Comparative analysis of structured and problem-based metacognitive scaffoldings in collaborative programming activities for primary school students

Abstract

The evidence supporting how metacognitive scaffolding effectively fosters collaborative programming is increasing; however, the specific type of metacognitive scaffolding most beneficial in this context remains unclear. To further investigate this, the present study utilized a quasi-experimental design to compare the effects of structured and problem-based metacognitive scaffolding on collaborative programming among primary school students. Their impact on students’ metacognitive behaviors during learning, as well as on learning outcomes (metacognitive abilities and programming project scores), was examined, which included retention of any improvements in metacognitive abilities after the removal of scaffolding. The findings reveal that both structured and problem-based metacognitive scaffolding significantly enhanced students’ metacognitive abilities (p < 0.05), with no significant difference in the retention of these abilities. Neither type of scaffolding enhanced students’ programming project scores. However, the problem-based metacognitive scaffolding group demonstrated more metacognitive behaviors than the structured group (282, 56.9% vs. 214, 43.1%) (p < 0.01), in particular, in terms of enacting strategies (163, 58.8% vs.114, 41.2%) (p < 0.01) and monitoring and controlling (61, 63.5% vs. 35, 36.5%) (p < 0.01) metacognitive behaviors. Guidelines for designing collaborative programming activities were developed based on these findings and are discussed in this study.