This study explored the interaction of personality and physical environment in students' choices of study space in a university library. It was hypothesized that non-impulsive, introverted students would use small, enclosed study carrels; and that impulsive students would tend not to use study carrels. One hundred twenty students were rated for…

Models of self-regulated learning describe learners as actively and mindfully employing cognitive and metacognitive strategies as they pursue their learning goals. Self-regulated learners set goals, plan, and use a variety of cognitive strategies, monitor progress towards their goals, and manage their emotional states. However, many classroom…

"Deep" approaches to learning, as defined by Biggs (1987) and others, would generally mean that a student is interested in the academic task, searches for meaning in the task, personalizes the task, integrates aspects of the task into a whole, sees relationships between this whole and previous knowledge, and tries to theorize about the…

Perception, problem solving, and memory provide the focus of an applied learning techniques/study skills course offered at Marist College (Poughkeepsie, New York). The unit on perception provides a discussion of the dynamics of verbal and nonverbal communication and suggests specific strategies to improve these functions. The student learns when,…

A study investigated what reading and study strategies students with identified reading-related learning disabilities employ at the post-secondary setting and how the use of strategies differ for students who succeed in particular courses versus those who do not do as well. Nine students with reading-related learning disabilities participated in…

The comparative effectiveness of two student monitoring and reinforcement strategies was assessed among primary school students. The 50 participating students met in a multi-purpose instructional center during one of two sessions for academic periods of 30 minutes, three times a week. Students were assigned to one of six study groups in the…

This paper outlines recommended test-taking strategies for the self-sufficient learner based on research in cognitive psychology. The theoretical model used is the information-processing approach involving the three essential steps of paying attention, encoding, and framing associative linkages for the new material. Preparing for examinations is…

The measurement of college impact on students has received much attention over the past two decades. To examine stability and change in personality, vocational orientation, study habits, and attitudes of college students from freshman to senior year, two samples of undergraduates (N=51) were tested as freshmen and as seniors. Students completed…

To find out what study skills were used by successful students at an urban commuter school whose primary degree program is business, the College Reading and Study Skills (CRSS) inventory was validated on 150 students. First the CRSS inventory was evaluated and revised slightly. The language of the statements was made positive and jargon free. The…

In an effort to combine instruction in study and reading strategies with the study of an academic course, an adjunct course was created by the learning skills center at a major university. The five objectives of the program were: to improve students' studying strategies, to encourage application of strategies to similar courses, to increase…

The usefulness of intact (topic outline format) and embedded (positioned within text) headings as processing aids to facilitate recall was examined, using a 2,500-word passage from introductory science textbooks. Prior studies were subject to criticisms which this study attempted to correct, specifically: (1) use of non-optimal dependent measures;…

Index cards and audio tape can make the steps of the SQ3R system of study more concrete. This method can be particularly beneficial to "average" college students, who for whatever reason, have difficulty sustaining concentration while reading. The SQ3R method is suitable because of its simplicity, diversity of application, adaptability…

An approach to evaluating the appropriateness of student effort within a mastery instructional system was developed, and the interrelationship of achievement motivation, effort and achievement was investigated. In support of a prominent theory of classroom learning, appropriate effort was strongly correlated with student achievement even when…

This study compared high, moderate, and low procrastinators on their (1) frequency and nature of rationalizations to justify procrastination, (2) reported degree of self-regulation, and (3) grades in a web-based course with 216 performances, all with deadlines. One hundred and sixteen college students enrolled in a web-based "study…

This study determined which study habits would distinguish successful from unsuccessful foreign language learners. Participants were 219 college students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds enrolled in either Spanish, French, German, or Japanese classes. The students completed the Study Habits Inventory and the Background Demographic Form.…