MSW Students’ Perceptions of Relevance and Application of Statistics: Implications for Field Education

Many social work students feel anxious when taking a statistics course. Their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors after learning statistics are less known. However, such information could help instructors support students’ ongoing development of statistical knowledge. With a sample of MSW students (N = 101) in one program, this study examined students’ feelings of anxiety and confidence, beliefs about the relevance of statistics to their education and practice, and the relationship of these attitudes and beliefs to their actual statistical competence. The findings indicate that repeated exposure to statistics supports the development of statistical competence, particularly in relevant applied contexts like field education.     

Attitudes toward Statistics Assessments

Although statistics instructors have attempted to improve the cognitive aspects of instruction, particularly with respect to assessments, relatively little attention has been paid to non-cognitive issues, including students' attitudes, feelings, beliefs, perceptions, motivations, and interests. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to determine (1) the methods of statistics assessments that students most prefer; (2) the methods of statistics assessment that students feel induce the least amount of anxiety; (3) the methods of statistics assessments that students most rate as inducing higher-order thinking; (4) the characteristics of students with the most negative overall attitudes toward statistics assessments; and (5) how students rate performance assessments and authentic assessments. Findings revealed that students appear most to prefer statistics examinations in which at least limited supporting material is permitted. Interestingly, assessments in which some form of supporting material is allowed appeared to be more popular than are examinations with no time constraints. However, examinations that are untimed and in which supporting material is allowed were regarded best as inducing the least amount of anxiety, as increasing levels of performance, and as promoting higher-order thinking. Overall, students tended to rate performance assessments the most highly. Unfortunately, authentic assessments were not rated as highly as were performance assessments. Canonical correlation analyses suggested that age, the number of college-level mathematics courses, the number of years elapsed since students' last statistics class, and levels of statistics anxiety are determinants of these attitudes. The implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are presented.     

Anxiety and Performance in an MSW Research and Statistics Course

Data from 162 MSW students were analyzed to test the propositions that social work students have high levels of anxiety about research and statistics and that this anxiety has a detrimental effect on students' performance in a required research and statistics course. Levels of anxiety about research and statistics were very varied and only 12% of the stuents bad "very high" levels of anxiety. The relationships between such anxiety and performance in the course was not statistically significant. Anxiety reduction activities may be appropriate for humane reasons but the activities are not likely to increase students' learning of research and statistics.     

Student Perceptions as Distance Learners in Internet-Based Courses

With the increasing prevalence of Internet-based courses in higher education, it is important to examine students' experiences to provide an optimal learning environment. This research found that students reporting positive attitudes about their online course experience exhibited attributes of constructivist learners, including self-direction. Students with negative attitudes seemed less able to understand the course content and to trust self-assessment of their learning, and reported the need for more guidance. In addition, students' expectations were a determining influence in their online course experience and strategies. This study also explored strategies that students use to be successful and discusses ways by which instructors can recognize and meet the needs of a wide range of learners.     

Grade 10 Students' perceptions of and attitudes toward science teaching and school science

Grade 10 students' perceptions of classroom practices and activities, as well as their attitudes toward science teaching and school science, were assessed in the Westend School District (pseudonym) in British Columbia, using both quantitative (statistics of Likert-type scales) and qualitative (critical interpretive analysis of interview data) methods. The major findings of the study were that students do not appreciate the most prevailing contemporary practices in science classes, perceived by them as mainly the copying of the teacher's notes, and that they prefer science teaching and learning in which they take an active and responsible part. Additionally, teaching style appears to be the major determinant of high school students' attitudes toward science and science teaching. No change in students' perceptions of and attitudes toward science teaching and school science (in 1989 compared with 1986) could be detected in spite of the impact made by the recently advocated constructivist and science-technology-society (STS) approaches on science curriculum and science education. It is argued, therefore, that more emphasis must be placed on the science teachers' role and their teaching style if an educational change in the constructivist/STS direction is to be achieved.     

Managing collaboration across further and higher education: a case in practice

The Dearing Report highlighted the need for HE programmes to enhance students' basic skills, and one of these is numeracy skill. There is a history of low confidence and negative attitudes to learning about numbers and 'maths anxiety' in undergraduates which means that delivering 'numerate graduates' may be something of a challenge to HE institutions. This college surveyed attitudes to numeracy and learning about numbers in all first-year students (over 1000 students). Over 40% of students returned their questionnaires. This survey found considerable negative attitudes and low confidence among respondents as a whole (25% of those who returned the questionnaire), and anxiety was highest (over 40%) in students taking a Humanities programme. This raises considerable concern about how we can deliver numeracy to students in HE. The findings of the survey, gender issues and the individualised concept of 'maths anxiety' are discussed in relation to the social and cultural construction of attitudes to maths and maths confidence as empowerment (Benn, 1997). The main conclusion is that HE institutions need to consider carefully how to provide good educational opportunities for individuals with low motivation to engage in maths-related activity. There is also an urgent need to challenge cultural myths and stereotyping relating to maths learning if we want the next generation of graduates to have more confidence in their maths skills.     

The Role of Gender in Foreign Language Learning Attitudes: Japanese female students' attitudes towards English learning

Originating from a large-scale questionnaire-based study on Japanese high school students' attitudes towards current and long-term English learning, this study attempts to account for one of the findings, female students' superiority in attitudes to English learning over male students. This study problematises the common practice found in questionnaire-based research ending with the statistical identification of gender differences in attitudes without exploring factors influencing those differences. By utilising multidisciplinary extant data and research findings, this study argues that Japanese social elements, such as the status of English as feminised academic and professional choices and women's marginalised status in Japanese mainstream society, underlie many women's positive attitudes towards English learning. This study provides pedagogical implications for those in charge of English-related programmes either in Japan or in English-speaking countries who deal with a significant number of young Japanese female students in the programmes.     

Activity-based learning of statistics: Using practical applications to improve students' learning

Many obstacles are involved in teaching statistics to undergraduates, including high attrition rates, students' anxiety, and a limited ability to grasp difficult concepts. These concerns can be addressed effectively by implementing strategies that require students to be actively engaged in the learning of statistics. First, we discuss how activity-based strategies and information technology can be an effective way to teach a statistics course. Second, we discuss how we changed a statistics course to include activity-based strategies. Finally, we discuss how cooperative learning, as a type of activity-based strategy, can increase students' understanding of statistics.     

Engaging the Student in the Field Instruction Relationship

Abstract

BSW and MSW students' evaluations of their field instructors and these individuals' use of various supervisory skills and assignments were assessed early in the field placement. Skills that directly enhanced students' learning in the field were most influential. Supervisory activities that introduced students to the agency and what would be expected of them were particularly helpful. Differences in first-time and second-year students' reactions suggest that students' learning needs vary, based on their prior experience with and understanding of the field. The findings also suggest the need for training to help field instructors make the transition from social work practitioner to social work educator.     

The effectiveness of structured co-operative teaching and learning in Greek primary school classrooms

This study focuses upon the effectiveness of structured co-operative group work on primary school students, aged between 8.5 and 9.5 years old, regarding their content knowledge, attitudes towards co-operative group work, experiential learning and open-ended curriculum as well as students' social and learning behaviour during co-operative group work. A cross-curricular educational programme was implemented within the curriculum area of environmental studies entitled ‘traffic education'. The methodology applied in this study was the experimental and the case study research designs. The findings of the present study support the view that pupils can gain benefits through structured group work co-operation in obtaining content knowledge and group work skills, as well as in developing positive attitudes towards group work, experiential learning, open-ended curriculum and the co-operation with their peers with learning difficulties (LDs). Changes in the relationships with the peers were not affected after the implementation of the educational programme.     

The process,dialogues, and attitudes of vocational engineering high school students in a web problem-based learning (WPBL) system

This study aims to explore how high school students collaboratively solve problems in a web problem-based learning (WPBL) system in an 8-week digital logic course using discourse analysis. Employing in-depth interviews, this study also investigated the students' attitudes toward the WPBL system. The number of teaching assistants' responses had a negative relationship with the number of peer responses. Regarding dialogue quality, extended questions and brainstorming stimulated each other. Elaboration facilitated problem solving, whereas organizing knowledge from books or websites decreased reflection. Students affirmed the usefulness and effectiveness of the web system because it created an interactive, flexible, comfortable and collaborative learning environment.     

Observing Interprofessional Collaboration: Impact on Attitude and Knowledge Acquisition

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in the medical field is an important factor for good clinical outcomes and should be taught as early as in undergraduate medical education. Since implementing IPC training is an organizational challenge, students are often limited in their opportunities to experience real-life IPC. Therefore, an approach where students observe successful IPC activities of role models in an applied anatomical format was proposed. It was studied whether observing IPC activities in undergraduate anatomical education has an impact on both students' attitude toward IPC and on knowledge acquisition. Further, it was examined whether the attitudes and knowledge of students from different medical disciplines were influenced in different ways. Therefore, 75 medical students and thirty-eight physiotherapy students participated in a study with the task of observing a live broadcast of an interprofessional teaching session. Participants were asked about their attitudes toward interprofessional learning, their evaluation of professional responsibilities, and their profession-specific knowledge before and after observing the IPC session. The participants' attitude toward interprofessional learning improved for both groups of students. Moreover, students of physiotherapy adjusted their evaluation of their own and others' professional responsibilities after observing IPC. In both student groups, knowledge increased, in particular, with respect to the field of knowledge in other professions. So, observing IPC can modify students' attitudes and support knowledge acquisition. The implementation of IPC observations provides students from various healthcare disciplines with a clearer impression of professionals' responsibilities and gives learners the opportunity to acquire knowledge from healthcare fields unfamiliar to them.     

Learning illustrated: An exploratory cross-sectional drawing analysis of students' conceptions of learning

Using the draw-a-picture technique, the authors explored the learning conceptions held by students across grade levels. A total of 1,067 Taiwanese students in Grades 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 participated in this study. Participants were asked to use drawing to illustrate how they conceptualize learning. A coding checklist was developed to analyze the features in the students' drawings. Consistent with previous study, the majority of the students' drawings portrayed learning happening in a traditional classroom that is teacher centered, with students depicted as passive listeners. Additionally, three main findings were obtained: (a) younger students held episodic images of learning as opposed to more mature students, (b) the human agents involved in learning shifted from others to self, and (c) negative emotions and attitudes reached a plateau in Grades 6, 8, and 10. The results of the study suggested possible cognitive and emotional developmental trends that warrant further investigation.     

The role of perceived parental over-involvement in student test anxiety

The effects of perceived parental over-involvement on students’ level of test anxiety were examined in two studies. In study 1, parental over-involvement scale was developed. The sample comprised 105 male and female undergraduate college students between the ages of 21 and 26. The scale contained two aspects of parental over-involvement: parental attitudes toward academic studies and parental involvement in academic studies. Students’ self-reported attitudes toward academic studies were also included. In study 2, the effects of the three aspects on students’ level of test anxiety were examined. The sample comprised 90 male and female undergraduate college students, between the ages of 21 and 26. Research hypotheses were that the two aspects of parental over-involvement and students’ attitudes will positively correlate with students' test anxiety and that results will persist with high anxious students. Finally, an exploratory question was examined as to whether the two aspects of parental over-involvement will differ in their impact on test anxiety. As expected all three factors positively correlated with test anxiety; however, regression analysis indicated that only parental involvement was predicting text anxiety. Results for participants with high test anxiety partially supported research hypothesis as parental involvement correlated with test anxiety (TA) total score and with worry but not with emotionality. Findings are discussed as response to the exploratory question. Finally, although not hypothesized, academic education of parents was positively related to students' test anxiety. Results suggest that parental attitudes and behaviors are significant factors in college students’ TA.     

Professional Attitudes in Health Professions' Education: The Effects of an Anatomy Near-Peer Learning Activity

Interprofessional attitudes existing between healthcare disciplines can negatively impact communication and collaboration in the clinical setting. While human anatomy is a topic central to healthcare trainees, the potential of the anatomy laboratory to minimize negative interprofessional attitudes has yet to be characterized. This study aimed to assess the effects of an anatomy interprofessional near-peer learning activity (AIP-NPLA) on medical and nursing students' interprofessional attitudes at McGill University. The authors employed a convergent parallel mixed methods study to explore participants' AIP-NPLA experiences. The Attitudes to Health Professionals Questionnaire (AHPQ) was used pre- and post-AIP-NPLA to assess participants' attitudes toward their own and their counterpart profession. In addition, a focus group was held immediately following the AIP-NPLA to explore participants' experiences and interprofessional perceptions. Quantitative results using a principal components analysis demonstrated significant changes in nursing students' responses between pre- and post-AIP-NPLA scoring, rating the medical profession as being more caring overall. Medical students' responses pre- and post-AIP-NPLA demonstrated no significant differences. Qualitative results also suggested a breakdown of negative attitudes, an increased understanding of inter- and intra-professional roles, and the importance of interprofessional collaboration and mutual learning for their careers. These findings revealed that attitudes among healthcare trainees may be positively restructured in the anatomy laboratory, allowing for collaborative care to predominate in current and future clinical practices.     

Developing communities of learners

This article describes some of the findings of an evaluation of a ‘cross- curricular’ digital media arts project for Year 8 students at Lister Community School in the London Borough of Newham. The project was designed to provide opportunities for a thematic curriculum in which quality learning encompassing both independent and collaborative learning was central. The project was also aimed at fostering a range of knowledge, skills and attitudes around students' personal and social development. The findings of the evaluation suggest that the project was successful in a number of ways: in enhancing students' personal and social development; in developing a community of learners in which learning was shared between teachers and students; in developing students' confidence and skills in their own learning; and in providing models of a more integrated and thematic curriculum.     

Predicting self-efficacy in test preparation: Gender,value, anxiety,test performance,and strategies

Considerable evidence indicates that self-efficacy, task value, anxiety, and the use of language learning strategies are related. However, there is currently an insufficient understanding about their relations in high-stakes testing contexts. The author aimed to investigate how well social factors, test value, anxiety, test performance, and learning strategies predict high school students' self-efficacy in preparing for the English listening test as part of the University Entrance Examination in Taiwan. This research involved a large-scale questionnaire survey and a collection of students' English test scores. The participants were 636 students in Grade 12 of high school in Taiwan. A quantitative analysis of the questionnaire was conducted via hierarchical regression analysis. The results show that students' recent English test performance and test anxiety were two strong predictors of self-efficacy in preparing for the high-stakes test. In addition, resource management and metacognitive listening strategies had better predictive power over prior English level and test value.