It seems to me that time spent studying isn't the only factor that
influences GPA. I can't believe there's no mention made about the method of
studying that the students used. A student who goes through the book simply
highlighting isn't going to remember as well as one who does more
elaborative kinds of rehearsal.
All the best,
Larry
************************************************************
Larry Z. Daily
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
White Hall, Room 213
Shepherd College
Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443
phone: (304) 876-5297
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WWW: http://webpages.shepherd.edu/LDAILY/index.html
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff Ricker [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 10:17 AM
> To: TIPS
> Subject: The secret to academic success: hours--and hours--of study
>
>
> The secret to academic success: hours--and hours--of study
>
> COLUMBUS, Ohio - Improving a lackluster grade point average takes more
> than a few extra hours of study each week. In fact, a study of 79
> college students found that a one-letter-grade increase in quarter GPA
> was associated with a 40-hour increase in weekly study time.
>
> "A lifestyle change has to happen before an impact is made on a
> student's grades," said Carl Zulauf, a study co-author and a professor
> of agricultural, environmental and developmental economics at
> Ohio State
> University. "A few extra hours of study each week isn't going
> to do it."
>
> Overall, the study found that every additional hour spent studying per
> week meant only a 0.025 increase in GPA. "This finding raised the
> question of whether educators should be resigned to this small
> relationship between effort and reward," Zulauf said. "Or perhaps
> changes need to be made in how educators evaluate a student's
> efforts."
>
> The study appears in a recent issue of the Journal of College Student
> Development. Zulauf conducted the study with Amy Gortner Lahmers, a
> former student of Zulauf's who is now with the Ohio Soybean Council.
>
> The researchers asked 79 college students to keep a time diary for one
> week in the middle of a 10-week quarter. Each day was broken into
> half-hour intervals, and students were required to indicate how much
> time they spent on activities such as attending class, studying,
> working, socializing, watching television and sleeping. The students -
> freshmen through seniors - were enrolled in one of three agricultural
> economics classes at Ohio State. Researchers also had access
> to both the
> participants' cumulative GPAs, as well as the students' GPAs for the
> quarter during which the study took place.
>
> Each student also completed the Time Management Behavior
> (TMB) scale, a
> 34-question scale that measured time management ability. The questions
> were rated on a scale of 1 to 5. Each one-point increase in total TMB
> score was associated with a 0.3 increase in GPA, Zulauf said.
>
> "The ability to use time is positively related to academic
> performance,"
> Zulauf said. "But it takes a lot of commitment by a student to
> significantly increase the number of hours he studies."
>
> The students in the study spent an average of 17 hours in class per
> week, and about 20 hours of study time outside of class
> during the week.
> "This kind of schedule is equivalent to a full-time job," Zulauf said.
> And the current recommendation is two hours of study for every hour of
> time spent in class.
>
> "So conventional wisdom says that the students in our study should be
> spending at least 34 hours studying outside of class," Zulauf said.
> "Either this is an unreasonable recommendation, or students are taking
> too many courses."
>
> "If a student devoted more time to studying during the
> quarter, chances
> were good that his cumulative GPA increased," Zulauf said.
>
> The researchers looked at the effect that holding down a job
> had on time
> spent studying. On average, each additional hour spent working reduced
> the amount of time spent studying by 14 minutes per week. But having a
> job didn't seem to have a serious impact on a student's GPA at the end
> of the quarter, unless the student was also carrying a heavy course
> load, Zulauf said. "If a student can properly manage his time, a
> part-time job has little impact on GPA," he said.
>
> The researchers also found that the higher a student scored
> on the ACT -
> a college admissions test - the more time he spent in class, and the
> less time he spent studying. But fewer hours of study didn't mean a
> lower GPA for these students. "Each one-point increase in ACT score
> meant a 0.095 increase in the GPA for the quarter," Zulauf said.
>
> Contact: Carl Zulauf, (614) 292-6285; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Written by Holly Wagner, (614) 292-8310; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> --
> Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
> 9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
> Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Scottsdale Community College
> Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
>
> Listowner: Psychologists Educating Students to Think
> Skeptically (PESTS)
>
> http://www.sc.maricopa.edu/sbscience/pests/index.html
>
>
>
