ERIC Number: EJ1461237
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0141-8211
EISSN: EISSN-1465-3435
Available Date: 2024-11-06
A Qualitative Inquiry into Metacognitive Strategies of Postgraduate Students in Employing ChatGPT for English Academic Writing
European Journal of Education, v60 n1 e12824 2025
Recent years have witnessed a growing application of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology in writing instruction. Students should mobilise their metacognitive strategies during this endeavour to maximise the benefits of GenAI while avoiding the potential negative impacts. Within the context of tertiary education in Hong Kong, this qualitative research investigates 13 postgraduate students' metacognitive strategies when utilising ChatGPT for English academic writing. Using data collected from audio recordings, semi-structured interviews and human-GenAI chat logs, we explored students' metacognitive strategies within five dimensions, namely, planning, monitoring, evaluating, information management and debugging. The identified themes and subthemes within each dimension exhibited similarities to those observed in other educational settings. Meanwhile, certain metacognitive strategies (e.g., debugging) were found to be unique to the context of GenAI-supported academic writing. This study contributes to the literature in two ways. Firstly, it provides a detailed and thorough understanding of metacognitive strategies, complementing the extensive quantitative research in this area. Secondly, this research expands the framework of metacognitive strategies to the context of GenAI-supported academic writing learning.
Descriptors: Metacognition, Learning Strategies, Graduate Students, Technology Uses in Education, Artificial Intelligence, Writing (Composition), English for Special Purposes, Academic Language, Troubleshooting
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1School of Foreign Languages, Central South University, Changsha, China; 2Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China