Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction in regular class lessons

Abstract

The quality of teachers' knowledge about how people learn influences students' learning outcomes. Similarly, the quality of students' knowledge about how they learn influences their engagement in self-regulated learning and consequently, their learning achievement. There is a gap between research findings that support these two premises and teaching-learning practices in classrooms. In this paper we describe attempts to reduce this gap. In Study 1 we surveyed early adolescent students' cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and demonstrated that students' cognitive and metacognitive strategy knowledge has substantial room for improvement. In Studies 2 and 3 we collaborated with teachers to embed explicit cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction, using learning protocols, into regular class lessons.Studies 2 and 3 showed that the learning protocols slipped readily into teachers' typical lesson designs, scaffolded teachers' delivery of strategy instruction, and scaffolded some students' acquisition of strategy knowledge, although progress was sometimes slow. Recommendations are presented for supporting teachers and students to engage with cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction.Keywords: theory-practice gap; teacher knowledge; cognitive strategies; metacognitive strategies; learning protocols Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction in regular class lessonsIt is clear from research evidence that the quality of teachers' knowledge/beliefs, intentions, and plans with respect to how people learn influences teachers' teaching actions (Kerr, 1981; Lawson, Askell-Williams, & Murray-Harvey, 2009), and that those teaching actions directly influence students' learning outcomes (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989;Hattie, 2009;OECD, 2005;Rowe, 2002). Furthermore, the quality of students' knowledge about how they learn influences their engagement with learning, and consequently, their learning achievements (Bandura, 2001;Schraw, 1998;Schraw & Dennison, 1994;Schunk & Zimmerman, 1989;Weinstein & Mayer, 1986). However, as Hattie (2009 p. 3) asked, "Why does [this] bounty of research have so little impact?" We see that this lack of impact is associated with a gap between research findings and their use to inform teaching and learning practices (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000;Hattie, 2009). In this paper we report three studies that attempt to reduce this theory-practice gap, and show that research findings about strategies for good quality teaching and learning can have an impact on classroom practices. Teachers' knowledge about how people learnTeachers exert a direct impact upon student learning. Rowe (2002) and the OECD (2005) have reported that students of the most effective teachers have learning gains four times greater than students of the least effective teachers, that these effects accumulate over time, and that the single most important school-based variable of influence for student performance is teacher quality.The kno...

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Supporting cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies in technologically enhanced language learning

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