APPLYING COACHING LITERATURE TO HIGHER EDUCATION: MAKING STUDENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN LEARNING

Are students responsible for their own learning? When focusing on competencies assessed in a future exam, students need to set smaller goals through a progressive study plan. Nowadays, the coaching literature suggests that intrinsic motivation is necessary to reach our goals. A good academic performance requires a significative level of effort and a studying method. Inspired from this literature, a two-step questionnaire is designed for the students to self-evaluate. Their academic performance depends on setting proper study habits and commitment to maintain them.
This methodology is implemented in statistics subjects in higher education. The first part of the questionnaire asked the student a study plan to reach his desired achievement. Later, the second part asked him whether this plan was accomplished and some actions to improve it. The activity presented in this paper is a useful tool in order to encourage responsibility in the students side to achieve their own academic goals. This questionnaire is both handy and sufficiently general and thus can be easily implemented in any subject and any education level.