Memory strategy instruction is made of this: Metamemory and durable strategy use

Although the use of task‐appropriate strategies facilitate memory, newly acquired strategies often have two negative characteristics: They are neither durable nor generalizable. The present article considers an alternative approach to strategy instructions that leads to skills that are more general and better maintained after instruction has ceased. This approach focuses on the role of knowledge about strategies (metamemory) as a precursor of effective strategy deployment. Three perspectives on the role of metamemory in improving strategy use are considered: (a) occasions when metamemory develops simply as a function of using a strategy (the Laissez‐Faire approach); (b) situations in which Explicit Provision of metamemorial information increases strategy use; and (c) the production of higher‐level strategies that operate on other strategies, thus enhancing metamemorial knowledge about them (Metamemory Acquisition Procedures). Future research directions and educational implications associated with each approach are discussed.