Dharma Lewis

Presentation Title

Online Metacognitive Awareness Interventions Improve Transfer Learning: An Individual Differences Account 

Abstract

Metacognitive awareness of one's focus is a critical component of learning, yet students frequently experience attentional lapses which can hinder comprehension and achievement without adaptive self-regulation and re-orienting. The present study examined the efficacy of a digital intervention designed to provide online coaching of metacognitive awareness of focus levels and re-orienting via real-time distraction-recovery prompts during learning (Focus Coach). In a single-factor between-subjects design, 244 undergraduate students were randomized into either a Focus Coach group or a control group while reading a 19-page physics lesson on the quantum electrodynamic effect nature. Moderation analyses revealed a significant interaction between condition and executive function for transfer learning outcomes, such that Focus Coach significantly improved transfer scores for participants with lower executive function whereas participants with higher executive function performed better in the control condition. These findings suggest Focus Coach serves as a compensatory scaffold for those with fewer attentional resources. Empirical, theoretical, and practical implications for the design of adaptive, domain-general metacognitive awareness interventions are discussed.