Cognitive awareness strategies are techniques implemented by teachers to help students comprehend their learning processes. These strategies encompass planning, providing effective feedback, creating opportunities for reflective thinking, fostering problem-solving skills, encouraging conscious decision-making and questioning, promoting journaling, serving as role models, utilizing dramatization techniques, and building trust. Aligning with the principles of effective teaching, cognitive awareness strategies aim to develop higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking, analysis, and judgment in individuals. Additionally, these strategies enable teachers to continuously evaluate and refine their instructional practices through reflective thinking and feedback from students.

Integrating cognitive awareness strategies into teaching processes is closely tied to teachers' competencies in this area. This study stems from the need to explore teachers' requirements, particularly highlighting the significance of addressing classroom teachers' needs due to the critical developmental period of primary education.

This research adopts a mixed-methods approach, employing three data collection tools of both quantitative and qualitative nature. One of these tools, a structured observation form, was used to observe four classroom teachers selected through purposive sampling. Another tool, a semi-structured interview form, was employed to gather insights from 12 classroom teachers. The qualitative data obtained were analyzed using descriptive analysis techniques. To support the qualitative findings, quantitative data were collected by administering the Educational Metacognitive Regulation Inventory (Güzel & Başokçu, 2023) to 300 classroom teachers selected via random sampling. These quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques in the SPSS software.

Findings from classroom observations revealed that classroom teachers rarely utilized cognitive awareness strategies in their teaching environments. Interview results indicated that teachers had limited knowledge about cognitive awareness strategies and were unaware of their importance in instructional settings. Teachers expressed a preference for professional development activities to be conducted through distance education and emphasized the need for active participation. Quantitative data from the Metacognitive Regulation Inventory showed that teachers with larger class sizes, an associate degree level of education, and over 10 years of professional experience had lower cognitive regulation scores.

The findings of this study highlights the need for classroom teachers to use cognitive awareness strategies. They are expected to serve as a guide for designing professional development activities.