Overview:
Judgment of Learning (JOL)—a delayed, retrieval-based self-assessment strategy—can strengthen students’ metacognitive awareness and ability to accurately evaluate their understanding, ultimately improving independent learning.
I am, unapologetically, a nerdy educator. I enjoy exploring research from other disciplines and examining its potential value in the classroom. I do so with skepticism. What holds up in a carefully controlled, research-driven lab environment does not always survive the unpredictability of a classroom. Still, fields such as behavioral psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology all investigate the mechanics of learning. The research carried out by these disciplines deserves to be on the radar of educators; it has true value in moving education forward.
Judgment of Learning
It was during a deep dive down the cognitive psychology rabbit hole that I encountered a self-monitoring measure known as the Judgment of Learning (JOL). At its core, the JOL is a simple concept: it asks students to assess their own level of mastery of a given concept. When used strategically, it may equip students with the awareness necessary to direct their own study, focusing their efforts where understanding is weakest.
As educators, one of our greatest challenges is preparing students to learn without direct oversight. Without consistent feedback from teachers, many students struggle to regulate their behavior and attention. This became especially apparent during the pandemic, when students were required to monitor their learning more closely than ever before. Many students were simply ill-equipped to self-monitor and self-regulate effectively.
This deficit becomes even more detrimental as students transition to university settings, where independent study is assumed rather than taught. Students frequently confuse familiarity with mastery. Immediately following instruction, they may feel confident — even fluent — in the material. Yet when required to retrieve that information later, especially in high-stakes situations, their performance often reveals gaps in understanding.
Metacognition
Metacognition — the ability to reflect accurately on one’s own learning- is an under-targeted skill that deserves more thoughtful consideration. The JOL is one structured way to foster metacognitive awareness. In a 2020 article by Myers et al., the evidence for the application of the JOL was less than compelling when implemented in a straightforward manner. However, studies using modified procedures demonstrated more robust effects (Bui et al., 2017). The distinction lies in how and when the JOL is applied.
The JOL relies on one’s ability to assess how accurately information can be retrieved. When implemented after a delay, students are required to engage in active retrieval rather than rely on the temporary accessibility of working memory. This delay significantly enhances the utility of the measure. It shifts the task from recognizing information to recalling it — a far more durable indicator of learning. Learning takes place when information is stored in our long-term memory, but remains accessible through skills in retrieval.
In practice, this need not be complicated. A teacher might develop a brief series of retrieval-style questions aligned with the essential knowledge or skills of a lesson. These questions could include historical facts, mathematical procedures, vocabulary, or conceptual explanations — anything that requires students to access memory without support. The presentation of the lesson itself need not change. The following day, however, students would respond to these retrieval-based questions.
After answering each question, students would rate their confidence in their response, typically on a scale of one to five. When confidence aligns with accurate retrieval, it becomes a strong predictor of later achievement. When confidence is low — or inaccurately high — students gain valuable information about where additional practice is needed. The power of the JOL lies not in confidence alone, but in the alignment between confidence and performance.
There is also an additional, often overlooked benefit. The act of self-monitoring — deliberately bringing awareness to one’s own performance — can itself produce positive outcomes. Research by Nelson et al. (2019) suggests that simply engaging in self-monitoring can lead to measurable gains. Awareness promotes adjustment. Adjustment promotes growth. When students see clearly where they stand, they are better positioned to take meaningful action.
During the pandemic, we saw what happens when students are asked to manage learning without adequate tools for self-assessment. Distance learning exposed weaknesses in self-regulation that had previously been masked by structured classroom environments. As flexible and hybrid learning models continue to reemerge, prioritizing self-monitoring skills is no longer optional. It is essential.
The Judgment of Learning is not a silver bullet. It is a modest, research-informed tool that strengthens students’ ability to evaluate their own understanding. In doing so, it cultivates a skill far more enduring than any single unit of content: the capacity to learn independently. When students can accurately judge what they know — and what they do not — they are empowered to carry their learning beyond the classroom, onto any platform, and into any future environment.
References
Bui, D. C., Myerson, J., & Hale, S. (2017). [Title of the article]. [Journal Name], [Volume number]([Issue number]), xx–xx. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Myers, S. J., et al. (2020). [Title of the article]. [Journal Name], [Volume number]([Issue number]), xx–xx. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Nelson, T. O., et al. (2019). [Title of the article]. [Journal Name], [Volume number]([Issue number]), xx–xx. https://doi.org/xxxxx
