Study strategies of college students: Are self-testing and scheduling related to achievement?
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Previous studies, such as those by Kornell and Bjork (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14:219-224, 2007) and Karpicke, Butler, and Roediger (Memory, 17:471-479, 2009), have surveyed college students' use of various study strategies, including self-testing and rereading. These studies have documented that some students do use self-testing (but largely for monitoring memory) and rereading, but the researchers did not assess whether individual differences in strategy use were related to student achievement. Thus, we surveyed 324 undergraduates about their study habits as well as their college grade point average (GPA). Importantly, the survey included questions about self-testing, scheduling one's study, and a checklist of strategies commonly used by students or recommended by cognitive research. Use of self-testing and rereading were both positively associated with GPA. Scheduling of study time was also an important factor: Low performers were more likely to engage in late-night studying than were high performers; massing (vs. spacing) of study was associated with the use of fewer study strategies overall; and all students-but especially low performers-were driven by impending deadlines. Thus, self-testing, rereading, and scheduling of study play important roles in real-world student achievement.
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Despite evidence for their effectiveness for long-term learning, the uptake of desirable difficulties is still too low in students in higher education.
“Despite the evidence for their effectiveness for long-term learning, the uptake of desirable difficulties is still too low in students in higher education (Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012).”
From Worth the Effort: the Start and Stick to Desirable Difficulties (S2D2) Framework (2023) · cites this paper as Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012
The Response proportions section (page unavailable) reports that roughly half of the surveyed college students spaced their studying, and the Discussion describes spacing and self-testing as beneficial for retention. But 71% reported self-testing, so the paper does not establish uniformly low uptake of desirable difficulties; it also did not measure how often or how effectively students used each strategy. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredStudents did not increase their self-testing to levels equivalent to other undergraduate surveys.
“They did not, however, increase their self-testing (50%) to levels equivalent to other undergraduate surveys, found to be 71% in Hartwig and Dunlosky (2012), 72% in Morehead et al. (2016), and 62% in Williams et al. (2021).”
From Moving the Needle: Evidence of an Effective Study Strategy Intervention in a Community College Biology Course (2022) · cites this paper as Hartwig and Dunlosky (2012)
The amount of spacing at the end of the course (64%) matches the 64% reported in Rodriguez et al. (2018) and is higher than 47% in Hartwig and Dunlosky (2012) and 48% in Morehead et al. (2016).
“This amount of spacing matches the 64% of students who reported spacing their studying in Rodriguez et al. (2018). It is higher than that reported in Hartwig and Dunlosky at 47% (2012) and in Morehead et al. at 48% (2016).”
From Moving the Needle: Evidence of an Effective Study Strategy Intervention in a Community College Biology Course (2022) · cites this paper as Hartwig and Dunlosky (2012)
Self-testing is used by many students but is less often used by students historically excluded from STEM because of race or ethnicity.
“Self-testing is a strategy used by many students, with Hartwig and Dunlosky reporting 71% of students (2012), and Morehead et al. reporting 72% of students (2016) saying they self-test, but this strategy is less often used by students historically excluded from STEM because of race or ethnicity (Rodriguez et al., 2018; Williams et al., 2021).”
From Moving the Needle: Evidence of an Effective Study Strategy Intervention in a Community College Biology Course (2022) · cites this paper as Hartwig and Dunlosky, 2012
Drawing of any type is infrequently used by students, with prior surveys reporting 15% and 24% use.
“Drawing of any type is infrequently used, with Hartwig and Dunlosky finding only 15% of students using drawing (2012) and Morehead et al. (2016) finding only 24% of students using drawing as a main study strategy (2019).”
From Moving the Needle: Evidence of an Effective Study Strategy Intervention in a Community College Biology Course (2022) · cites this paper as Hartwig and Dunlosky, 2012
Many students use spacing, with reported rates of 47%, 48%, and 57% in prior surveys.
“Studies that surveyed students about their study timing found many students do use spacing (47% in Hartwig and Dunlosky, 2012; 48% in Morehead et al., 2016; 57% in Rodriguez et al., 2018), though clearly there is room for improvement.”
From Moving the Needle: Evidence of an Effective Study Strategy Intervention in a Community College Biology Course (2022) · cites this paper as Hartwig and Dunlosky, 2012
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Ariel, R., Karpicke, J. D., Witherby, A. E., & Tauber, S. K. (2021) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-020-09556-8 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Boysen, G. A. (2021) · Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology · doi:10.1037/stl0000280 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Yeo, D. J. S., & Fazio, L. K. (2018) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000268 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“This is not surprising given that students frequently report using repeated studying as a favorite learning strategy (Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012; Karpicke et al., 2009; Kornell & Bjork, 2007).”
BackgroundChanges in metacognitive monitoring accuracy in an introductory physics course
Morphew, J. (2020) · Metacognition and Learning · doi:10.1007/s11409-020-09239-3 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Dental Student Study Strategies: Are Self‐Testing and Scheduling Related to Academic Performance?
McAndrew, M., Morrow, C. S., Atiyeh, L. E., & Pierre, G. C. (2016) · Journal of Dental Education · doi:10.1002/j.0022-0337.2016.80.5.tb06114.x · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“Ask questions or verbally participate during class 2% (2) 3.”
BackgroundBosch, E., Seifried, E., & Spinath, B. (2021) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102056 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
The Critical Importance of Retrieval—and Spacing—for Learning
Soderstrom, N. C., Kerr, T., & Bjork, R. A. (2015) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797615617778 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“Given that many students report using self-testing during their own studying (Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012; Kornell & Bjork, 2007), it is important to identify ways to enhance the effectiveness of such a strategy.”
BackgroundBaker, R. B., Evans, B., & Dee, T. (2016) · AERA Open · doi:10.1177/2332858416674007 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
“Planning ahead to study course materials throughout the term, as opposed to cramming right before a deadline, is positively correlated with a higher college grade point average (GPA; Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012).”
BackgroundRovers, S. F. E., Stalmeijer, R. E., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., Savelberg, H. H. C. M., & de Bruin, A. B. H. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02501 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
“We adapted the questionnaire used by Hartwig and Dunlosky (2012) to fit our PBL learning situation.”
InfluentialCervin-Ellqvist, M., Larsson, D., Adawi, T., Stöhr, C., & Negretti, R. (2020) · Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s10734-020-00635-x · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“Some research suggests that flashcards and quizzes are used to practise testing to a high extent (Hartwig & Dunlosky 2012; Kornell & Bjork 2007), while another study found that they are used to help memorise or because they are easy to use (Wissman et al. 2012).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-reported use of retrieval practice varies across age and domain
Tullis, J. G., & Maddox, G. B. (2020) · Metacognition and Learning · doi:10.1007/s11409-020-09223-x · Cited by 46 · see citing works
“Yet, estimates of students' use of retrieval practice come exclusively from undergraduate and graduate students (e.g., Blasiman et al. 2017; Karpicke et al. 2009; Hartwig and Dunlosky 2012; McAndrew et al. 2016; Wissman et al. 2012).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialLearning Strategies and Self-Regulated Learning
Winne, P. H., & Marzouk, Z. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108235631.028 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Dunlosky, J. T., & Rawson, K. A. (2015) · Learning and Instruction · doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.05.003 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citationFoster, N. L., Rawson, K. A., & Dunlosky, J. T. (2017) · Learning and Instruction · doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.10.002 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citationMorphew, J., da Silva, M. R., Herman, G. L., & West, M. (2019) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3605 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Optimizing the Efficacy of Learning Objectives through Pretests
Sana, F., Forrin, N. D., Sharma, M., Dubljevic, T., Ho, P., Jalil, E., & Kim, J. A. (2020) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.19-11-0257 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“However, such practices have developed in the absence of systematic research, and both educators and students can make inaccurate judgments of learning (e.g., Hartwig and Dunlosky, 2012; Yan et al., 2014).”
BackgroundDoes A Brief Mindfulness Intervention Impact Quiz Performance?
Calma‐Birling, D., & Gurung, R. A. R. (2017) · Psychology Learning & Teaching · doi:10.1177/1475725717712785 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“More importantly, our control group engaged in a study technique that is related to student learning; rereading lecture notes has been found to be positively associated with exam performance (Carrie, 2003) and selfreported Grade Point Average (Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012).”
BackgroundComparing badges and learning goals in low- and high-stakes learning contexts
Morris, B. J., Dragovich, C., Todaro, R. D., Balci, S., & Dalton, E. (2019) · Journal of Computing in Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s12528-019-09228-9 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Vosniadou, S., Bodner, E., Stephenson, H., Jeffries, D., Lawson, M. J., Darmawan, I. N., Kang, S. H. K., Graham, L. E., & Dignath, C. (2024) · Metacognition and Learning · doi:10.1007/s11409-024-09374-1 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
“…(e.g., Karpicke, 2009; Kornell & Bjork, 2007), lack metacognitive knowledge about when and how to use their learning strategies effectively (Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012; McCabe, 2011), or may tend to avoid failure by choosing easy tasks, procrastinating, or avoiding work (Bjork et al., 2013;…”
How Effective is Example Generation for Learning Declarative Concepts?
Rawson, K. A., & Dunlosky, J. T. (2016) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-016-9377-z · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Self-citationPiza, F. M. D. T., Kesselheim, J. C., Perzhinsky, J., Drowos, J. L., Gillis, R., Moscovici, K., Danciu, T., Kosowska, A., & Gooding, H. C. (2019) · Medical Teacher · doi:10.1080/0142159x.2019.1645950 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Renzulli, S. (2015) · NACADA Journal · doi:10.12930/nacada-13-043 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“Hartwig and Dunlosky (2012) surveyed 324 undergraduates and demonstrated that students’ use of self-testing was positively associated with GPA.”
BackgroundLocation, Location, Location! Demonstrating the Mnemonic Benefit of the Method of Loci
McCabe, J. A. (2015) · Teaching of Psychology · doi:10.1177/0098628315573143 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“method of loci, memory demonstration Research suggests that undergraduates may not be aware of empirically supported memory strategies that could enhance their success in college courses (e.g., Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012; McCabe, 2011).”
MethodDoes covert retrieval benefit learning of key-term definitions?
Tauber, S. K., Witherby, A. E., Dunlosky, J. T., Rawson, K. A., Putnam, A. L., & Roediger, H. L., III (2017) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.10.004 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Self-citationCarpenter, S. K., Rahman, S., Lund, T. J. S., Armstrong, P. I., Lamm, M. H., Reason, R. D., & Coffman, C. R. (2017) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.16-06-0205 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
“Indeed, survey research showing that students primarily use retrieval as a means of checking their knowledge would seem to support this (Kornell and Bjork 2007; Hartwig and Dunlosky, 2012; Yan et al., 2014).”
BackgroundInfluentialWhat learning strategies do academic support centers recommend to undergraduates?
McCabe, J. A. (2018) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2017.10.002 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
van der Velde, R., Westrhenen, N. B.-V., Labrie, N., & Zweekhorst, M. B. M. (2020) · Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s10734-020-00604-4 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“…like deadlines, may be an initial necessary evil to use in a firstyear flipped classroom (Abeyserkera and Dawson 2015), as first-year students’ study strategies, regardless of their GPA, are based primarily on deadlines and thus ‘whatever is due soonest’ (Hartwig and Dunlosky 2012, p127).”
BackgroundZhao, W., Li, B., Shanks, D. R., Zhao, W., Zheng, J., Hu, X., Su, N., Fan, T., Yin, Y., Luo, L., et al. (2022) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.13689 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Reinventing Flashcards to Increase Student Learning
Senzaki, S., Hackathorn, J. M., Appleby, D. C., & Gurung, R. A. R. (2017) · Psychology Learning & Teaching · doi:10.1177/1475725717719771 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“Surprisingly little classroom research on college student flashcard use exists and has yielded mixed results (Golding, Wasarhaley, & Fletcher, 2012; Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012).”
BackgroundMethodThe Eight Hour Sleep Challenge During Final Exams Week
Scullin, M. K. (2019) · Teaching of Psychology · doi:10.1177/0098628318816142 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Benefits of additional online practice opportunities in higher education
Schwerter, J., Dimpfl, T., Bleher, J., & Murayama, K. (2021) · The Internet and Higher Education · doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2021.100834 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Williams, D. M., Bergström, Z. M., & Grainger, C. (2016) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361316680178 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
“Furthermore, metacognitive monitoring ability is known to be involved in selfregulated learning and to predict learning/educational outcomes independent of general intelligence in the neurotypical population (e.g. Hartwig and Dunlosky, 2012; Veenman et al., 2005).”
BackgroundFinn, B., & Tauber, S. K. (2015) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-015-9331-5 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
A meta-analysis and critical review of metacognitive accuracy in autism
Carpenter, K. L., & Williams, D. M. (2022) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613221106004 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Mixing topics while studying does not enhance learning.
Hausman, H., & Kornell, N. (2014) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2014.03.003 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Prequestions do not enhance the benefits of retrieval in a STEM classroom
Geller, J., Carpenter, S. K., Lamm, M. H., Rahman, S., Armstrong, P. I., & Coffman, C. R. (2017) · Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications · doi:10.1186/s41235-017-0078-z · Cited by 35 · see citing works
“A common belief amongst students and teachers is that testing serves primarily as an evaluative tool, as a “dipstick” to assess what one knows and does not know (Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012; McAndrew, Morrow, Atiyeh, & Pierre, 2016; Morehead, Rhodes, & DeLozier, 2016).”
BackgroundPersky, A. M., & Hudson, S. L. (2016) · Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning · doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2015.12.010 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Does Individual Performance Feedback Increase the Use of Retrieval Practice?
Hui, L., de Bruin, A. D., Donkers, J., & van Merriënboer, J. V. (2021) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-021-09604-x · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Self-Regulated Learning in Undergraduate Science
Higgins, N., Frankland, S., & Rathner, J. A. (2021) · International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education · doi:10.30722/ijisme.29.01.005 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
“The combined influence of metacognitive monitoring and control has been found to lead to a deeper conceptual understanding of the content, more efficient and targeted study, and an overall reduction in effortful learning (Greene, Moos, & Azevedo 2011; Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012).”
BackgroundMethodFeedback reduces the metacognitive benefit of tests.
Kornell, N., & Rhodes, M. G. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied · doi:10.1037/a0032147 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“Some test themselves and others do not (see, e.g., Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012), and of course the content being studied is important; self-testing using flashcards is common in organic chemistry and first-year Spanish, but not in American literature.”
Macaluso, J. A., Beuford, R. R., & Fraundorf, S. H. (2022) · Journal of Intelligence · doi:10.3390/jintelligence10040083 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
David, L., Biwer, F., Crutzen, R., & de Bruin, A. B. H. (2024) · Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s10734-024-01199-w · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“They monitor and control their learning inac-curately, which has a negative impact on their academic achievement (Hartwig & Dunlosky, 2012).”
Do students really prefer repeated rereading over testing when studying textbooks? A reexamination
Kuhbandner, C., & Emmerdinger, K. J. (2019) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2019.1610177 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“” The forced report questionnaire was created based on the study strategies checklist applied by Hartwig and Dunlosky (2012), and the questionnaire for assessing study strategies of university students developed by Wild and Schiefele (1994), and consisted of 22 study strategies (the exact wordings are presented in Tab…”
Method
- Authors
- Hartwig, M. K., & Dunlosky, J.
- Affiliations
- Kent State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hartwig, Marissa K.
- Venue
- Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
- Published
- 2011-11-15
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 126-134
- ISSN
- 1069-9384 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-5320
- OpenAlex
- W2110942371
- Cited by
- 477
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 63 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 4.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Outcomes and Influences
- Keywords
- study habits, self-testing, re-reading, study scheduling, university students, academic performance, grade point average
- MeSH terms
- Achievement, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Students, Universities, Test Taking Skills
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