Metacognition as Methodology for Continuing Education of Teachers

Abstract

In Brazil, the discussion on teacher education has been expanding and deepening due to numerous factors, including the quality of education and teachers’ professional development. As a consequence, it is observed a decrease in demand for the teaching career and the students’ low performance in national and international research on learning assessment. Therefore, there is an urgent need for investment in the continuing teacher education, considering the meeting of peers in their own context in which the pedagogical action happens. This article presents the research developed in a Municipal Early Childhood Center of Curitiba/Paraná/Brazil, aiming to describe and interpret the metacognitive methodology used in continuing education of 32 teachers, according to hermeneutic phenomenology. The thematic and dynamic observation records performed in 6 meetings with the participants were used as the research instrument. The results indicate that the participants have, in principle, resistance to a new model of continuing education, mainly because it runs away from the routine established in the institution and by the unfamiliarity with the reflective practice. On the other hand, an aspect highlighted by the group was the opportunity they had to relate the life experience with the work experience. The data confirm that metacognition as methodology for continuing education gives space within the institution so that teachers can talk, listen, discuss and learn with their peers; as well as it enables to look at themselves and at their professional performances, with view to joint and effective actions.