The role of metacognitive skills in learning to solve problems

KM Quest 55
process in an electronic learning environment. By adding learner support
to KM Quest, the learning environment is less constructivist in nature.
However, support is deemed a necessary condition for fostering learning
(see chapter 1).
Important characteristics of support in KM Quest are described below.
Players are supported in active knowledge construction. The presence
of handbooks supports collection of information. Different handbooks
are available: KM handbook (description of the KM model and KM
in general), Intervention handbook (information about interventions and
their possible effects), Indicator handbook (definitions of indicators), KM
dictionary (glossary of terms) and the Visualization handbook (information
about how the indicators are visualized in KM Quest). Just-in-time
information is presented in the KM model. Each activity in the model
is accompanied by a What to do and How to do tab. In these tabs information
is provided that explains what do to in that specific activity
and how to perform the activity.
The authenticity principle is safeguarded in KM Quest by means of
the realistic case material of Coltec. In the chart of Coltec on the white
board, information is provided about the company’s products, its markets,
its structure and its history. KM Quest contains realistic problems
in the form of events, which are described in the Newspaper. The problems
in the events are ill-structured and ill-defined. On the one hand,
all the information is available in the game to perform the activities of
the KM model that support the problem solving process. In that sense,
there are no open constraints in events for which values are unknown.
On the other hand, players need to formulate certain assumptions to
further aid the problem solving process. In that respect the problems
are ill-structured. The problems in KM Quest are ill-defined because
there is no criterion for the end-state. Players are instructed to manage
Coltec’s knowledge household ‘as good as possible’. In KM Quest the
problems are highly situated in the Coltec context.
KM Quest supports self-regulation and reflection. History books are
implemented for each quarter in the game. In the history books players
can inspect what activities of the KM model they have performed in previous
quarters. Also the content of the communication is available for
inspection. The history books serve as common memory for the team in
order to keep track of what they have been doing in the game. Feedback
about how one is doing enables adjustment of one’s learning behaviour.
The visualization of the indicators is especially important in interpreting
how Coltec is doing and what the effects are of interventions. These indicators
can be inspected at any time during the game. In order to judge
whether the interventions were appropriate for an event, information is