Enhancing Digital Literacy through Metacognitive Instruction: A Study of the School‑Wide Optimum Model (SWOM) Effect on Achievement and Attitudes in Eighth-Grade Computer Education

Abstract

This quasi‑experimental study examined whether the School‑Wide Optimum Model (SWOM)—a metacognitive, thinking‑skills‑integrated instructional approach—improves achievement and attitudes in a middle‑school Computer and Information Technology (CIT) unit. The study's significance lies in the importance of teaching programming to students at different educational levels. Two intact ninth-grade classes from one public school participated. The final analytic sample comprised 30 students. Over four weeks (two sessions per week), the SWOM class received instruction embedding questioning, comparison, probability generation, prediction, problem solving, and decision making within the ‘I Learn from Technology’ unit, while the control class received lecture‑based instruction. Outcomes included a researcher‑developed CIT achievement test and an attitude toward computer learning scale, with high internal consistency (pilot α = .89). Mann–Whitney U tests indicated higher posttest achievement scores for the SWOM group. Pretest comparisons showed no significant baseline differences. These results suggest that embedding metacognitive thinking skills via SWOM is associated with meaningful gains in digital‑skills learning and more positive learner attitudes. Practical implications for teacher professional development, curriculum design, and lab organization are discussed, along with limitations related to intact‑class assignments and attrition.

Keywords: digital skills; School-Wide Optimum Model (SWOM), metacognitive strategies, computer education, academic achievement, student attitudes, quasi-experimental design, middle school education, digital literacy

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/17-1-14

Publication date: January 30th 2026