Student Usage of Metacognition-Promoting Tool in a CS2 Course and its Relationship with Performance

What is it about?

In this study, we explored how a web-based tool called CompassX can help students improve their study habits and learning in a university-level Data Structures and Algorithms course (CS2). CompassX is designed to promote metacognition, which means "thinking of thinking." Research shows that metacognitive strategies—like planning before studying, checking your understanding while learning, and reflecting after completing tasks—can lead to better academic performance. However, few tools cover all these phases of metacognition in one place. Our work introduces CompassX and explains how it encourages students to plan, monitor, and reflect on their learning. We studied how students used CompassX throughout the course and whether regular use was connected to better learning outcomes. We found that while some students not fully engage with the tool, those who consistently practiced metacognitive strategies through CompassX tended to achieve better performance on quizzes and exams. This suggests that tools like CompassX can not only support student learning but also provide useful data on study behaviors that may improve how we predict and support student success in the future.

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Photo by KOBU Agency on Unsplash

Photo by KOBU Agency on Unsplash