Comments on: The Science of Student Burnout http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/ Decoding Patterns of Success Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:32:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Study Hacks http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7440 Study Hacks Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:12:36 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7440 <blockquote>I find it odd that the study listed “lack of personal motivation” as a primary cause of burnout; it seems to me that motivation is a secondary/dependent concern.</blockquote> I think it can be a primary cause. Some students start to lose motivation even though nothing externally has changed. Eventually, the same workload that was fine before starts to become a burden. (Think: the infamous sophomore slump.)

I find it odd that the study listed “lack of personal motivation” as a primary cause of burnout; it seems to me that motivation is a secondary/dependent concern.

I think it can be a primary cause. Some students start to lose motivation even though nothing externally has changed. Eventually, the same workload that was fine before starts to become a burden. (Think: the infamous sophomore slump.)

]]> By: Eric Wallace http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7437 Eric Wallace Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:47:15 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7437 I find it odd that the study listed "lack of personal motivation" as a primary cause of burnout; it seems to me that motivation is a secondary/dependent concern. Consider this: if the person was never strongly motivated in the first place, how did they push themselves to the point of burnout? Instead, it seems more likely that one's personal motivation goes down following other influences, including things such as the "overactive social life", health problems, or external/"unrelated" issues. For me, "lack of personal motivation" came into effect my senior year at university, and it happened as a result of some serious external challenges, including the threat that I would not graduate on time. The external issues led to some level of depression and despair, which led to motivation issues, which led to burnout... basically in that order. (Then again, as this the students self-reported their results, they may simply have not been self-aware enough to recognize the preceeding cause.) I find it odd that the study listed “lack of personal motivation” as a primary cause of burnout; it seems to me that motivation is a secondary/dependent concern. Consider this: if the person was never strongly motivated in the first place, how did they push themselves to the point of burnout? Instead, it seems more likely that one’s personal motivation goes down following other influences, including things such as the “overactive social life”, health problems, or external/”unrelated” issues.

For me, “lack of personal motivation” came into effect my senior year at university, and it happened as a result of some serious external challenges, including the threat that I would not graduate on time. The external issues led to some level of depression and despair, which led to motivation issues, which led to burnout… basically in that order.

(Then again, as this the students self-reported their results, they may simply have not been self-aware enough to recognize the preceeding cause.)

]]> By: Mac http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7164 Mac Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:48:30 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7164 Mike: I took 4APs in school, 2 online and joined 3 clubs during my junior year. I burned out, dropped out and ended up in homeschool for the remainder. It just depends on how much you can handle without worring too much. Mike: I took 4APs in school, 2 online and joined 3 clubs during my junior year. I burned out, dropped out and ended up in homeschool for the remainder. It just depends on how much you can handle without worring too much.

]]> By: S http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7159 S Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:42:53 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7159 Hi cal, thanks for holding this blog it is quite interesting. i think the study is suspect, because colleges are different in their workload, communications courses are for people who are generally at the freshman level of college, the group surveyed was not a representative sample size of all college experiences. if the study was replicated that would be a different matter. i think you are correct, but what i would like to know is if there is any way to quantify a courses rigorous nature on the basis of a formula; eg: class hours * perception of class related reading hours / failure rate relative to professor or professor ratings. - this is not a perfect formula, thus why i am inquiring about a better one. Thanks in Advance S Hi cal, thanks for holding this blog it is quite interesting. i think the study is suspect, because colleges are different in their workload, communications courses are for people who are generally at the freshman level of college, the group surveyed was not a representative sample size of all college experiences. if the study was replicated that would be a different matter. i think you are correct, but what i would like to know is if there is any way to quantify a courses rigorous nature on the basis of a formula; eg: class hours * perception of class related reading hours / failure rate relative to professor or professor ratings. – this is not a perfect formula, thus why i am inquiring about a better one.

Thanks in Advance
S

]]> By: Joe The II http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7146 Joe The II Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:59:16 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7146 Nice advice... Being a freshman at an extremely grade-inflated school with lots of "geniuses" (ugh) and grinds, I am infinitely tempted to do much more studying. Unfortunately, for this year, I don't have much choice when it comes to courses. But thanks to your blog and book, I've adopted the Straight-A Method (and have a better idea of what impressiveness actually is). To get to the point, I have a few questions; I apologize, but I don't know which recent blog to put these in (and don't have Outlook), so I'll ask here. 1. How would you suggest taking notes for a foreign-language class? 2. " " for a music theory classes? 3. For a course that centers around multiple-choice questions (with few essays here and there), are focused question clusters still most effective? Nice advice…

Being a freshman at an extremely grade-inflated school with lots of “geniuses” (ugh) and grinds, I am infinitely tempted to do much more studying.

Unfortunately, for this year, I don’t have much choice when it comes to courses. But thanks to your blog and book, I’ve adopted the Straight-A Method (and have a better idea of what impressiveness actually is).

To get to the point, I have a few questions; I apologize, but I don’t know which recent blog to put these in (and don’t have Outlook), so I’ll ask here.

1. How would you suggest taking notes for a foreign-language class?
2. ” ” for a music theory classes?
3. For a course that centers around multiple-choice questions (with few essays here and there), are focused question clusters still most effective?

]]> By: Kate http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7141 Kate Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:15:35 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7141 <em>"A Simple Technique to Avoid Heart Attack Semesters"</em> Cal, the above is great advice. The grading system seems like the ideal way to narrow down easy to hard courses. I usually estimate the degree of difficulty of a course, but having read you article, my estimations are arbitrary. I will deffinetly try to use the 1 to 5 ranking system. Any suggestions on how to rate courses? Total amount of exams + Total paper assigments + total problem sets for the week? : ) “A Simple Technique to Avoid Heart Attack Semesters”

Cal, the above is great advice. The grading system seems like the ideal way to narrow down easy to hard courses. I usually estimate the degree of difficulty of a course, but having read you article, my estimations are arbitrary. I will deffinetly try to use the 1 to 5 ranking system.

Any suggestions on how to rate courses? Total amount of exams + Total paper assigments + total problem sets for the week? : )

]]> By: Mike http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7140 Mike Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:00:53 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/31/the-science-of-student-burnout/#comment-7140 Should we also take a light load in high school? I'm gonna be a junior and was thinking of taking 4 AP classes, To Much? Should we also take a light load in high school? I’m gonna be a junior and was thinking of taking 4 AP classes, To Much?

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