In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, helping students become autonomous, reflective learners is more than a pedagogical ideal, it’s a necessity. This post shares insights from a project designed to foster metacognition and therefore self-regulated learning (SRL) in undergraduate students through the use of embedded metacognitive prompts.

Why Self-Regulated Learning Matters

Physiology, like many foundational subjects in health and biomedical sciences, is notoriously challenging. Students often describe it as “learning a new language” — content-heavy, conceptually demanding, and requiring a shift from memorisation to deep understanding. Recognising this, our team sought to support students not just in mastering content, but in developing the skills to manage their own learning.

SRL encompasses goal setting, planning, monitoring, and evaluating one’s learning. Research shows that students with strong SRL skills experience greater academic success and are better equipped for lifelong learning.

Embedding Meta-Cognitive Prompts

Based on the work of Colthorpe et al. (2018, 2019) and with strategic instruction using Weinstein’s (2000) approach. We introduced meta-learning tasks — short, reflective assessments embedded within foundational and advanced physiology topics (subjects or units in the Flinders nomenclature). These tasks prompt students to think critically about their learning strategies, resource use, help-seeking behaviours, and responses to feedback. Importantly, students are not assessed on correctness, but on thoughtful engagement.

Tasks include questions such as:

• What is your goal for this topic?
• What strategies and resources are you using, and are they working?
• What concept has challenged you most, and how will you tackle it?
• How do you generally use the feedback provided to you?

These prompts are designed to align with the phases of SRL: planning, performance, and reflection (Zimmerman, 2002).

What We Found

Analysis of over 300 student responses revealed:

• 92% of students had a plan to improve their understanding of challenging concepts.
• Students who used diverse strategies — such as visualisation, self-quizzing, and time management — were more likely to achieve higher grades.
• The Pomodoro technique was cited exclusively by students who achieved High Distinctions.
• Students from low SES backgrounds and mature-age cohorts appeared more likely to rely on fewer strategies, highlighting areas for targeted support.

Interestingly, even students who felt confident in their learning found value in the tasks, noting that they helped them reflect, set goals, and feel more connected to their learning journey.

Benefits Beyond the Student

For educators, these tasks offer rich, authentic feedback on student learning behaviours and enables identification of key concepts students are challenged by within the discipline. They also generate student-curated lists of effective strategies and resources, which can be shared across cohorts to foster peer learning.

Takeaways for Practice

• Embed reflective prompts throughout the curriculum — not just at the end.
• Encourage strategy diversity: visualisation, textbook use, and academic literature were linked to higher success.
• Support help-seeking and feedback use: students benefit from explicit guidance on how to engage with feedback.
• Use student responses as teaching tools: sharing strategies builds community and normalises challenges.

This approach demonstrates that when we give students space to reflect on how they learn — not just what they learn — we empower them to take ownership of their education. And in doing so, we build the foundations for lifelong learning.

Banner Image: Roses_Street, Pixabay