THE FUNCTION OF METACOGNITION IN INSTRUCTIONAL SKILLS: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the instructional metacognition of pre-service elementaryteachers with high and low level of proficiency on teaching skills. The comparative casestudy was carried out on six pre-service elementary school teachers, three of whom had highlevel of proficiency (HLP) and the other three with low level of proficiency (LLP) onteaching skills. The research data were collected through unstructured observation and semistructured interviews. The data were analyzed through content analysis. As a result of thestudy, the instructional metacognition (IM) strategies and behaviors adopted by the HLPs andthe LLPs during the teaching process were modelled, comparatively evaluated, andsimilarities or dissimilarities were revealed. The present study is significant in terms ofuncovering the function of instructional cognitive awareness in the process of professionaldevelopment in teacher training, discovering what and how the IM has affected the quality ofhigh and low instructional performances and determining the problems encountered in thisprocess.