Comparing the Effect of Cognitive Load and Meta-Cognition Intervention on the Symptoms of Internalized Behavioral Problems in Female First Grade High School Students

The purpose of this study was comparing the effect cognitive load and meta-cognition intervention on the symptoms of internalized behavioral problems in first-grade female high school students.

This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design with control group and two experimental groups. The research population included all high school first grade girl students in Isfahan. Then the teachers of the cognitive and metacognitive groups were trained. For sampling, at first, three schools were randomly selected by multistage random sampling method from among the six education districts in the city. Then three schools were selected from District three with a total of 320 students. Then, using the Achenbach’s child behavior checklist, 60 students were selected through purposeful sampling and were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (cognitive load training and metacognitive training) and one control group (without educational intervention). The data were analyzed using multivariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA).

It was revealed that cognitive load training and metacognitive training had a significant effect on decreasing the symptoms of students with internalizing problems. However, cognitive load training was more effective in reducing the students, internalized behavioral problems Comparing to meta-cognitive training.

The research findings showed that cognitive load training and its use in teaching by teachers can be used to reduce the symptoms of students with internalized behavioral problems. There was a difference between the marks of the symptoms of students with internalized problems between the cognitive load and control groups and between the metacognitive and control groups. In other words, metacognitive education affected the symptoms of students with internalized problems. In addition, teaching cognitive load and metacognitive learning were able to reduce the symptoms of students with internalized problems. The difference between the marks of the students' symptoms with internalized problems in the control and metacognitive education groups was significant, which in the favor of the students in the cognitive load group. Based on the findings of this study, homework-related education in cognitive load has an easy-to-difficult hierarchy that can improve anxiety and stress symptoms in students with internalized behavioral problems. Educational planners are suggested to use the findings of this study to promote the mental health of these students in their executive programs.