We examined self-directed studying of students in an introductory (Study 1) and upper-level (Study 2) psychology course. Students reported their study behaviors for Exam 1 and 2, and wrote Exam 2 study plans. In both studies, students planned to and ultimately did use more active strategies for Exam 2 than Exam 1. However, they struggled to follow through on plans to space studying over time. In Study 1, we also found that greater use of active strategies (e.g., retrieval practice) was associated with higher exam scores when controlling for factors such as study time. Our findings highlight that students across course levels are interested in changing their study behaviors and we note implications for instructors.

我们在介绍性（研究1）和高级（研究2）心理学课程中检查了学生的自我指导学习。学生报告考试1和2的学习行为，并编写考试2的学习计划。在这两项研究中，学生计划并最终确实对考试2采取了比考试1更积极的策略。但是，随着时间的推移，他们很难按照计划进行空间学习。在研究1中，我们还发现，在控制学习时间等因素时，积极使用策略（例如，检索练习）与更高的考试成绩相关联。我们的研究结果表明，各个课程层次的学生都对改变他们的学习行为感兴趣，并且我们注意到对教师的影响。