An Exploration of Motivation, Transfer, and Implementation During Self-Regulated Instruction and Cognitive Apprenticeships in Secondary Science and Social Studies Classrooms

Abstract

The Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards for Social Studies emphasize the importance of disciplinary literacy in helping students to think and interact with texts like experts (NCSS, 2013; NRC, 2013). Developing these skills, however, is difficult and students do not naturally display disciplinary thinking and literacy skills (Hogan & Maglienti, 2001; Wineburg, 1991). Researchers have determined several effective practices for addressing these cognitively demanding skills including the cognitive apprenticeship model with embedded self-regulated instruction (SRI; see De La Paz et al., 2017; Levin et al., 2021). In this dissertation, I discuss a range of topics that focus broadly on supporting students and teachers while they learn and teach cognitively demanding disciplinary literacy skills. I begin by examining SRI and its effects on motivation for students with or at risk for learning disabilities (LD). Next, I analyze the impact of a cognitive apprenticeship model that incorporates SRI on students’ literacy skills in science. Finally, I analyze the implementation of a similar cognitive apprenticeship model in history by observing fidelity, chronicling teacher curricular adaptations, and documenting the important factors that influence teachers’ instructional decisions. The first study identified that SRI has a positive impact on student motivation in addition to its positive impact on academics (see Antononiou & Souvignier, 2007; Graham & Harris 1989a; Schunk & Cox, 1986). The second study corroborates research on the cognitive apprenticeship model in science (Lee et al., 2021a; Levin et al., 2021) by demonstrating that the model can support the development of literacy skills in science inquiry settings. This study also shows how the model helps students to transfer learning to functionally different scenarios. The final study details the implementation of a cognitive apprenticeship intervention that supported the use of historical literacy skills during historical inquiries. This study establishes that with online professional development (PD) and continued coaching, teachers showed high degrees of fidelity and made adaptations that adhered to the tenants of the model and supported their specific students. Additionally, this study demonstrated how important factors such as teachers’ beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) affect teacher implementation.