Open Inquiry with Learning Journal Promoting Metacognitive Skills and Retention of Students with Low Academic Achievements

The expected skill to face the 21st century is the level of thinking that involves high order thinking concept known as metacognition, which is also believed as a notable predictor on retention. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of open inquiry model combined with a learning journal on metacognitive skills and retention of students with low and high learning achievement levels. This study was quasi-experimental research, using the equivalent post-test only with control group design. The subjects of the experiment comprised 60 eleventh grade students. The samples were randomly assigned in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Two learning models were compared: open inquiry and conventional models, and two learning achievement: high and low. The metacognitive skills and retention of students were measured by an essay test integrated with achievement test. The result of a 2-way ANOVA test confirmed that open inquiry with learning journal has a significant effect on metacognitive skills and retention of students with different learning achievement levels. Open inquiry with learning journal appears to be an effective strategy among students with high and low learning achievement levels. Keywords—metacognitive skills, retention, open inquiry, learning journal, and learning achievement