Improving (meta)comprehension: Feedback and self-assessment

Abstract

Background: Monitoring is important for self-regulated learning from text, but is often inaccurate. Completing causal diagrams after reading texts has been shown to improve monitoring accuracy. Aims: We investigated whether providing one or two model answer diagrams and self-assessment instructions would improve learners' monitoring accuracy, regulation accuracy, and text comprehension. Because little is known about how accurately learners who are reading in a language other than their home language monitor their comprehension, we also explored whether effects differed between readers who have English or another language as their home language. Sample: Participants were 258 secondary school students at international schools in Singapore and Spain; 103 spoke a language other than English at home. Methods: Participants read 4 texts, completed diagrams on these texts, monitored comprehension, took a first comprehension test, self-assessed their diagram under one of 6 conditions resulting from a 3 (model answer: 0, 1, 2) x 2 (self-assessment instructions: yes, no) design, made restudy decisions, made monitoring judgments, and completed a final comprehension test. Results: Comprehension benefitted most when learners had access to two model answers. There were no effects of model answers or self-assessment instructions on monitoring accuracy. Regulation accuracy improved with model answers combined with self-assessment instructions. There was no differential effect of home language. Conclusions: This study supports prior research showing the benefit of model answer diagrams on comprehension. Yet, improvements in regulation accuracy suggest that model answers combined with self-assessment instructions support more effective self-regulated learning behaviors.