Investigating Undergraduates' Deployment of Strategies Related to Self Testing, Testing, and Anxiety in Two Online Accounting Courses

Metacognition is the knowledge and awareness about one’s cognition (Garner & Alexander, 1989; Schraw, 1998). Successful learners use metacognition to control their cognition processes (Schraw, 1998) in various educational settings (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). Metacognition drives cognitive learning processes (Schleifer & Dull, 2009) and is especially critical to student achievement in online learning modalities (Azevedo, 2009; Broadbent & Poon, 2015; Hacker & Bol, 2019; Lehmann et al., 2014; Veenman, 2007; Zimmerman & Moylan, 2009). This inquiry focuses on two asynchronous online accounting courses at a public commerce school in the southeastern U.S., wherein the instructor identified students who likely needed to improve their metacognitive strategies related to self-testing, testing, and anxiety with the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI). Through comprehensive course reviews, learner surveys, and learner semi-structured interviews, this case study investigated how students deployed strategies related to self-testing, testing, and anxiety and to what extent the course design supported students’ deployment of those strategies. Findings suggested that 1) these two courses are well-designed and provided ample resources and support for students to learn the content, 2) many students deployed self-testing and testing strategies in these courses, 3) many students experienced anxiety in these courses, and 4) the course structure and dialog may increase the transactional distance in these courses. These findings serve as the basis for recommendations in future course iterations.