Further studies of study habits and study skills

In previous research, the Estes-Richards Inventory of Study Habits (ERISH) has proven to be a reliable tool, with a stable factor structure when administered to large classes of engineering students. However, in the previous study (FIE 99), there was minimal variability in grades in this Introduction to Engineering class, and thus the ERISH results were not strongly related to performance. In an attempt to find a class with greater variability in performance, we studied a first year Single Variable Calculus class. The ERISH was administered twice: once with respect to classes in general and then with special focus on the Calculus class. In this paper, we review the results from this new sample of students, and reflect on how to improve study skills and habits among first year students