iSTART Therefore I Understand: But Metacognitive Supports Did not Enhance Comprehension Gains

iSTART is an intelligent tutoring system designed to provide self-explanation instruction and practice to improve students’ comprehension of complex, challenging text. This study examined the effects of extended game-based practice within the system as well as the effects of two metacognitive supports implemented within this practice. High school students (n = 234) were either assigned to an iSTART treatment condition or a control condition. Within the iSTART condition, students were assigned to a 2x2 design in which students provided self-assessments of their performance or were transferred to Coached Practice if their performance did not reach a certain performance threshold. Those receiving iSTART training produced higher self-explanation and inference-based comprehension scores. However, there were no direct effects of either metacognitive support on these learning outcomes.