Learning how to learn: can experiencing the outcome of different encoding strategies enhance subsequent encoding?

Research on how individuals monitor their level of comprehension during study paint a picture of learners as insensitive to many of the factors or conditions of learning that can enhance long-term retention and transfer. In the present article, we discuss research examining the sensitivity, or lack thereof, of learners to one such factor: generation. More specifically, we discuss research addressing the question of learners' sensitivity to the memorial benefits of generation and whether--if given the opportunity to experience this benefit in their own recall performance--they might then go on to develop enhanced encoding strategies in the processing of new to-be-learned information.