The way distance learners learn influences the manner in which they succeed in the different programmes of study. This study sought to gather views of selected open and distance learners on how they engaged in learning. The study was located in the interpretivist research paradigm and followed a qualitative research approach of which a case study…

The present work examines the accuracy of self-reports of study time for college students. In a 10-week Mechanical Engineering course, 99 college students accessed their textbook, homework solutions, graded work, and lecture slides via custom software that recorded objective measures of reading time. In addition, the students provided subjective…

This study compared student workload and perceived value of coursework assigned for a matching set of semester and term general education courses at Brigham Young University. Statistically significant differences in workloads were found between most semester and term courses. While term workloads were slightly lighter in general, both could be…

This dissertation examines students' use of written course materials in introductory engineering courses, begins to elucidate the relationships between students' study habits and their subsequent course performance, and evaluates the impact that carefully designed preparatory assignments has on these relationships. Much of previous educational…

With the advent of online synopses, e-guides, and Internet study aids, millennial college students have many ways to evade direct interactions with the texts assigned in humanities classes. As a result, fewer and fewer of them are developing the analytical and close reading skills that college instructors value so highly. In this essay, the author…

Historical student data can help elucidate the factors that promote student success in mathematics courses. Herein we use both multiple regression and principal component analyses to explore ten years of historical data from over 20,000 students in an introductory college-level Algebra course in an urban American research university with a diverse…

It seems that instructors and professors--from community college to the Ivy League--are concerned by the lack of work completion in their courses, and therefore by student level of preparedness for class, or indeed, college. Work completion is typically a very large portion of course expectations-- often beginning on day one--and it is generally…

Due to the shift of civilization from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, mathematical literacy has become a necessity in the twenty-first century. However, in order to learn and contribute to the mathematical community, one has to be in a state of good mental health. Where "good mental health," is defined as one who has developed…

This study analyzes the relationship between students' online work habits and academic performance. We utilize data from logs recorded by a course management system (CMS) in two courses at a small liberal arts college in the U.S. Both courses required the completion of a large number of online assignments. We measure three aspects of students'…

This article describes a collaborative research project by the institutional research group and a team of faculty members at a Canadian university. In response to an increasingly diverse mix of students, the researchers set out to develop an understanding of relationships between student characteristics, categorized as demographic differences,…

This paper reports on a quasi-experimental study of the effect of different vocabulary study materials and strategies used by upper-intermediate English as a foreign language students in higher education. Students were assigned a selection of 163 words from the Academic Word List and were provided with different types of study materials. They were…

We assess students' appreciation and use of various tools designed to extend effective learning beyond the classroom. For a given tool, results vary depending upon the overall pedagogical approach of the course.

Multi-textbook college courses demand the use of a systematic expository textbook study technique. As explained in this article, E.S.P. (Enlighten/Study/Preview) is designed to increase speed and ensure accuracy in comprehension by providing the student with continuous feedback of his or her understanding of the material. (Author)

Length of pauses between quizzes and laboratory assignments in a self-paced psychology-of-adjustment course were examined. Students (n=31) were required to take quizzes from proctors, 15 of which were unit quizzes and five of which were unit review quizzes, and to present five laboratory assignments to the instructor during the course in a…