Abstract:

In this paper we present some aspects of the approach taken to contribute to curriculum development at secondary school level in Romania. From the model established in curriculum theory, the first two important stages were carried out: that of curriculum research (diagnosis and prognosis) and the design of the new curriculum. The research method used was that of focus-groups in which teachers from university and pre-university education participated.

The discipline that emerged from the research is that of metacognitive strategies, which contribute to the development of skills needed by high school students, but especially by future students, who can become very effective in their intellectual activity if they manage to know their own cognitive functioning, to control and manage it in order to improve and develop it.

This curricular offer aims at developing metacognitive competence as a decisive transversal competence in ensuring effective learning, empowering students with various learning methods and techniques to prepare them for lifelong learning. The proposed discipline facilitates metacognitive trainings for students that have a positive influence on their academic performance in various subjects of study, as there is a causal link between metacognition and students' academic achievement. Properly exploited in a curricular context, this link can be a key condition for ensuring school success. It is also important for the high school student to be aware that performing well requires the mobilization of a whole set of knowledge and cognitive mechanisms.

The contents developed in this curriculum are in line with the new guidelines in cognitive psychology established by constructivism, which promotes interactive instruction and learning, building knowledge through activities of investigation, reflection on knowledge and its construction processes, thus enabling the student to carry out self-evaluation and self-regulation of their own learning process.

Keywords:

Curriculum development, metacognitive strategies, learning.