Student Usage of Metacognition-Promoting Tool in a CS2 Course and its Relationship with Performance

We present results of an intervention integrating a tool promoting metacognitive study behaviors, CompassX, in a Data Structures and Algorithms (CS2) course. Metacognition---commonly referred to as ''thinking about thinking''---has been consistently linked to improved learning strategies and student achievement. However, no prior literature has practiced an intervention that addresses all three commonly-accepted phases of metacognition. Thus in this work, we share the key features of CompassXthat promote metacognitive study behaviors, how our users engaged with those features, and how continued practice of metacognition using those features is related to improved learning outcomes. Students used CompassX voluntarily and some students did not fully engage with all metacognition-based features. However, continued engagement with a metacognitive feature appears to be indicative of higher exam scores. This also implies the possibility of utilizing a metacognitive tool to improve the performance of student outcome modeling by collecting a new type of behavioral data.