ROLE OF EPISTEMIC EMOTIONS, METACOGNITIVE FEELINGS, MOTIVATION AND TASK CHARACTERISTICS IN KNOWLEDGE EXPLORATION AMONG STUDENTS

Abstract

Knowledge exploration refers to actively seeking information, ideas, and experiences, often beyond immediate task requirements. Although empirical research has primarily focused on exploration in non-academic contexts, such as visual or perceptual tasks, the existing, yet less extensive, body of literature in the educational field highlights the importance of exploration in learning processes. It also calls for a more comprehensive investigation into the factors that can impact exploration behaviour. The present study aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of students' exploratory behaviour and to unravel the influence of affect, motivation, metacognition, and task characteristics on knowledge exploration. As the aim of this study was to understand active knowledge exploration, a low-stake experimental task-based paradigm was used to test the effect of task and individual factors on knowledge exploration. Two experimental studies were conducted, each having two sessions. The experiments were designed using E-prime. The first study sought to explore the roles of metacognitive feelings and academic motivation, as well as the moderating effect of accuracy feedback on the relationship between metacognitive feelings and knowledge exploration. In the first study, 100 participants from high school (52% male, 48% female) participated across two sessions. They were first assessed on academic motivation using the Academic Motivation Scale. Thereafter, they were exposed to a variety of MCQs across 15 trials in each session. In the second study, 104 participants from high school (53.8% Male, 46.2% Female) participated across two sessions. The second study sought to explore the roles of epistemic emotions, task difficulty, and task type on knowledge exploration as well as the mediating role of epistemic emotions on the relationship between task difficulty and knowledge exploration. Two-level ordinal logit regression models were tested to disentangle both within [L1= Questions] and between-person [L2= Individuals] effects. The findings of study 1 revealed that intrinsic motivation positively predicted knowledge exploration whereas extrinsic motivation had a negative effect. Metacognitive feeling of confidence (FOC) had a positive effect on knowledge exploration, while feeling of difficulty (FOD) did not predict knowledge exploration significantly. High confidence error positively predicted knowledge exploration. Thus, it provided substantial evidence for the hypercorrection effect. Interestingly, the results also revealed a significant interaction effect of accuracy and feeling of difficulty on knowledge exploration. It revealed that exploration was higher for correct answers accompanied by strong feeling of difficulty. This observation introduced a fresh perspective to metacognitive vi literature. Findings from study 2 revealed that the likelihood of knowledge exploration increased in case of difficult task. Also, epistemic emotions of surprise, curiosity, and confusion positively predicted knowledge exploration, while no significant effect of boredom was observed on knowledge exploration. The within-person path analysis to observe mediating effect of epistemic emotions was also conducted. The result suggested curiosity and confusion as the significant mediator in the relationship between task difficulty and knowledge exploration. It revealed that difficult task produced higher intensity of curiosity and confusion, which in turn increased the likelihood of knowledge exploration. The result also revealed a significant difference in knowledge exploration with respect to task type. This study significantly contributes to the theoretical framework surrounding knowledge exploration in educational settings by integrating epistemic emotions, metacognitive feelings, and task characteristics into a cohesive model. These findings have significant implications for research, educational practices and policy. It highlights the necessity of integrating epistemic emotions and task difficulty into educational strategies to enhance knowledge exploration. It advocates for pedagogical designs that stimulate curiosity and challenge students appropriately. The findings also advocate for the development of Intelligent Digital Learning Environments (IDLEs) to enhance cognitive engagement by guiding learners through challenging content, leveraging confusion constructively to promote deeper understanding and enrich the learning experience. The study supports a shift towards dynamic, inquiry-based learning models in educational institutions, aligning with policies like India's New Education Policy 2020. This approach encourages emotional engagement and fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity, suggesting that educational strategies should focus on stimulating students' intrinsic motivation, metacognition, and leveraging epistemic emotions as catalysts for knowledge exploration.