David S. Ackerman

My Instructor Made Me Do It: Task Characteristics of Procrastination:

Procrastination can have a negative effect on learning. Many previous studies have examined personality factors that contribute to procrastination. This study examines selected assignment characteristics controllable by the instructor that might influence student procrastination. Results found less procrastination on assignments that were perceived as interesting, that required students to use a variety of skills, for which students perceived social norms and rewards for starting promptly, and for which the instructor provided clear instructions. Procrastination was not affected by fear, deadline pressure from other assignments, or the degree to which the task was perceived as difficult or time consuming.

Instructor, Student, and Employer Perceptions on Preparing Marketing Students for Changing Business Landscapes

Undergraduate business students tend to focus on the past strategies of firms, with less thought given to anticipating and adjusting to marketplace changes. Although both educators and employers are concerned about this disconnect, little is known about the extent and form of efforts made by instructors to address it. Interviews with marketing instructors found most incorporating some future orientation into assignments. However, obstacles such as student sloth and time demands on both students and faculty were observed. Survey data collected from instructors, students, and employers found agreement that assignments designed to develop future-oriented thinking and prepare for marketplace change are important.

Instructor Feedback: How Much Do Students Really Want?:

Marketing students expect feedback on papers and assignments; and many professors expend much time and effort providing individualized and substantive comments in response to student work. Doing so is challenging and time consuming when faced with large class sizes, high student—faculty ratios, and communications-intensive courses. Furthermore, instructors observe that though students often express desire for feedback, some do not appear to use it. The results of this study suggest that when an instructor provides a lot of feedback, as opposed to a small amount of feedback on an assignment, students receive it negatively. The results also suggest that students respond no more positively than when offered no feedback comments at all. Results suggest that if an instructor wants students to be receptive to the feedback provided because they believe it is fair, because they like the instructor, or because they feel the instructor has a positive impression of them, the instructor should provide only a modest amount of feedback or a moderate number of clear and specific feedback comments. Alternatively, an instructor who wants to offer students a greater amount of feedback needs to allow them to revise and resubmit their assignments.

Is Time Pressure All Bad? Measuring the Relationship between Free Time Availability and Student Performance and Perceptions

This exploratory study examines the effects of perceived free time availability on perceptions of time pressure and time deprivation, on student performance, and on perceptions of university work. The effects of perceived time pressure, perceived time deprivation, and perceptions of university work on student emotions are also examined. The results suggest that students who report less free time perform better academically in terms of grade point average than do those with more reported free time. Further, those with less reported free time indicated more expectations for success in their future careers. Scarce free time had no negative effect on student enjoyment of courses or on liking of professors. However, perceived time pressure and time deprivation were associated with negative emotions.

How Many Choices Are Good? Measurement of the Effects of Course Choice on Perceptions of a Marketing Option.

This study examines the effects of amount of choice given students in selecting courses to complete a marketing minor, referred to as a marketing option. It examines how differing levels of choice can affect perceptions of, and feelings about, a marketing option. The course choice process is also explored. The impact of choice on students’ desire for the option depended on the level of interest in the courses available. Perceived value of the marketing option to employers and for students future careers was greatest when there was some choice, but not too much. Tests for emotional reactions supported the findings in that they also indicated that choice can be associated with diminishing returns, especially when the choices are not particularly interesting. The results of this study suggest that students do want choice, but within limits, and they do appear to place value on guidance and direction.

Effect of Type of Curriculum on Educational Outcomes and Motivation Among Marketing Students With Different Learning Styles

Using an active learning approach to motivate students to learn has been advocated by many educators. It has been an ongoing discussion on whether marketing educators should customize their teaching activities based on the learning styles found in their classes recently. This study uses a scale of learning styles that includes a measure of the degree of student autonomy from the instructor. Results from an experiment of marketing students indicate that courses using an active learning approach consistently receive significant higher ratings on learning outcomes and motivation measures than those using a passive learning approach for autonomous learners, but that there are few benefits for students who are low in autonomy. This suggests that though active learning assignments are very effective, they will not necessarily lead to positive outcomes for all types of learners.

I Can Start That JME Manuscript Next Week, Can't I? The Task Characteristics Behind Why Faculty Procrastinate:

Procrastination can be a crucial factor inhibiting faculty success. Many important tasks, especially publications for promotion or tenure, are typically associated with deadlines that are far in the future. As a result, time management skills can make or break the success of new faculty. This study examines task characteristics of procrastination in faculty work. It extends work by Paden and Stell and Ackerman and Gross to the context of procrastination by faculty members. An online survey asked respondents to recall important projects they had recently completed. The results suggest that task characteristics influencing procrastination in starting and in completing tasks and projects are quite different. A wider variety of factors affected faculty member procrastination in completing tasks and projects than in starting them. These included departmental norms, competing deadline pressures, perceived difficulty of the task or project in question, and clarity about how to proceed.

‘We’ or ‘Me’ consumer goods: a cross-national look at self-construal and gender in product choice

This study looks at how a dimension of culture, self-construal, which is an individuals self in relation to others, can help explain why certain types of products are enthusiastically chosen by consumers in some cultures but not in others. Results find that self-construal in individualist and collectivist cultures helps explain the types of products chosen by consumers. Data were collected in Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Nationality, the independent/interdependent traits of consumers, and gender have an impact. Independent traits are important for product choice in individualist cultures but not in collectivist cultures, whereas interdependent traits can be an important factor in both types of culture.

Having Many Choice Options Seems Like a Great Idea, But . . .: Student Perceptions About the Level of Choice for a Project Topic in a Marketing Course

Many educators today emphasize student engagement and self-regulated learning, including giving students choices. However, research suggests that too much choice can have negative consequences such as feelings of stress and regret. An experimental design wherein students were offered different numbers of choice options when previewing, as in a syllabus or other course description, a major class project in a hypothetical Retailing Management course, examined the effects of within-course choice on perceptions of the course. The results indicate that, before they are required to engage in the course choices and make an actual decision, students prefer to have more choice. This is evidenced by their perceptions of the course’s desirability and value to their future careers, perceptions of the quality and fairness of the course instructor, and emotional reactions to the level of choice. However, when required to engage in the choice, students responded more positively to having fewer choices. Likewise, students not as interested in marketing responded more positively to having less choice. These results are more in line with findings from past research, showing that more choice can have a negative effect.

Student Reactions to Classroom Management Technology: Learning Styles and Attitudes Toward Moodle

The authors look at student perceptions regarding the adoption and usage of Moodle. Self-efficacy theory and the Technology Acceptance Model were applied to understand student reactions to instructor implementation of classroom management software Moodle. They also looked at how the learning styles of students impacted their reactions to Moodle. Results show that students most valued the control Moodle gave them over their educational progress. Communication was also found to be an important benefit students sought in Moodle. Individual student reaction to Moodle was influenced by visual learning and degree of laziness.