Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success : A Self-management Approach

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292 APPENDIX A

occurs within the time frame you establish for your study (Cartwright

& Cartwright, 1984). You may design tally sheets a number of ways

based on what you would like to learn about your problem. For exam-

ple, if your problem is that you always encounter distractions that inter-

rupt your studying, you may find either of these tally sheets helpful.

From: 10/1 To: 10/5 Distractions During Studying

Location Tally Total

Room 8

Library 2

Lounge 10

Friend’s room 5

Total 25

Distractions During Studying

Date From: To:

Tas

of Distractions

Total

Time Distractions

10/1 7:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m.

k & Number

60 m 5

10/2 9:00 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 45 m 3

10/2 1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 60 m 4

Total 165 m 12

Adapted from Alberto & Troutman (1986).

The advantage of using these tally sheets is that they will enable

you to determine the number of times you were distracted (i.e., 25 vs.

12) within the time frame you selected. The first tally sheet will help

you learn where your distractions most frequently occur, whereas the

second tally sheet will enable you to determine your rate of distrac-

tion. You can calculate this rate by dividing the number of minutes

you spend studying by the number of distractions you encounter. For

example, if you calculate the rate for each of the rows in the sample

tally sheet, you will find that you were distracted once every 12 min-

utes in the evening, once every 15 minutes in the morning, and once

every 20 minutes in the afternoon. Thus, the afternoon appears to be

the best time for you to study.