Instructor's Scaffolding in Support of Student's Metacognition through a Teacher Education Online Course - A Case Study

This study describes the relationship between the instructor's feedback and students' metacognitive processes in an online course on democracy and multiculturalism, which was taught as part of a teacher education program. 700 postings, written by 68 students, were content analyzed along with 66 postings by the instructor, using tools designed for that purpose. A strong positive correlation was found between the instructor's responses and students' metacognitive thinking demonstrating the importance of instructor's feedback in helping to produce an environment in which students would experience learning through reflective and metacognitive processes. Our study highlights the unique potential of online courses coupled with instructor's scaffolding to promote and study students' metacognitive reflections. Implications for the design of teacher education programs are also discussed.