Investigating the Effectiveness of exam wrappers in Biology Education: Exploring learning Environment, Student Factors and Research Design

Abstract

Academic success is often a result of acquired metacognitive and self-regulated learning skills. Despite their acknowledged significance, many students still encounter difficulties in developing effective metacognitive strategies and reflective thinking abilities. Post-exam wrappers are a method to cultivate metacognitive skills used across diverse academic disciplines, notably in biology education. These wrappers function as reflective exercises aimed at stimulating metacognition, encouraging students to critically evaluate their learning processes, and enhancing their academic performance. However, the effectiveness of exam wrappers remains a subject of debate, with literature presenting a spectrum of findings regarding their impact on metacognition and course outcomes. This review examines the effectiveness of post-exam wrappers in promoting metacognition and/or course performance in biology education, considering a range of factors, related to students’ characteristics, curriculum design, and educational research design. Through an analysis of existing research, this review offers insights into optimizing the implementation of exam wrapper to maximize its outcomes. Overall, exam-wrappers could enhance metacognition and academic performances if implemented optimally with the appropriate strategies, considering factors like student characteristics and course environments.