• A student who will get an ‘A’ grade will typically focus on the material in the course, more than on the marks it is worth.
• These students typically focus on the value of assigned work and then decide what to work on next. Their work habits are commonly described as ‘firefighting’. While this method appears to be the most efficient, the rush-to-submit often decreases the learning value significantly for the time spent.
• These students are rarely in class and count on others to keep them up to date. They typically measure their performance by asking other students how they are doing, and are often heard to say things like - “I can always ride the bell”, “they can’t fail us all”, “I don’t need to go to lectures”, and “It’s OK I took this course before”.