Describes a survey on student motivation and presents developmental education students' responses describing their strategies for academic success. Addresses the importance of combining effort with effective study strategies, planning, finding a quiet space, being persistent, and preparing for class. (NB)

The author observed that students enrolled in first-year college biology courses often had weak study skills. This longitudinal study examined the use of open-book tests to encourage reading and to assess the improvement of college students' study skills. There was a statistically significant improvement from the initial test to the final test…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the latent structure of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-High School (LASSI-HS) through confirmatory factor analysis and factorial invariance models. A simple modification of the three-factor structure was considered. Using a larger sample, cross-validation was completed and the equality of…

Students don't hang on to textbooks anymore, and the prevalence of second-hand merchandise obliges publishers to recoup their costs the first semester after a new release. Thus, those publishers are loath to experiment with novel approaches and are hypersensitive about reviewer criticism. Steven I. Dutch, who spent a decade preparing an…

The current study examined four factors affecting retention in Web-based community college courses. Analyses were conducted on student demographics, student learning styles, course communication and external factors. The results suggest that Web-based courses are more attractive to busy students who are also more likely to fail or drop the course.…

Many people enter scientific careers by way of graduate school. Some aspects of success in graduate school depend on informal sharing of knowledge that occurs among students. To formalize some of the student-to-student teaching, I have articulated eight practical ideas based on my experience about how students can perform well and develop habits…

The five papers in this edition address issues of general interest in distance education. In the first paper, "Study Methods and Study Notes: Interim Report," Stephen Relf and Terry Geddes report on a study designed to identify patterns of use and trends in the ways in which distance students use their study notes. In the second paper,…

Possible relationships between student study behaviors and academic achievement were studied in an extension of a large-scale project at the Far West Laboratory. Factor analysis was used to identify latent variables measured by the 76-item Study Activity Survey (SAS) that might be more strongly related to college course achievement than are the…

Even the most intelligent children can have low rates of achievement if their natural abilities are not supported by effective study practices at home. The development of good study habits requires the guidance and firm supervision of a caring adult. The following suggestions should help parents guide their children in the development of good…

Both a self-management approach, teaching the principles of behavior modification and self-control (n=36), and a group-discussion technique, involving discussion of study habits and problems (n=41), led to improvements in grade point averages compared with a no-treatment control group (n=36) for low-achieving junior high school students. (Author)

A study assessed the validity of the hypothesis that offshore drilling personnel would independently study important material if they knew that they would eventually receive formal training on the topic covered in the material. Eighty-one crew members on an offshore drilling rig were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Those in…

In academic contexts, self-sufficient learners engage autonomously in study activities that promote effective criterion performance. Their expertness in studying presumably increases as students develop and move from one educational level to another. A correlational investigation was undertaken to evaluate four hypotheses about differences across…

Francis P. Robinson's 1946 text, "Effective Study," first presented his Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review (SQ3R) study system, which is held to be the most widely advocated textbook study system. This paper traces the development of the ideas behind the SQ3R. SQ3R's theoretical foundation began with work in…

This study evaluated the acquisition of study skills in high-risk college freshmen enrolled in a developmental course, "Introduction to University Studies." The construction of the 30-item multiple choice instrument was described. The test reflected the objectives of the course, covering traditional study skill topics such as…

As more and more students arrive at colleges increasingly unprepared, the issue of how to teach effective study skills becomes more important. Yet, research on study skills is far from conclusive. Study skills may be defined as any activity or behavior which enhances the learning and recall of new academic material, and includes such activities as…