Miyerkules, Marso 18, 2015

“THE EFFECT OF STUDY HABITS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS”


“THE EFFECT OF STUDY HABITS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS”





Name:
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E1A
March 18 ,2015

The Introduction
              The extent of student’s learning in academics may be determined by the grades a student earns for a period of learning has been done. It is believed that a grade is a primary indicator of such learning.  If a learner earns high grades it is concluded that they may also have learned a lot while low grades indicate lesser learning. However, many experiences and studies found out that there are also several factors that would account for the grades. No single factor can be definitely pointed out as predicting grades. It has been an interplay of so many factors – gender, IQ, study habits, age, year level, parent’s educational attainment, social status, number of siblings, birth order, etc. In fact, almost all of existing environmental and personal factors are a variable of academic performance. The investigation of on this area thus becomes a real and compelling motivation for the researchers to conduct this study.
The  Body
                      According to Palm Beach Community College (PBBC, 2008), they recommend  that  student’s  study  should have at least three hours out of class for every hour spent in class. They also said that a student must have a special place to study with plenty of room to work. And students should not  be cramped. They presupposes that  study time will go better if a learner take a few minutes at the start to straighten things up. A desk and straight-backed chair is usually best. “ Don't get too comfortable--a bed is a place to sleep, not to study” as what they said. A student must have everything close at hand (book, pencils, paper, coffee, dictionary, computer, calculator, tape recorder, etc.) before starting to study. Students are not suggested to  spend on  time jumping up and down to get things. The PBCC suggests also that  distracting noise should  be minimized however they said that there are   some people need sound and some like silence. In this case, a learner must finds what works for him or her. Culprits are family and friends. consider a "do not disturb" sign and turning on your answering machine is the way also to have better study habits according to the PBBC..

                     Frank Pogue(2000) did a research project to determine why students fail. What he founds to be true in that study habits survey was that more than 30 years ago still rings true today--students fail because they do not know how to study .The best advice he can give is to develop sound study skills.
He said that a student should make sure that he/she has a good study environment, a good desk, a sturdy chair, good light, comfortable room temperature and a quiet atmosphere. That means he/she should eliminate all external and internal distractions. Second, get a good overview of the assignment before starting the work. Know what skills, facts and ideas that are expected to master and the ground that are expected to cover. Start with most difficult subject first, while the mind is freshest and most receptive. 
                     Professors in the developing countries said that the undergraduate students should be fully equip  with high level of analytical skills, the capacity for critical reasoning, self-reflection and conceptual grasp and ability to learn autonomously and exercise flexibility of mind (Simmons 2003). Study habits are said to be improving because of the advent and wide use of the Internet, hypertext, and multimedia resources which greatly affects the Study Habits (Liu, 2005). Karim and Hassan (2006) also note the exponential growth digital information, which changes the way students perceive studying and with printed materials that are to be use in facilitating study. Liu (2005) and Ramirez (2003) report that students print material from the Internet in order to study and read later on. Igun (2005) also found that Nigerians study from materials downloaded from the Internet.
                  Reading is an attempt to absorb the thought of the author and know what the author is conveying (Leedy 1956). Studying is the interpretation of reading materials. Study habits and skills are particularly important for college students, whose needs include time management, note taking, Internet skill, the elimination of distractions, and assigning a high priority to study.
Fielden (2004) states that good study habits help the student in critical reflection in skills outcomes such as selecting, analyzing, critiquing, and synthesizing. Nneji (2002) states that study habits are learning tendencies that enable students work private.
                The study conducted by Hope L. Graven (2008) on the  relationship between an individual's amount of caffeine consumption during his/her study session and the individual's study habits showed that the main effect of drinking caffeine on exam preparation was not significant There were participants, 20 male and 58 female college students (N=78), answered self-ratings on their personal consumption of caffeine as well as their study habits when preparing for a test/exam. It was hypothesized that the more caffeine a student consumes while studying, the more accurately his or her study habits would be labeled as 'unhealthy', as determined by the researchers. Unhealthy study habits were operationally defined as low scores on amount of time per study session, time(in days) when preparation began, and amount of information the participants believed they had retained. High scores on anxiety level were included in 'unhealthy' study habits. A Pearson correlation indicated no relationship between amount of caffeine consumed while studying and the individual's effectiveness of studying and preparation.
                 Marcus Credé and Nathan R. Kuncel (2008) in their research at the University of Albany said that Study habit, skill, and attitude inventories and constructs were found to rival standardized tests and previous grades as predictors of academic performance, yielding substantial incremental validity in predicting academic performance. The meta-analysis examined the construct validity and predictive validity of 10 study skill constructs for college students. They  found that study skill inventories and constructs are largely independent of both high school grades and scores on standardized admissions tests but moderately related to various personality constructs; these results were  inconsistent with previous theories. Study motivation and study skills exhibit the strongest relationships with both grade point average and grades in individual classes. They also said that Academic specific anxiety was found to be an important negative predictor of performance. In addition, significant variation in the validity of specific inventories is shown. Scores on traditional study habit and attitude inventories are the most predictive of performance, whereas scores on inventories based on the popular depth-of-processing perspective are shown to be least predictive of the examined criteria. Overall, study habit and skill measures improve prediction of academic performance more than any other noncognitive individual difference variable examined to date and should be regarded as the third pillar of academic success.
                 According to the how-to-study.com (2009), students who are very successful in their desired career have good study habits. It is stated in the website that students apply these habits to all of their classes.  The website also recommends some tips in improving study habits. The website also suggests that the student should try not to study all the subjects in just a period. The website also added that if you try to do too much studying at one time, you will tire and your studying will not be very effective.  Space the work you have to do over shorter periods of time.  Taking short breaks will restore your mental energy. 
                    A study conducted by University of Kentucky was to determine if the college success can be improved with the Student Attitude Inventory (SAI). The inventory was developed in Britain and contains 47 items which attempt to identify students in higher education on the basis of: (1) motivation, (2) study methods, (3) examination technique, and (4) lack of distractions toward academic work. Students in six Kentucky community colleges were asked to express their attitudes toward study habits on the Student Attitude Inventory. There were 996 students in the sample population (413 males and 583 females). A measure of ability (composite American College Test score) and academic performance (cumula grade-point average) were obtained for each student sampled. The Student Attitude Inventory did contribute a statistically significant amount of variance beyond an ability measure for males and females. ( Mark E. Thompson, 2005)        
                  According to Mark Crilly (2000), Successful students are able to balance social activities with good study habits. A diversion from studies will alleviate stress and help prevent  from becoming fatigued. He said that a student should make sure that he must take a break for an hour after studies to meet with friends, to play some cards, work out at the gym, or to gab with a new acquaintance. For this way, that student will find concentration when he do study, if he plans a social activity afterwards. He said, “To develop a healthy social life, develop routine study habits. After supper, lug your books and homework to the library, find a comfortable and quiet niche, and study for two or three hours, taking intermittent 10 minute breaks every 45 minutes or so.” Making friends with whom you share similar study habits, and share a table or a study space with them would be a best way in developing study habits as what Mark said.
The Conclusion
From the study various factors such as (method of study, family background, socio-economic status and environment, peer group and class, course of  study and self concept) have been identified to act as determinants of undergraduate study habits. More importantly it was found out that faculty is a major determinant of undergraduate study habit.

            


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