Abstract:

The first year in the University studies is critical for the learning process developed along the BSc degree. Also, the success of the students along their University studies is strongly related with their study habits. The timely acquisition of the correct study habits is fundamental in order to achieve the goals that the University studies demand.

Unfortunately, very often the study habits developed before entering the University are not enough or have not been consolidated in order to handle the University studies in a suitable way. The difficulties associated with inappropriate study habits can already be detected during the first semester of the University studies. The detection of these difficulties and the improvement of these study habits at an early stage of the learning process can contribute to a good academic progression in their studies.

With the aim to get information about the student profile and the study habits, we present in this communication the results from two pools carried out at the beginning and at the end of the semester. We have focused our attention on the Fundamental Chemistry (FC1) course, a first semester course belonging to the BSc in Chemistry at the University of Barcelona. All the analyzed data correspond to the students that enrolled this course in the academic year 2013-2014.

The information related to the student profile has been obtained on the basis of parameters such as motivation, preference given to the BSc in Chemistry in the degree selection process, priority given to the university studies among other activities and compatibility with another job, among others.

Concerning to the study habits, the parameters that have been considered and analyzed have been the level of difficulty of the FC1 course compared to previous chemistry courses, the participation in the classroom discussions, the dedication to the University studies and the distribution of the study time along the semester, among others. These data have been correlated with the grades that these students have obtained in the University Access Test and in the FC1 final exam.

Keywords:

Fundamental Chemistry, adaptation to university, participation, dedication, motivation.