Recent research has been much more explicit in attending to this aspect of problem
solving and the learning of mathematics. The field of metacognition concerns thinking
about one's own cognition. Metacognition theory holds that such thought can monitor,
direct, and control one's cognitive processes (4,41). Schoenfeld (34) described and
demonstrated an executive or monitor component to his problem solving theory. His
problem solving courses included explicit attention to a set of guidelines for reflecting
about the problem solving activities in which the students were engaged. Clearly,
effective problem solving instruction must provide the students with an opportunity to
reflect during problem solving activities in a systematic and constructive way.