Students who actively engage in metacognitive thinking and self-regulation and are self-motivating appear to be more successful than those who take a more passive role in learning. This causal comparative research study explored whether increasing metacognitive awareness through participating in metacognitive surveys outside of class improved student performance and motivation among students taking a high-school Precalculus course. Thirty high school sophomores and juniors enrolled in Precalculus were divided into two groups: a control group and those who took the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) three times during a nine-week period. Students in the inventory group showed significant increases in scores on the MAI across the three surveys and scored significantly higher than the control group in several sections of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). In the Cognitive Strategies section, all of the subcomponents of Rehearsal, Elaboration, Organization, Critical Thinking, and Metacognitive Self-Regulation were significantly higher for the inventory-taking group (p < 0.05). In the Resource Management area, only Peer Learning and Help Seeking components showed significantly higher scores for the inventory-taking group (p < 0.05). Additionally, students who took the MAI three times during the study improved their grades significantly (p < 0.05) while the control group did not. This effect was especially strong for students who had grades of D or F at the beginning of the study (p < 0.05). Results provide evidence that metacognitive skills can be increased in students in an indirect way, positively affecting academic performance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]