Metacognition and the Expertise of Computer Program Comprehension

Abstract

This study focuses on different components of metacognition and their role in the expertise of computer program comprehension. After the elaboration of the concepts of expertise and metacognition, expert and novice computer programmers are compared in terms of their metacognitive knowledge and the task‐specific awareness. Subject ( N = 24) with two different competence levels, novices and experts, were individually presented an updating program, written in COBOL language. The data about metacognition was mainly derived from subjects’ interviews and thinking‐aloud protocols. Results showed that experts were superior to the novices in their metacognitive knowledge of the program task and of the working strategies. Experts had a definite conception about an ideal working strategy, and they also seemed to work in accordance with this. Furthermore, experts had more adequate awareness of their working than novices. It is concluded that experts have a close interaction between metacognitive knowledge, task‐specific awareness and cognitive monitoring. Among novices, this kind of relationship could not be found.