The two P’s riddled throughout our Uni life – Productivity and Procrastination. But which one do let control your Uni work?

Even if you go to each class and spend several hours in the library daily, a low level of productivity could consider all that worthless. Nailing productivity might be the most valuable ability you can learn as a student. This is extremely relevant to university as productivity can make or break your Uni life, as you either keep up with or fall behind your subject content. Which in turn, has the power to create an unenjoyable and overwhelming Uni experience.

As a result, I propose my research topic as the operation University students conduct before sitting down and engaging in their uni work/assessments, to be as productive as possible.

This topic is important and relevant to university students because students, if they haven’t already established a good productivity routine in high school, might just have found what works best for them throughout their university education [so far]. Hence influencing their personal operation in terms of being productive when it comes to university work. As well as understanding the difference when it comes to not engaging in their usual pre-uni work routine and the difference in productivity.

Through my sample twitter poll, I evaluated the two primary, but broad options students would do before engaging in their uni work. This gave me an insight into what my fellow BCM212 peers engage in and insinuating there would be an influx of reasons as to why they chose the option they did and an indication that there would be a variety of content to be researched. The engagement with my polls from my target audience was promising.

There is a certain amount of research about brain stimulus in regard to learning processes, as well as students and education productivity. There is also research that discuss student concentration and learning styles and strategies that help students heighten their productivity.

Sánchez, Tatiana M. C., and María E. M. Martínez (2020) discuss in their journal “Brain system influence on teaching-learning process and stimuli” through the objective to demonstrate the incidence of the correct functioning of the brain in the educational process. Although this article refers to in the classroom productivity, it still addresses motivation and strategies in preparing the brain for work through a student like manner.  This journal reaffirmed my suggestion of relations between behaviour and motivation.

Zimmerman, Bandura and Martinez-Pons, (1992) addresses “Self-motivation for academic attainment: the role of self-efficiency beliefs and personal goal setting” through the study of student’s self- regulation of their academic learning and productivity. However, though this article studies high school students, it points out a strong correlation between self-motivation and personal goal setting.

In this journal, Simone Volet discusses “Understanding learning and motivation in context: A multi-dimensional and multi-level cognitive-situative perspective” and how learning and motivation come together when it comes to productive thinking. The article also creates an understanding of the influences which provide support for a multi-level framework.  

Hillman, Erickson and Kramer (2021) examine the “Exercise effect on brain and cognition” and introducing how there is beneficial influence of physical activity on selective aspects of brain function. The article reveals the positive effects physical activity has on cognition and how it might also improve academic performance. I have summarised from this article that physical activity can help to prevent or reverse cognitive decline. This article will allow me to understand in further depth the participants answers when it comes to conducting in physical activity before engaging in uni work/studying and how it has helped them to be more productive.

I have considered the ethical parameters of my question and have concluded that there are no unethical risks, and any questions should be with the understanding to learn and should not cause any distress to the participants regarding their motivation and productivity.

In summary, I am eager to begin my research and am personally interested into how other students handle their time and productivity before beginning university work as I fell it can be not only beneficial to my fellow peers by to myself also.

References

1. Sánchez, Tatiana M. C., and María E. M. Martínez. “Brain System Influences on Teaching-learning Process and Stimuli.” International Journal of Health Sciences, vol. 4, no. 1, Apr. 2020, pp. 18-24, doi:10.29332/ijhs.v4n1.412.
2. Zimmerman, B., Bandura, A. and Martinez-Pons, M., 1992. Self-Motivation for Academic Attainment: The Role of Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Personal Goal Setting. American Educational Research Journal, 29(3), pp.663-676.
3. Volet, S., 2021. [online] Faculty.washington.edu. Available at: <http://faculty.washington.edu/sunolen/motsem/volet%202001.pdf&gt; [Accessed 20 March 2021].
4. Hillman, C., Erickson, K. and Kramer, A., 2021. [online] Drlardon.com. Available at: <http://drlardon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Perspectives.pdf&gt; [Accessed 20 March 2021].