The Mediating Role of Cognitive Load in the Relationship between Metacognitive Skills Perceptions and Problem-solving Skills in Pre-service Teachers

Abstract

Pre-service teachers’ metacognitive and problem-solving skills are highly important in the process of becoming effective teachers for providing their students with guided learning support. Determination of these two higher-order thinking processes and skills and investigation of the relationship between them is very important for enabling qualified prospective teachers to reach the necessary competencies and qualifications. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between metacognition and problem-solving skills. The study also examined the mediating role of cognitive load. The study was conducted with 342 pre-service teachers enrolled in two universities located in different regions of Turkey. Data were collected through the Cognitive Load Scale, the Metacognition Scale, and the Problem-Solving Scale. The study proposed hypotheses and models based on the theoretical framework and related research. The validity of the proposed model was examined according to the fit index values. Path analysis was performed to determine the significance of the hypotheses of the model.  The results of the study showed that metacognitive skills perception directly and positively affected problem-solving skills perception.  On the other hand, cognitive load did not mediate between metacognitive skills perception and problem-solving skills perception.