Sojin Kim SED 600 Review #5 Metacognition Teacher’s metacognitive knowledge influences the instruction of higher order thinking (Zohar, 1999). A qualitative study was conducted to examine the relationship between the two. Metacognition refers to “one’s knowledge and control of one’s own cognitive system” (p.414). In CASE (Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education), knowledge is defined as “an explicit awareness (that may be described in words) of one’s reasoning patterns” and “the ability to think of (and talk about) reasoning patterns as distinct entities that may be related to specific task” (p.416). Thinking in Science (TSC) is another science educational project and it “consists of a series of learning activities designed to higher order thinking and scientific argumentation” (p.416). Zohar designed learning activities to include (Zohar, 1999): a. inquiry and critical thinking skills learning activities; b. learning activities of microworlds; c. learning activities designed to foster argumentation skills about bioethical dilemmas in genetics; and d. open-ended inquiry learning activities. The activities require students to apply higher order thinking skills, so as they are studying the content, they are also developing metacognitive skills. Teacher’s instruction is based from: subject-matter content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of learners, knowledge of educational aims, knowledge of curriculum, and general pedagogical knowledge(Zohar, 1999). Zohar’s research found that the teachers actually had more metacognitive skills than they were aware of and therefore were unable to articulate to the students to teach the skills they intuitively used. Consequently, the teachers did not specifically plan to include the metacognition in their lessons. Zohar argues that this is insufficient to actively engage the students in high order thinking as “declarative metacognitive knowledge is necessary for a comprehensive pedagogical knowledge of thinking skills” (1999). Science education should go beyond the passive transmission and in-take of factual knowledge. Students need to actively engage in higher order thinking not only to acquire but also to inquire and to problem-solve. Teacher’s own knowledge of the metacognition is not enough to teach and train the students to apply the same thinking processes. The skills need to be taught consciously and practiced. Reference Zohar, A. (1999). Teacher’s Metacognitive Knowledge and the Instruction of Higher-Order Thinking. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15,
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