Want students to do better on exams? Try adding metacognition!

Many instructors experience disappointment when their students’ exam scores don’t live up to expectations. How is it possible, we ask ourselves, that so many students failed to grasp the concepts we had explained so thoroughly? Why were our students, who seemed to understand course material so well during class, unable to apply their knowledge/skills on the final assessment? Why did the learning fail to “stick”? Most importantly, how can we help support students in achieving deeper, more long-lasting learning—and in successfully demonstrating this learning during finals?  

One way to support students preparing for high-stakes assessments is to add a layer of metacognition to assessment design. When students understand how learning works, they can start letting go of counterproductive mindsets, myths, and practices (“I’m just bad at math”; “This material feels hard, so I guess I’m not smart enough. There’s no way I can pass without cheating”; “All I need is to re-read the chapter a couple more times and I’ll be ready for the exam”). Metacognitive knowledge can help students adjust their learning beliefs and strategies and successfully prepare for exams—especially when metacognitive awareness is fostered throughout the entire academic term.  

Metacognitive support throughout the academic term 

Humans learn best through regular, iterative, feedback-informed practice—but many academic courses make such practice optional rather than required. Instructors can help students learn better by designing courses that offer frequent (required!) practice opportunities and feedback loops–and communicating the rationale behind the design, so that students understand how exactly learning happens. You can foster effective learning if you: 

• build in frequent practice opportunities, make them required, and explain their importance; 

• make sure students receive frequent feedback (from you, peers, or automated systems); 

• make room for student reflection on their learning practices and goals; 

• build student self-efficacy by scaffolding the difficulty of course tasks. 

Metacognitive support during exam preparation

Myths about how learning works can derail a student’s academic success. For example, many students prepare for exams by re-reading ("going over") their notes rather than using evidence-based study practices like retrieval or teaching the material to another person (or pet). An instructor can make a difference by inviting students to engage in effective study practices (and attitudes!) in class and encouraging continuation of the same practices outside of class. Here are a few ideas for quick in-class study practice activities: 

• open each class sessions with a “typical test question” for students to tackle; 

• task students with explaining a course concept to their lecture hall neighbor; 

• ask students to reflect on their study strategies (and modify them as needed); 

• ask students to identify barriers to learning (and remove them if possible); 

• be transparent about the fact that learning if often hard and frustrating. 

Metacognitive support on exam day  

While most instructors put a lot of time and thought into designing exam questions, few think about helping students become more successful exam-takers. But test-taking tips can make a difference in a student’s exam outcomes, and sharing best practices can help level the playing field between more privileged students who had already acquired test-taking competencies elsewhere and those who have not. Here are a few test-taking tips you can build into your exam prompts and/or exam-day instructions: 

• tell students to skim the entire exam first; 

• urge students to re-read each prompt with care; 

• suggest that they start with the easiest questions to build confidence; 

• suggest skipping questions that make their minds go blank (and returning to them later); 

• advise test-takers to combat anxiety with deep breaths and positive self-talk; 

• express faith in students’ ability to succeed. 

Boosting metacognition can help make your assessments more inclusive and equitable as well as more student-centered.  And it might make grading those final results much less disappointing!