More is more? Evaluation of interventions to foster self-regulated learning in college

•A content-independent SRL training positively influences college students’ SRL.•A standardized learning diary alone does not significantly influence students’ SLR.•Combining training and learning diary has the highest effects on students’ SRL.•Training effects are found to be stable for eight weeks.

As self-regulated learning (SRL) is crucial for postsecondary academic success, the present study aimed to investigate how to foster this ability most effectively in college. Based on a 2 × 2 × 2 control-group design, we analyzed effects of a content-independent SRL training, a learning diary, and their combination, which was hypothesized to be most effective. Pre-post and process measures of SRL, and an academic transfer measure, were used to evaluate intervention effects in 173 college students. Results indicated that the training positively influenced SRL, whereas the learning diary alone had no effects. The combination of both interventions produced the highest effect. Although effects were stable for eight weeks, no transfer effects were found. Practical implications can be deduced based on the present findings.