To assess the amount and
distribution of time that students are putting into my course, and to provide a
basis for counseling them on how to be more time-efficient.
Description of Activity
For the first several
weeks, ask students to record, truthfully and anonymously, exactly how much
time they spend on any aspect of the course.
For example:
Monday, 1/31 8-9:15 pm read pages 1-14
Wednesday, 2/2 9-11 pm read pages 15-35
Saturday, 2/5 1-5 pm wrote first paper
Sunday, 2/6 8-10 pm typed first paper
Collect, analyze, discuss. As students see how much effort their peers are
putting into the course, the behavior of less dedicated students is often
modified. Also, students can counsel each other about how best to spend their
time. And, as the instructor, I can give informed guidance about amount and
quality of effort. Often I find that some students are spending too much time
to too little effect, and I can troubleshoot in this regard
Materials Needed
No special materials are
needed.
Application
This data collection
takes minimal time on the student's part. The in-class discussion also needs
not be long, but may lead to conferences with individual students concerning
their abilities and study habits.
Related Student Services
Study skills modules
where available.
this web page was created on 11/3/99 at 9:39:19 PM
and modified on 11/23/99 at 11:28:29 PM