Student time usage during Fall Reading Week

Type of Proposal

Oral presentation

Faculty

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Ken Cramer

Proposal

Conscious of high student stress levels and problems with adequate time management, we tracked student time usage and stress for three weeks: Before, during, and after the Fall Reading Week in October 2015. Participating students (predominantly female) from different university programs were recruited through a mass email sent out by registrar's office, and they completed a demographic and personality/coping questionnaire to measure general personality traits and coping styles. The 420 undergraduates received three random smartphone notifications through an application, Metric Wire. At each invitation, up to 420 students completed a 20-second survey, outlining what they were doing moments before. They were asked to rate their levels of stress and recreation, and their university workload on a sliding scale. We evaluated whether students who chose to vacation during Fall Reading Week were more or less stressed following the break than those students who chose to dedicate their time to their studies. A multiple regression analysis, trying to predict student stress in the week following Fall Reading Week, accounted for 49% of the variance, and it supported that post-break stress was higher when stress was high before and during Fall Reading Week, when university workload was higher following (but low prior to) Fall Reading Week, and when recreation was higher during Fall Reading Week. The last part of the study, which is currently in progress, will provide insight into student coping behaviours and report on student self-reflection in regards to time usage before, during, and after Fall Reading Week, and after completion of the semester (January 2016). These perceptions were assessed with the help of self-report questionnaires with both closed- and open-ended questions (sliding scales, text responses). Important implications for student advising in regards to time management and coping with stress are discussed.

Start Date

29-3-2016 2:30 PM

End Date

29-3-2016 3:50 PM

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Mar 29th, 2:30 PM Mar 29th, 3:50 PM

Student time usage during Fall Reading Week

Conscious of high student stress levels and problems with adequate time management, we tracked student time usage and stress for three weeks: Before, during, and after the Fall Reading Week in October 2015. Participating students (predominantly female) from different university programs were recruited through a mass email sent out by registrar's office, and they completed a demographic and personality/coping questionnaire to measure general personality traits and coping styles. The 420 undergraduates received three random smartphone notifications through an application, Metric Wire. At each invitation, up to 420 students completed a 20-second survey, outlining what they were doing moments before. They were asked to rate their levels of stress and recreation, and their university workload on a sliding scale. We evaluated whether students who chose to vacation during Fall Reading Week were more or less stressed following the break than those students who chose to dedicate their time to their studies. A multiple regression analysis, trying to predict student stress in the week following Fall Reading Week, accounted for 49% of the variance, and it supported that post-break stress was higher when stress was high before and during Fall Reading Week, when university workload was higher following (but low prior to) Fall Reading Week, and when recreation was higher during Fall Reading Week. The last part of the study, which is currently in progress, will provide insight into student coping behaviours and report on student self-reflection in regards to time usage before, during, and after Fall Reading Week, and after completion of the semester (January 2016). These perceptions were assessed with the help of self-report questionnaires with both closed- and open-ended questions (sliding scales, text responses). Important implications for student advising in regards to time management and coping with stress are discussed.