General and domain-specific metacognitive skills in student learning activity

Abstract

The results of the empirical study devoted to the ratio of domain-general and domain-specific metacognitive skills in solving learning tasks are described in the article. It is shown that domain-general and domain-specific monitoring is a process that is determined by two factors: a level of domain-general metacognitive skills development − on the one hand and a level of domain-specific knowledge acquisition − on the other hand. Insufficient development of one of these factors results in metacognitive monitoring deficiency: high level of development of domain-general metacognitive skills together with low level of domain-specific knowledge acquisition lead to effects of revaluation of one’s own competence, and insufficient development of domain-general metacognitive skills together with rather high level of domain-specific knowledge acquisition lead to underestimation of one’s own competence.