Local Literature

A. High School Students’ Reasoning Skills and Their Study Habits and Attitude Towards Learning Reasoning involves providing arguments, premises, justification, and evidence to claims or positions. However, acquisition of reasoning skills requires much from students. It requires good study habits and positive attitudes, as well as good contextual reinforcers and influences. Many educators have noted that learning is dynamic and that it does not occur in a vacuum. Learning happens due to various factors and influences.

It is, therefore, important to direct research efforts in education towards the study and analysis of how these variables facilitate student learning. For this reason, this article focuses on students’ study habits and attitude towards learning and how these influence their acquisition of reasoning skills. It is hoped that student learning can be effectively enhanced by tapping on what students already have in them: the capacity to regulate their study habits and to positively direct their attitudes towards learning.

B. Reasoning skills and student learning

It is acknowledged that students need to give positions and decisions on, and to resolve, various issues. This, in turn, demands from them clarity of ideas, justifications of claims, and the passion for critical thinking that are usually taken for granted. Reasoning skills are thus essential to students since they need to be able to discern and make valid and correct decisions on issues and problems concerning their academic and life environments. (Reasoning) skills help students think clearly and logically, as answers to issues and problems usually entail making careful distinctions in arguments and as solutions to these issues also require logical and critical thinking (p.88). These skills also help students keep an open mind in the face of conflicting ideas or opposing views and “seek solutions that meet standards of coherence and reasonableness” (ibid.).

C. Study habits, attitude towards learning, and students’ acquisition of skills Foreign and local literature on students’ academic skills and performance revealed that variables like study habits, personality, and motivation are also considered to be very important in the acquisition of skills, especially reasoning skills (Weiner, 1972; Benbow & Armand, 1990). Study habits and attitude towards learning are two variables worth noting, especially their impact on students’ acquisition of reasoning skills.

Various researches done on what constitutes good study habits point to the following common elements: a) being organized in terms of notes, lessons, materials; b) having a regular time and place for studying lessons, and making decisions about priorities concerning time and goals; c) good parental models, early and consistent parental supervision, and learning-conducive home culture and environment; and d) personal responsibility over what one does and does not do (Covey, 2007; Landsberger, 2007; Charnley, 2006; Zolten & Long, 1997).