Student Self-Assessment of Exam Preparation in 100- and 200-Level Chemistry Courses

Student self-assessment surveys were utilized to look at student study habits in several areas. Both self-reported study time and study methods were explored. Surveys were given to students after they received their graded exams. In a comparison with the federal definition for a credit hour (2 hours outside of class for each hour spent in class), it was found that most students study less than the minimum recommended study time. Little difference in reported study hours was seen between high-performing students and low-performing students (who reported the highest amount of study time). When broken into methods of study, higher-performing students reported higher percentages of time in active study methods (e.g., attempting practice problems), while lower-performing students spent more time in more passive study methods (e.g., reviewing lecture notes). Additionally, students were asked to analyze why they lost points on examinations in a number of different categories. Lower-performing students were able to recognize the reasons for their performance (attributing much of their performance to reasons such as not understanding terms or concepts) but were not able to use it to improve future performance.