Students’ study activities before and after exam deadlines as predictors of performance in STEM courses: A multi-source data analysis

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Type
Article
Citation
von Keyserlingk, L., Lauermann, F., Li, Q., Yu, R., Rubach, C., Arum, R., & Heckhausen, J. (2025). Students’ study activities before and after exam deadlines as predictors of performance in STEM courses: A multi-source data analysis. Learning and Individual Differences, 117, Article 102598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102598
Author
von Keyserlingk, Luise
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Lauermann, Fani
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Li, Qiujie 
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Yu, Renzhe
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Rubach, Charlott
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Arum, Richard
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Heckhausen, Jutta
Abstract
Many college students struggle with regulating the time and effort they invest in classes. We used digital trace data from a learning management system to examine students' behavioral engagement and associations with course performance in four chemistry courses (N = 1596). Results from Study 1a show that behavioral engagement declined across the course, except for high spikes in exam weeks. Students with higher regularity and continued engagement after midterm exams obtained higher course grades, whereas steep increases in study activities shortly before exams did not predict performance. Using a selective subsample of students (n = 51, with 510 observations over time) who identified chemistry as a challenging course, Study 1b explores whether intentions to regulate learning behaviors with goal-directed control strategies lead to changes in behavioral engagement. Intentions to use control strategies lead to short-term changes in behavioral engagement, but students did not implement planned adjustments to their study behaviors in the long run.
Keywords
Date Issued
2025
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal
Learning and Individual Differences
DOI
10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102598
Description
The open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102598
Grant ID
1806-05902
Funding Agency
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation