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Do Self-Monitoring Interventions Improve Older Adult Learning?

¹ Kent State University, Ohio.
² University of Pavia, Italy.
³ Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.

Address correspondence to John Dunlosky, Department of Psychology, Kent State University, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242-0001. E-mail: jdunlosk{at}kent.edu

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 We review current evidence, which includes outcomes from two previously unpublished interventions, relevant to the efficacy of this approach.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.