Report 1

An analysis of cramming, working in

groups and reviewing and revising
among three university disciplines
TPP/UCC101 – Scientific Report

Prepared for: Guy Rushton – Coordinator: Skills for Success 101

Prepared by: Calendula Petal

Rose Thorn
Sky Light

Submitted: 21 June 2020

1.0 Abstract

1.1 Research aim:

University students employ a range of study strategies to assist them in learning and
recalling information. The overarching aim of this research was to establish the three
most often used study strategies among three discipline schools at a regional
university.

1.2 Materials and methods:

A Google-based online survey was completed by 100 USC [University of the
Sunshine Coast] students in December 2012. In addition to four demographic
questions, the students answered ten Likert scale questions relating to the frequency
of using a range of study strategies on scale of 1-never to 5-always. Of the ten
questions, three were selected for analysis, those being: cramming, studying in
groups and reviewing and revising. In line with the research question, only student
responses of 4-often and 5-always were analysed using Microsoft Excel software.

1.3 Major findings:

Reviewing and revising was the most favoured study strategy by the school of
Nursing and the School of Science students [83% and 75%]; however, for TPP
students, this was the least frequently used [20%]. There was less differential
between the schools with cramming [42% nursing students to 63% science students]
and working in groups was favoured mostly by nursing students [50%] compared
with that of TPP and science students at 30% and 38% respectively.

1.4 Conclusion[s]:
Although the results were partially in line with the expected outcomes the research
established that there was a considerable difference in the use of the three study
strategies among the disciplines. The most significant differences being in the use of
reviewing and revising, especially with respect to TPP students. The School of
Nursing and the School of Science Students employed this study strategy the most
often, and proportionally, three to four times more often than TPP students. The
difference in frequency between cramming and working in groups was evident but
less significant.

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2.0 Table of contents

1.0 Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Research aim: ................................................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Materials and methods: ................................................................................................................ 1
1.3 Major findings: .............................................................................................................................. 1
1.4 Conclusion[s]: ................................................................................................................................ 1
2.0 Table of contents .............................................................................................................................. 2
3.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3
4.0 Literature review............................................................................................................................... 3
5.0 Materials and methods ..................................................................................................................... 4
6.0 Results ............................................................................................................................................... 4
7.0 Discussion.......................................................................................................................................... 5
8.0 Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................... 5
Appendices.............................................................................................................................................. 7
Appendix A: Questionnaire ................................................................................................................. 7
References ............................................................................................................................................ 10

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3.0 Introduction
University students employ a range of study strategies to assist them in learning and
recalling information in their studies. It is important for academics to understand what
the most frequently used study strategies are, as this will enable them to tailor the
presentation of course information to meet the students’ learning preferences, with
the aim of maximising content learned. The aim of this research is to examine the
three most often used study strategies between three disciplines at a regional
university in Queensland. The research question is: Among the School of Science,
the School of Nursing and Tertiary Pathway Preparation, what is the frequency of
use of the three study strategies: cramming, studying in groups and reviewing and
revising?

4.0 Literature review

Within the context of higher education, there is a range of disciplines studied by
students. Given the specific traits and subject focus of these disciplines, it could be
conjected that students develop a range of select study strategies specific to their
discipline.

Gilchrist, Kerridge and Stockwell (2012) evidenced that nursing students’ favoured
cramming, with these students acknowledging that it was not the most effective
strategy, though it was the most relied on given their time poor study environment.
Similarly, in a Danish study, students in medicine and nursing disciplines also
engaged in cramming 24 hours before exams (Petersen 2019). First year university
students in Araneo and Rushton’s study (2019) were also shown to resort to
cramming due to their inability to manage their time in a balanced fashion. These
students demonstrated a lack of time management skills, and as a result, used
cramming as a study strategy across the range of subjects taken (Araneo & Rushton
2019, p. 234).

Reviewing and revising on a regular basis is a recommended study strategy by

academics and is a time proven and successful technique resulting in information
being transferred to long term memory (Cottrell 2015; Frost 2020; Stockwell et al.
2018). Rutter’s (2014) research on higher education students in Australian
universities reinforces this, finding that between 75% to 80% of nursing and science
cohorts employed reviewing and revising study techniques, though this is in contrast
to previous research (Petersen 2019; Gilchrist, Kerridge & Stockwell 2012).

Collaborative learning has proved effective across a range of disciplines and is

promoted as a key to creating effective learning environments in tertiary education
(Rushton, Phan, Karagiannopoulou & Miller 2020). However, it is acknowledged that
for some students, this is not a practical study technique outside of the classroom
environment due to other demands on time, such as work and family commitments
(Rushton, Phan, Karagiannopoulou & Miller 2020).

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5.0 Materials and methods
Data from 100 University of the Sunshine Coast students via an online Google-
based questionnaire [Appendix A] between December 4 and 18 in 2012. The
questionnaire included four questions on demographic data: area of study, age,
gender and number of years study. Ten questions focussed on the study strategies
that students employed to learn and recall information. These were based on a Likert
scale with a usage frequency of 1-never to 5-always.

From the ten questions, three: cramming, reviewing and revising, and group study
were selected for analysis and only the responses of 4-often and 5-always were
tabulated in line with the research question focus. Microsoft Excel software was used
to analyse the data set.

6.0 Results
n = 40 School of Science n = 50 TPP n = 60 School of Nursing

88
Percent of students

75

63

50 50
42
38
30
20

CRAM REVIEW AND REVISE GROUPS

Study strategy

Figure 1 Number of students using study techniques on a 4-often to 5-always

frequency.

Science and nursing students most frequently used [________________] as a study

technique [88% and 75% respectively], with a relatively low 20% of TPP students
reviewing and revising their materials. Cramming was also favored by science
students [63%], followed by TPP students [50%] and nursing students [42%].
Studying in groups was most favored by 50% of nursing students, 38% of science
students and 30% of TPP students. Reviewing and revising showed the
[________________] difference in usage from 88% [science students] to 20% [TPP
students]. Studying in groups was mostly, the [________________] used study
technique overall with the highest usage being 50% for nursing students. TPP
students favoured cramming the most [50%] over the other study techniques.

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7.0 Discussion
The research question for this report was: Among the School of Science, the School
of Nursing and Tertiary Pathway Preparation, what is the frequency of use of the
three study strategies: cramming, studying in groups and reviewing and revising? It
was hypothesised that nursing students would use studying in groups the most
frequently, given that the nursing profession work in a really collaborative
environment. TPP students were expected to use cramming as they may not have
developed the necessary time management skills in their first year of study, and it
was anticipated that science students, being detail-oriented, would favour reviewing
and revising. The results have answered the research question, though not as some
of the hypothesised outcomes.

Of the three schools, science students use reviewing and revising the most
frequently, closely followed by nursing students; however, science students also use
cramming more than TPP and nursing students. Of the three study methods, TPP
students did favour cramming the most as hypothesised, though they are
proportionally not the highest user, which are School of Science students. Of the
three schools, TPP students least used studying in groups, but even less used
reviewing and revising, the lowest of all cohorts, being 55 to 68 percentage points
lower than nursing and science students respectively. Nursing students used
studying in groups a lot compared to science and TPP students; however, overall,
nursing students preferred reviewing and revising over studying in groups [75% vs
50%].

The results align with some of the literature on this topic. Araneo and Rushton’s
(2019) research on first year pathway students in higher education, showed that
these students were not as adept at managing their time as undergraduate students,
and fell back on cramming for assessments. This study shows that TPP students
utilise cramming the most out of the three study strategies, but they are not the most
frequent user when compared to science students. In contrast, a meta-analysis of
nursing students’ study techniques indicated that cramming was a favoured study
strategy (Gilchrist, Kerridge, & Stockwell, 2012), yet the results of this research
showed that it was not only the least used of the three study methods, but also the
lowest used of the three schools. The effectiveness of reviewing and revising as a
study strategy was proven in Rutter’s (2014) research into higher education students
in Australia, and this is somewhat paralleled with the results of this study with both
reviewing and revising the most frequently used by both nursing and science cohorts
[75 to 88%]; however, not by TPP students of whom, only 20% used revising and
revising.

8.0 Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the USC library staff, in particular David Bowie for
assistance in sourcing academic journal articles. Appreciation is also extended to

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Learning Advisers, Marianne Faithfull and Kate Bush for their academic writing skills
support.

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 Appendices
Appendix A: Questionnaire

Questionnaire - Memory Strategies of USC Students

TPP101 (Tertiary Preparation Pathway – Academic Skills for Success) students, are
conducting a survey to assess the usage of different types of memory strategies that USC
students employ in their studies. The data will be complied and used in a report as part of
the TPP101 course assessment. We appreciate your cooperation in completing this
questionnaire.
* Required

What is your area of study? *

• [Control] Science
• [Control] Health
• [Control] Education
• [Control] Engineering
• [Control] Arts
• [Control] Business
• [Control] TPP

What year of study are you in? *(include actual years of study - for example, if you
have been studying part time for 3 years, you are in your third year of study, even if
you are only in the second year of your program.)
• [Control] 1st year
• [Control] 2nd year
• [Control] 3rd year
• [Control] 4th year
• [Control] 5th year
• [Control] 6th year
• [Control] 7th year or more

What is your gender? *

• [Control] M
• [Control] F
• [Control] X

What is your age? *

• [Control] less than 20
• [Control] 20 - 29
• [Control] 30 - 39
• [Control] 40 - 49
• [Control] 50 - 59
• [Control] 60 or greater

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you use the
strategy of reviewing and revising regularly? *
1 2 3 4 5

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Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you use mind
mapping or concept mapping? *Mind maps, or concept maps, use visual images to
link information. A central idea in the centre of the page is linked to sub-concepts by
lines, drawings & colour.
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you use the
strategy of reorganising and rewriting notes? *
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you use colour
to highlight key information? *This may involve using highlighters, coloured pens,
post-it notes or other methods of your choice.
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you study in
groups?*
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you use
mnemonics? *A mnemonic is a memory device that uses rhymes, patterns or stories
- eg. Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit to remember the notes of the treble clef.
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you review
lecture PowerPoints or Mediasite recordings? *
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you record
spoken information and play it back? *
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you listen to
podcasts on relevant topics? *
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you complete
practice exercises in text books or work books? *
1 2 3 4 5

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Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

In order to learn and recall information in your courses, how often do you cram in the
24 hours before exams or assessment due dates? *
1 2 3 4 5
Never [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] [Control] Always

Thank you for participation. Are there any comments you would like to add?[Control]

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References

Araneo, P & Rushton, GB 2019, 'Coping with the demands of student life',
theses, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, viewed 29 May
2020, https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2346&context=theses_hons

Cottrell AM 2015, ‘Assessing effectiveness of mnemonics for tertiary students in a

hybrid introductory statistics course’, Journal of Statistics Education, vol. 25, no. 1,
pp. 2-11, doi:10.1080/10691898.2017.1294879, viewed 29 May 2020, https://search-
proquest-com.ezproxy.usc.edu.au/docview/18049070?accountid=28745&rfr
_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo

Frost, D 2020, European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, ‘The

importance of learning strategies and how the project ‘Kolumbus-kids’ promotes
them successfully’, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 137-143, viewed 10 May
2020, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1108220

Gilchrist, M, Kerridge, A & Stockwell B 2012, The second educational revolution:

rethinking education in the age of technology, Journal of Computer Assisted
Learning, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 1-93, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2009.00339

Petersen, M, ‘Digital natives as preservice teachers, what technology preparation is

needed?’, Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 87-97, doi:
10.1080/10402454.2009.10784615

Rushton, GB et al. 2019, ‘Do smart students study harder? An investigation of

efficient effort among undergraduate university students’, Journal of Economics and
Economic Education Research, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 25–38, viewed 30 May 2020,
https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.usc.edu.au/docview/1804900070?accountid=28745&rfr
_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
Stockwell, Jung, Leung, & Miller 2018, Technology and achievement the bottom
line’, Educational Leadership, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 29-32, viewed 10 May 2020,
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Technology-and-Achievement%3A-The-
Bottom-Line-Wenglinsky/7925cce50010affdb2ccc6e075bba3ab1174dd0d

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