Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the development and impact of a digital tool that can be used to support students' self-regulated learning and metacognitive skills. The nature of online courses can restrict an instructor's ability to interact directly with their students. Digital courseware can help instructors connect with and support their online students in a different manner. A series of surveys were developed and digitally deployed to help students plan, monitor, and evaluate their progress toward goals. A multi-semester research study found that students enrolled in online classes who completed three or more surveys during the semester experienced better course performance compared to students who chose not to complete the surveys. Students who chose to complete less than three surveys performed comparably to their non-user peers. Students enrolled in hybrid or face-to-face classes tended to outperform their peers in online courses regardless of how many surveys they had completed.
TopIntroduction
The educational “classroom” has shifted continuously over the past several decades. Before the introduction of educational technology in the classroom, instruction primarily took place in a physical classroom with a focus on specific learning objectives. Direct instruction was a popular teaching pedagogy, and the concept of holistic instruction was less known. The introduction of educational technology in the classroom offered greater opportunities for educational pedagogies to evolve (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008; Rogers, 2004).
Incorporating technology into a higher education course has been found to increase engagement (Chiu, 2021), intrinsic motivation (Alamri et al., 2020), as well as competence and relatedness (Bombaerts & Nickel, 2017). Technology also enables access to instructional content outside the classroom environment, facilitating fully online and hybrid instruction. One of the benefits of online courses is the potential for greater educational access and equity across students (Iyer et al., 2022; Lambert, 2020; Tate & Warschauer, 2022). However, the nature of online courses can also restrict an instructor’s ability to interact directly with their students in order to identify gaps in knowledge or skills, opportunities for growth, and thus the ability to personalize instruction (Wright, 2014). This has opened an opportunity for using digital courseware to help instructors connect with, understand, and support their online students in a different manner by providing both cognitive and non-cognitive support.
To facilitate this type of instructor to student interaction and support, a courseware research team developed and tested an online resource aimed at increasing students’ self-regulated learning skills, particularly their metacognition. Metacognition represents an awareness of one’s own knowledge. When students practice metacognition, they are able to monitor and control their thinking processes (Meichenbaum, 1985; Nelson & Naren, 1990). Being metacognitive can help students self-regulate their own learning more effectively by performing activities like setting goals, using appropriate strategies, retrieving related knowledge, and self-regulating their own learning behavior. The developed online resource not only allowed students to think metacognitively, but it also allowed instructors to better understand students’ goals, backgrounds, and learning strategies in order to provide needed instructional support.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Cognitive Strategies: Mental processes that are implemented to achieve goals or solve problems.
SRL Interventions: Methods of supporting students’ self-regulated learning.
Metacognition: Our thinking about our own thinking. It is our knowledge and self-awareness of our own cognitive processes and behaviors.
Planning: Phase of metacognition. Planning occurs when the learner sets goals for the task, identifies the task components and critical features, and plans strategies accordingly.
Evaluating: Phase of metacognition. Evaluating occurs when the learner assesses their solutions and whether their goals have been satisfied, reviewing the strategies used and making adjustments as needed.
Self-Regulated Learning: Includes a set of interrelated cognitive and motivational skills that control learning.
Monitoring: Phase of metacognition. Monitoring occurs as the learner tracks their current state during the task, monitoring their progress towards their goals.