Metacognitive evaluation of student teachers

Abstract

A self-regulated and metacognitive approach to student learning has profound implications on how teachers interact with students and the way they assume evaluative practices. Because of its relevance, this paper presents the development, application, and analysis of a metacognitive self-assessment instrument in a first-semester course of the Pedagogy in History, Geography, and Social Sciences degree at a private university in the south of Chile. The instrument was constructed based on Marzano & Kendall's taxonomy, with an emphasis on regulation. Its application allowed, firstly, showing that the metacognitive instrument, with a regulatory purpose, was well receiving and understanding by young people. Secondly, the results show that future teachers are clear about the strengths and weaknesses that have an impact on their learning. Thirdly, it is clear that the effectiveness and monitoring of processes must be worked on with the students. Therefore, self-regulation and metacognition, as processes derived from evaluation, need to be incorporated into the training processes of future teachers in order to contribute to the improvement of the school evaluation culture.