Secondary Teachers' Implementation of Metacognition and Interpretation of Student Metacognitive Knowledge and Regulation

Abstract

Metacognition has been shown to be important in the learning process of students. However, teacher awareness and understanding of metacognition seems to be limited. In this study, we use an interpretivist approach to explore how secondary teachers facilitated learning and perceived metacognition after participating in professional development on metacognitive strategies. First, we present themes that emerged from the in-depth interviews for how participants progressed in their operationalization of metacognition. We then present rich descriptions on a per-participant basis of how teacher-participants’ views of metacognition changed over time. Next, we present conclusions, including teacher-participant troubles with operationalizing metacognition. Finally, we propose a revised Model of Teacher Change accounting for teacher-participant experiences undergoing professional development on a complex topic (i.e., metacognition).