Developing and validating test items for first-year computer science courses

We report on the development, validation, and implementation of a collection of test items designed to detect misconceptions related to first-year computer science courses. To this end, we reworked the development scheme proposed by Almstrum et al. (SIGCSE Bulletin 38(4):132–145, 2006) to include students’ artifacts and to simultaneously incorporate think-aloud interviews and flash tests. We also investigated to what extent the practical efficiency of detecting certain misconceptions could be increased without significantly affecting the sensitivity of the instrument, and present positive and negative results regarding this goal. The results of a first transfer and implementation study suggest that it is indeed possible to use the test items in a large-scale practical setting – both as diagnostic instruments and as interventions.     

Formal Academic Mentoring: A pilot scheme for first-year science students at a regional university

This article describes a pilot academic mentoring program carried out over one semester in The Faculty of the Sciences at a regional Australian university. The program employed a science and education specialist in the faculty to provide an avenue of help to first-year science students at risk of failing, to identify some of the barriers to their performance, and to thereby enhance student success and retention. The mentor found that many students who had already failed one major exam were at least as motivated, and studying as many hours, as their more successful counterparts, though they attended fewer lectures and found their units of study more difficult. Despite relatively low numbers of self-referring students, the program was viewed favourably by all students that sought mentoring assistance. On the basis of the pilot, the mentor program has been continued for a further three years.     

Pre-enrollment factors and academic performance of first-year science students at a Nigerian university: a multivariate analysis

Multi-group discriminant analysis is used to identify the pre-enrollment demographic and academic factors which best separate out the success classes in the first-year examinations of science students at a Nigerian university. Each science-based faculty is separately analysed to control for faculty differences in all the variables used. The pre-eminent predictor of success is performance in the specialist subjects of the universitys matriculation examination. Other variables selected for use in the discriminant functions depend on the faculty group. Misallocation rates are generally low and, exept for one faculty group, discrimination is uni-dimensional.     

The role of first-year seminars and first-year college achievement for undeclared students

Higher Education - It is commonly stated in both literature and news outlets that undergraduate college students, who are undeclared (i.e., have not declared a major), are at a higher risk of...     

一年级学生口语交际能力的培养

小学生在入学之前已经具有初步的听说能力 ,进入小学则是系统的学习语言的开始。我认为 ,一年级小学生口语交际训练要注意规范学生的语言 ,培养良好的听说态度和语言习惯 ,提高口语交际能力。一、培养良好的听说习惯是口语交际的基础。据专家统计 ,在人的语言交流活动中 ,听的方面所占的比重最大 ,占 4 5 % ,说占 30 % ,读和写分别为 16 %和 9% ,由此可见听力的重要性。一年级小学生听力训练要着重培养学生良好的听话习惯。首先 ,要求做到“正确地听”。这主要体现在听话的姿势和态度上 ,即要求学生在听别人讲话时 ,眼睛看着说话的对方 ,集…     

Motivating first-year university students by interdisciplinary study projects

ABSTRACT

In order to increase student commitment from the beginning of students’ university careers, the Technische Universität Darmstadt has introduced interdisciplinary study projects involving first-year students from the engineering, natural, social and history, economics and/or human sciences departments. The didactic concept includes sophisticated task design, individual responsibility and a differentiated support system. Using a self-determination theory framework, this study examined the effects of the projects based on survey findings from two projects with more than 1000 students. The results showed that the projects were successful in fulfilling students’ basic psychological needs and in promoting students’ academic engagement. Basic psychological needs were found to be significant predictors of academic engagement. These findings suggest that interdisciplinary study projects can potentially contribute to improving higher education as they fulfil students’ basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness and autonomy and enhance students’ academic engagement.     

英语专业基础阶段听力元认知意识调查研究

以元认知理论为框架,采用Vandergrift等学者的英语听力元认知意识问卷,从实证角度对英语专业基础阶段学生的英语听力元认知意识状况进行了调查,结果显示他们的总体元认知意识尤其是个人知识维度较低,在此基础上分析了其原因并提出了相应对策。     

Development of first-year students' conceptions of essay writing

Findings are presented from a small-scalelongitudinal study of first-year psychologystudents' learning. Three developmentalhierarchies were derived in the analysis of theinterview data, which described differentaspects of the variation in students' accountsof their conceptions of essay writing. Althoughthe findings did suggest that the students madesome development in their conceptions, itseemed that by the end of the study many ofthem were still unable to describe what wasexpected for their essays in a way which fullymapped onto their tutors' accounts. Theeffects of advice given to students about theiressay writing were also investigated. Studentswere given help that seemed relevant todeveloping their conceptions, but there waslittle evidence in the interviews that thismade an impact on their learning and studentsoften described minimal engagement with adviceand feedback. Two case studies are presented togive a more holistic perspective on thestudents' accounts of their essay writing.These cases suggest the limitations of simplecategorisations, as they emphasise the complexand idiosyncratic nature of students'development.     

Academic activities and tasks in first-year teachers' classes

How beginning teachers organize instruction and the reasons for their decisions were explored. Four first-year, middle school teachers — two in science and two in reading — were observed and interviewed. Substantial differences among the teachers' activity and task structures were found. A number of factors contributed to these differences, including the extent of assistance from other teachers in planning instruction, preservice preparation in the content field, congruence of the student teaching setting with the first year assignment, and managerial capability.     

Outcomes of synergetic peer assessment: first-year experience

Active participation in learning activities and reviewing assessment activity can facilitate learners engaged in these processes. This case study reports student experiences of the process of peer assessment with teacher guidance in a group project for a first-year nursing course with 153 students. Twenty groups of students were assigned roles in exploring one of the two scenarios: one involved analysing diabetes mellitus and the other considered colorectal carcinoma, in each case covering provision of acute nursing care in hospitals and preparing health promotion strategies in a community. Each group also provided comments to the group that worked on the other scenario, based on prearranged assessment criteria. After receiving comments from their peer group, each group was then allowed to revise their drafts prior to final submission. The teacher’s input would be offered, if the peer feedback was inaccurate or insufficient. A survey was conducted to explore the learning experiences, and three semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted to triangulate findings with the survey. The first-year students expressed the need for both peer feedback and the lecturer’s direct guidance.     

Evoked prior experiences in first-year university student learning

In this article, we focus on three aspects of students' prior experiences of learning: evoked conceptions of learning, evoked motivation and evoked self-efficacy. We show how, for a first-year undergraduate population, these three aspects of evoked prior experience relate to students' approaches to learning and their perceptions of the learning environment as well as to their previous schooling, their gender and the broad discipline area in which they are studying. In doing so, we confirm that evoked prior experiences are distinct and measurable and can be used to better understand the ways in which students experience learning in higher education.     

An exploratory study of first-year students at a historically black university campus in South Africa: their academic experiences,success and failure

Abstract

This article reports on a study focusing on the first-year academic experiences, success and failure of a cohort of students at a historically black university campus in South Africa. It examines their academic experiences and factors which influenced their success and failure at the end of the first year. Views were sought from a sample of 100 lecturers and 500 first-year students using quantitative (survey) and qualitative (questionnaire) data collection methods. The results indicate that on the one hand, academic success for this cohort was influenced by class attendance, completion and timely submission of assignments, and group discussions/group work. On the other hand, academic failure was attributed to late submission of assignments, inability to ask questions and poor communication skills. The results also point to a need to pay serious attention to improving the academic learning environment of first-year students in order to enhance students’ chances of success.     

Ethnicity and engagement in first-year New Zealand law programmes

This paper investigated the extent to which the engagement levels of a self-selected cohort of students enrolled in first-year law programmes at three New Zealand universities varied according to ethnicity. When viewed in the light of factors identified within the international literature as having a bearing on student engagement and, in consequence, academic success and retention, no significant differences were identified in the ways students of Pākehā (European), Māori, Pasifika, Chinese and Indian descent interacted with the law school at which they were enrolled. This was despite some identified differences in students’ backgrounds and motivations for study and in the external factors having an impact on their study. Nevertheless, the identified differences between the ethnicities in relation to personal and external factors can be utilised to enhance and/or improve the engagement of particular groups of students. Overall, the findings indicate a need for law schools to focus on student engagement in first-year programmes with a view to improving the engagement levels of students across all ethnicities.     

Dissonance in first-year students’ reflections on their learning

This paper presents the findings of an interview study of first-year engineering students’ approaches to study. Data is presented to illustrate the construct of “dissonant study orchestration” as it is manifested in the everyday academic reality of these students’ learning behaviour. This data is theorised within a student’s-experiences-oflearning framework and patterns of study approach considered atypical of or theoretically undesirable within, the model used to determine them are presented and discussed. Individual-level, qualitatively different patterns of “dissonant” orchestration are articulated. The conclusion to the paper argues that the qualitative distinctions apparent amongst dissonant approaches present particular challenges to academic practitioners whose aim is the improvement of these students’ learning behaviour.     

The role of metacognition in the first-year design lab

Educational technology research and development - Metacognition, or the ability to think about thinking, plays a significant role in the performance of first-year design students. Although the...     

Negotiation of learning and identity among first-year medical students

The demand for medical schools to produce competent doctors to meet health needs in South Africa has increased. In response to this challenge, the Faculty of Health Sciences at a relatively elite university introduced a problem-based, socially relevant curriculum in 2002. The classroom environment is designed to facilitate a learning context where students from diverse backgrounds engage critically and learn from each other. This study draws on data from a larger qualitative case study to describe how a group of ‘black’ students who failed their first semester experienced the school–university transition. Drawing on post-structuralist theory, this article analyses how the students negotiated learning and identity. The argument is made that the students re-positioned themselves in deficit, outsider subject positions in order to survive their first year. This article ends with a consideration of the implications for developing a learning environment which recognises difference and fosters diversity.