Aleksandra V. Getman

Background. Self-monitoring is critical for online learning, yet many students struggle due to cognitive load. Students with higher self-monitoring skills manage this demand better, but which load types they handle effectively remains unknown. Metacognitive prompts are a common support tool, but it is unclear whether they amplify or compensate for skill differences.

Objective. To examine (1) how self-monitoring skills relate to intrinsic (ICL), extraneous (ECL), and germane (GCL) load and performance, and (2) whether metacognitive prompts moderate these relationships.

Design. Participants completed an online reading task with prompts, followed by measures of self-monitoring skills, cognitive load, and a performance test. Linear regression examined relationships between self-monitoring skills, cognitive load, and performance, and whether use of prompts moderated them.

Results. After FDR correction, higher self-monitoring skills showed marginal associations with lower ICL (b = -.48, p = .054), lower ECL (b = -.72, p = .054), and higher performance (b = .92, p = .054), but were unrelated to GCL (b = .09, p = .703). Prompts significantly weakened the relationships between self-monitoring skills and ICL (b = .99, p = .024), ECL (b = 1.65, p = .016), and performance (b = -2.34, p = .016).

Conclusion. Higher self-monitoring skills may help manage cognitive load more effectively but are unrelated to GCL, suggesting that online learners employ self-monitoring differently than in traditional settings. Preliminary evidence also suggests that metacognitive prompts may compensate for rather than amplify skill differences. When prompts are provided, outcomes depend less on pre-existing skills.