Kitchener's Three-Level Model
Updated 2026-08-11
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Karen Kitchener proposed a three-level model of cognitive processing. The first level is cognition, the direct processing of a task such as reading, calculating, or remembering. The second is metacognition, the monitoring and regulation of that processing, including judgments about whether one understands. The third is epistemic cognition, the beliefs a person holds about the nature and limits of knowledge itself, such as whether knowledge is certain or provisional and whether it must be justified by evidence. The model's contribution is separating the third level from the second, since beliefs about knowledge shape how evidence is interpreted.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Use level identification: decide whether the difficulty lies in doing the task, monitoring it, or assumptions about knowledge. - Use belief surfacing: write down what you assume about whether a correct answer exists. - Use certainty check: ask whether your conclusion reflects evidence or a belief that knowledge must be certain.
Anchor fast decisions
Errors arise at different levels and require different remedies. A computational mistake is a cognition-level problem solved by checking work, while a failure to notice a misunderstanding is metacognitive and needs better monitoring. Epistemic beliefs sit above both and set the standards against which monitoring judges: someone who believes knowledge is either certain or arbitrary treats unresolved evidence as failure and may abandon a sound conclusion or adopt an unjustified one. Separating the levels makes the source of an error identifiable.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- doi.orghttps://doi.org/10.1159/000272885verified
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