Daily automated feedback on a study diary helped students stick to their time plans

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   256 university students in Germany signed up, and 194 were counted at the end. They were about 22 on average and weren't picked for having trouble managing time.

2. 02

   What they did

   For 36 days, both groups filled in a short study diary each morning and evening, about 10 minutes a day. In the morning they wrote goals and a plan for the day. In the evening they rated if they kept to the plan, put things off or worked hard. One group also got written feedback from a computer each day. When their ratings were low, it gave tips, such as making a to-do list with a time guess for each task.

3. 03

   What happened

   Students who got feedback kept to their time plans better each day. They also made clearer daily plans, set goals more and felt more sure of themselves. They didn't put things off less or feel more interested in studying. Planning scores rose in both groups by the end, with no gap between them, and parts of the paper's tables are jumbled.

What the study found

1. MixedTime management

   Students with daily diary feedback kept to time plans better each day than others, but end planning scores didn't differ.

   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Action: Track your progressused
   • Action: Plan your weekused
   • Rule: Every dayused

   Randomised trial of 256 university students in Germany · vs the same daily diary without feedback · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; numbers unreliable

2. No differenceProcrastination

   Students who got daily feedback on their study diary put things off no less each day than those without it.

   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Action: Track your progressused
   • Rule: Every dayused

   Randomised trial of 256 university students in Germany · vs the same daily diary without feedback · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; numbers unreliable

3. MixedMotivation

   Students who got daily diary feedback felt surer of their study skills, but not more keen to study.

   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Action: Track your progressused
   • Rule: Every dayused

   Randomised trial of 256 university students in Germany · vs the same daily diary without feedback · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; numbers unreliable

Source