The role of self-regulated learning in the professional development of elementary mathematics teachers

Current reforms in the educational system have raised new goals for teachers’ training concerning professional development (NCTM, 2000). In essence, these goals maintain that teacher training should not be limited to transmitting subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge using predefined, fixed methods but find ways to construct knowledge through self-regulated learning (SRL), applying higherorder thinking skills. The ability to self-regulate learning is essential for teachers’ professional development during their careers as well as for their ability to promote these processes among students. Research indicates that, if teachers are incapable of self-regulating their own learning, it will be impossible for them to develop these capabilities among their students (Putnam & Borko, 2000). Moreover, research has demonstrated that learners, across a wide range of ages, are not spontaneously self-regulated (Azevedo & Cromley, 2004; Kramarski, 2008; Kramarski & Michalsky, 2009), so it is necessary to implement explicit SRL support . Following this suggestion, our study addressed the following question