Teaching Students to Set Goals: A Study Diary Intervention to Support Motivation and Metacognition

Goal setting is a key driver of self-regulated learning, closely linked with motivation, interest, and metacognitive awareness. This study examined how a structured, four-week study diary, a practical, low-cost goal-setting template, helped shape and shift students’ motivation. Using a person-centered approach, we analyzed the motivational profiles of 67 undergraduates, defined by self-reported self-efficacy, achievement goal orientations, and interest, both before and after the intervention. Latent Profile Analyses revealed that students’ motivational patterns became more differentiated post-intervention, expanding from two to four profiles. Notably, many students who initially reported lower self-efficacy and weaker goal orientations shifted to profiles characterized by higher self-efficacy and stronger goal orientations. We also observed increased metacognitive knowledge among students with these improved profiles. These findings highlight the potential of structured goal-setting tools, like study diaries, to enhance students’ motivation and metacognitive awareness, offering practical strategies instructors can integrate to foster more purposeful and reflective learning.