Developing students' metacognitive awareness in asynchronous learning networks in comparison to face-to-face discussion groups

The main goal of the present study is to investigate empirically the effects of Asynchronic Learning Network (ALN) embedded within metacognitive instruction (META) on two components of metacognitive awareness: Knowledge about Cognition (KC) and Regulation of Cognition (RC). Participants were 202 tenth grade students: 102 students who studied under the ALN+META instructional method, and 100 students who studied under Face-to-Face interaction (F2F) embedded within META. Results indicated that ALN+META students significantly outperformed their F2F+META counterparts on both KC and RC. These results were strengthened by a qualitative analysis of RC under the different instructional methods. The improvement of RC behavior in the ALN+META written discourse clearly indicates the crucial effects of RC on the progress and success of the inquiry processes. ALN+META is a promising learning environment, carrying a great potential for enhancing metacognitive awareness among students.