala, E. S. (1984). Memory strategy monitoring in adults
and children. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23, 270-288.
Pressley, M., Ross, K. A., Levin, J. R., & Ghatala, E. S. (1984). Increasing the use of
strategy-utility knowledge in children's strategy decision making. Journal of
Experimental Child Psychology, 38, 491-504.
Salatas, H., & Flavell, J. H. (1976). Behavioral and metamnemonic indicators of strategic
behaviors under remember instructions in first grade. Child Development, 47, 81-89.
Schneider, W. (1985). Developmental trends in the metamemory-memory behavior
relationship: An integrative review. In D. L. Forrest-Pressley, G. E. MacKinnon, & T.
G. Waller (Eds.), Metacognition, Cognition, and Human Performance (vol. 1, p. 57-109).
Orlando, FL: Academic press.
Schneider, W. (1986). The role of conceptual knowledge and metamemory in the
development of organizational processes in memory. Journal of Experimental Child
Psychology, 42, 218-236.
Schneider, W. (1998). The development of procedural metamemory in childhood and
adolescence. In G. Mazzoni & T. 0. Nelson (Eds.), Metacognition and Cognitive
Neuropsychology (pp. 1-21). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Schneider, W. (2008). The development of metacognitive knowledge in children and
adolescents: Major trends and implications for education. Mind, Body, and Education,
2, 114-121.
Schneider, W., & Lockl, K. (2008). Procedural metacognition in children; Evidence for
developmental trends. In J. Dunlosky & R.. A. Bjork (Eds.), Handbook of Metamemory
and Memroy (pp. 391-409). New York: Psychology Press.
Schneider, W., & Pressley, M. (1997). Memory Development between Two and Twenty (2nd
ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schneider, W., & Sodian, B. (1988). Metamemory-memory behavior relationships in young
children: evidence from a memory-for-location task. Journal of Experimental
Psychology, 45, 209-233.
Schneider, W., Vise, M., Locld, K., & Nelson, T. 0. (2000). Developmental trends in
children's memory monitoring: evidence from a judgment-of-learning task. Cognitive
Development, 15, 115-134.
Short, E., Schatschneider, C., & Friebert, S. (1993). Relationship between memory and
metamemory performance: a comparison of specific and general strategy knowledge.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 412-423.
Weed, K., Ryan, E. B., & Day, J. (1990). Metamemory and attributions as mediators of
strategy use and recall. Journal of Educational Psychology, 849-855.
Wellman, H. M. (1977). Tip of the tongue and feeling of knowing experiences; a
developmental study of memory monitoring. Child Development, 48, 13-21.
Yussen, S. R., & Bird, E. J. (1979). The development of metacognitive awareness in
memory, communication, and attention. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 28,
300-313.
Yussen, S. R., & Levy, V. M. Jr. (1975). Developmental changes in predicting one's own
span of short-term memory. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 19, 502-508.
metamemory, strategy use, and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81,
190-195.
Baker-Ward, L., Ornstein, P. A., & Holden, D. J. (1984). The expression of memorization in
early childhood. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 37, 555-575.
Bjorklund, D. F. (1980). Children's identification of category relations in lists presented for
recall. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 136, 45-53.
Bjorklund, D. F., Dukes, C., & Brown, R. D. (2009). The development of memory strategies.
In M. L. Courage & N. Cowan (Eds.). The Development of Memory in Infancy and
Childhood (pp. 146-175). Hove and New York: Psychology Press.
Bjorklund, D. F., & Zaken-Greenberg, F. (1981). The effects of differences in classification
style on preschool children's memory. Child Development, 52, 888-894.
Bjorklund, D. F., & Zeman, B. R. (1982). Children's organization and metamemory
awareness in their recall of familiar information. Child Development, 53, 799-810.
Borkowski, J. G., & Muthukrishna, N. (1992). Moving metacognition into the classroom:
"Working models" and effective strategy teaching. In M. Pressley, K. R. Harris, & J. T.
Guthrie (Eds.). Promoting Academic Competence and Literacy in School (pp. 477-501).
Toronto: Academic Press.
Brown, A. L., Campione, J. C., & Barclay, C. R. (1979). Training self-checking routines for
estimating test readiness: generalization from list learning to prose recall. Child
Development, 50, 501-512.
Brown, A. L., Campione, J. C., & Murphy, M. D. (1977). Maintenance and generalization of
trained metamnemonic awareness by educable retarded children. Journal of
Experimental Child Psychology, 24, 191-211.
Butler, D. L., & Winne, P. H. (1995). Feedback and self-regulated learning: A theoretical
synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 65, 245-281.
Butterfield, E. C., Nelson, T. 0., & Peck, V. (1988). Developmental aspects of the feeling-ofknowing.
Developmental Psychology, 24, 654-663.
Cavanaugh, J. C., & Perlmutter, M. (1982). Metamemory: A critical examination. Child
Development, 53, 11-28.
Chi, M. T. H. (1987). Representing knowledge and meta-knowledge: implications for
interpreting metamemory research. In R. H. Kluwe & F. E. Weinert (Eds.),
Metacognition, Motivation, and Understanding (pp. 239-266). Hillsdale, NJ.: Lawrence
Eribaum Associates, Inc.
Cultice, J. C., Somerville, S. C., & Wellman, H. M. (1983). Preschoolers' memory
monitoring: feeling-of-knowing judgments. Child Development, 54, 1480-1486.
Dunlosky, J., & Metcalfe, J. (2009). Metacognition. Los Angeles: Sage.
Efklides, A. (2008). Metacognition: Defining its facets and levels of functioning in relation
to self-regulation and co-regulation. European Psychologist, 13, 277-287.
Efklides, A. (2009). The role of metacognitive experiences in the learning process.
Psicothema, 21, 76-82.
Fabricius, W. V., & Cavalier, L. (1989). The role of causal theories about memory in young
children's memory strategy choice. Child Development, 60, 298-308.
Flavell, J. (1971). First discussant's comments: What is memory development the
development of? Human Development, 14, 272-278.
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitivedevelopmental
inquiry. American Psychologist, 34 (10), 906-911.
Flavell, J. H., Friedrichs, A., & Hoyt, J. (1970). Developmental changes in memorization
processes. Cognitive Psychology, I, 324-340.
Flavell, J. H., Miller, P. H., & Miller, S. A. (2002). Cognitive Development. (4th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Flavell, J., & Wellman, H. (1977). Metamemory. In R. V. Kail, & J. W. Hagen (Eds.).
Perspectives on the Development of Memory and Cognition (pp. 3-30). Hillsdale, NJ.:
Lawrence Eribaum Associates, Inc.
Ghatala, E. S. (1986). Strategy-monitoring training enables young learners to select
effective strategies. Educational Psychologist, 21, 43-54.
Ghatala, E. S., Levin, J. R., Pressley, M., & Goodwin, D. (1986). A componential analysis of
the effects of derived and supplied strategy and utility information on children's
strategy selections. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 41, 76- 92.
Ghatala, E. S., Levin, J. R., Pressley, M., & Lodico, M. G. (1985). Training cognitive
strategy monitoring in children. American Educational Research Journal, 22, 199-215.
Henry, L. A. & Norman, T. (1996). The relationships between memory performance, use of
simple memory strategies and metamemory in young children. International Journal
of Behavioral Development, 19, 177-199.
Kail, R. (1990). The Development of Memory in Children. (3'd ed.). New York: W. H.
Freemen and Company.
Koriat, A., Goldsmith, M., & Pansky, A. (2000). Toward a psychology of memory accuracy.
Annu. Rev. Psychol., 51, 481-537.
Kreutzer, M. A., Leonard, C., & Ravell J. H. (1975). An interview study of children's
knowledge about memory. Monographs of the Society for Research on Child
Development, 40,1-58.
Lockl, K., & Schneider, W. (2002). Developmental trends in children's feeling-of -knowing
judgments. International Journal of Behavior Development, 26, 327-333.
Lovett, S. B., & Ravelljhh, J. H. (1990). Understanding and remembering: children's
knowledge about the differential effects of strategy and task variables on
comprehension and memorization. Child Development, 61, 1842-1858.
Moynahan, E. D. (1973). The development of knowledge concerning the effect of
categorization upon free recall. Child Development, 44, 238-246.
Moynahan, E. D. (1978). Assessment and selection of paired associate strategies: A
developmental study. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 26, 257-266.
Nelson, T. 0., & Dunlosky, J. (1991) When people's judgments of learning (JOLs) are
extremely accurate at predicting subsequent recall: the "delayed-JOL effect".
Psychological Science, 2, 267-270.
O'Sullivan, J. T. (1996). Children's metamemory about the influence of conceptual relations
on recall. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 62, 1-29.
O'Sullivan, J. T., Howe, M. L., & Marche, T. A. (1996). Children's beliefs about long-term
retention. Child Development, 67, 2989-3009.
Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The role of metacognitive knowledge in learning, teaching, and
assessing. Theory Into Practice, 41 (4), 219-225.
Pressley, M., Borkowski, J. G., & O'Sullivan, J. (1980). Children's metamemory and the
teaching of memory strategies. In Forrest-Pressley, MacKinnon, Waller (Eds.).
Metacognition, Cognition, and Human Performance (pp. 111-153). Orlando:
Pressley, M., Levin, J. R., & Ghatala, E. S. (1984). Memory strategy monitoring in adults
and children. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23, 270-288.
Pressley, M., Ross, K. A., Levin, J. R., & Ghatala, E. S. (1984). Increasing the use of
strategy-utility knowledge in children's strategy decision making. Journal of
Experimental Child Psychology, 38, 491-504.
Salatas, H., & Flavell, J. H. (1976). Behavioral and metamnemonic indicators of strategic
behaviors under remember instructions in first grade. Child Development, 47, 81-89.
Schneider, W. (1985). Developmental trends in the metamemory-memory behavior
relationship: An integrative review. In D. L. Forrest-Pressley, G. E. MacKinnon, & T.
G. Waller (Eds.), Metacognition, Cognition, and Human Performance (vol. 1, p. 57-109).
Orlando, FL: Academic press.
Schneider, W. (1986). The role of conceptual knowledge and metamemory in the
development of organizational processes in memory. Journal of Experimental Child
Psychology, 42, 218-236.
Schneider, W. (1998). The development of procedural metamemory in childhood and
adolescence. In G. Mazzoni & T. 0. Nelson (Eds.), Metacognition and Cognitive
Neuropsychology (pp. 1-21). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Schneider, W. (2008). The development of metacognitive knowledge in children and
adolescents: Major trends and implications for education. Mind, Body, and Education,
2, 114-121.
Schneider, W., & Lockl, K. (2008). Procedural metacognition in children; Evidence for
developmental trends. In J. Dunlosky & R.. A. Bjork (Eds.), Handbook of Metamemory
and Memroy (pp. 391-409). New York: Psychology Press.
Schneider, W., & Pressley, M. (1997). Memory Development between Two and Twenty (2nd
ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schneider, W., & Sodian, B. (1988). Metamemory-memory behavior relationships in young
children: evidence from a memory-for-location task. Journal of Experimental
Psychology, 45, 209-233.
Schneider, W., Vise, M., Locld, K., & Nelson, T. 0. (2000). Developmental trends in
children's memory monitoring: evidence from a judgment-of-learning task. Cognitive
Development, 15, 115-134.
Short, E., Schatschneider, C., & Friebert, S. (1993). Relationship between memory and
metamemory performance: a comparison of specific and general strategy knowledge.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 412-423.
Weed, K., Ryan, E. B., & Day, J. (1990). Metamemory and attributions as mediators of
strategy use and recall. Journal of Educational Psychology, 849-855.
Wellman, H. M. (1977). Tip of the tongue and feeling of knowing experiences; a
developmental study of memory monitoring. Child Development, 48, 13-21.
Yussen, S. R., & Bird, E. J. (1979). The development of metacognitive awareness in
memory, communication, and attention. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 28,
300-313.
Yussen, S. R., & Levy, V. M. Jr. (1975). Developmental changes in predicting one's own
span of short-term memory. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 19, 502-508.
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Published
2017-08-25
How to Cite
Karably, K., & Zabrucky, K. M. (2017). Children’s metamemory: A review of the literature and implications for the classroom. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 2(1), 32–52. Retrieved from https://www.iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/256
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