Speaking personally—with Shirley M. Davis

abstract

Using data collected from 120 students enrolled in nine sections of an undergraduate technical communication course, this study found a number of statistically significant associations between students' learning styles, as defined by the Index of Learning Styles, and nine measures evaluating both academic performance and student preference. The study also measured student performance in collaborative and self-directed versions of the course, as well as full and summer sessions. Reflective learners were found to be the most successful online learners, excelling in collaborative, as well as self-directed versions of the course. Sequential learners also outperformed global learners. Learning styles were not a significant factor in summer-session courses.     

Exploring the relationship between students’ learning styles and learning outcome in engineering laboratory education

Abstract

It is a commonly accepted notion that people take different approaches in learning. Although attention has been given to learning styles as one of the determinants of learning performance, there is are limitations to the inferential approach to understanding the impact of learning styles on learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of learning preference on student learning outcome in engineering labs. The findings of this paper contribute to the existing literature in two ways. This study describes the typology of participants’ learning styles, confirming some results from similar research. Additionally, it examines the impact of learning styles, using the Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinesthetic (VARK) inventory as indicators of students’ learning outcomes, and how the findings confirm or contradict prior research results in important ways. Further, this study includes demographic information to investigate the influence on learning outcome. Discussions of the results from both analyses will contribute to an academic understanding of the critical success factors of the learning process and their practical application in laboratory learning.     

Thinking styles and academic stress coping among Chinese secondary school students

Abstract

This study investigated the predictive power of thinking styles for academic stress coping. Participants were 563 (280 males, 275 females, 8 gender unspecified) secondary school students in grades 7 through 12 from mainland China. Thinking styles were measured using the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II which was based on the theory of mental self-government. Coping strategies were measured by the COPE-Revised, which was derived from Carver’s COPE (1989). Results showed that thinking styles had statistically significant predictive power for academic stress-coping strategies beyond age and gender, largely in the expected directions. Theoretical implications for research on intellectual styles and coping are discussed; and some practical implications for school teachers and students are proposed.     

Academic development by way of student affairs: reflections from the first fifty days on the job

ABSTRACT

This reflection on practice describes the first fifty days of a professional transition from student affairs into academic development. Campus collaborations, educational experiences, and holistic student learning are identified as professional parallels between these two institutional divisions. Professionals from student affairs can uniquely contribute to academic development because of their ability to view the campus as a working system and the student as a whole person. This reflection describes how a student affairs background can be a valuable addition and asset to academic development teams.     

Exploration and Authority in Science Learning Environments: an International Study

Summaries

English

Scales derived from student responses were used to describe the science learning environments of 14‐year‐old students in 14 different countries. It was found that the best science achievement occured in countries which combined exploratory and authoritarian teaching styles. Within countries, exploratory teaching styles were again associated with high science‐achievement, although the relationship was less strong. These results suggest that some science teachers might improve their pupils’ performance if they adopted more exploratory teaching styles. But no firm conclusions can be reached until the results have been replicated in an experimental study.     

A Statistical Prediction of High-School Success for Purpose of Educational Guidance

ABSTRACT

In the learning environment, teacher–student interaction plays a major role in influencing the cognitive and affective development of students. Teacher–student interaction is also an important parameter of educational quality. Teachers’ and students’ preferences of teacher interpersonal behavior are linked to their individual characteristics and styles. The author examined students’ and teachers’ thinking styles and their preferences for teacher–student interpersonal behaviors. A total of 325 students and 146 teachers from 2 secondary schools were involved in this study. The results show that there were divergences between students’ and teachers’ thinking styles and their preferences of teacher interpersonal behavior. Convergences between students and teachers were also found, as both had preferences for cooperative teacher interpersonal behavior.     

Transformational instructor-leadership and academic performance: a moderated mediation model of student engagement and structural distance

Abstract

Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in the use of transformational leadership theory in higher education teaching (often referred to as transformational instructor-leadership). Much of this body of research investigates a direct association between transformational instructor-leadership and student outcomes. In the present study, we take a step further by investigating (a) student engagement as a mechanism in the relationship between transformational instructor-leadership and students’ academic performance and (b) structural distance as a moderator of the relationship between transformational instructor-leadership and student engagement. Using a sample of 183 students across the UK, the findings supported student engagement as a full mediator, but did not support structural distance as a moderator. This study contributes to theory by (a) showing a key underlying process through which transformational instructor-leadership is related to students’ academic performance and (b) empirically examining all three dimensions of student engagement. Limitations, suggestions for future research and practical implications are discussed.     

Argument in Reading: what does it involve and how can students become better critical readers?

ABSTRACT

One of the biggest problems in Higher Education, but one which is often not fully recognised by either students or teachers until some way into academic courses, is the problem of reading, perhaps because reading in itself is not assessed. However, the results or output from reading are assessed. Students are often overwhelmed by the quantity of reading required and fail to adequately exploit or benefit from their reading efforts when they themselves write or give presentations. Tutors complain about the lack of critical argument in much student work. This paper takes argument in reading as a central touchstone to academic study, discusses some views of the source of the difficulty and makes some suggestions which have proved to be helpful.     

A systematic review on the deployment and effectiveness of data analytics in higher education to improve student outcomes

Abstract

This is a systematic review conducted of primary research literature published between 2007 and 2018 on the deployment and effectiveness of data analytics in higher education to improve student outcomes. We took a methodological approach to searching databases; appraising and synthesising results against predefined criteria. We reviewed research on the effectiveness of three differentiated forms of data analytics: learning, academic and learner analytics. Student outcomes are defined as retention, academic performance and engagement. Our results find that three quarters of studies report the use of educational data analytics to be effective in improving student outcomes but their relationship with student outcomes requires further and more robust investigation and assessment. We argue that research must interpret and communicate effectiveness qualitatively, as well as quantitatively, by including the student voice in assessments of impact.     

An Investigation of the Joint Influence of Faculty Control and Student Locus of Reinforcement on Instructional Evaluation

Abstract

This research was based on the theoretical belief that student evaluations of faculty teaching are related to the person-environment congruence between students’ locus of reinforcement and the degree of control exercised by faculty instructional styles. Fifty-seven college students were classified as internally or externally reinforced based on Rotter’s locus of reinforcement theory. Students evaluated high and low faculty control instructional styles by rating daily seven classroom evaluative questions on a five-point differential scale. It was hypothesized that the evaluation of instruction by students experiencing congruent control styles (internal students/low control and external students/high control) would be more positive than incongruent combinations (external students low control and internal students/high control). ANOVA results yielded a significant 937’value p <.01) for interaction effects which supported the research hypothesis. Implications for student evaluation of faculty teaching are discussed.     

School Variation in General Intelligence

Abstract

One key to effective teaching is the ability to identify and understand the different ways students process information and acquire skills. The purpose of this study was to examine experienced and preservice teachers’ ability to diagnose student learning-style preferences. The subjects were 15 pairs of physical education teachers and their student teachers and 5 randomly selected students from each school site. To determine student learning styles, students completed the Canfield Learning Styles Inventory, and corresponding teachers and student teachers completed the Canfield Learning Styles Profile Assessment on each of their 5 students. The relationship between preservice/experienced teachers’ perceived scores and the students’ actual learning style scores was analyzed by the Pearson product-moment correlation technique. The results indicated that a wide variety of learning styles existed among the students and that neither experienced nor preservice teachers accurately diagnosed the learning styles of their students. The implications of this study are twofold. First, if teachers are going to make informed decisions about the teaching process, then they need to know the learning styles of their students. Second, information about learning styles should be included in the curriculum of professional preparation programs.     

Tutoring styles that encourage learner satisfaction,academic engagement,and achievement in an online environment

This study was aimed to find which tutoring styles significantly predict learners’ satisfaction with an e-learning service, academic involvement, and academic achievement. The tutoring styles included subject expert, facilitator, guider, and administrator. In this study, 818 Korean sixth-grade students (ages 11–12 years), enrolled in the e-study program, and completed tutoring style and academic satisfaction evaluation surveys. Students’ login and posting frequency in the e-study program were measured to assess their academic involvement. Academic achievement was computed using completion rates and assessment scores. Multiple regression analyses indicated that there is some association between tutoring styles and academic outcomes. Of the four tutoring styles, facilitating tutoring styles particularly showed strong associations with the three outcome variables. Tutors’ guiding activities as opposed to facilitating were not significant contributors to students’ academic outcomes. The effect of tutors’ facilitating styles in an online learning environment was significant as being found in the existent literature.     

Challenges Faced by Canadian Social Work Field Instructors in Baccalaureate Field Supervision

ABSTRACT

This article examines the challenges faced by social work field instructors in two Canadian provinces. The results are based on the responses from 239 field instructors to a questionnaire survey. Findings highlight student difficulties, administrative issues with the social work schools, and practicum setting challenges. These demands hinder the optimal implementation of social work field education, reveal the concerning gatekeeping role of schools of social work, and discourage some social workers from taking on (or continuing) as field instructors. Implications for social work student placements, supervision of students, academic programs, and directions for future research are presented.     

University quality of life and learning (UNIQoLL): An approach to student well-being,satisfaction and institutional change

Institutional self-evaluation is becoming increasingly pertinent as the student population becomes more diverse and higher education institutions become more customer focused. This paper describes the philosophy and early stages of a large-scale institutional self-evaluation project, based at and funded by the University of Leeds. UNIQoLL (UNIversity Quality of Life and Learning) aims to monitor student well-being over time, on a university-wide basis. It explores students' perceptions of strengths and weaknesses in the university's academic and service infrastructure and the relationship of these perceptions to student well-being. It aims to 'close the loop' by facilitating change in academic and service infrastructure in the light of emerging findings in order to enhance the student experience. The focus on student psychological well-being in addition to satisfaction, the longitudinal approach and the university- wide scope make UNIQoLL unique as a system of institutional self-evaluation. A pilot study in which 23 departments ( n =3667 students) participated is described to illustrate the procedures and underlying philosophy of UNIQoLL. Selected findings from two pilot surveys are presented to illustrate the potential of the project in providing relevant and useful information for academic departments, university support services and university managers. Illustrative data relating to academic issues, accommodation, student finances and student well-being are presented. Long-term success of an institutional self-evaluation project like UNIQoLL depends on the active cooperation of and ownership of findings by departments, students and university agencies. It also needs procedures to be sufficiently rigorous to generate robust findings and yet be sufficiently manageable to be feasible and sustainable.     

An empirical study on gender differences in the perception of support during transition to university

Research has highlighted the importance of members of staff knowing their students and one way of achieving that is to ask them to predict students' responses to questions about the teaching process. To this end, student responses to open-ended questionnaires were content analysed to produce a questionnaire about factors that contribute to productive seminars and lectures. A total of 148 psychology students ranked the factors in order of importance and 13 members of academic staff predicted student responses. Results indicated that, despite some differences, members of staff were reasonably accurate in their predictions of student responses. It was also seen that student views were relatively consistent across student levels. The importance of the findings in relation to teaching practice are discussed.     

Simon S.I.O.

Abstract

How many students with epilepsy need help in basic skills, and if so, how much? This paper looks at communicating with those outside the school who are concerned with the student, those within the school, and with the most underrated resource ‐ the student himself/herself.

However helpful these resources are, the teacher has to cope alone at least some of the time. Most students with epilepsy who are in mainstream classes also cope alone. Regarding academic learning, some students have to cope with the effects of epilepsy and/or medication on alertness, on the processing of information, on attention and memory, and on distractibility.

The resulting teaching strategies are similar to those applying to students without epilepsy, whether of greater or less ability.     

A Study of Pupil Failures and Subject Failures in Chicago

Abstract

This study investigated teachers' sense of efficacy and biases in their decisions to refer students to special education. Teachers (N = 240) read a case study about a student with academic difficulties and judged the appropriateness of the student's regular class placement and whether they would refer the student. Teachers were randomly assigned to one of six conditions, in which student socioeconomic status (SES) and etiology of the learning problem were varied. Findings revealed that teachers who perceive themselves as ineffectual consider regular education inappropriate for underachieving students from low-SES families; teachers who believe that they are effective do not differentiate students by SES. Further, teachers referred students whose learning problems had an unspecified etiology more than those whose problems were medically or environmentally based. Thus, teachers' referral decisions appear to be biased by variables unrelated to the specific academic difficulties of the student.     

Competition and the adjustment of gifted children: A matter of motivation

Although there are several reasons to predict that intellectually gifted children have different attitudes toward, experiences with, and opportunities for competition, the research literature on this topic is extremely limited. In this article, we review the literature and discuss an important distinction between task‐oriented competitive behavior, which is motivated by a desire to improve performance, and other‐referenced competitive behavior, which is motivated primarily by a desire to outdo an opponent. The implications of these competitive styles with regard to the academic achievement and social adjustment of gifted youngsters is explored and some suggestions for educators and parents are provided.     

Writes of Passage: Stylistic features of male and female undergraduate history essays

As a student enters an academic field and seeks to become a member of a discourse community, they must learn to write in ways that are appropriate to that discipline. Academic success depends on determining what the rules are and on learning to follow them. A study of undergraduate writing in history is reported. Essays by 87 students were analysed and sentences were classified according to their bold, tentative or evaluative features. Findings were analysed by gender and by essay grade. They showed that there was more similarity than difference overall in the writing styles of men and women but that, in addition, men tended to use more bold constructions than women. The writing contained a predominance of assertive statements, lending weight to the view that argument is a key feature of academic writing. However, there was a greater occurrence of very assertive or bold statements in work receiving lower grades, which suggests that students must not write too boldly. Similar findings are reported in relation to the use of tentative and evaluative statements, leading to the conclusions that 'good' writing in history is a very finely judged performance and that learning to write history may be a very complex process.