Dunlosky, J., Cavallini, E., Roth, H., McGuire, C. L., Vecchi, T., & Hertzog C. (2007). Do self-monitoring interventions improve older adult learning? Journals of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 62, 70-76.

Abstract

We describe a self-monitoring approach for improving older adult learning that older adults can use in conjunction with more traditional mnemonic-based interventions. According to the self-monitoring approach, older adults can improve the effectiveness of learning by accurately monitoring their progress toward a learning goal and by using the output from such monitoring to allocate study time and to inform strategy selection. We review current evidence, which includes outcomes from two previously unpublished interventions, relevant to the efficacy of this approach. Both interventions demonstrated performance gains in memory performance after self-monitoring training, although these training gains did not exceed gains obtained through standard mnemonic training. Our discussion highlights both successes and failures of self-monitoring to enhance learning as well as challenges for future research.

View Full Paper (.pdf) 1.5 mb [Available through Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher or Netscape 7.1 only]

Dunlosky, J., Hertzog, C., Kennedy, M., & Thiede, K. (2005). The Self-Monitoring Approach for Effective Learning. Cognitive Technology.

Abstract

People often seek techniques that can enhance their learning and retention of important materials. Whereas popular techniques focus on how to increase the effectiveness of memorization by using mnemonics, the self-monitoring approach attempts to enhance people’s learning vis-ŕ-vis the use of accurate monitoring to regulate study. As such, this approach may complement existing mnemonic techniques by helping students to identify which materials have not been well learned and hence require further study. The promise of this self-monitoring approach is illustrated by evidence from three independent lines of research, which demonstrate that the use of accurate monitoring can improve learning for individuals with varying abilities and across different kinds of material.

View Full Paper (.pdf) 1.5 mb [Available through Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher or Netscape 7.1 only]

Dunlosky, J. T., Kubat-Silman, A. K. & Hertzog, C. (2003). Training monitoring skills improves older adults' self-paced associative learning.  Psychology and Aging, 18, 340-345.

Abstract

We investigated a memory-enhancement program that involved teaching older adults to regulate study through self testing. A regulation group was taught standard strategies along with self-testing techniques for identifying less-well learned items that could benefit from extra study. This group was compared to a strategy-control group that were taught only strategies and to a waiting-list control group. Greater training gains were shown for the regulation group (effect size, d = .72) than for the strategy-control (d = .28) and waiting-list control (d = .03) groups, indicating that training a monitoring skill--self testing--can improve older adults’ learning.

View Full Paper (.pdf) 41.8 kb [Available through Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher or Netscape 7.1 only]

 

Dunlosky, J. T., & Hertzog, C. (1998).  Training programs to improve learning in later adulthood: Helping older adults educate themselves.  In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Metacognition in educational theory and practice (pp. 249-275). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Abstract

We review findings in the literature regarding aging and metacognitive monitoring, strategy use, and learning. The central thesis is that aging does not impair the ability to monitor ongoing learning, even though it has an adverse impact on learning itself. Given that older adults are able to monitor their learning, the argument developed in this chapter is that they can potentially benefit from the strategic use of monitoring to control or regulate their learning. This involves the use of self-testing as a metacognitively oriented strategy -- actually testing one's learning and then adjusting learning strategies based on the self-testing. Existing training programs for older adults have focused almost exclusively on strategy training, with or without cognitive restructuring of dysfunctional beliefs about the nature of aging and its effects on memory. We argue that existing training programs should be expanded to included metacognitive training, so that older adults are encouraged to monitor the effectiveness of strategies by self-testing, and to then adapt their strategic behavior (for example, by allocating more time and effort to study the information they have not yet mastered).

View Full Paper (.pdf) 2.5 mb [Available through Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher or Netscape 7.1 only]

Dunlosky, J., & Hertzog, C. (1997).  Older and younger adults use a functionally identical algorithm to select items for restudy during multi-trial learning.  Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 52, 178-186.

Abstract

We investigated whether aging affects several components of how people select items for study during multitrial learning. Younger and older adults studied paired-associate items and then made delayed judgments of learning (JOLs). Immediately after making a JOL for an item, some participants decided whether to restudy the item on subsequent trials; for other participants, the computer selected for restudy the items that had been judged as least-well learned. Next, paired-associate recall occurred, which was followed by restudy-test trials. As expected, age differences occurred in recall on the first trial, and this difference was propagated across trials. In contrast to the hypothesis that older adults would be more conservative in selecting items, both age groups selected to restudy (a) the items that they had rated as least-well learned and (b) the majority of items that would not be recalled on the first trial. Comparisons between participants who self-selected items vs the groups in which the computer controlled selection also converged on the conclusion of age equivalence in processes underlying item selection.

View Full Paper (.pdf) 1.5 mb [Available through Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher or Netscape 7.1 only]