TY - JOUR
T1 - Wasting effort or wasting time? A longitudinal study of pacing styles as a predictor of academic performance.
AU - Konradt, Udo
AU - Ellwart, Thomas
AU - Gevers, Josette M.P.
PY - 2021/5/1
Y1 - 2021/5/1
N2 - Students' time and effort investments are a critical predictor of academic performance. However, little is known about how effort distribution in exam preparation affects exam performance. In a five-wave longitudinal field study, we investigated how students' pacing styles (i.e., the allocation of effort over time during exam preparation) relate to the effectiveness and efficiency of performance. We also examined whether behaviour-focused self-leadership strategies predict students' pacing styles. Nonlinear latent class growth analyses revealed four distinct pacing style patterns that correspond to those found in organizational contexts: effort investment is allocated towards the deadline (45.1%), steady (35.0%), inverted U-shaped (10.7%) and U-shaped (9.0%). Behaviour-oriented self-leadership strategies predicted these patterns of effort investment. Pacing styles were equally effective, but students with a deadline action pacing style showed significantly higher efficiency compared to their counterparts. This research adds essential insight into the antecedents and consequences of pacing styles in an academic context and confirms its relevance for understanding academic achievement.
AB - Students' time and effort investments are a critical predictor of academic performance. However, little is known about how effort distribution in exam preparation affects exam performance. In a five-wave longitudinal field study, we investigated how students' pacing styles (i.e., the allocation of effort over time during exam preparation) relate to the effectiveness and efficiency of performance. We also examined whether behaviour-focused self-leadership strategies predict students' pacing styles. Nonlinear latent class growth analyses revealed four distinct pacing style patterns that correspond to those found in organizational contexts: effort investment is allocated towards the deadline (45.1%), steady (35.0%), inverted U-shaped (10.7%) and U-shaped (9.0%). Behaviour-oriented self-leadership strategies predicted these patterns of effort investment. Pacing styles were equally effective, but students with a deadline action pacing style showed significantly higher efficiency compared to their counterparts. This research adds essential insight into the antecedents and consequences of pacing styles in an academic context and confirms its relevance for understanding academic achievement.
U2 - 10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102003
DO - 10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102003
M3 - Article
SN - 1041-6080
VL - 88
JO - Learning and Individual Differences
JF - Learning and Individual Differences
M1 - 102003
ER -