Use prompts in learning journals for a limited initial period; if continuing long-term, add support such as feedback, adaptive prompts, or additional help¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 7 claims (7 for) · 3 studies (1 causal, 1 quant-synthesis, 1 review), q3–q4 · 2 of 3 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The study found that short-term prompting (four weekly journals) activated cognitive and metacognitive strategy use, while extending the same static prompts for another four weeks added no benefit: strategy use and self-efficacy declined in both groups. The authors conclude that "Future research should investigate possible enhancers of long-term prompting like feedback, adaptive prompts or additional support." For practitioners, this suggests prompting learners at the start of a course and either fading static prompts or enriching continued prompting with feedback or adaptation.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Journal writing must remain a recurring activity (weekly journals in the course) so that prompting can be timed across the term.

Constraints¶

• Long-term use of identical cognitive and metacognitive prompts showed no effects on strategy use, self-efficacy, or performance in this university setting; the enhancers named are directions for future research, not tested remedies.

Target Learners¶

• university students in courses with compulsory follow-up work

Target Learning Goals¶

• activation of cognitive and metacognitive self-regulation strategies

Claims¶

• Continuing prompts long-term in learning journals confers no additional benefit: self-reported strategy use and self-efficacy decline across the second unit in both the short-term and long-term conditions, while the quantity of cognitive strategy use in the journals stays stable [+W]
• Short-term prompting increases the quantity of cognitive strategy use in open-ended learning journals, but not the quantity of metacognitive strategy use [+W]
• Self-efficacy, but not self-reported strategy use, predicts subsequent exam grades in the university course [+W]
• Short-term prompting in weekly learning journals increases university students' self-reported cognitive strategy use over time [+W]
• Short-term prompting in weekly learning journals increases university students' self-reported metacognitive strategy use over time [+W]
• University students' self-efficacy showed no significant change during a unit of short-term prompting in learning journals [+W]
• Metacognitive prompts improve learning [+M]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Nadja M. Gentner, Lisa Respondek, Tina Seufert. (2024). Effects of short- and long-term prompting in learning journals on strategy use, self-efficacy, and learning outcomes. Instructional Science (2024) 52:919–950. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-024-09671-x