Creating New Habits for Learning

Intro

What is habits

Research on habit formation has shown that behavior is likely to become habitual when it is frequently and consistently performed in the same context or example, when one frequently and consistently eats vegetables for lunch, at some point eating vegetables for lunch will become a habit. This is because the frequent co-occurrence of context and behavior instigates an association that may guide future behavior (e.g., Aarts and Dijksterhuis, 2000; Neal et al., 2012). Specifically, when encountering a context (e.g., having lunch) that is associated with a certain behavior (e.g., eating vegetables), this context will automatically trigger this associated behavior. Hence, once a good habit is formed, it is rather effortless to perform desired behavior. However, the process of habit formation itself may vary in the amount of effort needed – although some people manage to form certain habits as quickly as 18 days, others need as much as half a year (Lally et al., 2010). This raises the question how exactly do habits form over time? One of the main findings is that the habit formation process within individuals unfolds asymptotically (Lally et al., 2010; Fournier et al., 2017). That is, habit strength increases steeply at first, and then levels off. In addition, studies that studied habit formation on the group level (i.e., averaging over participants) have provided insight into the processes that facilitate such increases in habit strength. Specifically, the frequency and consistency with which the desired behavior is performed, the inherently rewarding nature of the behavior, a comfortable environment (e.g., no threats or obstacles), and easy rather than difficult behaviors have been shown to facilitate the process of habit formation

self control

Besides these factors, there are still many others unexplored that may explain the variation in the time it takes people to form a habit. One such likely candidate is self-control capacity. That is, habit formation crucially depends on the repeated performance of behavior that is in line with one’s long-term goal. The initiation of such new behavior, as well as the inhibition of acting upon short-term temptations is likely to require effortful self-control, especially in the early stages of habit formation. Indeed a study among teenagers indicates that those who initially had higher self-control capacity reported having stronger meditation habits after three months of meditation sessions (Galla and Duckworth, 2015, Study 5). Other studies revealed that habit strength mediates the effect of self-control strength and behavior. Specifically, self-control was related to increased habit strength, which was in turn related to increased exercise behavior (Gillebaart and Adriaanse, 2017) and decreased snack intake (Adriaanse et al., 2014). However, although these studies have indicated that self-control is related to habit strength, they do not provide insight in the role of self-control capacity in the initial stages of habit formation.

Students online learning habits

Study habits encompass a variety of behaviors that include what strategies students use to learn, understand, and retain course content, how much time is spent studying, and how students distribute their study time over the course of a semester (12, 14). As the transition to emergency remote learning demonstrated, these skills are underdeveloped in students, particularly those enrolled in large, introductory classes, and many students developed a negative attitude toward online learning as a result (1, 2). How can faculty equip their students with the cog.Specifically, students lack the ability to effectively assess their learning and often feel that they learn more from cognitively superficial study habits such as re-reading the textbook or their lecture notes (11). This outcome is particularly common among students enrolled in online coursework. Due to limited instructor–student interaction, online courses require students to assume greater responsibility for their learning, to actively monitor their performance, and to apply appropriate study strategies to be academically successful

Recommendations for developing effective study habits

Recommendation	Rationale	Study habits developed
Establish content (and digital) learning objectives	Students struggle with using digital tools for academic purposes	Making diagrams Explaining concepts Self-assessment Consistent and spaced study time
Aligning learning objectives and assessments	Students struggle with constructing meaning from online content and identifying concepts to study	Self-assessment Explaining concepts
High quality feedback	Students struggle with constructing meaning from online content and identifying concepts to study	Self-assessment
Scaffolding	Students cite poor time management and inability to assess learning as barriers to online learning	Consistent and spaced study time Synthesizing notes Making diagrams Explaining concepts Self-assessment
Multiple due dates	Students frequently express issues with procrastination and turning work in on time despite having a clear due date	Consistent and spaced study time
Incorporating online formative assessments	Students struggle with constructing meaning from the lectures posted by instructors	Self-assessment
Provide resources outside of recorded lectures and textbook	Students struggle with using digital tools for academic purposes	Synthesizing notes Use of and completion of problem sets Explaining concepts Self-assessment
Facilitate student-content engagement with interactive instructional materials	Students feel that online learning is less engaging and motivating than face-to-face learning	Use of and completion of problem sets Making diagrams Explaining concepts Self-assessment

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Learning

while learning habits are a strategy to obtain good learning outcomes. Therefore, learning habits are an important factor in the learning process. This is following the opinion of Rana and Kausar (2011) which states that the main key to student learning success is good study habits. Good learning habits will make students get high learning achievement. "Students with better strategies and better learning habits tend to show higher academic achievement" (Aluja dkk, 2004). This can happen because good learning habits will be able to create a learning atmosphere that really supports learning. "A good learning atmosphere is the right atmosphere in understanding what the student is learning, so that mastery of a subject matter will increase" (Wahyuningsih, et. al. , 2013). Also there is an effect of CBT and self-efficacy on c. Learning habits significantly affect student learning outcomes with an effective contribution. There is a positive influence between learning habits and learning outcomes. This means that if the learning habits are high, the learning outcomes obtained are high, and vice versa if the learning habits are low, the learning outcomes obtained are low. Selfefficacy significantly affects student learning outcomes with an effective con. In the learning process, learning habits need to be instilled in students. Learning habits in question mean that students need to plan and study discipline, apply learning procedures, study skills, and strategies to achieve student P ISSN: 2621-0843 E ISSN: 2621-0835 ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities Volume 4 Issue 4: 437-444 442 learning achievement optimally if these components are appropriately implemented. These learning habits are called positive study habits. In other words, if students' learning habits are positive, their learning outcomes may be maximized so that their learning achievement is high and vice versa if students tend to have unfavorable habits, it is possible that student learning outcomes will be less than optimal so that their learning achievement is low. Therefore, high self-efficacy and the cultivation of good learning h

Specific to Learners

erformance on early assessments is a strong predictor of performance later in a course (Bowen & Wingo, 2012), suggesting that students who begin a course using effective learning strategies may continue to use them throughout the course and likewise for students who start out with less effective strategies. Thus, an intervention to improve students’ learning strategies, particularly early in the semester, might yield substantial benefits in course performance. What students do while studying, in contrast, is very important (Dunlosky & Rawson, 2015). For instance, listening to music, watching television, and using the internet while studying all impair students’ learning and subsequent exam performance