Self-confidence judgments in mental rotation ability in sixth graders

Monitoring self-performance is a significant metacognitive process in students’ learning, helping students to adjust their performance in the tasks they are carrying out. However, to date, studies that evaluate these processes in primary school children, more specifically in spatial tasks, are scarce. The aim of this study is to analyze the self-confidence judgments and calibration index in two mental rotation tasks considering difficulty level. A total of 40 sixth graders, children aged between 11 and 12 years old applied a 5-point scale to evaluate, item by item, the confidence of their responses in two different mental rotation tasks (with high and low difficulty). It was calculated an index of calibration (Brier Score) as well for each task. The results indicated similar levels of confidence judgments in spatial tasks of varying difficulty where the calibration was different having the students more precision in easy test in comparison with difficult test. This evidence was discussed highlighting the importance of self-monitoring spatial performance strengthening the development of strategies that could regulate performance at this stage in this type of spatial tasks