Teacher cognition: A powerful phenomenon developing and governing habits of teaching

Teaching has a complex feature being both a cognitive activity as well as a social behavior; thus, it is highly crucial to monitor how teachers develop and govern their habits and behavioral tendencies in the classroom. Teachers’ mental government has been the focus of educational research for a long time, because it is known to drive their actions. Considering teacher cognition as a powerful asset to develop and govern the habits of teaching, this paper adopts a conceptual review approach and presents a comprehensive and integrated literature review on teacher cognition along with its historical basis, key components, conceptual domains, origins, and driving forces. Building upon the empirical and theoretical literature compiled over a four-decade period, the paper presents a tripartite model regarding the conceptual domains of teacher cognition. As it is influenced by contextual circumstances surrounding teachers’ personal and professional lives, the concept of teacher cognition is revisited with regard to three origins and three driving forces. In this regard, the paper reconsiders teacher cognition in terms of the ways it is constructed and the ways it is oriented to action, and finally concludes with implications for teacher education.