The Effects of a Self-Monitoring Process on College Students' Learning in an Introductory Statistics Course

Abstract

Sixty-nine graduate students enrolled in a statistics class participated in this study, which investigated the effects of self-monitoring on learning and attitudes toward learning. With protocols designed for this study, subjects in a self-monitoring condition recorded frequency and intensity of their learning activities and rated self-efficacy of solving statistical problems. Subjects in an instructor-monitoring condition evaluated the instruction provided in the class. Subjects in a control condition took the course without any research activity. Scores obtained from class examinations and attitude inventories were the dependent variables. As predicted, the self-monitoring group performed better than did the instructor-monitoring and control groups. No attitude difference was found. Implications for teaching graduate-level statistics are discussed, and future research on self-monitoring is suggested.