Stepping Stones: Adopting a Fading Programme Design to Promote Teachers’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies for Mathematical Problem Solving
Metacognition and self-regulated learning are widely understood to offer significant benefits for pupils’ mathematical problem solving; however, the existing literature highlights that the under-representation of these concepts in curriculum, policy, and teacher professional development means that t...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/7/892 |
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| author | Kirstin Mulholland William Gray Christopher Counihan David Nichol |
| author_facet | Kirstin Mulholland William Gray Christopher Counihan David Nichol |
| author_sort | Kirstin Mulholland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Metacognition and self-regulated learning are widely understood to offer significant benefits for pupils’ mathematical problem solving; however, the existing literature highlights that the under-representation of these concepts in curriculum, policy, and teacher professional development means that their potential for impact remains unfulfilled. This article, therefore, examines the potential value of an innovative fading professional development programme—“Stepping Stones”—in enhancing teachers’ understanding and use of metacognitive strategies for mathematical problem solving. Adopting a convergent mixed methods design, this pilot evaluation involved Year 2 teachers across five primary schools. The results from both qualitative and quantitative data demonstrate that, as the scaffolding provided by programme materials faded and teachers assumed greater responsibility for session planning, they incorporated metacognitive strategies into their planning and delivery with increased independence. The results also indicate the acceptability of this professional development model, suggesting that, when combined with peer collaboration, the fading design was associated with improvements in knowledge and confidence regarding both metacognition and mathematical problem solving, alongside increased ownership and buy in. The conclusions advocate further examination and implementation of fading models of professional development to promote the understanding and use of metacognition for mathematical problem solving and recommend exploration into different professional development contexts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ce7de5cbb6024437b1f40c1f1edbd431 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-ce7de5cbb6024437b1f40c1f1edbd4312025-08-20T03:07:54ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022025-07-0115789210.3390/educsci15070892Stepping Stones: Adopting a Fading Programme Design to Promote Teachers’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies for Mathematical Problem SolvingKirstin Mulholland0William Gray1Christopher Counihan2David Nichol3Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE7 7XA, UKDepartment of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE7 7XA, UKDepartment of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE7 7XA, UKDepartment of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE7 7XA, UKMetacognition and self-regulated learning are widely understood to offer significant benefits for pupils’ mathematical problem solving; however, the existing literature highlights that the under-representation of these concepts in curriculum, policy, and teacher professional development means that their potential for impact remains unfulfilled. This article, therefore, examines the potential value of an innovative fading professional development programme—“Stepping Stones”—in enhancing teachers’ understanding and use of metacognitive strategies for mathematical problem solving. Adopting a convergent mixed methods design, this pilot evaluation involved Year 2 teachers across five primary schools. The results from both qualitative and quantitative data demonstrate that, as the scaffolding provided by programme materials faded and teachers assumed greater responsibility for session planning, they incorporated metacognitive strategies into their planning and delivery with increased independence. The results also indicate the acceptability of this professional development model, suggesting that, when combined with peer collaboration, the fading design was associated with improvements in knowledge and confidence regarding both metacognition and mathematical problem solving, alongside increased ownership and buy in. The conclusions advocate further examination and implementation of fading models of professional development to promote the understanding and use of metacognition for mathematical problem solving and recommend exploration into different professional development contexts.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/7/892teacher professional developmentmetacognitionmathematical problem solvingworked examplesfading |
| spellingShingle | Kirstin Mulholland William Gray Christopher Counihan David Nichol Stepping Stones: Adopting a Fading Programme Design to Promote Teachers’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies for Mathematical Problem Solving Education Sciences teacher professional development metacognition mathematical problem solving worked examples fading |
| title | Stepping Stones: Adopting a Fading Programme Design to Promote Teachers’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies for Mathematical Problem Solving |
| title_full | Stepping Stones: Adopting a Fading Programme Design to Promote Teachers’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies for Mathematical Problem Solving |
| title_fullStr | Stepping Stones: Adopting a Fading Programme Design to Promote Teachers’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies for Mathematical Problem Solving |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stepping Stones: Adopting a Fading Programme Design to Promote Teachers’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies for Mathematical Problem Solving |
| title_short | Stepping Stones: Adopting a Fading Programme Design to Promote Teachers’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies for Mathematical Problem Solving |
| title_sort | stepping stones adopting a fading programme design to promote teachers use of metacognitive strategies for mathematical problem solving |
| topic | teacher professional development metacognition mathematical problem solving worked examples fading |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/7/892 |
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