The illusion of knowing in college: A field study of students with a teacher-centered educational past

Abstract

In the present study, the tendency to overestimate performance (illusion of knowing) was examined in college students whose educational past experiences had emphasized verbatim learning. Female students enrolled in core curriculum classes were sampled. Classes taught by the same instructor were randomly assigned to a self-assessment practice condition, where students predicted their test and class performance and were asked to reflect on discrepancies between predictions and actual performance, or to a control condition. At the end of the semester, irrespective of condition, as performance declined on the final test, predictions of final test grades became more inflated, but less confident, indicating that students were aware of their own deficiencies. Overall, students in the practice condition displayed not only greater prediction accuracy, but also greater final test performance than students in the control condition. Practice, however, benefited the most self-assessment accuracy of students whose final test grades were just above the passing grade. Although the responses to self-assessment practice of students with a teacher-centered educational past were largely similar to the responses of students from Western countries reported in the extant literature, differences in impact and meaning could be inferred.

Causal Attribution Preferences and Prospective Self-Assessment: The Unknowns of the Middle Eastern Learner

“…Avhustiuk et al (2018) found that students' general self-efficacy increased with the accuracy of self-assessment, whereas Hamann et al (2020) reported that it contributed to inaccuracies of self-assessment and to the confidence with which students made estimates. In the Middle East, Al and Pilotti et al (2019) reported no relationship between general selfefficacy and estimation accuracy or confidence. However, Pilotti et al (2019) found that general-self-efficacy contributed to test grades, suggesting that it may motivate behavior rather than regulate behavior via metacognition.…”

“…In the Middle East, Al and Pilotti et al (2019) reported no relationship between general selfefficacy and estimation accuracy or confidence. However, Pilotti et al (2019) found that general-self-efficacy contributed to test grades, suggesting that it may motivate behavior rather than regulate behavior via metacognition. These inconsistencies demand further examination.…”

“…At the end of the semester, all students predict their final test grades. This exercise is expected to improve the accuracy of students' estimations of final test performance, confidence in such estimations, and even actual test performance (Al Miller & Geraci, 2011a, 2011bPilotti et al, 2019). If extant findings are replicated, we ask whether the effectiveness of this simple intervention depends on whether it changes students' causal attribution habits.…”

“…First, across conditions, poor final test performance, relative to proficient final test performance, will be associated with lower accuracy of self-assessment and subjective confidence (see Al Miller & Geraci, 2011a, 2011bPilotti et al, 2019). Second, when asked to explain desirable and undesirable grades, distinct causal attribution patterns will be exhibited by poor and proficient performers (Nelson & Mathia, 1995;Osborn & Milbank, 1987).…”

“…Remedies for over-estimations of future performance have, by and large, targeted metacognitive awareness with some success. Evidence exists, for instance, that simple interventions that compel poorly performing students to reflect on their performance expectations, through comparison of predicted and actual performance as well as analysis of the sources of discrepancies, can improve the accuracy of prospective self-assessment, and, at times, even performance outcomes (Al Miller & Geraci, 2011a, 2011bPilotti et al, 2019). It was thought that the power of induced self-reflections rested in their ability to make poor performing students -aware‖ of their biases.…”