A digital world toolkit: enhancing teachers' metacognitive strategies for student digital literacy development

Abstract

The exploration of the relationship between the use of metacognitive strategies and instructional improvement among teachers, with a particular focus on students' media literacy and information management forms the basis for this research study. The study involved 252 teachers enrolled in the master's programme in educational technology at an online university. To assess teaching styles and the integration of the Internet in the classroom, a quantitative methodology was used through the PISA 2018 questionnaire. The results indicate the reliability of the instrument in measuring digital literacy across the seven dimensions addressed. In addition, the Metadig tool is used to measure the metacognitive component in relation to media literacy. It is observed that its application stimulates the acquisition and development of each dimension analysed. Teachers who use metacognitive strategies and promote media literacy enhance the development of digital competence in the classroom. It therefore seems appropriate to integrate well-structured approaches to self-regulated learning through metacognition into teacher education. Metacognition supports effective organisation of learning, control of information and understanding of context, fostering autonomous learning. These efforts promote digital competences in the use of online resources, and ultimately enrich teaching methods and learning strategies.