An Experimental Study of the Effect of Computer Assisted Learning on Metacognitive Performance Development in Psychology Teaching

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the use of computer-based learning environments toenhance learning in higher education, but the implications of this on the improvement ofmetacognition in higher education have yet to be adequately explored. In the currentstudy, 175 students who enrolled in an introductory psychology course were randomlyassigned to experimental and control groups (computer-assisted vs. self-managed). In thecomputer-assisted condition, besides the lecture delivered four hours per week and forthree months in total, students took a set of assignments based on evidence-basedteaching in a computer-based environment. The control group, however, took theseassignments as in-and-out class activities without using a computer environment. Anassessment based on Bloom’s taxonomy was utilized to obtain metacognitive andcompetency scores for both groups. The results of the study showed that the studentswho completed the structured learning assignments as computer-based, self-learningenvironment showed better metacognition performance than those in the self-managedgroup, who did not engage with the online platform, even though there was no significantdifference between the groups regarding competence on the course’s learning objectives.The current experiment offers an empirical validation for why instructors should usetechnology as a self-regulatory tool that enhances students’ metacognitive performanceand competence of learning outcomes.