In this paper, we introduce 'Concept Questions,' a weekly writing assignment that has been incorporated into multiple upper-level engineering courses at a single university with the intent of enhancing students' conceptual understanding of the course content. To explore the influence of this activity on students in these courses, we compared…

Study goals and effective management of study time are both linked to academic success for undergraduates. Mastery goals in particular are associated with study enjoyment and positive educational outcomes such as conceptual change. Conversely, poor self-regulation, in the form of procrastination, is linked to a range of negative study behaviours.…

For students new to higher education, the task of developing their academic writing skills, and particularly the principles and practices of source-referencing, can be daunting. Although institutions and teachers can and do provide positive guidance on this score, all too often students veer into inadvertent plagiarism through lack of confidence…

In nine cohesive chapters, "Success in School" covers the essential skills and strategies that are prerequisites to student success: how to promote a positive attitude, how to organize a work space, how to manage time, how to heighten reading comprehension, how to take notes, how to study for exams, how to approach and complete writing…

Noting that parent involvement in their children's schooling is a key to academic success, this book provides techniques and strategies for parents to help them assist their children with homework completion without conflict. Chapter 1, "Getting Started," includes guidance on who should help with homework and how to set a homework…

Learning about the experience of living in a state-funded, public residential high school for academically talented children was the purpose of an ethnographic inquiry. Studying and homework dominated the students' lives throughout the year. Four characteristic patterns of adjustment to doing homework are presented as cases of studying in action.…

This study investigated whether a reflective journal writing assignment would improve students' course performance. A total of 166 students from undergraduate sections of a course taught by the same instructor over three semesters completed the assignment as part of their requirements. Students (N = 317) from five previous semesters of the same…

This case study concerns an attempt to help a 15-year-old with the completion of written assignments and the development of time management and study skills. The document first presents the problem of the girl, Lisa, who could not complete longer written assignments due to an obsessive-compulsive anxiety disorder. The relevant history to the case…