Fostering self-monitoring of university students by means of a standardized learning journal-a longitudinal study with process analyses

The self-regulation of learning behavior is an important key competence for university students. In this presented study, we aimed at fostering students' self-regulation of learning by means of a standardized learning journal. In two of four courses that were included in the study, students had to keep a structured learning diary and/or received further intervention on self-regulated learning through a weekly course. Students who received these interventions were compared to students who received no treatment whatsoever in their self-regulation and learning achievement. The study reports pre-post measures as well as process analyses. Results revealed that keeping a structured learning diary without any further intervention did not improve students' self-regulation. Those students who only kept learning diaries even showed a decrease in their motivation. Students who kept the learning diary and at the same time received further information on self-regulation showed increases in their strategy use and their self-efficacy. However, no improvements were found for students' academic performance. It can be concluded that in order for students to profit in keeping a structured learning diary, they should be informed on the benefits of self-monitoring to increase their motivation.