Student bloggers score better in exams, shows UAE research

Students who write blogs can see dramatic improvements in their exam results and course papers, a new study carried out in the UAE has found.

Researchers encouraged students to write blogs about what they were learning and found it boosted their performance in ways the research team hadn’t even anticipated.

One student found it so successful she almost didn’t need to study.

“I mean, I barely had to study for my midterm exam thanks to the blogs… Without those blogs, it would be like other courses, where study material just piles up.”

Another said blogging “allows me to think deeply”, while others said it helps with time management because they knew more about the course and what to expect.

The research team found that the use of new technology “cannot be understated” in students’ lives.

The study was carried out by two researchers at the Hamdan bin Mohammed e-University in Dubai.

To complete a human resources course, 20 students had to write a blog about what they were learning and what it meant to them.

They were also encouraged to write comments on other students’ blogs.

The researchers were trying to find out if “self-reflective” blogs would help students to digest what they were learning.

They found blogging helped study, analysis and personal expression, improved real-world application of the study and helped to build writing skills and self-confidence.

They graded the blogs according to high and low quality to encourage students to write a good blog and work towards a good grade for the course.

Students earned two points if the blog was “focused and coherent” and one point if the blog was unfocused or “didn’t go in depth” on a subject.

Researchers also asked students to fill out questionaries on the experience.

NYU Abu Dhabi student Rachel Madden has kept a study diary for two years and said she welcomed the findings of the study.

“I can honestly say it changed my life. Nobody is reading my diary except me, but I am much more self-aware and I can analyse myself and know what I did right or wrong every day,” she said.

sean@7days.ae

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