Teacher Cognition: A Nostrum And Exigency On The Teaching Of Functional Writing Skills In Kenyan Secondary Schools

Abstract

This paper examines how and what English language teachers think in their practice of teaching functional writing skills. It looks at the planning practices of teachers, both in preparation for the classroom and during the moment-by-moment decision-making that occurs in the classroom. It tries to establish how these cognitions influence the teacher in teaching functional writing as a system of communication. This was a descriptive research and data was collected using observation, students’ self evaluation schedule and interview schedule to capture the actual teaching and learning of writing in the classrooms. During the entire study 720 students and 18 teachers of English language participated. The analysis of data was done descriptively. From the research, it was found that teachers have different cognitions, knowledge, beliefs and understanding about the teaching of functional writing skills. A strong recommendation is that the teacher should be left to identify what works for him and his learners in their own particular context.