Abstract
In the current era, when information is accessible to all, students are less motivated to invest in long learning processes. Thus, teachers need to focus on education while developing along the way their students’ self-fulfillment that is based on realistic self-awareness. By developing students’ motivation to delve into the information they can easily access, students also learn to develop their own thinking and understanding of the same information everyone has. The question is how to develop self-awareness. This year-long case study applied teaching processes based on the Mediated Learning Experience approach to 16 fourth-grade students via four of their teachers. Focus groups, individual interviews, and observations were used to collect the data, which then underwent discourse analysis. The teachers indicated that, by basing their teaching on building reciprocity and meaningful learning processes according to the Mediated Learning Experience criteria, they better understood the unique self-awareness that each student developed. Their understanding helped them to enhance their students’ internal motivation, and maintain an improved atmosphere in class.
Introduction
As we look back on the history of education while rethinking its goals of today, it is clear that ‘education must be a source of empowerment for individuals … it must open their minds to potential for new and better ideas’ (Elmore, 2014: 82). Education and learning integrate a variety of factors, such as personality, cognitive ability, intervention, previous experiences, self-evaluation, and the motivation to learn (Stanhope et al., 2013). Each component develops both individually and in relation to all the others. While studying the role of these various factors, Erez and Judge (2001) emphasized that motivation, self-evaluation, and academic achievements increase as students develop better awareness of their own learning processes.
The aim of this article is to enable educators to gain a better understanding of the development of self-awareness among fourth-grade students by describing the varied ways they express that self-awareness, and to demonstrate the role of teachers during this process. The underlying assumption is that the more educators know about the development of self-awareness and about how children express it, the better they will be able to lead their students through the process of understanding what they experience. Teachers cannot avoid the powerful influence they have on their students, and therefore they should use it carefully. As Singer (1990) claimed, during the years of elementary school, students look up to their teachers and relate to them as perfect role models.
The concept of self-awareness, as presented through the literature and in this study, does not evolve in a vacuum and cannot be developed without meaningful experience. Understanding the influence of culture, society, and social agents on the development of the self is essential. Studying the development of self-awareness emphasizes the reciprocal influences cognitive development, metacognitive activities, human mediation, and self-awareness have on each other (Bryce et al., 2015; Poitras and Lajoie, 2013). Therefore, implementing a structured program that focuses on mediation, social influence, and cognitive development was important for the overall process of this study. The Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) approach provides opportunities for a better understanding of students’ expressions throughout a structured process. The MLE structure described in the following section is based on the understanding that a human mediator can significantly influence one’s cognitive development, which, in turn, influences one’s self-awareness.
Self-awareness
Psychologists and educators usually use the concept of self-awareness in order to describe one’s ability to think about, talk about, and define feelings, thoughts, and/or actions. Although many researchers, psychologists, and other social scientists have studied the role of the self and focused on its cognitive, affective, and behavioral implications, they have not reached any consensus regarding a unified definition of the ‘self’. They differ widely in how they believe the self should be defined and measured. These differences in definitions become very important when discussing questions such as who defines the ‘self’, what the purpose of the definition is and, moreover, who should be studied according to these definitions. Both the definition of self-awareness and the studies on self-awareness are influenced by the complexity and the mix of theories in this field. Thus, almost any study that relates to the ‘self’ from almost any point of view can be justified.
Most studies have focused on how age, race, gender, or culture relate to the process of self-development. Presently, the term ‘self-awareness’ is used to describe an overall concept that includes many sub-concepts, such as self-esteem, self-concept, self-description, self-control, self-evaluation, self-image, self-perception, self-presentation, self-reflection, self-knowledge, and self-understanding. These concepts may be used separately or in conjunction with one another. They may also be used as synonyms for self-awareness or in order to emphasize specific views that relate to the self. A point that researchers do agree on is that, throughout life, self-awareness develops along a continuum, along which researchers define four major periods as critical: infancy (the first 24 months of life); early childhood (from 24 months until age 5); middle childhood (age 5 to age 11); and adolescence (from age 11 on). From one experience to another, people increase their awareness of themselves and of their ability to become aware. Each experience affects the subsequent one, as well as how one’s awareness continues to increase (Morin, 2004). Tat-Heung (2014) claims that the ways children understand themselves through learning processes in school lead them through life and influence their choices in the future. Accordingly, developing learner identity is one of the goals teachers should achieve in schools.
Moreover, one’s linguistic skills influence the level of self-awareness (Ferrari and Sternberg, 1998). The study of self-awareness originates from psychologists’ claims that the well-rounded self is of fundamental importance to one’s growth (Eysenck, 1994). Clearly, then, children need to develop self-awareness early in their childhood in order to be more successful in school and later in their lives. Everyone has different abilities and limits that construct the self and, by developing awareness of these components and of the environment one lives in, one achieves fulfillment of the self (Morin, 2004).
In light of the above, educators need to plan how to develop students’ self-awareness through a variety of experiences. But, in order to do so, they need to gain more knowledge and understanding of the domain of self-awareness. The major purpose of this study was to contribute more information about the development of self-awareness among fourth-graders. In order to overcome the variety of ways researchers use the term ‘self-awareness’, I based this study on an integration of the variety of perspectives mentioned above with an overall definition that can be phrased as follows: self-awareness is a concept that describes people’s reflections of themselves. The process of learning about the self begins at birth, and develops dynamically after every interaction with the environment. People differ from each other in how they express themselves after having a variety of experiences.
Mediated Learning Experience
The MLE is one of the major components of the Structural Cognitive Modifiability learning theory developed during the 1950s by the late Professor R Feuerstein, as a result of his work with children in Romania and Israel. Feuerstein asserted that one of the fundamental assumptions of Structural Cognitive Modifiability learning theory is that every person has cognitive structures that can be modified and developed as a result of experiences (Feuerstein et al., 2006).
According to this theory, intelligence is one’s ability to change and to use previously taught principles and strategies to adjust to new situations. The ability to transfer previous knowledge in order to cope with new challenges is the basis for MLE theory. Feuerstein (1994) distinguished between two ways one can learn as a result of interacting with the environment: learning via direct exposure to different stimuli and learning via an MLE. While learning via direct exposure leaves no option for monitoring the intensity of the stimulation one receives or responds to, the MLE forces the mediator to become responsible for the cognitive changes achieved as a result of the organization and categorization of the stimuli the mediator intentionally prepares for an individual or a specific group of mediation subjects.
The effectiveness of learning as a result of social interactions was also broadly discussed by Vygotsky (Kozulin, 2015), whose sociocultural learning theory has influenced many current educational approaches. Feuerstein (1994), however, not only suggested a learning theory that incorporated societal influences, but he also developed a framework that provides mediators with the necessary guidelines and tools to assess and promote learning. Feuerstein elaborated 12 criteria that distinguish the MLE from other interactive experiences. Each one of these 12 criteria presents another form of mediation and contributes to the MLE in a different way. But not every learning interaction between an adult and a child can be defined as mediation. The first three criteria must all appear in order to qualify the interaction as an MLE. These are intentionality and reciprocity, transcendence, and mediation of meaning. Hence, in the current study, the structured teaching interactions were based mainly on these three criteria of the MLE approach, each of which is described briefly below.
Intentionality and reciprocity
Every mediated experience should be shaped by the intention to mediate, and the mediator should also share this intention with the object of the mediation. Throughout the study, the mediators used statements such as, ‘I want you to explain the process you went through while looking for an answer’ or ‘I want you to understand why I decided to read this story today, so I am going to share my thoughts with you’. By creating the process of reciprocity, ‘an implicit intention becomes explicit, volitional’ (Feuerstein, 1994: 17). Intentionality transforms any accidental interaction into a purposeful one. By sharing the intention and causing reciprocity, the mediation helps children learn to focus on their cognitive processes and not on the objects used during the learning processes.
Transcendence
The ability to use the same knowledge in different situations becomes one of the most important features of the MLE. Feuerstein believed that providing an individual with the awareness and competence to transfer knowledge from one situation to another is among the most important characteristics of the MLE, and it is widely prevalent in many complex forms of mediated dialogue.
Mediation of meaning
Mediation of meaning answers the questions ‘why’ and ‘what for’, and other related questions that explain the reasons for something happening or something being done, or even the reasons for the importance of a specific MLE interaction. In many cases, the mediation of meaning contributes to the intentionality of the mediator, and the subject responds with further reciprocity. The mediation of meaning starts at the very beginning of the relationship between the caregiver and infant as the MLE manifests itself through paralinguistic models of communication, through movement, and through different uses of body language. In order to let mediation subjects develop their own points of view regarding meaning, mediators carefully reduce the emphasis on their own meaning and allow the sharing of other possible meanings of a specific MLE interaction. As soon as there is verbal understanding, the mediator adds more words to everyday communication so the meaning of the interaction will be more powerful. Eventually, the mediation subjects will start searching for meanings on their own.
The rest of the nine criteria of mediation support and contribute to the above main three criteria, and they relate to the mediation of: a sense of efficacy; regulation and control of behavior; sharing behavior; individuation and psychological differentiation; goal seeking, setting, and achieving; challenge; the human as a changing entity; the search for an optimistic alternative; and the sense of belonging.
Mediators can use the MLE as a structured program on a regular basis and focus on mediating specific cognitive skills or on improving specific cognitive functions. The MLE is an example of a method teachers can use in their classes in order to help their students develop thinking strategies that enable them to learn new information on the basis of prior learning. Feuerstein encouraged mediators to use clear, specific, and correct concepts on an ongoing basis in order to promote a better understanding of learning processes and better communication. This view may be another key that integrates the MLE approach with self-awareness development since it is influenced by linguistic development (Ferrari and Sternberg, 1998).
Motivation and learning
The concept of motivation is used by a variety of professionals to describe one’s urge to do different things. Although different professionals refer to motivation differently, they all agree that people use both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation while they learn new things (Moos and Miller, 2015). Investigating the core difference between the two concepts leads to the understanding that intrinsic motivation develops from one’s desire to engage in a behavior because of interest and/or the challenge, whereas extrinsic motivation develops as a result of external incentives such as grades and praise (Chen et al., 2015; Moos and Miller, 2015). Moos and Miller (2015) also emphasize that motivation is one of the major components of learning processes, along with self-regulation, constructive learning, and behavior learning. Understanding of the role of motivation throughout the teaching–learning process (Georges, 2015) emphasizes the need to better understand students’ needs and interests. Moreover, motivation develops from one’s interest, participation, and sense of efficacy.
Although motivation, learning, and individual goals are different concepts, they all contribute to the development of each other (Wigfield and Eccles, 2000). While individual goals encourage the motivation to achieve those goals, achieving and succeeding mutually encourage new motivation for new goals. Moreover, although all of the above components are influenced by social factors that affect learning in general (Wigfield and Eccles, 2000), increasing one’s intrinsic motivation is essential to promote academic success (McDermott et al., 2014).
Understanding of the processes and roles of motivation through learning processes clarifies the fact that the more people know themselves, understand their abilities to study, and believe in themselves, the more motivation they have to cope with learning challenges.
Metacognition, self-awareness development and the Mediated Learning Experience
As mentioned previously, one’s self-awareness development derives from a variety of life experiences. The complexity of following the process intensifies since people need to express themselves in order to allow others to understand their awareness. At this stage, one's metacognition development integrates throughout the process of self-awareness development.
Researchers refer to metacognitive activities as one’s ability to monitor, control, set goals, regulate thinking, and reflect (Ferreira et al., 2015; Poitras and Lajoie, 2013). This general yet clear explanation of metacognition allows researchers to examine the domain from a variety of cognitive and psychological perspectives. Although not all researchers refer to the development of metacognition, self-awareness, and academic learning from the same point of view, it is accepted by professionals that all of the above components can be developed by proper mediation and ongoing practice. It is also agreed that the progression may differ according to the learner’s age (Pillow and Pearson, 2015; Spruce and Bol, 2015). Therefore, while following and learning about one’s self-awareness development, which relates to a variety of cognitive functions, it is essential to conduct a structured mediation process according to age and environment.
Methodology
The main goal of the current study was to achieve a better understanding of self-awareness development among fourth-grade students, in order to provide teachers with a different path for empowering and motivating students to become better learners. The current study resulted from a desire to answer three questions: (1) How do fourth-grade students express their self-awareness? (2) How do fourth-grade students’ expressions of self-awareness change throughout 30 sessions of an MLE? and (3) What are teachers’ roles in the development of self-awareness among their students?
Although Feuerstein never specifically mentioned developing self-awareness through the MLE approach, some of his basic ideas form links with aspects of the self-awareness literature. Feuerstein claimed that people are born with the cognitive structures they need in order to learn, and that it is up to the mediators to help them realize their potential. He also mentioned that self-awareness plays a significant role in one’s learning development. Because the self-awareness literature suffers from a lack of information regarding the development of self-awareness among elementary school students, Feuerstein’s arguments can be used as the basis for a study that will add knowledge to this domain. In addition, some of the mediation criteria in the MLE approach deal with reflection on the learning process. One of the important factors in developing self-awareness is the ability to reflect on one’s own actions. Therefore, even though the domain of self-awareness development is not overtly mentioned in Feuerstein’s theory as a separate issue to be mediated, linking MLE processes and self-awareness is reasonable, and allows mediators to guide self-awareness development among mediatees.
Moreover, the MLE approach demands the development of reciprocity between mediators and mediatees, while learning about one’s self-awareness cannot be done without reciprocity from participants. The decision to apply MLE theory also evolved from the recognition of the fact that students would not share their private thoughts unless they felt secure and had reciprocal relations with the people around them. Prior to the study, the researcher’s teaching methods had been based for over 20 years on MLE theory and mediation. She realized that the MLE process contributes not only to the development of students’ cognitive processes, but also to their awareness of their own internal strengths. Students were more motivated to share their difficulties, frustrations, and successes. Becoming more honest about themselves, they were also more motivated to deal with obstacles at school. At the same time, the researcher realized that she could better prepare and adjust the lessons according to the students’ needs. These reflections motivated the researcher to deepen her understanding of the domain of self-awareness based on the MLE.
The study was conducted in an elementary school located in the Midwest of the USA. During a period of one school year, the development of self-awareness among 16 fourth-grade students was documented by a variety of tools. Twice a week, the students were exposed to the MLE approach (Feuerstein et al., 2006). The researcher mediated the students based on the MLE methods program, which was integrated as part of the language curriculum of the school. All of the MLE sessions mediated by the researcher integrated the mandatory content according to the planned curriculum with thinking strategies to allow students to better develop their thinking processes and become independent learners and thinkers. For example, while learning to recognize a poem by its structure, the mediation process included also discussions in regard to where in life the students needed to look for and recognize the structure of events in order to better understand them. The class teachers were observed during these sessions, in order to better implement the MLE procedure in other lessons. Each of the carefully prepared sessions was followed by a written reflection by the mediator. The MLE criteria were also used as a tool to analyze all the data collected. In addition, each student participated in two individual interviews and class observations. At the same time, their teachers participated in both group and individual interviews.
This study could only be conducted by using a variety of research tools to develop a deeper understanding of the self-awareness-development process the participants were undergoing (Le Compte and Schnsul, 1999; Marshall and Rossman, 2015). Choosing each of the above research tools developed from the uniqueness of the study itself.
Focus groups
Understanding that one’s development of self relies on interactions with the environment, and that the environment’s goals influence the process, led to the researcher beginning this study by collecting more information and developing a better understanding of the environment’s expectations of the students through focus groups. This stage served as the basis for the subsequent stages of the study. It provided the primary knowledge needed to develop basic questions for the individual interviews and the key topics to focus on during the first class observation.
The focus groups incorporated all of the fourth-grade teachers in the school, the teachers’ supervisor at this school, and the principal. The focus group participants were asked to clarify their views concerning evidence they could observe in school of self-awareness among fourth-graders. In addition, they were asked to define specific traits they thought characterized self-awareness among fourth-grade students. The integration of their views and definitions with the literature about self-awareness informed both the observations and the individual interviews.
Observations
The guidelines for the regular weekly observations were mainly the MLE criteria, where the observer documented the students’ behavior and answers, for example, according to the types of criteria. In addition, the observer also followed the criteria that were raised and discussed within the focus groups, during the students’ interviews, and from the literature, such as students’ verbal expressions of understanding learning processes and the uniqueness of each learner.
Conducting semi-structured observations (Le Compte and Schnsul, 1999) made it possible to collect a variety of items of information while still focusing on the goal of the study. The main criteria examined throughout all of the observations were the interactions between the teacher and the students, the interactions between the students, and the different ways in which the students expressed themselves. The researcher’s reflections following each observation session served as additional data. The data was analyzed after each observation session to enable a better focus on the relevant information during the following session.
The class observations were conducted by both the researcher and the class teacher. During all of the sessions in which the researcher mediated the 30-minute lesson, the teacher observed the mediation process, following the 12 mediation criteria used by the researcher. At the end of each session, the researcher and the teacher met to discuss how to transfer the mediation process into practical teaching situations during the other lessons taught by the teacher. In addition, the researcher observed the teacher in class once a week, in order to track the mediation criteria used by both the teacher and the students. Basing all of the observations on the mediation criteria also served as a solid foundation for the data analysis.
Individual interviews
The semi-structured interviews were based on open-ended questions phrased according to both the information from the literature and from the focus groups. All of the students and teachers participated in individual interviews at the beginning of the study and after all of the MLE sessions had been completed. Each interview lasted 20 minutes and the questions focused on how the interviewees accepted, understood, and interpreted their ‘self’. Although the basic questions were the same for all of the participants, some questions were asked in order to better understand a situation or an interaction noted during the observations, or to clarify points that emerged during the interviews. Although there is no one clear definition of self-awareness, all of the participants were asked if they knew the meaning of self-awareness, and if they could give examples of their own awareness in life. Other questions focused on the variety of uses self-awareness may have and its importance in life.
Both the interviews and the observations shared the goal of following up on the variety of self-awareness expressions presented by the fourth-grade students. The data from all of the interviews was compared and combined with the literature and the focus group discussions.
Participants
This study was conducted in a public elementary school in the Midwest of the USA. Sixteen fourth-grade students, four teachers, and the school principal participated throughout the period of the study (one school year).
Trustworthiness and ethics
Conducting this study in an elementary school, and involving both teachers and students, required adherence to the norms of research ethics and study trustworthiness. The trustworthiness, or truth value, of research is the degree to which one can rely on the study’s data and conclusions. Throughout the process of qualitative study, from the initial planning stages to the final stage of writing the conclusions, the researcher documented all of her decisions in writing in order to develop her awareness of the process. In addition, the researcher shared her decisions and conclusions from the data analysis with the teachers who participated in the study, and listened to their feedback as part of the focus group sessions or individual interviews. On one occasion, one of the participants did not agree with the researcher’s interpretation of a situation she had observed in class, and only during the focus group session was a better understanding developed. In addition, using a variety of methods in one study increases its trustworthiness. In the current study, three major methods were used: focus groups, observations, and individual interviews.
In accordance with ethical norms, the following steps were taken to protect the participants, the researcher, and the research. First, a short summary of the research proposal and goals was printed for all of the students’ parents to read before they were asked to sign their consent on behalf of their children. Second, the design of the study and the planned schedule were prepared and printed out for all of the participants. Third, all of the participants’ names were immediately replaced with pseudonyms. And, finally, before each individual interview (with the students or teachers), the researcher made sure that they agreed to continue with their participation in the study.
The main data analyzed
Data analysis was an ongoing process that began with the first focus group session and continued throughout the study after every interview or observation. Discourse analysis methodology was applied to the data, while the MLE criteria and the three original questions served as the stable guidelines.
Findings
Analyzing and organizing the data throughout the year of the study made it clear that everyone involved in the education system (teachers, principals, parents, volunteers, etc.) influences self-awareness development. Moreover, they all need to be aware of and understand this influence they have on the development of self-awareness. Following the research questions, three initial areas of self-awareness were defined: the teachers’ role in their students’ self-awareness development; fourth-grade students’ expressions of self-awareness; and the integration of the MLE and fourth-grade students’ expressions of self-awareness.
The teachers’ role in their students’ self-awareness development
As presented in the literature, self-awareness develops around one’s life and the experiences one goes through. Therefore, society plays a significant role in one’s self-awareness development, and teachers, who spend many hours a day with their students, influence the development of their students’ self-awareness through the activities they conduct. Although teachers are trained to impart specific domains of knowledge, their influence extends far beyond that role. Just as every event in the students’ lives affects their self-awareness development, every comment, type of behavior, and activity teachers employ influences their students. How teachers ask questions, present information, and behave provides students with different views of the world and of themselves. The students’ awareness of themselves and of their environment develops as a result of their interactions with the environment, and, at school, awareness develops as a result of the interactions and experiences provided by teachers to their students.
During the observations, it became clear that the students looked up to their teachers and tried to adjust their behavior and learning achievements to meet their expectations. They asked for feedback on their behavior and answers to questions, and during every observation at least one student asked the teacher: ‘Are you pleased with my work?’ Mentioning this during the focus groups raised teachers’ awareness of the fact that the students might want to please more than they want to learn. In time, the teachers answered their students with the question ‘Are you pleased?’, and gradually the students changed their expressions as well, and asked for a different type of feedback, such as: ‘I think I am doing pretty well here but I am not sure how to continue with my assignment, can you help me?’ Moreover, during the individual interviews with one of the class teachers, she expressed her awareness of the fact that the more she became aware of her role as a self-awareness developer, the more effective she felt she was in the teaching–learning interactions with her students.
Basing mediation on intentionality, the class teacher shared her feelings and thoughts with her students. This process of mediation increased students' references to the class teacher as a role model for learning. Not being pleased with the effects the classroom organization had on the students’ learning processes, the teacher decided to open this for discussion and not just organize the classroom differently, as she had done before. She explained the meaning of the organization according to the MLE criteria and shared her awareness of the students’ learning behavior. As a result, the students then expressed their awareness by looking for different ways to organize the class in order to improve their learning, and some even asked for advice on how to better organize their room at home.
The understanding of the meaning of the teachers’ role has broadened as a result of the ongoing process. The first contribution is the understanding that teachers need to be aware of their influence on their students’ self-awareness. Then, teachers need to be willing to follow the changes their students undergo, and monitor the activities and interactions they create in their classrooms accordingly in order to better contribute to their students’ self-awareness development.
Fourth-grade students’ expressions of self-awareness
After reviewing the information gathered from this study, it seems clear that fourth-grade students understand the meaning of self-awareness, and express their awareness in a variety of ways and in relation to a variety of domains in life. The six modes of expression revealed through this study were: emotional awareness; awareness of age and growth; behavioral awareness; academic awareness; awareness of societal roles; and awareness through the MLE processes. Each domain is composed of specific characteristics that contribute to the overall understanding of self-awareness. Thus, when leading educators want to develop a better understanding of their students’ self-awareness, they need to focus both on specific themes and on the general expressions their students use. Moreover, educators should remember that, in terms of the understanding that self-awareness develops as a result of one’s experiences in life, children may express their awareness differently, even when experiencing the same situation.
The integration of the Mediated Learning Experience and fourth-grade students’ expressions of self-awareness
The MLE approach was used throughout this study during the class activities and as the main tool for the semi-structured observations, and also served as a structured tool to help understand the students’ self-awareness expressions and to relate these expressions to their school activities. At the beginning of the study, the students barely expressed themselves in a way the researcher or the teachers could understand. The MLE process provided the students with cognitive tools that contributed to the understanding of the process they underwent during the development of their self. After a few sessions of the MLE, one of the students asked to be seated in a different place in the classroom. When the teacher asked him why, he said: I am not a good learner … I mean that I know I can think and you tell me all the time that I am smart … but my grades are low … I think that if I sit in a different place that will help me focus. I will organize my learning and be as smart as you say I am.
Such student expressions, as their reasoning for organizing the class so that it would be the most effective for learning, could not have been developed without the concepts of organization they acquired during the mediation program. Moreover, they would not have been developed without the class teacher realizing that never before had she mediated the meaning of concepts in general and, specifically, the meaning of organization in a variety of situations. Following the mediation criteria helped to structure the teaching processes while developing well-structured expression among the students. The major change was, surprisingly, expressed by the class teacher, who said: ‘After so many years of teaching, I began planning my lesson differently. Thinking MLE made me think of how my students think, what they may be aware of and how they will think when I am not with them’.
Self-awareness development is a process everyone goes through from birth. Implementing the MLE approach in this study gave the students a new experience and opportunities to better understand their expressions of themselves and the dynamic changes of these expressions.
Summary and conclusions
Developing stable and useful self-awareness supports one’s ability to become an independent learner in a variety of domains in life. Consequently, educators should integrate the development of better self-awareness among their students as part of their overall teaching goals. Although self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-expression develop mainly by experiencing the modeling of such behaviors in the environment, this alone may not provide teachers with a structured approach on a daily basis (Ferreira et al., 2015). The main question this study relates to derives from the lack of practical understanding of how this can be done. How can teachers motivate students to learn and achieve good grades in school and, at the same time, follow their students’ self-awareness and make sure it develops well? Understanding the variety of ways young students express their awareness in all areas of life is the main contribution of this study. Moreover, understanding that by modeling self-awareness and by listening to one’s students one may make a big difference is a step towards teaching from another perspective.
Practicing the MLE approach throughout the study, and also basing the data analysis on this approach, was the result of understanding the possible links between self-awareness development and the MLE. This experience leads to two main conclusions. The first develops from the MLE approach, while the second refers to the educators’ willingness to dare to try new cognitive processes with their students.
The MLE method is based on theory, research, and practice, and contains specific parameters. Accordingly, teachers can prepare their teaching processes, making sure that they pay attention to their students’ self-awareness development along with learning new thinking operations and knowledge. As the teaching processes proceed, teachers can also follow students’ cognitive behavior to better analyze their self-awareness development and better prepare the rest of the teaching procedure.
Since developing one’s self-awareness relies on life experiences, educators should be encouraged to pay more attention to this on a daily basis. Given the fact that there are no self-awareness curricula that teachers can use, they must take the initiative. Teacher training programs include a variety of pedagogic and didactic theories that teachers later use while practicing teaching (Flavian and Kass, 2015). As was done through this study, teachers should develop a deep understanding of these theories and look for the links between them and the domain of self-awareness.
The researcher developed this study in order to gain a better understanding of the development of self-awareness among fourth-grade students through the application of a structured MLE. Moreover, the researcher presents specific ways in which fourth-grade students express their self-awareness both verbally and behaviorally. One of the main conclusions deriving from this study arose from one of the home-room teachers, who said in the final interview: My fourth-graders are … yes, they are young thinkers! I always referred to them as children, great children. Now I think of them as thinkers and demand that they express their awareness of that. A few months ago I was not aware of it myself.
Looking for a variety of clear paths to better understand and develop students’ self-awareness was the core goal that motivated this study. Through the MLE teaching sessions, the teachers learned how to better understand their own teaching, while students better understood their learning processes, along with use of the appropriate language to express their awareness. Although there is no doubt with regard to the contribution the MLE had on teaching and understanding self-awareness, the willingness to understand students’ self-awareness played a major role in the process.
The focus of teachers on students learning and expressing their knowledge does not have to be at the expense of developing their self-awareness with regard to their cognitive and emotional changes. As the teachers said during the interviews, the most effective process they went through was becoming aware of the fact that they influence their students’ self-awareness, and they can follow it if they are only more aware themselves. It may be efficient for teachers to use the chain of relationships between self-awareness development and mediation while planning and conducting all learning activities, so that both they and their students will develop better awareness.