The Impact of Procedural Knowledge on the Formation of Declarative Knowledge: How Accomplishing Activities Designed for Developing Learning Skills Impacts Teachers’ Knowledge of Learning Skills

Abstract

In addition to content knowledge, it is necessary to teach learning skills. Using relevant learning skills assures better learning outcomes and abilities for the whole life course. Due to a packed curriculum or teachers having insufficient skills, student learning skills are often neglected. The aim of this study is to find out whether it is possible to support the development of declarative knowledge in learning skills in teachers through procedural knowledge acquired via practical teaching activities. A quasi-experimental study using semi-structured pre- and post-intervention interviews and six-month intervention activities was conducted with 14 teachers. The procedural knowledge of the teachers was assessed based on their practical experience with the intervention activities. Their declarative knowledge was assessed based on pre- and post-intervention interview reflections. The findings revealed that procedural knowledge, being predominantly teacher centred, mostly appears through experience and reflections on the teaching practice that guides them. It also appeared that the intervention focusing on advancing procedural knowledge among teachers advanced their declarative knowledge in terms of metacognition, revealing new aspects of motivation and sense-giving for their learning. As follow-up research, we plan to continue studying conditional knowledge in teachers in order to identify situations where this is applied.