Student and Faculty Perceptions of an Effective University Instructional Climate

Abstract

This study sought to ascertain perceptions of an effective instructional climate through use of a seventy-one item questionnaire. Usable responses were received from 1,237 students and 268 faculty members. Statistical analysis yielded a list of forty “significant” attributes grouped into seven clusters. Factor loading values were derived for the attributes to facilitate utilization in describing and assessing instructional climate. Students and faculty agreed generally on a global concept of instructional climate and as to the “significance” of many individual attributes. Greater “significance” was attached to instructors and their teaching role than to students and their learning role. Practical uses of the results are suggested.     

A Triangulated Approach to the Modelling of Learning Outcomes in First Year Economics

Initial insights derived from modelling aspects of learning outcomes in the first year study of economics are presented. Of particular interest are three forms of entering students' prior knowledge: (a) subject-specific prior knowledge; (b) conceptions of learning, and (c) learning history. Part 1 compares the analyses of variance of inventory responses of the 1998 first year cohorts of the Universities of Adelaide and South Australia. Results across the two universities are consistent in confirming the significant effects of having studied economics at school, having English as a second language, and holding economic misconceptions, on (end of semester one) learning outcomes. Part 2 models learning outcomes using three approaches: (a) a single dimension of variation (selected from a more complex common factor model) which is then used to inform; (b) a k-means cluster analysis; and (c) a non-linear regression analysis. This "triangulation" of approaches produces different but complementary insights into the underlying relationships being modelled and improves our understanding of the learning engagement processes of entering first year economics students.     

Comparing Faculty and Student Perceptions Regarding Factors That Affect Student Retention in Online Education

This qualitative study compared faculty and student perceptions regarding factors that affect student retention in online courses in an attempt to more effectively address the problem of attrition. A grounded study method was used to interview students taking online courses, analyze their responses related to the critical factors that affect student retention, and compare them with those given by expert online faculty documented by Gaytan (2013). Among the various findings, two are considered critical: online students would like to receive more instruction from their professors and more comprehensive feedback that would allow them to engage in corrective behaviors to improve performance. Comparing faculty and student responses related to the factors that affect student retention could give online program administrators and faculty advisors a better understanding of these critical factors to be able to respond to the student retention challenge more effectively.     

Mentoring Faculty to Improve Teaching and Student Learning

For teaching to improve, three factors must be in place. First, the college must use a valid and reliable student evaluation instrument in combination with other feedback mechanisms. Second, there must be an accompanying norming report that provides comparative and diagnostic information to departmental chairs and teachers. Raw data from even a valid and reliable instrument may not be informative. Third, the college must have a mentoring process in place. This article discusses briefly each of the three elements to initiate and sustain a successful mentoring program to improve teaching and student learning. Of course, if the school does not reward improved or effective teaching it is not likely to occur.     

Toward an Understanding of Authentic Learning: Student Perceptions of an Authentic Classroom

Advocates of educational reform often describe classroom instruction as inauthentic. That is, most classroom learning activities are structured around artificial contexts for learning, and students only engage in tasks and remember information at superficial levels. Some teachers are attempting to break traditional classroom practices by creating authentic contexts for learning. To date, most of the research on authentic classrooms has described the processes teachers have used to develop the classroom environment (learning activities, resources, etc.); however, few have examined authentic classrooms from the students' perspective: “What do students think about authentic classrooms?” The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine a unique learning environment at a large, Midwest high school to understand how students perceived that environment. Most of the students reported a positive experience and described the classroom as fun and exciting with real-world relevance. However, there were several students who did not share these views, and many students were not successful.

     

Student Perceptions of Factors Influencing Tertiary Learning

An interview study about perception of factors involved in tertiary learning of 60 second year students at the Australian National University is reported. Factors which encourage deep rather than surface level processing are highlighted as are problems of transition from school to tertiary learning. An unexpected outcome was that students’ responses to probing about the nature of the differences between school and tertiary learning provided evidence of qualitative differences between the way students utilising deep or surface level processing conceive the process of learning itself. This finding has implications both for those attempting to change these students’ approach to learning and for the selection of research methods appropriate for this area.     

Faculty do Matter: The Role of College Faculty in Student Learning and Engagement

This study uses two national data sets to explore the relationship between faculty practices and student engagement. Our findings suggest that students report higher levels of engagement and learning at institutions where faculty members use active and collaborative learning techniques, engage students in experiences, emphasize higher-order cognitive activities in the classroom, interact with students, challenge students academically, and value enriching educational experiences.     

Investigating Flipped Learning: Student Self-Regulated Learning,Perceptions, and Achievement in an Introductory Biology Course

In flipped classrooms, lectures, which are normally delivered in-class, are assigned as homework in the form of videos, and assignments that were traditionally assigned as homework, are done as learning activities in class. It was hypothesized that the effectiveness of the flipped model hinges on a student’s desire and ability to adopt a self-directed learning style. The purpose of this study was twofold; it aimed at examining the relationship between two variables—students’ perceptions of the flipped model and their self-regulated learning (SRL) behaviors—and the impact that these variables have on achievement in a flipped class. For the study, 76 participants from a flipped introductory biology course were asked about their SRL strategy use and perceptions of the flipped model. SRL strategy use was measured using a modified version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ; Wolters et al. 2005), while the flipped perceptions survey was newly derived. Student letter grades were collected as a measure of achievement. Through regression analysis, it was found that students’ perceptions of the flipped model positively predict students’ use of several types of SRL strategies. However, the data did not indicate a relationship between student perceptions and achievement, neither directly nor indirectly, through SRL strategy use. Results suggest that flipped classrooms demonstrate their successes in the active learning sessions through constructivist teaching methods. Video lectures hold an important role in flipped classes, however, students may need to practice SRL skills to become more self-directed and effectively learn from them.     

Student Perceptions of Industrial Chemistry Classroom Learning Environments

This article describes a study conducted in Israel which focused on how learning industrial chemistry case studies affects students' perceptions of their classroom learning environment and their interest in chemistry studies. The goal of the study was to determine the effects of industrial case studies on students' perceptions of chemistry in general, and industrial chemistry in particular. Information on students' perceptions was gathered from a learning environment inventory specifically developed for this study. It was observed that industrial chemistry case studies helped in providing students with a relevant picture of chemistry in general and their chemistry studies in particular. It was also found that teachers who had attended an intensive training workshop were the most successful in presenting the relevance of chemistry in the case studies. These teachers also were more successful in raising students' awareness of the social implications of chemistry studies. Furthermore, their students had a better awareness of the contribution made by chemistry studies to their preparation as future citizens and for a possible career in chemistry. These findings have important implications for any decisions about whether to make industrial chemistry case studies obligatory for students who major in chemistry. There are further implications regarding the content and learning strategies to be used for the professional development of science teachers in general and chemistry teachers in particular. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Accelerated Learning: A Study of Faculty and Student Experiences

In this study we explored faculty and student experiences of accelerated learning. We conducted interviews with faculty members who had delivered the same course in 12 and 6-week timeframes, and we analysed a student survey. Students reported overall positive experiences in the accelerated courses, particularly in the social aspects of learning, higher than usual motivation, and confidence in their learning. However, both faculty and students raised concerns about the scope and timing of assessment tasks, student workload expectations, faculty workload, and administration of courses. We offer recommendations regarding implementation, assessment practices, and management of learning in an accelerated timeframe.     

Influence of Redesigning a Learning Environment on Student Perceptions and Learning Strategies

In society, there is a growing need for graduates who possess competencies consistent with deep learning. This means that, amongst other competencies, graduates should be capable of dealing with the complexity of the tasks in which they will engage in professional situations. We tried to increase the depth of students learning by changing the format of a so-called assignment-based learning to a problem-based learning course. The goals of this research were to determine if students, firstly, perceived the redesigned course as being more challenging and, secondly, adjusted their learning strategies towards deeper learning. Participants were two groups of second-year International Business Studies students attending the International Business Strategy course in consecutive years. Students perceptions of the learning environment and their learning strategies were measured in both the original (n = 406 students) and the redesigned course (n = 312 students) using the Ramsden Course Experiences Questionnaire and the Biggs Study Processes Questionnaire. In contrast to our expectations, the results indicated that the students from the redesigned course showed a higher degree of surface learning and a lower level of deep learning than the students from the assignment-based learning course. Additionally, the students perceived the new learning environment to be less positive in terms of the clarity of its goals, the usefulness of the textbook and the workload. Improvement in terms of students perceptions of the learning environment and their learning strategies could be expected to be fostered by the implementation of a more advanced staff development program, focusing the curricular assessment system on problem-solving skills, supporting the students in the development of the skills necessary to cope with the demands of the redesigned course, and giving them more opportunities to experience this instructional approach.     

Teacher-as-Researcher Reform: Student Achievement and Perceptions of Learning Environment

This study reports the results of a research project conducted as part of high school teachers' efforts to bring about reform of science education in their school. Two classes of Grade 8 students (N = 43) taught by the same teacher were monitored in terms of students' perceptions of their learning environment, achievement levels, and conceptual understanding of research. Quantitative methods (questionnaire, tests and examinations, GPA) and qualitative methods (interviews, videotaped lessons, artifacts) were combined while the learning environment was changed to a student-centered open inquiry format. Not unexpectedly, relationships between the Autonomy and Student-Centeredness scales of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) and immediate (unit test) and delays post-tests (examination subsection) were detected. On the other hand, although student-student interactions in small-groups and whole-class sessions were a significant part of the learning environment, the Negotiation scale was not related to achievement. Three case studies of representative students (in terms of achievement and perceptions of the learning environment) are featured, further underscoring the importance of monitoring reform of teaching at the classroom level.     

Faculty and Student Perceptions of Dual Relationships Within Counselor Education: A Qualitative Analysis

The authors undertook this study to identify how counselor education faculty and students determine the ethical appropriateness of dilemmas portraying dual relationships in friendships, mentoring, monetary interactions, and romantic‐sexual relationships. Faculty and student perceptions of scenarios that depict dual relationships between faculty and students were assessed and analyzed using qualitative methods. Results suggest that, unlike most students, faculty trust the ability of counselor educators to maintain objectivity and avoid student exploitation even sometimes while engaged in dual‐role relationships. Furthermore, faculty may be unaware of students' concerns regarding the fairness of such relationships and the impact they have on the student body.     

A Student Evaluation of Molecular Modeling in First Year College Chemistry

This three-year study involved an evaluation of molecular modeling by students in first year college chemistry. The molecular modeling program utilized was Spartan (Wavefunction, Inc., Irvine, California) on a UNIX-based platform with Silicon Graphics Indigo series workstations. A treatment group of 129 students visited a computer room four times during the semester for two-hour sessions. They completed exercises on periodic trends in atoms, structure of molecules, electronic structure of molecules such as MO and valence bond theory, and properties of organic molecules. The students were required to complete an evaluation of the molecular modeling computer experience at the end of the semester regarding aspects such as: effectiveness, integration with course content, interest, benefit, and advantages and disadvantages. Also obtained through the evaluation were students' opinions regarding the helpfulness of the molecular modeling computer experience for 3-D visualization of atomic and molecular structure and whether their understanding of atomic and molecular structure was enhanced. The first two years of the study constituted a pilot study and data for this study were obtained in the third year. Though the specifics are not reported here, quantitatively the achievement of the treatment and non-treatment groups was also assessed. There was a significant difference in achievement on the Final Exam of the semester (p = 0.0067) between the treatment and non-treatment groups on multiple choice questions pertaining to concepts of resonance, dipole moment, and atomic/molecular stoichiometry.     

Qualified Satisfaction: First‐Year Architecture Student Perceptions of Teamwork

Across disciplines, skills associated with collaboration are now ubiquitously considered requisite graduate attributes. Despite decades of studies on the various dimensions of academic teamwork, challenges for both students and staff remain. For this year‐long study at a UK school of architecture, we considered teamwork as a thread woven through the first‐year curriculum, traversing course modules and project types. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the collective impact of teamwork activities on the incoming cohort of 200+ undergraduate students and how the structuring and coordination of such activities might improve the holistic student experience. Across two rounds of online questionnaires and focus group sessions, student participants articulated the benefits of collaboration for learning, socialisation and professional development. However, resentment towards teamwork increased throughout the year, as frustration with disengaged cohort mates grew, and student sought greater structure and oversight from tutors. On the other hand, when given the chance to reflect on the multidimensional nature of teamwork in focus group discussions, many students adopted a productively nuanced perspective toward the topic. This implies that, whether students like or dislike certain aspect of collaborative projects, opportunities for critical conversation can promote or prompt an appreciation for the educational value of including teamwork projects in curricula. The results of this study should be relevant to educators seeking to improve the implementation and effectiveness of team‐based learning, particularly those in design‐based fields and those in higher and professional education contexts.     

An Improved Questionnaire for Gathering Student Perceptions of Teaching and Learning

An instrument used to gather university students' perceptions of their learning environments, the Perceptions of Learning Environments Questionnaire (PLEQ) has been used recently in higher education research. The current paper examines the strengths and limitations of the PLEQ, particularly in relation to uncovering student perceptions about responsibility for their own learning. A study trialling a modified questionnaire, which builds on the advances and addresses the limitations of the PLEQ, is reported.     

Examining Non-Tenure Track Faculty Perceptions of How Departmental Policies and Practices Shape Their Performance and Ability to Create Student Learning at Four-Year Institutions

This study examines a major shift in the professoriate from tenure track to a non-tenure track faculty (NTTF), with two-thirds of the faculty now being off the tenure track. While some studies suggest negative outcomes as a result of students taking courses with NTTF, none of the studies examine the working conditions of the NTTFs. This qualitative case study fills that gap in our understanding through interviews with 107 faculty within 25 departments in 3 four year campuses examines and compares NTTF in departments that have supportive policies in place versus those that do not. The results presented in the findings clearly demonstrate that NTTF perceive that departmental policies shape their performance and ability to create quality learning experiences. Unsupportive policies impact preparation, advising possibilities, create poor curricular designs, result in missing key materials, among many other negative results. Findings identify a set of policies that negatively and positively shape performance and that can be the focus of changes among leaders on college campuses.     

Community College Student Perceptions of Their Experiences Related to Global Learning: Understanding the Impact of Family,Faculty, and the Curriculum

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this mixed-method research study was to better understand community college students’ engagement in global learning. The study, supported by the Florida Consortium for International Education, was conducted during the 2015–2016 academic year in Florida across nine community colleges drawing from a 55-question survey with an 11% response rate (n = 175). Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used, with data analysis conducted using NVivo and SPSS software. An electronic survey was piloted with one institution, and a refined version was sent to select professors across nine community colleges in the state for distribution to students in the fall semester of 2015. A total of 175 students completed the survey. The majority of students responding were interested in global learning; however, they reported that this interest stemmed primarily from family encouragement and personal experiences rather than from their academic experiences. Students did report that professors were promoting global learning in their classes, although the results were not statistically significant. Students who did not express an interest in global learning felt as though it was not important because it was unrelated to their daily lives. It is the hope that this study will inform community college administrators and faculty to better understand how and why students become interested in global learning to more effectively promote their engagement both on and off campus.