Metacognition instruction enhances equity in effective study strategies across demographic groups in the general chemistry I course†

Explicit teaching of metacognition, ‘thinking about one's thinking,’ has been shown to improve achievement scores in the general chemistry tests and facilitate the awareness and adoption of metacognitive strategies. However, very few studies have investigated variations in the reported metacognitive strategies employed by college science majors by gender, race/ethnicity, and first-generation status. Additionally, little is known as to whether metacognition instruction makes any difference in closing the reported existing equity gap in the use of effective study strategies across demographic groups. Using a qualitative approach and open-ended questionnaires completed by 259 general chemistry 1 students, we investigated variations in reported (1) study strategies including metacognitive strategies between demographic groups in the general chemistry I course prior to and immediately after a 50 minute metacognition lesson retrospectively, (2) long-term gains in the study strategies and the adoption across the demographic groups over a semester after the metacognition instruction, and (3) transfer of the reported acquired study strategies to other science courses beyond the general chemistry lecture course. The findings showed evidence of equity gaps in the reported use, gains, or adoption of specific study strategies related to lower-order study strategies (LOSSs) and higher-order study strategies (HOSSs) based on gender, race/ethnicity, and first-generation status prior to and after the metacognition instruction. However, the identified equity gaps in LOSSs and HOSSs prior to the metacognition instruction were narrowed or closed with students’ exposure to the study strategies. Additionally, the findings indicated that over half of the study participants from all the demographic groups, except males and first-generation participants reported transfer of the acquired study strategies from the metacognition instruction to other courses. These findings imply the existence of equity gaps in study strategies across demographic groups in general chemistry I. Additionally, explicit teaching of study strategies, including metacognition, can relinquish the existing equity gaps.