**Abstract**

Teaching metacognitively, which involves teaching *with* metacognition and teaching *for* metacognition, is critical for learners of any age. *With* enables teachers to gain awareness about and control over how they think and teach, and to monitor, evaluate, and adjust their instructional practices in accordance with specific students, goals and contexts. *For* enables teachers to design instruction that will develop and activate their students' metacognition, enabling them to be aware of what they know and do not know, and take action to address flaws or gaps in what they know. Our research findings, based on empirical studies conducted in a variety of educational settings, have identified effective instructional practices for teaching metacognitively. This chapter focuses on practices that support the metacognition of learners engaged in disciplinary discussions. This emphasis addresses a significant void in the research literature which more commonly targets metacognition in learning generally or applied specifically to reading and writing.

**Keywords:** teaching with metacognition, teaching for metacognition, teaching frame, disciplinary discussions, instructional practices

#### **1. Introduction**

Teaching metacognitively, which involves teaching with metacognition and teaching for metacognition, is critical for learners of any age. Teaching with metacognition enables teachers to gain awareness about and control over how they think and teach by planning, monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting their instructional goals and teaching strategies in accordance with their students' needs and the sociocultural context. Teaching for metacognition enables teachers to design instruction that will develop and activate their students' metacognition, enabling students to be aware of what they know and do not know by engaging in reflective processes, and to take action to address flaws or gaps in what they know by employing selfregulation strategies.

Given the essential role that teaching metacognitively plays in the professional growth of teachers and the academic development of students, a need exists for a tool to support teaching with and for metacognition. Our research findings, based on empirical studies conducted in a variety of educational settings [1–4], have identified such a tool: The SOAR Teaching Frames for Literacy. This chapter focuses on the SOAR Teaching Frame for Disciplinary Discussions and instructional practices

that support the metacognition of learners engaged in academic conversations, e.g., face-to-face interactions, online dialogues, and written conversations. This emphasis addresses a significant void in the research literature which more commonly targets metacognition in learning generally or applied specifically to reading and writing.
