The implications of research on teacher belief for the nature of teaching and teacher education are discussed. In addition, ignored or minimally addressed issues that could provide avenues for future research are raised. Teacher belief is defined broadly as tacit, often unconsciously held assumptions about students, classrooms, and the academic material to be taught. After summarizing the heterogeneous research on teacher belief, I point out that we lack direct evidence concerning the processes that effect change in teacher belief. However, we can assume that they are similar to those needed to effect conceptual change in other kinds of personal belief. This leads to a discussion of research on conceptual change and its relevance to teacher education. I next suggest that the need for an elaborate personal belief system among teachers arises out of the many uncertainties endemic to classroom teaching: In a landscape without bearings, teachers create and internalize their own maps. The need for a personal b...

Implication of Research on Teacher Belief

This is an account of the largest on-the-scene study of U.S. schools ever undertaken. Called A Study of Schooling' and carried on over 4 years, trained investigators went into more than 1,000 classrooms in 38 elementary and secondary schools in seven different sections of the United States. These schools were located in urban, rural, and suburban areas. The investigators talked to teachers, students, administrators, school board officials, parents, and other members of the community. The result is this landmark report, written by one of the country's most astute and experienced educators. His message is one of cautious optimism, despite the extensive problems uncovered, and he provides a realistic agenda for improvement. This report will be a rich and stimulating resource for all those concerned with the education of our youth.

The Schools We Deserve@@@A Place Called School: Prospects for the Future

Cette etude a porte sur les attitudes envers la lecture d'un echantillon national par quotas de 18185 enfants allant de la 1ere a la 6eme annee aux Etats-Unis. Les eleves ont repondu a un groupe d'echelles d'evaluation illustrees, qui comprenait deux sous-echelles consacrees aux attitudes envers la lecture a des fins recreatives ou educatives. Les resultats obtenus ont ete etudies en fonction du sexe, de la classe frequentee, de l'ethnicite, du savoir lire et de l'utilisation de manuels. De maniere generale, les resultats vont dans le sens du modele d'acquisition de l'attitude envers la lecture de McKenna

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Children's Attitudes toward Reading: A National Survey.

Although research on teacher cognition is no longer in its infancy, it has largely failed to affect the ways in which programs and teachers are evaluated. In accordance with what Raths and Katz (1985) call the Goldilocks Principle, the notion of teacher cognition may simply be “too big” (too general and vague) for mundane application. This review was designed to compare alternative approaches to the evaluation of teacher cognition and to consider ways in which the literature of this subfield may be discouraging its application. Teacher cognition is defined as pre- or inservice teachers’ self-reflections; beliefs and knowledge about teaching, students, and content; and awareness of problem-solving strategies endemic to classroom teaching. This paper describes and critiques five different approaches to the evaluation of teacher cognition: (a) direct and noninferential ways of assessing teacher belief, (b) methods that rely on contextual analyses of teachers’ descriptive language, (c) taxonomies for assessin...

Ways of Evaluating Teacher Cognition: Inferences Concerning the Goldilocks Principle

Students' questions play an important role in meaningful learning and scientific inquiry. They are a potential resource for both teaching and learning science. Despite the capacity of students' questions for enhancing learning, much of this potential still remains untapped. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine and review the existing research on students' questions and to explore ways of advancing future work into this area. The paper begins by highlighting the importance and role of students' questions from the perspectives of both the learner and the teacher. It then reviews the empirical research on students' questions, with a focus on four areas: (1) the nature and types of these questions; (2) the effects of teaching students questioning skills; (3) the relationship between students' questions and selected variables; and (4) teachers' responses to, and students' perceptions of, students' questions. Following this, some issues and implications of students' questions for classroom instru...

Students' questions: a potential resource for teaching and learning science

A Vygotskian-based theory of teacher cognition: Toward the acquisition of mental reflection and self-regulation

The overall purpose of these three investigations was to test the usefulness of private speech utterances as a means for understanding children's verbal self‐guidance during school task performance. A private speech coding system was derived from synthesizing the literature on private speech (e.g., Berk, 1986a), self‐regulated learning (e.g., Rohrkemper, 1989), and metacognition (Brown, 1987; Meichenbaum, 1977). Also, Vygotsky's theory of verbal self‐regulation (1934/1962, 1934/1987) served as the guiding theoretical perspective. To analyze verbal self‐guidance and to gather information about the importance of student characteristics (namely, autonomy, n = 118; academically advanced, n = 34; and creativity, n = 16), three separate studies using a different data source for each study, were conceptualized. Similar patterns of findings emerged; groups designated as more autonomous and more academically advanced used significantly less task‐irrelevant private speech; all groups used less nonfacilitative task‐...

Young Children's Private Speech as a Precursor to Metacognitive Strategy Use during Task Engagement.

The efficacy of a metacognitive instructional strategy for use with basal readers in improving reading comprehension, strategy use, and attitude toward reading was investigated. Thirty‐one children in two fourth‐grade classrooms served as subjects in the experiment. Twenty students in a self‐contained classroom served as the treatment group while eleven students in a second self‐contained classroom served as the control. All subjects in both groups were administered the Metropolitan Achievement Test, Reading Attitude Inventory, and the Index of Reading Awareness in September prior to the treatment and again at the end of the treatment the following May. The experimental treatment was based on the instructional strategies proposed by Schmitt and Baumann (1986) that describe how teachers can incorporate the use of comprehension monitoring strategies into the guided reading phase of basal reader instruction. Results indicated that children can be taught how to use metacognitive reading strategies an...

Basal reader instruction: Effects of comprehension monitoring training on reading comprehension, strategy use and attitude

The effect of cognitive self-instructions on preservice teacher's anxiety about teaching

Preface. Acknowledgments. Introduction. I. TEACHERS' PERSONAL USE OF METACOGNITION. 1. Reviewing Theories and Psychologies Related to Metacognition. Brief Historical Trace of Thinking and Learning Processes. Rational-Emotive Therapy. Transactional Analysis. Attribution Theory. Teacher-Efficacy. Self-Regulated Learning. Self-Talk Levels. Self-Talk Components. 2. Fostering Positive Mental Growth of Teachers. Connecting Metacognition to Teachers' Personal Growth. Self-Awareness. Self-Acceptance. Self-Responsibility. 3. Eliminating Negative Thinking of Teachers. Teacher Stress. Teacher Anger. Teacher Anxiety. Teacher Frustration and Boredom. Teachers' Guide for Coping with the Stress, Anger, Anxiety , and Frustration of Teaching. II. TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL USE OF METACOGNITION. 4. Understanding Self-Regulated Learning and Teaching. Theory of Verbal Self-Regulation. Zone of Proximal Development. Concept of Mediation. Other-Regulation Models. Theories of Self-Regulated Learning. Vygotskian View of Self-Regulated Learning. Self-Regulated Teaching. 5. Developing a Theory of Self-Regulated Teaching. Development of a Theory. Vygotsky's Theory and Teaching Goals. Transfer of Teacher Education Knowledge and Skills to Classroom Practice: A Vygotskian Explanation. Implications for Teaching: Self-Regulated Teachers. 6. Applying the Cognitive Self-Direction Model to Teaching. Metacognitive Skills for Professional Development. Metacognitive Research Related to Teaching. Cognitive Self-Direction for Teaching: A Curriculum and Methodological Model. Results of the Implementation. Metacognitive Skills for Teacher Planning. Metacognitive Skills during Interactive Instruction. Metacognitive Skills during Classroom Management. Future Trends in Metacognitive Study Applied to Teaching. 7. Using Other-Regulation Models for Teaching and Learning. Proleptic/Dyadic Instruction. Reciprocal Teaching. Cognitive Behavior-Modification. Cognitive Self-Instruction. III. METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES FOR STUDENT LEARNING. 8. Researching Metacognitive Strategies for Classroom Use. Metacognitive Research on Self-Control. Metacognitive Research for Academic Uses. Student Use of Metacognitive Strategies. 9. Applying Metacognitive Strategies for Students' Learning. School Work Habits. Content Area Learning. 10. Applying Metacognitive Strategies for Students' Personal Growth. Problem Solving, Decision Making, and Goal Setting. Learning to Use Healthy Self-Talk. Addressing Social Issues. Conclusions.

Brenda H. Manning

Papers

A Vygotskian-based theory of teacher cognition: Toward the acquisition of mental reflection and self-regulation

Young Children's Private Speech as a Precursor to Metacognitive Strategy Use during Task Engagement.

Basal reader instruction: Effects of comprehension monitoring training on reading comprehension, strategy use and attitude

The effect of cognitive self-instructions on preservice teacher's anxiety about teaching

Self-Talk for Teachers and Students: Metacognitive Strategies for Personal and Classroom Use