ERIC EJ1069272: Using Learning Strategies to Improve the Academic Performance of University Students on Academic Probation

2015·0.25 MB·English

by  ERIC

Using Learning Strategies to Improve the Academic Performance of
University Students on Academic Probation
Sara J. Renzulli, University of Connecticut
One half of all students who begin college fail to who either struggle academically or are placed on
completetheirdegrees,resultinginwastedtalents, academic probation. A recent literature search
time, and resources. Through use of mixed revealed none that focused on the use of these
methods, but primarily qualitative, comparative strategies to increase academic achievement in
case studies, this research reveals ways a 3-week students at risk for dropping out of college.
course in study strategies improved the perfor- However, according to a recent study, 56% of
mance of students placed on academic probation. students who begin a bachelor’s degree finish
The participating students, from a large, public within6years,and29%ofthosewhoworktoward
university, reported benefits from the study skills an associate’s degree earn it within 3 years
course and studied for twice as many hours after (Harvard University, 2011).
participatingintheintervention.Acasestudyof1 Furthermore, theUnited Stateswas deemedthe
participantillustratesthewaysstudentslearnedto worst among the 18 Organisation for Economic
use varied and effective study strategies. The Co-operationandDevelopmentcountriesinretain-
findings provide empirical support for the use of ing students through graduation (Harvard Univer-
diverse advising strategies, including direct, spe- sity, 2011). The Pew Research Center Census
cificstudy-skillsinstructionforstudentsstruggling analysisindicatedthatonethirdofthenation’s25-
academically upon matriculation. to 29-year olds have earned at least a bachelor’s
degree,avaluethathasbeenincreasingduringthe
[doi:10.12930/NACADA-13-043]
last three decades, up from one fifth of young
KEY WORDS: academic probation, learning adults in the early 1970s who have attained the
skills, learning skills courses, self-regulation, baccalaureate (Fry & Parker, 2012).
time management Current research demonstrates that a higher
percentage of college dropouts come from low-
According to a recent national report, students income families. The Advisory Committee on
drop out of college due to lack of preparation for Student Financial Assistance (2010) found that
the rigors of academic work (Harvard University, 41%oflow-incomestudentswhohadenrolledina
2011). Few researchers have examined the rela- 4-yearinstitutiongraduatedwithin5years,amuch
tionship between college students’ self-regulation lower percentage than students from all other
andlearningstrategiesandtheiracademicachieve- groups who complete degrees within this period.
ment. Not many have investigated the ways that This research also showed that 79% of students
collegestudentsacquirelearningstrategiesandthe born into the top-income quartile in the United
reasons they choose to use them (or not) to States obtain bachelor’s degrees, and 11% of
improve their academic work. Because almost one students from bottom-income quartile families
half of all students who enter college fail to graduate from 4-year universities. Research also
complete a degree in 4 years (Barefoot, 2007; demonstratesthat55%ofearnedbachelor’sdegrees
Harvard University, 2011), additional research can wereawardedtostudentsfromtop-incomequartile
addtotheexistentknowledgeaboutwaysstudents familieswith2010annualincomesabove$98,000,
at risk for dropping out of college can benefit and 9% of those degrees were earned by students
through learning study strategies. I used a with family income below $33,000. Enrollment
qualitative study to investigate the direct teaching rates for academically high-potential, but low-
of study skills, including self-testing, self-regula- income,highschoolgraduatesin4-yearinstitutions
tion, and effective note taking, in a 3-week fellfrom54to40%between1992and2004,while
intervention for students at risk for attrition. the enrollment of moderate-income students de-
clined less precipitously from 59 to 53%.
Review of Related Research In America each year, $400 billion is spent on
Little existing research illustrates the study postsecondaryeducation(HarvardUniversity,2011)
strategies that work best with university students and as much as one half of those expenditures is
NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015 29
Sara J. Renzulli
invested on students who fail to complete college. College or University Learning Strategies
According to Complete College America (2012), Courses
64.7%oflow-incomestudentsenrolledina2-year Some research has been conducted on offering
college and 31.9% enrolled in a 4-year institution instruction on learning strategies to college
require remediation, undoubtedly contributing to students. For example, Tuckman and Kennedy
increased rates of college attrition in this popula- (2011) compared the performance of first-semester
tion. Weissmann (2012) eloquently articulated the freshmen in an online learning strategies course
problem: to a similar group of students who did not take the
course (N = 351). Specific learning strategies
The system is incredibly wasteful. The presented in the class focused on taking reason-
students who show up but never graduate able risks, assuming responsibility, selecting the
requireadministrativeandacademicresourc- right environment, and the use of feedback.
es. They take up precious classroom space, Tuckman and Kennedy found that the students
shutting other students out of the courses in the online study-skills course reported higher
they need to graduate on time. They incur GPAs entering their sophomore year than students
student debt, but don’t get a credential, who had not enrolled in the course, and more
which weighs on their own finances. (p. 1) study-skill class students graduated than those in
the control group.
Participation in learning strategies courses
does not, of course, guarantee academic success.
Attrition and Retention of College Students
Dembo (2004) investigated common reasons that
The American College Testing Program
college students fail to benefit from learning
(2006) reported that average student retention
skills courses (LSCs), such as their perceptions
ratesfromfreshmantosophomoreyearforpublic
that they cannot make the necessary changes,
4-year colleges between 1983 and 2006 ranged
their unwillingness to change, or their failure to
from 66 to 70%, and private 4-year institution
learn how and what to change.
retention rates were between 70 and 75%. U.S.
News & World Report (2011) data-based briefs
Learning Strategies Used by College Students
from hundreds of postsecondary schools docu-
To recommend appropriate strategies, advisors
mented trends related to college retention and
must understand those that have worked well for
demonstrated that as many as one in three
the majority of students. The most common study
students fail to return to college after their
method utilized by college students appears to be
freshman year. In his well-known classic book
rereading content (Callender & McDaniel, 2009;
Leaving College, Tinto (1993) summarized the
Carrier, 2003; Goetz & Palmer, 1991; Karpicke,
problem: ‘‘There is in fact, an increasing arrayof
Butler, & Roediger, 2009; Stine-Morrow, Gagne,
students, young and old, from a diversity of
Morrow, & DeWall, 2004). For example, Carrier
backgrounds who enter higher education unpre-
(2003) surveyed students in college classes about
pared to meet the academic demands of college
their use of test preparation techniques and found
life’’(p.49).OthercontemporariesofTintoadded
that 65% of upper-level students reported re-
to the dialogue (see, e.g., Malloch & Michael, reading as the most commonly used study
1981; Mathiasen, 1984; Russell & Petrie, 1992) strategy. Other researchers have also found
that continues today. For example, Weitzman success in using rereading as a study method
(1982) found that many students who enrolled in (Amlund, Kardash, & Kulhavy, 1986; Barnett &
collegewere unprepared for academic challenges Seefeldt, 1989; Howe & Singer, 1975; Krug,
because they failed to use study strategies. In Davis, & Glover, 1990; Mayer, 1983).
addition, successful, persisting students have However, some support a different tactic to
generally gained stronger academic preparation studying. Consistent with a finding from Dunlos-
in high school (Russell & Petrie, 1992) and ky and Rawson (2005), Callender and McDaniel
earned higher grade-point averages (GPAs) and (2009) found that rereading proved an ineffective
standardized test scores (Malloch & Michael, preparation method for answering multiple-choice
1981;Mathiasen,1984)thanthosewhodropout. questions. They, along with Carrier (2003) and
Other factors associated with academic success Karpicke et al. (2009), suggested that students
include students’ study skills and their attitudes benefit from studying when they actively process
about academics (Russell & Petrie, 1992). the content they are trying to remember.
30 NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015
Learning Skills Course
Research has also been conducted on self- undergraduates), public research university. Mer-
testing and self-regulation learning strategies. riam (2009), Miles and Huberman (1994), and
Self-testing, or the act of repeatedly recalling Yin (2009) considered the comparative case study
information, has been shown an effective way to approach an appropriate methodology to make
study and recall information for assessments analytical generalizations about an area of inquiry.
(Gates, 1917; Jones, 1923-1924; Spitzer, 1939; These case studies explore complex social phe-
Tulving, 1967). Carrier and Prashler (1992) nomena: In this research, they describe the
conductedaseriesofexperimentsonself-testing, reasons capable high school students fail to
finding that practice in retrieval results in better achieve at a large public university at levels
retention of information. Hartwig and Dunlosky commensurate with their abilities. Interviews and
(2012) surveyed 324 undergraduates and demon- discussions before, during, and after LSC sessions
strated that students’ use of self-testing was provided the context to explore attrition. Case
positively associated with GPA. Despite the study research can be generalized to theoretical
proven effectiveness of self-testing and retrieval propositions (Yin, 2009), and in this study it was
strategies, Karpicke et al. (2009) found that the used to offer the explanation for student under-
majority of college students do not use this achievement in a university setting.
method, preferring to simply reread their notes.
They concluded that many students remain Instrument
unaware that more active retrieval practices The Acquisition and Use of Study Skills and
enhance the learning process and suggested that Learning Strategies (AUSSLS) (Figure 1) was
instructors inform students about the benefits of adapted from an instrument entitled the Learning
retrieval and self-testing. Strategies and Study Skills Survey (LSSS)
Many college students have also learned to (Ruban, 1999; Ruban & Reis, 2006). The original
exert control over their time and schoolwork LSSS included 58 items that were used ‘‘to
schedules (Pintrich & Garcia, 1993). Students describe whether patterns of use of self-regulated
whomanagetheirstudytimeandlearninggainan learning strategies vary among the different
advantage in higher education over students who populations of university students’’ (Ruban,
have not developed these self-regulated learning 1999, p. 15). To create the LSSS, Ruban (1999)
strategies (Zimmerman, 1989). Self-regulation is drew from the 47-item Study Skills Self Efficacy
considered critical for academic success. For Scale (SSSE) of Ramirez and Owen (1991) and
example, Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons (1988) from Zimmerman’s (1989) publications on self-
foundthattheuseofself-regulatedstrategieswas regulated learning. Alpha reliabilities for each of
highly correlated with students’ academic perfor- the 5 factors on the SSSE, which were incorpo-
mance. Zimmerman (1989) identified several ratedinthe LSSS andsubsequently inthe
specific self-regulated learning strategies includ- AUSSLS, ranged from .78 to .91 (Ruban,
ing McCoach, McGuire, & Reis, 2003; Silver, Smith,
& Greene, 2001).
(cid:2) self-evaluating: Students assess the qual-
According to previous research, α reliabili-
ity of their work.
ties on the 6 factors of the LSSS ranged from .70
(cid:2) organizing and transforming: Students
to .92 (Ruban & Reis, 2006), and the 10 items
manipulate content to improve learning.
adapted from the LSSS used in this study had α
(cid:2) goal setting: Students set large and small
reliabilities of .80. On 5 of the items, participants
related objectives and map out a process
were asked to check one or more options that
to achieve them.
applied to them. They attended to the other 5 open-
(cid:2) seeking information: Students find
response questions by provid-ing feedback about
school-relatedinformationfromacademic
the featured statement. Each student completed the
sources rather than social resources.
AUSSLS during the first 20 minutes of the first
and the last class. Before or after a class period or
Methods during a mutually convenient time, I interviewed
Qualitative comparative case study methodol- each participant about study strategies to further
ogy (Yin, 2009) was used to investigate the probe responses to the survey and better
academic performance of students who had been understand the students’ use of the study
placed on academic probation and were asked to strategies learned in class.
voluntarilyenrollinaLSCatalarge(over22,000
NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015 31
Sara J. Renzulli
Figure 1. The acquisition and use of study skills and learning strategies survey
1. Have you developed any specialway of studying in your current academic work (such as
figuring out how to study difficult material more efficiently, finding a good way to
memorize important information, etc.)?
* I do it rarely * I do it sometimes * I do it most of the time * Can’t think of any
1a. Please list or describe the ways you study most often:
2. Why doyou choose to use study strategies for your academic work? (You can check
more than one):
* To learn for meaning, not just to * To organize material to help me better prepare
pass exams for tests
* To learn material more efficiently * To learn difficult content in some courses
* To compensate for my learning * Other (Please specify) _________
difficulties
* To get better grades
3. If you do not use study skills and learning strategies in your academic work, why doyou
choose not to use them? (You can check more than one):
* I can succeed academically without them * I don’t have time to use them
* It takes too much work to learn * Using them will not make a difference
them
* I never learned them * Other (Please specify) _________
4. Will you continue to use the strategies you learned in the study strategies course as part of
your routine? If yes, describe why and if no, describe why not.
5. How many hours per week, on average, did you spend on your academic assignments
(e.g., homework, projects, etc.) BEFORE attending the study skills class?
* 1-4 * 5-9 * 10-15
* 16-19 * 20-24 * 25-29
* 30 or more
6. How many hours per week, on average, did you spend on your academic assignments
(e.g., homework, projects, etc.) AFTER attending the study skills class?
* 1-4 * 5-9 * 10-15
* 16-19 * 20-24 * 25-29
* 30 or more
7. In your opinion, what study strategies have been the most useful toyou during the study
skills course?
8. Please describe how the use of study skills helps you to succeed in your academic work.
9. Describe the most useful study strategies you use to prepare for a challenging test.
Note. Figure adjusted for print; survey participants were given adequate space to respond.
Participants academicprobationandencouragedtomeetwithan
The sample in this study was randomly academic advisor. If a student’s term GPA falls
selected from 116 undergraduates on academic below2.0forthreeconsecutivesemesters,heorshe
probation at a large public, competitive, research receivesaletterexplainingtheimminentdismissal
universityduringtheSpring2012semester.Allof
fromtheuniversityforpooracademicperformance.
them had earned a 1290 or higher on their SAT
Students on the dismissal list can appeal, under
exam. Those selected received an e-mail from
certain guidelines, in writing. The students in this
their advisors inviting them to participate in the
studywereintheirsecondsemesterofprobation.
study. Of the 19 volunteers, 9 were randomly
chosen to participate in the intervention group
Learning Skills Course Intervention
and thus enrolled in the LSC. Enrollments were
purposely limited so I could interact with the TheLSCinterventionmethourlytwiceaweek
students and effectively interview them. for 3 weeks and was specifically structured to
At this university, students who receive a term integrate explicit learning strategies with the
GPA of 2.0 or below are routinely placed on students’ academic work. The class could be
32 NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015
Learning Skills Course
Table 1. Content from the learning skills course
Week &
Class Meeting Content
Week 1: Class 1 (cid:2) Introduction to self-regulation
* Self-regulation theory
* Self-regulation strategies
* Positive implications of self-regulation
Week 1: Class 2 (cid:2) Applying self-regulation strategies
* Goal setting
* Organization
* Time management
Week 2: Class 1 (cid:2) Alternativeways to study for tests / assessments & effective note taking
* Self-testing
* Information retrieval schedule
* Notes as an effective study tool
Week 2: Class 2 (cid:2) Applying new study and note-taking strategies
* Self-testing strategy use invarious forms including outlines and note cards
* Class note-taking strategies
* Reading note-taking strategies
Week 3: Class 1 (cid:2) Developing a personal study plan
* How to incorporate the strategies into studying for different classes
* Reviewof support services at the university to aid with studying
Week 3: Class 2 (cid:2) Creating a specific study plan that will be submitted to Academic Support Services
taughtorofferedonlinebyacademicadvisors,but analysis (as per Strauss & Corbin, 1990) at three
all 9 participants enrolled in a classroom version levels of coding: open, axial, and selective.
attended by only those students on academic Through open coding, I was able to formulate
probation. The class content was developed from conceptuallabelsforthedatacollected.Usingaxial
recommendations reported in the empirical liter- coding,Ifocusedonlinkingsubcategoriesofaset
ature by Hattie, Biggs, and Purdie (1996) and of relationships and their situational contexts for
focused on four strategies. The instructor ex- data validation. Selective coding informed my
plained the rationale for using a specific learning decisionsaboutcorecategoriesthatrelatedtoeach
strategy during the first class in each of the 3 other. The core categories that emerged related to
weeks, and facilitated the implementation and students’ lack of (a) preparation for the academic
practical procedures during the second class of challengesofacompetitiveuniversityenvironment
the same week. The course content included in and (b) study skills and understanding of ways to
the LSC is summarized in Table 1. learncomplexcontent.
The limitations of qualitative research were
Qualitative Coding addressed using an approach suggested by
I developed comparative case studies of the 9 Lincoln and Guba (1985), who proposed that
student participants to describe the findings four constructs solidify the trustworthiness of a
(Miles & Huberman, 1994; Yin, 2009). I wrote study: credibility, transferability, dependability,
an in-depth case for each student using thick and confirmability. To ensure that data reflectthe
descriptionsasperMarshallandRossman(1989). situations of participants, I used persistent
The subsequentanalysis revealsacomprehensive observation and triangulation (as per Lincoln &
view of the common characteristics of study Guba, 1985). Persistent observation enabled me
patterns and learning strategies used by the LSC to establish credibility under a variety of
students participating in the study. conditionsoversixLSCmeetings.Thecomplete,
The qualitative coding paradigm enabled anal- comprehensive descriptions of the students and
yses of my observations of the class and interac- theirexperiencesinthecasestudiesimprovedthe
tions during personal interviews as well as generalizability and transferability of the results.
participantanswerstoopen-endedsurveyquestions Lincoln and Guba (1985) defined dependabil-
andtheotherquestionnaireitems.Icompleteddata ity as a means to consider factors of instability
NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015 33
Sara J. Renzulli
and change. The examination of data collected parents called her at the university to insist she
fromparticipantsoversixsessionsallowedforthe return home immediately.
internal triangulation that helps determine the Jamie talked frequently in each of the LSC
dependability of participant accounts and related sessionsandseemedverycomfortablesharingher
events. academic experiences with classmates. She often
I also followed the suggestion of Lincoln and volunteeredtoanswerquestionswhennooneelse
Guba (1985), who recommended an inquiry audit wanted to talk, and she candidly revealed the
by a second researcher to examine both the reasons for her academic difficulties. Her classes
research process and product. This second re- were significantly harder than she had expected
searcheralsocoded the datasowe could compare them to be, and she admitted to not studying
theopenandaxialcodesforagreement.Across10 sufficientlytoachievegoodgradesinanyofthem.
checks,wereachedagreementin80%ofthecodes Jamie explained that as the content grew increas-
assigned, suggesting strong interrater reliability. ingly difficult, she ‘‘withdrew,’’ studied less,
To address researcher bias, I continually disengagedinclass,andextendedlittletonoeffort
reflectedonthedailyclassincidencesandrecords intoassignments.Inretrospect,Jamiebelievedshe
using field notes and responses to interview had been protecting herself because once she
questions. A search for unusual responses and became confused in class she believed she had
alternative hypotheses as well as value-free note verylittlechanceforacademicsuccessandshould
taking to record appropriate impressions during thereforenotbegintomakefriendsattheuniversity.
data collection also reduce bias and were used to She also decided that she could cope with a
enhance the trustworthiness of the study. pooroutcomeifshedidnottryatallandreceived
a bad grade instead of trying and subsequently
Findings
failing. Jamie explained that she withdrew
Thequalitativefindingsofthisstudysuggestthat because she did not know how to study the
thestudyparticipantswereunpreparedfortherigors complex information she encountered. She ex-
of postsecondary study. Those who struggled plainedthatherhighschoolclasseshadbeenvery
academicallyinthislarge,publicuniversityshowed easy to master and she never had to read the
a distinct pattern of individual similarities and textbooks or study for more than 45 minutes for
differences. Qualitative findings demonstrate that an exam. The ease of those classes led Jamie to
students were unready for completing basic tasks develop habits that negatively affected her
that predict success in their postsecondary lives, studying,suchasreadinginfrontofthetelevision
such as attending class regularly, communicating andwaitinguntilthelastminutetobeginstudying
with their professors, completing required reading, or complete an assignment. In her interviews,
and employing minimal study, self-regulation, and Jamieexpressedeagernesstolearnnewstrategies
time management skills. The case study of Jamie thatwouldassistherinacademics:Shewantedto
illustrates some of the salient characteristics of a add ‘‘more tools to her learning toolbox.’’
study participant who benefited from the LSC. Jamie indicated a strong interest in using three
strategiesdiscussedintheclass:self-regulation,re-
Case Study: Three New Strategies writing notes, and making note cards. Although
Jamie, a White female, is finishing her third manyintheLSCdidnotunderstandtheimportance
yearattheuniversity,majoringinliberalartswith or relevance of affective self-regulation to their
aconcentrationinhumandevelopmentandfamily academic experience, Jamie carefully considered
studies. With long, dark brown hair and brown the concepts along with self-regulation theory, in
eyes, she presents avibrant, outgoing personality general, and began integrating some simple
and smiles all the time. strategies into her daily academic routine. Specif-
Jamiecomesfromasmalltownandcommutes ically, she applied the strategy to her defeatist
from her parents’ home each day to reduce the attitude toward challenging or difficult content in
cost of college. She also works many weekend her classes and started praising herself for small
hours at her part-time job in her hometown. successes.Forexample,inhersignlanguageclass,
Very close to her parents, Jamie frequently she would commend herself for learning two new
keeps in contact with them throughout the day signs rather than mentally degrade herself for not
using e-mails or text messages. She thinks that memorizingtheentireparagraphofsigns.
herparentsoverprotecther;forexample,duringa Jamie said this cognitive shift proved difficult
recent incident of inclement weather, Jamie’s and remainedawork in progressduringtheentire
34 NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015
Learning Skills Course
3 weeks of the course, but she ceased comparing For the final strategy, Jamie reported imple-
herself with other students most of the time. She menting note cards in her study. Jamie described
beganfocusingonfeelingconfidentaboutworking her primary mode of preparing for tests in high
tothebestofherabilityandremainingencouraged school, which had been regular rereading of the
about her work and effort. Jamie explained that class material, and she had received Bs on
this new approach and attitude toward academics important exams. Once in college, Jamie never
helpedhertacklemoredifficultcontentratherthan considered adding or changing the strategies that
withdraw when she encountered it. She told the had contributed to her desired high school grades.
class that she wanted to maintain ‘‘the positive Instead of seeking new strategies when confront-
vibes’’thatshehaddevelopedusingself-regulation ed with difficult college-level material, she re-
of affect because she had become more confident read for longer periods than she had done in high
in her ability to succeed with a more positive school believing she could improve her college
outlook and attitude. exam grades by simply spending more time with
Jamiealsostartedrewritinghernotes,astrategy the old tactic. In the LSC, Jamie learned ways to
she learned in class to better organize and review break up or chunk content to put important
information. She usually carries her laptop com- material on a note card. After practicing this
puter with her to class and takes notes in a technique multiple times in class, she created 10
software document. Jamie likes using the laptop to 20 note cards as homework.
because she types faster than she can write her When asked to report on the success of the
notes. She also downloads the professors’ presen- exercise, Jamie explained to the class that making
note cards produced a similar positive effect as
tations and takes notes while following along
the rewriting strategy. When she created note
duringclass.However,althoughnotetakingworks
cards, Jamie could make herself reconceptualize
wellforher,sheadmittedtogettingofftaskeasily
content, which deepened her understanding of it.
because she frequently accesses the Internet and
In addition, reviewing the note cards multiple
checks her e-mail and Facebook during class.
times each day aloud aided with memorization of
Allstudentswereaskedtotryrewritingnotesfor
the material. Jamie believed that note cards
one of their classes and report back on the
offered the most useful test preparation tool she
effectiveness of the strategy. Jamie explained that
had learned, and she intended to use it to prepare
rewriting helped her remember more details from
for all of her exams.
her class than she had in the past. She found this
Jamie ended the fall semester, after completing
outcome interesting: Although she always kept
the LSC, with a term GPA of 2.44, an increase
detailed recorded notes in class, she realized that
from the 1.42 she had earned the previous
she rarely examined them unless an exam was
semester. Jamie’s fall-term GPA placed her in
scheduled. She also explained that rewriting her
good academic standing, and she was no longer
notesallowedhertoorganizetheminamannerthat
subject to probation or dismissal for academic
made sense toher, whichhelpedher toremember reasons from the university. Seven of the 9
thecontent moreeasily. The LSC instructorasked participants, including Jamie, increased their
Jamie if she believed that this strategy was GPAs from Spring 2012 to Fall 2012 as
sustainableforher,andshethoughtfullyresponded: summarized in Table 2.
Ithadhelpedher,butinvolvedagreatdealoftime
everynightafterclass,sosheexpresseduncertainty Survey and Interview Results
about continuing the rewrites. The instructor On 5 of the 10 AUSSLS items, participants
challenged Jamie to make modifications to make checked one or more options that applied to them
itmorepracticableforheracademicfuture.Atthe and provided responses to the remaining 5 open-
next class, Jamie approached the instructor and response questions. The interviews were conduct-
explainedthatshehadfiguredouta‘‘reallygreat’’ ed to probe responses to all items on the
system that involved making outlines of the most questionnaire, but particular attention was direct-
important information for each class every week. ed to the open-response questions.
Jamie believed that this personalized strategy Study Strategies Used. In response to the first
incorporated the rewriting aspect she had learned question on the instrument, the 9 participating
inclass,whichshefoundveryhelpful,yetrelieved students identified the specific ways that they
her of the overwhelming commitment she had studied before they participated in the LSC
initiallymadetorewriting. intervention and checked a box indicating the
NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015 35
Sara J. Renzulli
Table 2. Participant GPAs after taking the questionsaboutstudentstrategiesshowedpositive
learning skills course (4.00 point scale) trends over the disparate findings from the pre-
intervention results. When asked during inter-
Student Spring Fall
views whether students had developed any
Pseudonym 2012 GPA 2012 GPA
specificwaysofstudying,8ofthe9participating
Tamara .43 1.16
students indicated that theypracticed using study
Nate .60 1.49
methods most of the time, with one student
John .87 .21
saying that he only used study strategies some-
Savannah 1.15 1.23
times.ThisfindingsuggeststhattheLSCinspired
Jamie 1.42 2.44
more regular use of study strategies than the
Edward 1.69 2.46
participants had utilized before taking the class.
Paul 1.89 2.79
Studentsalsoexplainedonthesurveythatthey
Jimmy 2.14 1.55
used a broader variety of strategies after taking
Jay 2.20 2.83
the LSC, including active engagement with the
content they were studying. Three students
indicated that they used note cards or some form
frequency with which they had used the identified
ofself-testing,while4studentsreportedrewriting
studyskills.Twostudentsindicatedtheycouldnot
their notes as a preferred study method. Five
think of any study skills used, two other students
students said that they used two or more
reported rarely using study skills, another used
strategies. Edward, for example, reported that he
themsometimes,andtheremainingfourresponded
used rereading and rewriting strategies; Jimmy
that they used study skills most of the time.
undertook outlining and repetition most often;
On the first administration of the survey, 4 of
Paul employed the use of self-testing and re-
the 9 respondents listed some form of rereading
typing notes; Savannah relied on using online
plan as their primary mode of studying; their re-
note cards, rewriting, and concept mapping.
reading strategies were applied either to their
The post-intervention responses for question
notes or their textbooks. Two students listed
No. 1 on the survey suggest two outcomes.
active engagement strategies, such as retyping
Students usedmore and differing study strategies
their notes and creating note cards; for example,
aftertheinterventionthantheyhadutilizedbefore
Paulwrote on the survey, ‘‘I havediscoveredthat
taking the class, and more of the students
retypingmynotesforoneofmyclasseshasbeen
incorporated study strategies that involve active
very helpful.’’ Another student, Savannah, noted
engagement with the content after they had
that self-regulation and time management tech-
participated in the intervention.
niques proveduseful to her when studying: ‘‘It is
TimeStudying.InresponsetoItems5and6on
easier for me to break large projects/homework
thequestionnaire,studentsindicatedthenumberof
assignments into smaller pieces and space them
hours each week they spent studying before and
outoveralongerperiodoftime.Thispreventsme
after the intervention (respectively). Table 3
from becoming overwhelmed and stressed out.’’
summarizestheseself-reporteddata.Priortotaking
At the beginning of the LSC, two students
the class, 4 students reported studying the fewest
indicated in interviews that they simply did not
possiblehours,butaftertheclassnoneselectedthis
know how to study or gave a cursory or vague category.
description of their study strategies for class; for Nostudentsstudied between20to24or25to
example, Jamie explained that she did a ‘‘last 29 hours per week prior to the intervention, but
minute overview,’’ but did not elaborate on the after participating in the LSC more than one half
specificsofthosefewminutes.Johnseemedquite (5 of 9) reported studying between 20 and 29
honest in his response on the survey: ‘‘I don’t hours. The mean number of hours of study was
really knowhow toeffectively study since I never determined using interval data. Before the
had to before college. I used to look at/do things intervention, the mean number of hours studied
and automatically know them.’’ In summary, was8.0,andaftertheintervention,itwas19.4.In
diverseresponsesreflectarangeofstudystrategies summary, all 9 participants reported that the
fromactiveengagementactivities,suchasretyping hourseachweektheystudiedincreasedafterthey
notes, to no discernible study strategy. participated in the intervention.
After3weeksofparticipatingintheLSCfor2 Useful Study Strategies. Survey Item 7 asked
hours each week, the survey responses for the respondents to identify study strategies most useful
36 NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015
Learning Skills Course
Table 3. Hours spent studying as reported by the hours they studied after the intervention, a
students pre- and post-intervention result that comports with the findings of Tuck-
man and Kennedy (2011). According to the
Hours Studying
completed AUSSLS survey, two participants
Student Pre- Post-
reported little change in their study habits after
Pseudonym intervention intervention
taking the LSC. Dembo (2004) investigated
Edward 1 to 4 5 to 9 common reasons that college students fail to
John 1 to 4 10 to 15 benefit from LSCs, including students’ percep-
Tamara 1 to 4 10 to 15 tions that they cannot make the necessary
Nate 5 to 9 16 to 19 behavior modifications or their unwillingness
Jamie 1 to 4 20 to 24 to change. In this study, some participants
Jay 10 to 15 20 to 24 believed that they could not make the necessary
Jimmy 10 to 15 25 to 29 changes because the strategies were too difficult
Paul 10 to 15 25 to 29 ortooktoomuchtime.Theyoftendismissedthe
Savannah 16 to 19 25 to 29 use of learning strategies, ignoring the possibil-
ity that the LSC offered information on new
ways to study or learn.
to them. After taking the LSC, 5 students thought
the use of note cards and self-testing most
Traditional Study Skills
beneficial,informationquitedifferentfromthedata
According to the survey responses, the most
gathered at the beginning of the intervention when
commonly used study method used by partici-
one student reported using note cards for studying.
pants on academic probation at this university
The reported increase in the use of this skill may
involved simply rereading content. This strategy
reflectthewaytheinstructorpresentedtheinforma-
was also identified in previous research (Call-
tion or the improvements students documented
ender&McDaniel,2009;Carrier,2003;Goetz&
following employment of this strategy. Advisors
Palmer, 1991; Karpicke et al., 2009; Stine-
may want to suggest note cards or self-testing to
Morrow et al., 2004). After completing the
students encountering academic difficulties.
LSC, all participants in this study reported the
Other Study-Related Behaviors. According
useofrereadingasoneofthestudymethodsused
to the interviews and open-ended survey ques-
most often to prepare for exams, with 5 of 9
tions, students who encounter challenges are
indicateditmadeuptheirprimarymethodfortest
unprepared for academic rigor and either do not preparation. Of these 5 students, 2 reported that
know or have chosen not to employ basic study rereadinghadbeenasuccessfulformofstudying
strategies regularly used by students in good for them.
academic standing. Most of the participants
lacked a sense of accountability for their own
Strategies Offered in the Learning Skills
studyingandacademicprogress.Severalreported
Course
that without parentalmonitoring, theysimply did Twentieth-century researchers investigated
not study enough, spend adequate time on their self-testing and most concluded it makes up an
workforclass,orcompleteminimaltasksneeded effective way to study and recall information for
to persist in college. They admitted to not assessments (Gates, 1917; Jones, 1923-1924;
regularly reading official university e-mails, Spitzer, 1939; Tulving, 1967). The LSC in this
attending class, and keeping appointments; that study emphasized self-testing and setting an
is, they failed to complete academic obligations. information retrieval schedule. Participants were
Several of the participants said that they had initially receptive to self-testing, and in general,
regularly missed appointments with academic acknowledged that this tactic helped them when
advisors. These findings, taken with the survey correctly appliedtostudy,butmany didnotwant
results, lead to several implications and opportu- to commit to using self-testing after the interven-
nities for academic advisors. tion was completed. Only four students in the
LSCindicatedtheywouldcontinuetouseitinthe
Discussion
future.
The Effectiveness of Learning Skills Courses Many college students exert control over their
In this study, students on academic probation owntimemanagementandcourseworkschedules
who enrolled in the LSC reported an increase in as well as the methods by which they study and
NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015 37
Sara J. Renzulli
learn (Pintrich & deGroot, 1990). Students who students who may benefit from these types of
manage their time and learning achieve higher instructional activities.
grades than students with underdeveloped self- Educating students on learning skills only
regulatedlearningstrategies(Zimmerman,1989). solves part of the problem for students at risk for
Time management proved one of the most dropping out of college. According to this study,
successful strategies introduced in this study. students need time to learn and effectively practice
Participants reported that they liked the structure the strategies in their classes. Advisors can and
and limits of the time management strategies should be the persons who discuss the application
suggested, and most reported comfort applying and utility of these study skills as well as
them because the self-imposed schedules resem- encourage students to persist in employing the
bledthoseinprimaryandsecondaryschool.This newly learned tactics. They often are better
point raises several questions about whether the positioned than others on campus to identify a
use of study skill classes in high school or problem and follow up over a period of weeks or
introduced the summerbefore collegeenrollment even months.
could help prepare or teach incoming students to Perhaps the most important finding in this study
develop proficient time-management skills. showed the hours of weekly studying reported
before and after the intervention. Before taking the
Implications LSC, students reported studying for 8.0 hours per
Several implications emerged from this study week and after the class their time spent studying
for academic advisors. The participants benefited more than doubled to 19.4 hours per week. In
from the study strategies learned in the interven- addition to asking about study time, advisors can
tion, and therefore, academic advisors could provide regular monitoring and questioning about
initiate conversations about the types of study other aspects of time management. Specifically,
strategies students are using, the number of hours they could suggest students keep track of their
per week they devote to studying, and the ways study habits and time dedicated to studying as a
theyuseself-regulationstrategiessuchaschoosing way to work with advisors on planning and
improving their time management.
study locations and addressing distractions they
The importance of LSCs for students who
face. To initiate this conversation, academic
continue to encounter academic difficulty after
advisors could consider using items included in
some initial contact and preliminary help emerged
Figure 1 from the AUSSLS.
as another implication of this study. For students
In this study, 8 of the 9 participating students
who need intensive assistance to achieve academic
practicedusingstudymethodsaftertakingtheLSC
persistence, a face-to-face class scheduled over a
andmorethanonehalfofthestudentsbeganusing
semester coupled with individual periodic meetings
activeengagementstrategies,suchasretypingtheir
with advisors may prove most beneficial.
notes and creating note cards. This finding
suggeststhatstudentsbenefitedfromthestrategies Limitations
discussed in the LSC and the topics could be
This research presents several limitations,
integrated into individual or small group advising
including those related to data collection proce-
sessions. The direct teaching of some of these dures. According to Isaac and Michael (1997),
study skills by academic advisors could also surveys depend on the direct communication with
potentiallyincreasetheuseofthemacrossabroad persons selected for a study, which limits the
population of students, not solely those deemed at applicability and generalizability of the results.
risk of attrition or those with probationary status. After numerous information sessions and a proac-
Also, enterprising advisors could create an online tive recruitment process (N = 116), 19 students
course for use with on- and off-campus students agreed to participate in the study, which may not
who struggle academically. reflect a representative sample of persons on
Regardless of their own work environments and academic probation. However, qualitative research
practice (e.g., professional in face-to-face confer- provides rich descriptions of phenomena or
ences,groupfacilitator, facultymember with major individuals, and generalizablity is typically not an
caseload, or online advisor for distance learners), intended outcome.
advisorscancreatecoursesorteachstudystrategies Although empirical support exists to justify a 3-
to individuals or small groups of students. Items week intervention (Bishop & Brenneman, 1986;
featured in the AUSSLS can be used to identify Hattie et al., 1996), the time period may not be
38 NACADA Journal Volume 35(1) 2015