Predictors of U.S. Teachers' Use of Metacognition in Mathematics Instruction
Predictors of U.S. Teachers' Use of Metacognition in Mathematics Instruction By Regina A. Lewis MS, University of Scranton, 2007 BA, University of Maine at Augusta, 2002 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Education Walden University July 2016 Abstract American schools have been struggling with improving achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for decades. For the last four decades, the overall mathematics performance of 17 year olds on the National Assessment of Educational Progress has not shown any significant improvement. Mathematics teachers can use metacognitive techniques to make immediate adjustments in instruction that may assist students in becoming more skillful problem solvers. The purpose of this study was to provide new knowledge about the potential predictors of mathematics teachers' use of the six subfactors of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Teachers. The inventory was administered to 120 K 12 grade teachers from the membership list of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics via an online survey. Multiple regression analysis indicates that there are significant differences among the participants in the influence of potential predictor variables for declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, conditional knowledge, planning awareness, and monitoring awareness. The positive b coefficient indicates that the number of years of teaching experience plays a role in increasing the mathematics teachers' awareness of metacognition, b=.207, p<.05. The findings may help other researchers further explore the use of metacognition by mathematics teachers. Training in metacognitive skills may assist mathematics teachersAmerican schools have been struggling with improving achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for decades. For the last four decades, the overall mathematics performance of 17 year olds on the National Assessment of Educational Progress has not shown any significant improvement. Mathematics teachers can use metacognitive techniques to make immediate adjustments in instruction that may assist students in becoming more skillful problem solvers. The purpose of this study was to provide new knowledge about the potential predictors of mathematics teachers' use of the six subfactors of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Teachers. The inventory was administered to 120 K 12 grade teachers from the membership list of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics via an online survey. Multiple regression analysis indicates that there are significant differences among the participants in the influence of potential predictor variables for declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, conditional knowledge, planning awareness, and monitoring awareness. The positive b coefficient indicates that the number of years of teaching experience plays a role in increasing the mathematics teachers' awareness of metacognition, b=.207, p<.05. The findings may help other researchers further explore the use of metacognition by mathematics teachers. Training in metacognitive skills may assist mathematics teachers with developing the expertise to make real time adjustments of instruction. Improvement in the teaching of mathematics may create positive social change by improving the numeracy skills of students and may decrease the number of students that need remediation in mathematics at the college and university level. Predictors of U.S. Teachers' Use of Metacognition in Mathematics Instruction by Regina A. Lewis MS, University of Scranton, 2007 BA, University of Maine at Augusta, 2002 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Education Walden University July 2016 Dedication To all those that understand that teaching and learning are inseparable, that the world is our classroom, that the human organism is a social being designed to learn throughout life's entirety and that spirituality cannot be overlooked as an essential need of the human organism. Acknowledgments First I want to thank the Lord our God for guiding me down this unfamiliar path and for carrying me when I was weary from the daunting and formidable journey. My devoted husband, Jeffrey, who supported my venture into this unfamiliar territory. My children, who patiently understand my obsession for teaching and learning with the 'world as my classroom' and my grandchildren who demonstrate the complexity and gratification of mastering each newly learned task as an ultimate conquest on daily basis. My first mentor, Vicky Eiben Ed.D.,who helped me take the first steps of this journey. Dr. Asoka Jayasena Ph.D. who inherited me and patiently helped me to evolve and develop a passion to understand and to explain phenomena beyond the realm of numbers. Dr. Paula Dawidowicz Ph.D. the reader for my final KAM, a fount of encouragement and support, and a highly knowledgeable resource. My committee chair, Dr. Deanne Otto, and my methodologist, Dr. Wade Smith, who functioned as exemplars of patience while helping to form me as a scholar practitioner. Monsignor Charles Murphy, whose eloquent compositions have helped me to understand the incompleteness of the educational experience in the current paradigm as it continues to ignore the importance of spirituality as a basic need of the human creature.