BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
How Late Is Too Late?
When Do Students Complete
On-line Assignments?
How Late Is Too Late?
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
The Ideal Student
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Wakes up at 7:45AM
Gets dressed and heads to breakfast
Makes it to first class 5 minutes early
Has lunch, and studies in between classes
Has dinner
Completes remainder of assignments, then
attends extracurricular activities
 Goes to bed at 10:30PM dreaming of the joys
of chemistry
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
The Somewhat Typical Student
 Wakes up to the alarm clock at 8:30AM
 Makes it to first class 5 minutes late, a bit sleepy,
with no breakfast
 Has lunch, and takes a nap between classes
 Has dinner
 Attends extracurricular activities
 Begins studying with friends about 10PM
 Begins studying alone about 12 Midnight
 Completes most assignments and goes to sleep
because they can’t stay awake at 2-3AM
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Sleep Patterns
 The average adult needs 8.25 hours of
sleep per night. (p.66, Smolensky)
 Teenagers are wired to sleep more, but
also to go to sleep later. Most cannot fall
asleep before 11PM. However, they
average needing 9.25 hours. (Covino)
and (p.85, Smolensky)
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
Sleep Deprivation Studies
 Academically successful school-age
children were observed over three
weeks using their normal sleep schedule
as a control in the first week, greater
sleep in the second week, and less sleep
in the third. Teachers, who were
unaware of the experiment, asked right
away during the sleep deprivation phase
what was happening with the children.
(Greifner)
JONES
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Sleep Extension Studies
 Getting an additional hour of sleep
improves function and alertness in both
sleepy and well-rested individuals. “The
extra hour boosted everyone’s reaction
time and sharpened attention and
vigilance skills . . . .” (p. 69, Smolensky)
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Influential Factors
 Peer Pressure (Students may brag, “I
pulled an all-nighter.” Most don’t brag, “I
went to sleep at 7PM last night.”)
 Poor planning, too full schedule
 Diet and eating habits
 Caffeine as a stimulant
 Alcohol as a depressant
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES Alarming Hours for On-line Work
13 million accessed files from December 2001 to March 2003
at UIUC for general chemistry lab courses
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES More Reasonable Hours for On-line Work
36 million accessed files from January 2000 to June 2003
at UIUC for general chemistry lecture courses
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
Advice to Professors
 Make assignments worth something.
 Give them a reason to be on-line early.
 Make assignments due at 9PM.
 Appeal to their “last-minute” nature.
 If you can’t beat them, join them.
 Participate in on-line chat or IM about
course material late at night.
 Give students good advice on sleep
patterns.
JONES
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Advice to Students
 Study while you’re at your best.
 Go to bed at a reasonable hour.
 Get some sleep since you likely need it.
 Eat properly.
 Beware of caffeine and alcohol.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
References
 Callan, Roger John. The potential effects of chronobiology on taking the
scholastic aptitude test. Clearing House. Jan/Feb95: Vol. 68 Issue 3,
p174, 3p.
 Carskadon, M. When worlds collide: Adolescent need for sleep versus
societal demands. Phi Delta Kappan. January 1999: 348-55.
 Covino, Jennifer K. Eliminating the snooze button. Curriculum
Administrator. Jun2001: Vol. 37 Issue 6, 2p.
 Dahl, R. The consequences of insufficient sleep for adolescents. Phi
Delta Kappan. January 1999: 354-9.
 Gale, G. and Martyn, C. Larks and owls, and health, wealth, and wisdom.
British Medical Journal. 1998: 317:1675-7.
 Greifner, Laura. Sleep and academic performance. Education Week.
Nov2005: Vol. 25 Issue 13.
 Smolensky, Michael and Lamberg, Lynne. The body clock guide to better
health: How to use your body’s natural clock to fight illness and achieve
maximum health. New York: Henry Holt. 2000.
 Steele, M., et al. Morningness preference of emergency medical residents
are skewed towards eveningness. Academic Emergency Medicine, 1997.
pp. 609-705.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Acknowledgements
 Carol Jones for assistance researching
sleep studies
 The University of Illinois
 Division of general chemistry
 Brewton-Parker College
 Vance Rhoades
 Bill Faw
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Any Questions
I’d be happy to answer any questions you
may have.
Thank you for your time.
Chris Jones
Brewton-Parker College
ctjones@bpc.edu
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