The basic aim of this research program
to raise educators and students’ awareness of the value of metacognitive abilities and further develop and promote students’ metacognitive and theory of mind (ToM) abilities at both educational levels (primary & high school) through the corresponding training of teachers. The implementation of the project will address various personal educational needs, such as filling gaps in teachers’ basic education and in-service training and promoting the development of students’ meta- cognitive and ToM (Theory of Mind) awareness’ skills.
Thus, the main intended achievement of the PRO-ME-ToM project is to provide a well-elaborated and tested developmental program for improving: (a) metacognitive awareness, a crucial skill for a meaningful participation in the information society, and (b) ToM awareness, a fundamental skill for successful social interaction and adaptation. More specifically, the project aims to enhance teachers’ ability to teach self-monitoring and self-evaluation by promoting students’ thinking skills and abilities as well as ToM skills.
Tests and description of in-class activities translated to five languages will be available for use to teachers form primary and secondary education in order to improve student’s metacognitive aware thinking.
The specific objectives are the following:
- To develop teachers’ knowledge and skills in order to improve students’ metacognitive thinking in the elementary and secondary education.
- To develop and implement an Action research seminar for teachers’ participatory development so that be able to develop their students’ metacognitive skills.
- To support teachers and students to transfer their self-regulating metacognitive knowledge and skills to new tasks.
- To support teachers and students to develop metacognitive skills and strategies for reading comprehension and writing in the mother tongue and mathematics.
- To explore the actual results of teachers and students’ metacognitive development through pre-test, post –test and follow-up research design.
- To broadly disseminate the participatory processes, activities and results in the national context of the partners and internationally so that to multiply the target group in other schools and countries, through a specifically developed web- page, conferences and publications.
- To communicate broadly the project’s objectives, processes and results through an interactive online platform aiming at both providing continuous support of students and teachers’ participating in the project and advising teachers who want to implement in their other schools or countries the project..
The concrete results expected from this project are to:
- Assess teachers’ and students’ metacognitive awareness prior- and after- a teachers’ training program.
- Develop a 3- months’ training program for educators of both levels
- Conduct a follow up evaluation on teachers’ and students’ Metacognitive & ToM skills
- Develop a Teachers’ Educational Booklet (with helpful activities)