Reducing Procrastination through Assignment and Course Design

Research shows that procrastination handicaps student performance and often results in task failure (Ferrari, Johnson and McCown 1995). A determination of the characteristics that contribute to procrastination is useful in reducing this behavior and improving student performance. Task characteristics including importance, appeal and level of difficulty have been found to influence the likelihood of procrastination. By addressing task characteristics that are known to influence the tendency to procrastinate, educators can modify assignments and course design and reduce student procrastination. Characteristics of tasks believed to contribute to student procrastination are described and approaches for reducing procrastination are discussed.