Student characteristics for online learning success

Higher education has been impacted significantly by the proliferation of online instruction. Despite this trend, empirical investigations of this delivery method have lagged. Many have documented the need for research on online student characteristics, yet current literature consists of personal teaching experiences and anecdotal observations. To address these issues the authors conducted three studies. The goals were to describe how the new measure of online student characteristics (i.e., TOOLS — Test of Online Learning Success) was constructed and validated, outline the contributions the measure has made to our knowledge of online learners, and review the research literature that supports the findings. The results demonstrated the measure's simple and stable structure, construct validity, criterion validity, internal reliable, and test–retest reliability. The measure, administration guidelines, scoring procedures, and outcome interpretations are provided in the public domain. The different purposes for which the measure may be used are discussed. The paramount student characteristics that emerged are presented and discussed in regards to other research findings.     

Predicting student success in open and distance learning

This paper reviews some of the ways in which student success can be predicted in conventional and distance education. Predicting such success is particularly important for new students where the pre‐course start information available is sometimes slight and withdrawal often occurs very early in a course. It suggests that, in such cases, statistical methods involving logistic regression analysis are more useful than questionnaires or tutors’ opinions. Identifying students with low probability of success allows support to be targeted on them. However, there are ethical dilemmas to do with targeting support and openness with students about the results of any analysis.     

The complex route to success: complex problem-solving skills in the prediction of university success

Successful completion of a university degree is a complex matter. Based on considerations regarding the demands of acquiring a university degree, the aim of this paper was to investigate the utility of complex problem-solving (CPS) skills in the prediction of objective and subjective university success (SUS). The key finding of this study was that CPS was not only strongly correlated to objective university success but also explained university grade point averages (GPA) of N?=?78 German business students even after intelligence and high-school GPA were controlled for. In addition, priority setting while working on a complex problem explained self-rated SUS. Given this incremental validity over the most established predictors of objective university success and its versatility, we argue that CPS may be a valuable addition to existing predictors in university applicant selection.     

Self-regulated learning and satisfaction: A key determinants of MOOC success

Education and Information Technologies - MOOC is an innovative method in modern education, particularly important for sharing of excellent educational resources worldwide. To realize the full...     

Rethinking the flipped learning pre-class: Its influence on the success of flipped learning and related factors

Flipped learning (FL) has had a substantial impact on higher education worldwide, prompting active dialog among educational researchers and practitioners. It is widely accepted that the value of FL lies in enabling in-depth, learner-centered learning experiences by offloading content delivery onto pre-class online learning. The in-class component is thus generally considered more critical, even though both pre-class and in-class elements are indispensable components of FL and practitioners are faced with the issue of under-prepared learners. In this study, we examine the significance of pre-class learning as a gateway to the intended benefits of FL. We aim to investigate the extent to which FL pre-class learning influences overall FL success and what other factors affect FL pre-class learning to ascertain the implications of designing and implementing FL pre-class learning. A college life science course was designed and implemented with the FL model for a semester, from which data were collected and statistically analyzed. The results indicate that the influence of pre-class learning on final FL success is significant and strong. Regarding the modality of pre-class learning materials, learners demonstrated higher levels of performance in the weeks with video materials than during those with reading materials. Among several learner factors, self-direction was found to significantly influence pre-class learning performance and perceived learning readiness. The role of FL pre-class learning to attain the intended value of FL is discussed, and theoretical and practical design implications are suggested.     

Assessment and prediction of success in first year physics at an Australian university

A method of assessment, involving six one-hour tests, with provision to repeat four of them, has been used with favourable student and staff reaction in first year, two semester undergraduate physics courses. The style of question and marking criteria used previously in a conventional examination are retained.The relationship between performance in Physics I, high school background and mark in the first physics test, held in the fifth week of the university course. are investigated through a series of regression analyses. An attempt is made to arrive at an appropriate entry criterion for admission to Physics I.     

Developing and validating a model for assessing paid mobile learning app success

With the proliferation of paid mobile learning applications (m-learning apps), understanding how to assess their success has become an important issue for academics and practitioners. Based on the information systems (IS) success models and the value-based adoption model, this study developed and validated a multidimensional model for assessing paid m-learning app success. The proposed model describes the interrelationships among seven paid m-learning app success variables: system quality, information quality, perceived enjoyment, perceived fee, user satisfaction, intention to reuse, and learning effectiveness. Data collected from 160 paid m-learning app users were tested against the research model using structural equation modeling (SEM). The empirical findings provide evidence that learning effectiveness is affected by user satisfaction and intention to reuse, which, in turn, are determined by system quality, information quality, perceived enjoyment, and perceived fee. The findings of this study provide several important theoretical and practical implications for the development, implementation, and promotion of paid m-learning apps.     

Factors associated with employment success among youths with learning disabilities

This follow-up study examines the employment success of young adults with learning and other mild disabilities. The study questioned the employee with disabilities, his or her parents, and the employer on a number of vocationally related items. A four-factor model is advanced to explain job success. The factors include job match and accommodation, social acceptance, work attitude, and special services. Participants in a total of 41 job situations were queried with 38 completed triads (employee with mild disability, employer, family). The method of constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the data. Although an aggregate of the four factors correlated significantly (p less than .01), job match proved to have the most significant (p less than .01) relationship with the outcome variable. The results are interpreted in light of the need to deliver and understand the types of supported employment services for adults with mild disabilities.     

The impact of attendance on first-year study success in problem-based learning

The literature on first-year study success has identified a host of factors that may affect a student’s chances of succeeding, ranging from personal circumstances to educational environment. One of the factors that often emerges in this context is (non-)attendance of classes, lectures and tutorials. Intuitively, one would expect this to be all the more important in programmes that employ a student-centred and interactive approach to learning, such as problem-based learning. Interestingly, there is little dedicated research that looks into the importance of (non-)attendance in such a learning environment. This article addresses this gap in the literature by looking at the effect of (non-)attendance on the study success of three cohorts of Maastricht University’s Bachelor in European Studies (annual intake of 325–350 students). Controlling for a range of factors, we find that attendance matters for several measures of study success and also for the committed and participating student.     

Self-concept and IQ as predictors of remedial success in children with learning disabilities

Twenty-five children with learning disabilities (LD) in the auditory-linguistic realm participated in the present study over two academic years. The purpose of the experiment was to test whether IQ and self-concept were significant predictors of learning ability. IQ was found to have no relationship to the children's learning ability, whereas self-concept predicted patterns of successful achievement in spelling, arithmetic, and written language, but not in visual word recognition. The results were interpreted as support for the "specificity" presumption in LD, but also as support for the importance of self-concept as possibly a primary cause of academic underachievement. The paper develops a remedial model of LD that accounts both for the interplay of self-concept and cognition in learning and for the fundamental implications of the specificity principle.     

Identifying the key success factors for the adoption of mobile learning

Education and Information Technologies - There is evidence that sustainability and efficiency are challenges for mobile learning adoption methods. The objective of this study is to identify,...     

Adolescent sexual offender recidivism: success of specialized treatment and implications for risk prediction

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the success of specialized community-based treatment for reducing adolescent sexual reoffending and explore the predictive utility of variables assessed regarding sexual and nonsexual recidivism. METHOD: Recidivism data (criminal charges) were collected for 58 offenders participating in at least 12 months of specialized treatment at the SAFE-T Program. Data were also collected for a comparison group of 90 adolescents who received only an assessment (n = 46), refused treatment (n = 17), or dropped out before 12 months (n = 27). Follow-up interval ranged from 2 to 10 years (M = 6.23, SD = 2.02). Offenders completed a battery of psychological tests to provide standardized data regarding social, sexual, and family functioning. RESULTS: Recidivism rates for sexual, violent nonsexual, and nonviolent offenses for treated adolescents were 5.17%, 18.9%, and 20.7%, respectively. The Comparison group had significantly higher rates of sexual (17.8%), violent nonsexual (32.2%), and nonviolent (50%) recidivism. Sexual recidivism was predicted by sexual interest in children. Nonsexual recidivism was related to factors commonly predictive of general delinquency such as history of previous offenses, low self-esteem, and antisocial personality. CONCLUSIONS: Results support the efficacy of treatment for adolescent sexual offenders and are consistent with the notion that sexual recidivism is predicted by unique factors unrelated to general (nonsexual) reoffending.     

Learner behavior prediction in a learning management system

Education and Information Technologies - Learning Management Systems (LMS) lack automated intelligent components that analyze data and classify learners in terms of their respective...     

Strategies for success: uncovering what makes students successful in design and learning

While the purposes of design and science are often different, they share some key practices and processes. Design-based science learning, which combines the processes of engineering design with scientific inquiry, is one attempt to engage students in scientific reasoning via solving practical problems. Although research suggests that engaging students in design-based science learning can be effective for learning both science process and content, more research is needed to understand how to overcome what Vattam and Kolodner (Pragmatics and Cognition 16:406–437, 2008) called “the design–science gap.” This study, therefore, takes a first step at systematically delving into this issue of bridging the design–science gap by examining the problem-solving strategies that students are using when they solve a prototypical design task. Videotaped performance assessments of high and low performing teams were analyzed in depth. Results suggest that students use both science reasoning strategies (e.g., control of variables) and design–focused strategies (e.g., adaptive growth). However, the strategies commonly associated with success in science (e.g., control of variables) did not necessarily lead to success in design. In addition, while both science reasoning strategies and design–focused strategies led to content learning, the content learned was different.     

Social and emotional learning in the classroom: promoting mental health and academic success

Numerous studies conducted in different countries have focused on empirical research and literature reviews on prevalence, consequences, and strategies relative to cyberbullying; however, there is a lack of research regarding cyberbullying from a cross-cultural perspective. This article reviews recent research on cyberbullying and presents information on prevention and intervention from an international perspective.     

WAIS-R scores as predictors of employment success and failure among adults with learning disabilities

The transition of adults with learning disabilities to successful employment is contingent upon numerous factors. Eighty-six adults (55 males and 31 females), 18 to 59 years old (mean age 26.7 years), with learning disabilities were evaluated clinically using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) (Wechsler, 1981) to determine the value of WAIS-R IQs and subtest scores in predicting successful employment. Significant relationships were identified between subjects' WAIS-R IQs and scaled scores and job success. Conclusions and recommendations were reported.     

Constructivist learning environments and forms of learning in Ethiopian public universities: testing factor structures and prediction models

Learning Environments Research - While most quality debates about undergraduate education center on topics such as test scores, learning standards, and teacher quality and retention, the...     

The relative effects of university success courses and individualized interventions for students with learning disabilities

Little is known about the relative effects of post‐secondary learning services for students with learning disabilities. We compared outcomes for students with learning disabilities who selected to: (1) take an academic learning success course (course‐intervention), (2) have regular individual interventions (high‐intervention) or (3) use services only as needed (low‐intervention). Pre‐ and post‐test comparisons revealed improvements in academic self‐efficacy and academic resourcefulness for students in the course‐ and high‐intervention groups. The course‐intervention group also showed decreases in their failure attributions to bad luck and increases in their general repertoire of learned resourcefulness skills in comparison to the high‐intervention group and had significantly higher year‐end GPAs in comparison to the low‐intervention group. Here we find positive outcomes for students with learning disabilities taking a course that teaches post‐secondary learning and academic skills.     

Engaging youth in school and learning: The emerging key to school success and completion

This commentary on articles in this special issue of Psychology in the Schools discusses the importance of school completion by identifying the individual and social costs associated with youths who fail to complete school. An appreciation of these various costs sets the stage for exploring an “emerging” key to school completion—engaging students in school and learning. A brief review of articles in this special issue directs attention toward various aspects of engagement, including conceptual insight and practical interventions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.