unknown items, people prioritize from the subjectively
easiest to most difficult. Once they are studying an item
they must decide when to quit, and turn to something
else. The model proposes that the person will continue
devoting study time to an item so long as they perceive
themselves to be learning, but stop when they feel that
learning is no longer paying off.
From the data reviewed and the new experiments
presented here, it appears that people behave in a manner
that is consistent with the Region of Proximal
Learning model. But even if a person behaves exactly
as specified by the model, and we would be tempted to
say that he or she is exerting good metacognitive control,
caution is needed in drawing such a conclusion.
The major question left untouched by the present model,
which is a model of what people do rather than what
they should do, is that of efficacy. We still do not know
whether what they do enhances their learning, or is in
any way optimal. Until we have answered the still-open
question of efficacy, despite the subtlety of peoples
strategies and their adherence to the predictions of the
model, we cannot fully endorse the idea that they are
exerting good metacognitive control.