Tracing Metacognition by Highlighting and Tagging to Predict Recall and Transfer

• In Event: 29.028 - Novel Methods for Assessing and Enhancing Metacognitive Monitoring

Abstract

When learners highlight or tag content, they metacognitively monitor information to select and mark it. From a levels-of-processing framework, standards used in metacognitive monitoring could affect learning. We examined effects on recall and transfer of different metacognitive standards – free highlighting expressing a generic “importance” standard, tagging according to structures of text (definition, explanation, example) and tagging for utility of information (required vs. helpful for understanding). Information marked based on any metacognitive standard was twice as likely to be recalled as unmarked information. Recall was lower when learners metacognitively monitored text structures. Transfer was unaffected by standards used for metacognitive monitoring. While standards applied to metacognitively monitor information may elevate levels of processing, that does not necessarily engage transfer appropriate processing.

Authors

• Philip H. Winne, Simon Fraser University

• John Cale Nesbit, Simon Fraser University

• Ilana Ram, Simon Fraser University

• Zahia Marzouk, Simon Fraser University

• Jovita Vytasek, Simon Fraser University

• Donya Samadi, Simon Fraser University

• Jason Stewart-Alonso, Simon Fraser University

• Mladen Rakovic, Simon Fraser University

• Amna Liaqat, Simon Fraser University

• Michael Pin-Chuan Lin, Simon Fraser University

• Azar Pakdaman Savoji, Simon Fraser University