Studying from the Expert Performance Perspective

Research has repeatedly shown that the total number of hours college students spend studying for their courses is a poor predictor of measures of student performance. Two studies used questionnaires to examine alternative measures of study time based on the principles of deliberate practice that have successfully predicted performance in many other domains. The first study collected total study time and split this estimate into time spent studying alone in an environment free of distractions (high quality), and time spent in an environment when distractions that may detract from full concentration were present (low quality). There was partial support for using this method with the finding that low quality study negatively predicted student GPA. This method accounted for 3 percent additional variance after accounting for SAT scores. The second study extended on these findings by creating a more detailed measure of study time, examining this method of measuring study time in relation to subscales from the MSLQ, and introducing a new scale called regimentation based on evidence that expert violinists use highly routine schedules to prioritize their practice. The results indicated that high quality and low quality study time predicted significant positive and negative contributions to GPA, respectively, and these measures were significant even after including Metacognitive-Self Regulation and Time and Study Environment subscales in the model. Regimentation was the best predictor of GPA outside of SAT scores in the complete model. The findings of this research support deliberate practice as a valid measure of student performance and further applications of this approach towards educational research are discussed.