Dubai Medical Journal
ISSN: 2571-726X
Pioneering research in medicine, health sciences, nursing, pharmaceuticals, and laboratory work
Determination of Metacognitive Learning Strategies and Academic Performance of Nursing Students: A Descriptive-correlational Study
Published date: Sep 30 2025
Journal Title: Dubai Medical Journal
Issue title: Dubai Medical Journal (DMJ): Volume 8, Issue 3
Pages: 339 - 358
Authors:
Abstract:
Objective: The study was conducted to assess the correlation between approaches to metacognitive learning and the academic achievement of nursing students and identify variables that predict academic performance.
Methods: This study applied quantitative methods and employed correlational and descriptive approaches. The study was conducted during the 2023–2024 academic year and involved a sample of 215 nursing students. Statistical testing encompassed descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and regression analysis of multiple variables.
Results: The level of metacognitive learning strategies was moderate. The correlation analysis revealed a positive and significant correlation between students’ overall metacognitive learning strategies scale score and academic performance (r (213) = 0.742, p < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analyses found metacognitive learning strategies, the number of classes, and age significant predictors of cumulative grade point averages.
Conclusion: This study underscores the need for focused interventions and support networks to increase nursing students’ understanding and implementation of effective learning techniques. The findings can empower curriculum makers to explore integrating evidence-based teaching practices customized to students’ learning preferences, thereby maximizing academic engagement and accomplishment. Clinical educators can also use these findings to incorporate active learning methodologies and scenarios to increase metacognitive awareness, enhancing nursing students’ learning experience.
Keywords: metacognition, academic performance, nursing students, learning strategies, higher education
References:
[1] Chen JH, Björkman A, Zou JH, Engström M. Self-regulated learning ability, metacognitive ability, and general self-efficacy in a sample of nursing students: A cross-sectional and correlational study. Nurse Educ Pract. 2019;37:15–21.
[2] Díaz EV, Hilliger I, Gonzalez C, Celis S, Pérez-Sanagustín M, Broisin J. The mediating role of learning analytics: Insights into student approaches to learning and academic achievement in Latin America. J Learn Anal. 2024;11(1):6–20.
[3] Takase M, Yoshida I. The relationships between the types of learning approaches used by undergraduate nursing students and their academic achievement: A systematic review and metaanalysis. J Prof Nurs. 2021;37(5):836–845.
[4] Jaušovec N. Metacognition. In: Runco MA, Pritzker SR, editors. Encyclopedia of Creativity (Second Edition) [Internet]. San Diego: Academic Press; 2011 [cited 2025 May 3]. p. 107–12. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123750389001461
[5] Varga A. Metacognitive perspectives on the development of reading comprehension: A classroom study of literary text-talks. Literacy. 2017;51(1):19–25.
[6] Siqueira MA, Gonçalves JP, Mendonça VS, Kobayasi R, Arantes-Costa FM, Tempski PZ, et al. Relationship between metacognitive awareness and motivation to learn in medical students. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(1):393.
[7] Ford JK, Smith EM, Weissbein DA, Gully SM, Salas E. Relationships of goal orientation, metacognitive activity, and practice strategies with learning outcomes and transfer. J Appl Psychol. 1998;83(2):218– 233.
[8] Marantika JE. Metacognitive ability and autonomous learning strategy in improving learning outcomes. J Educ Learn. 2021;15(1):88–96.
[9] Jain D, Tiwari G, Awasthi I. Impact of metacognitive awareness on academic adjustment and academic outcome of the students. Int J Indian Psychol. 2017;5(1):123–138.
[10] Vermunt JD, Vermetten YJ. Patterns in student learning: Relationships between learning strategies, conceptions of learning, and learning orientations. Educ Psychol Rev. 2004;16(4):359–384.
[11] Husain W, Ashkanani F, Al Dwairji MA. Nutrition knowledge among college of basic education students in Kuwait: A cross-sectional study. J Nutr Metab. 2021;2021:5560714.
[12] Truman E, Lane D, Elliott C. Defining food literacy: A scoping review. Appetite. 2017;116:365–371.
[13] Sukrajh V, Adefolalu AO. Understanding learning and the components of the learning process in medical education: A review of the literature. EJEDU [Internet]. 2021;2(1):69–72.
[14] Drigas A, Mitsea E. The 8 pillars of metacognition. Int J Emerg Technol Learn. 2020;15(21):162–178.
[15] Wang Z, Zhang Z, Ebrahimi S, Sun R, Zhang H, Lee CY, et al. DualPrompt: Complementary prompting for rehearsal-free continual learning. Computer Vision – ECCV. 2022;631–648.
[16] Bıyıklı C, Doğan N. The effect of learning strategies used for rehearsal on the academic success. TED EĞİTİM VE BİLİM. 2015;40(181):311–327.
[17] Drigas A, Mitsea E, Skianis C. Metamemory: Metacognitive strategies for improved memory operations and the role of VR and mobiles. Behav Sci (Basel). 2022;12(11):450.
[18] Pires EM, Daniel-Filho DA, de Nooijer J, Dolmans DH. Collaborative learning: Elements encouraging and hindering deep approach to learning and use of elaboration strategies. Med Teach. 2020;42(11):1261–1269.
[19] Almarzouki HS, Khan MA, Al-mansour M, Al-jifree HM, Abuznadah W, Althubaiti A. Effectiveness of cognitive strategies on short-term information retention: An experimental study. Health Prof Educ. 2023;9(3):128–132.
[20] Bobek E, Tversky B. Creating visual explanations improves learning. Cogn Res Princ Implic. 2016;1(1):27.
[21] Bangun AV, Pragholapati A. Enhancing critical thinking skills in nursing higher education in preparation for the industrial revolution 4.0. KLS. 2021;6(1):793–804.
[22] Ngah N, Safian N, Aini N, Hussain A, Hussain S, Aini Yaacob M, et al. A study of the factors that influence learners’ drive to be self-regulated. Int J Acad Res Bus Soc Sci. 2023;13(9):1375–1392.
[23] Cho KK, Marjadi B, Langendyk V, Hu W. Medical student changes in self-regulated learning during the transition to the clinical environment. BMC Med Educ. 2017;17(1):59.
[24] Kurt E, Eskimez Z. Examining self-regulated learning of nursing students in clinical practice: A descriptive and cross-sectional study. Nurse Educ Today. 2022;109:105242.
[25] Hayat AA, Shateri K, Amini M, Shokrpour N. Relationships between academic self-efficacy, learningrelated emotions, and metacognitive learning strategies with academic performance in medical students: A structural equation model. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(1):76.
[26] Bulfone G, Mazzotta R, Cocco M, Maurici M, Anastasia M, Macale L, et al. Variables predicting academic success of nursing students: A longitudinal study in a nursing Bachelor’s degree program. Ann Ig. 2022;34(4):384–397.
[27] Moghadari-Koosha M, Moghadasi-Amiri M, Cheraghi F, Mozafari H, Imani B, Zandieh M. Selfefficacy, self-regulated learning, and motivation as factors influencing academic achievement among paramedical students: A correlation study. J Allied Health. 2020;49(3):e145–e152.
[28] Matric M. Self-regulatory systems: Self-regulation and learning. JPMNT. 2018;6(4):79–84.
[29] Chin DB, Blair KP, Wolf RC, Conlin LD, Cutumisu M, Pfaffman J, et al. Educating and measuring choice: A test of the transfer of design thinking in problem solving and learning. J Learn Sci. 2019;28(3):337–380.
[30] Kogei KF. Academic motivation and self- efficacy as predictors of academic performance among form three students in Kitui County, Kenya. IJSRM. 2021;9(06):1732–1755.
[31] Vettori G, Vezzani C, Bigozzi L, Pinto G. The mediating role of conceptions of learning in the relationship between metacognitive skills/strategies and academic outcomes among middle-school students. Front Psychol. 2018;9:1985.
[32] Kassim A, Puteh F, Chandran SD, Katamba A, Magobe M, Rahmat NH, et al. Exploring relationship between learning approaches among postgraduate students. Int J Acad Res Bus Soc Sci. 2023;13(6):1391–1412.
[33] Callan GL, Marchant GJ, Finch WH, German RL. Metacognition, strategies, achievement, and demographics: Relationships across countries. Educ Sci Theory Pract. 2016;16(5):1485–1502.
[34] Poorman SG, Mastorovich ML. Using metacognitive wrappers to help students enhance their prioritization and test-taking skills. Nurse Educ. 2016;41(6):282–285.
[35] Lyons K, McLaughlin JE, Khanova J, Roth MT. Cognitive apprenticeship in health sciences education: A qualitative review. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2017;22(3):723–739.
[36] Amien MS, Hidayatullah A. Assessing students’ metacognitive strategies in e-learning and their role in academic performance. Jurnal Inovasi Teknologi Pendidikan. 2023;10(2):158–166.
[37] Langdon J, Botnaru DT, Wittenberg M, Riggs AJ, Mutchler J, Syno M, et al. Examining the effects of different teaching strategies on metacognition and academic performance. Adv Physiol Educ. 2019;43(3):414–422.
[38] Ibrahim RK, Aldawsari AN. Relationship between digital capabilities and academic performance: The mediating effect of self-efficacy. BMC Nurs. 2023;22(1):434.
[39] Pintrich PR, Smith DA, Garcia T, McKeachie WJ. A manual for the use of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Ann Arbor (MI): National Center for Research to Improve Postsecondary Teaching and Learning; 1991.
[40] Ibrahim RK, Al Sabbah S, Al-Jarrah M, Senior J, Almomani JA, Darwish A, et al. The mediating effect of digital literacy and self-regulation on the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress among university students: A cross-sectional study. BMC Med Educ. 2024;24(1):1309.
[41] Cheraghbeigi N, Molavynejad S, Rokhafroz D, Elahi N, Rezaei E. Nursing students’ learning strategies for e-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic in Iran: A qualitative study. BMC Med Educ. 2023;23(1):321.
[42] Chan CW, Tang FW, Chow KM, Wong CL. Enhancing generic capabilities and metacognitive awareness of first-year nursing students using active learning strategy. BMC Nurs. 2021;20(1):81.
[43] Kalu F, Wolsey C, Enghiad P. Undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions of active learning strategies: A focus group study. Nurse Educ Today. 2023;131:105986.
[44] Ghasemi MR, Moonaghi HK, Heydari A. Strategies for sustaining and enhancing nursing students’ engagement in academic and clinical settings: A narrative review. Korean J Med Educ. 2020;32(2):103– 117.
[45] Mayfield LR. Nursing students’ awareness and intentional maximization of their learning styles. TLAR. 2012;17(1):27–44.
[46] Sulaiman MH, Jasim MS, Ahmed AA, Ahmed AA, Ibrahim RH, Al-Mashhadany OI. A winning formula for nursing education: Effective study strategies and techniques. Teach Learn Nurs. 2023;18(4):e142–e145.
[47] Mohammadi I, Thaghinejad H, Suhrabi Z, Tavan H. The correlation of learning and study strategies with academic achievement of nursing students. JBRMS. 2017;4(3):8–13.
[48] Jin M, Ji C. The correlation of metacognitive ability, self-directed learning ability and critical thinking in nursing students: A cross-sectional study. Nurs Open. 2021;8(2):936–945.
[49] Cale AS, Hoffman LA, McNulty MA. Promoting metacognition in an allied health anatomy course. Anat Sci Educ. 2023;16(3):473–485.
[50] Tan SF, Din Eak A, Ooi LH, Abdullah AC. Relationship between learning strategies and academic performance: A comparison between accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) and regular entry undergraduates. Asian Association of Open Universities Journal. 2021;16(2):226–238.
[51] Khan HM. Correlation of learning strategies with academic performance in students of Basic Medical Sciences. Rawal Med J. 2020;45(3):720–724.
[52] Ganji KK, Alam MK, Gudipaneni RK, Algarni H, Munisekhar MS, Hamza MO, et al. Do learning style preferences influence the cumulative gross point average and self directed learning hours in dental students: A preliminary study. BMC Med Educ. 2022;22(1):493.
[53] Nabizadeh S, Hajian S, Sheikhan Z, Rafiei F. Prediction of academic achievement based on learning strategies and outcome expectations among medical students. BMC Med Educ. 2019;19(1):99.
[54] Gedefaw A, Tilahun B, Asefa A. Predictors of self-reported academic performance among undergraduate medical students of Hawassa University, Ethiopia. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2015;6:305–315.
