This article by Jennifer McCabe presents the results of two studies focusing on metacognitive awareness of learning strategies in undergraduates. Participants were asked to evaluate and predict the outcomes of six educational scenarios describing the strategies of dual-coding, static-media presentations, low-interest extraneous details, testing, and spacing. Study 1 showed low awareness of all strategies except for generation; and a correlation of scenario prediction accuracy with an independent metacognition scale. Study 2 showed improved prediction accuracy for students who were specifically taught about these principles in college courses. “This research suggests that undergraduates are largely unaware of several specific strategies that could benefit memory for course information; further, training in applied learning and memory topics has the potential to improve metacognitive judgments in these domains.”

McCabe, J. (2011). Metacognitive awareness of learning strategies in undergraduates. Memory & Cognition, 39, 462–476. doi:10.3758/s13421-010-0035-2