Scholarly record

METACOGNITIVE SKILLS OF PREGRADUATE TEACHER STUDENTS AS A CONDITION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR KEY DIDACTIC COMPETENCES

S. Grofcikova, N. Kozarova

Abstract

The paper deals with metacognition and metacognitive skills in university teacher students. The main goal is to identify the key didactic competences of students which lead to the development of their critical thinking. The level of pre-graduate students´ critical thinking is a determining factor for developing of this thinking in pupils at elementary and secondary schools (ISCED 2 and 3), for which teacher students are prepared. Metacognition can be defined in various ways. Almost all definitions take in consideration the main feature that it is an individual´s capability to think about their own learning and thinking. Metacognitive skills of teacher students can be developed by various strategies, e.g. by conceptual mapping, error analysis, subject contents (curriculum) structuring, argumentation, or by developing evaluative thinking. Next, selected strategies in relation to the development of critical thinking in pre-graduate students are analysed. In conceptual mapping, the emphasis is put on the hierarchy of concepts in coherent structure which visualizes the student´s mental representations. By error detecting and correcting in learning, a student´s ability to think critically and to evaluate received information is improved. The ability to structure the subject contents is essential for a teacher student; it helps him to organize the curriculum into a logic unit. All mentioned strategies supporting the development of critical thinking can be covered by argumentation. The paper is a partial output of VEGA, national project no. 1/0098/17 called "Individual Conception and Strategy of Education Within the Context of Teacher's Professional Development".

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