PERSONALITY FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFUL HIGH‐RISK STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to identify those factors related to academic success in high‐risk students so that college educators could more precisely develop remedial programs to heighten the probability of academic success for high‐risk populations.

Demographic, academic, and personality variables were analyzed for groups of successful and unsuccessful high‐risk students in order to determine which were significant predictors of academic success.

An analysis of the data revealed that a greater proportion of the students in the successful group were married and female. The successful group's reading score at the time of admission was significantly higher than the unsuccessful group's. The majority of the successful group had enrolled in college to acquire job related skills; the unsuccessful group had enrolled to receive transfer credits toward a baccalaureate degree.

The personality analysis indicated that the successful group scored significantly higher on self‐esteem, assertiveness, and internal locus of control. Their learning style was characterized by their desire for detailed instruction, their preference for working with inanimate objects, and reading was their preferred modality for learning. The unsuccessful group scored lower on self‐esteem and higher on control by chance. The learning style inventory revealed that they did not like detailed instruction, they preferred working with people, and listening was their preferred mode of learning. Their grade expectancy was extremely unrealistic; they predicted higher grades for themselves than did the successful group.

The authors suggest strategies for utilizing these findings in the development of remedial programs for high‐risk students.     

Use of Exam Wrappers to Enhance Students’ Metacognitive Skills in a Large Introductory Food Science and Human Nutrition Course

Research shows that students struggle to develop higher order thinking skills and effective study strategies during the transition from high school to college. Therefore, in addition to teaching course content, effective instructors should assist students in developing metacognitive skills, that is, the practice of thinking about their thinking. An effective assignment that assists students in thinking about their exam performance is the exam wrapper. The objectives of this study were to examine students’ metacognitive skills, evaluate the correlation between study behaviors and student performance, and assess student perception of exam wrappers. Exam wrapper assignments were offered as extra credit after the first 3 exams in a large introductory Food Science and Human Nutrition course, and student responses and exam performance were analyzed. Many students with poor exam performance overestimated their exam scores, indicating students’ self‐assessment skills could be sharpened. However, students demonstrated the ability to make and implement goals to improve study strategies throughout the semester. A modest relationship between use of study strategies and improved exam performance was observed, particularly for students with a B exam average, suggesting that students in the middle of the grade distribution may benefit most from this type of intervention. Finally, most students expressed a belief that exam wrappers helped them improve their study habits and exam scores, and that they planned to use the exam wrapper process in future classes. In summary, this study shows that the exam wrapper is a valued and effective postexam reflection tool for improving students’ self‐reported study habits.     

What Should University Admissions Tests Predict?

University admissions tests should predict an applicant's ability to succeed in college, but how should this success be defined and measured? The status quo has been to use 1st-year grade point average (FYGPA) as the key indicator of college success, but a review of documents such as university mission statements reveals that universities expect students to develop a broad range of skills that are not always fully captured by FYGPA. In this article, evidence related to college and university documents are reviewed and analyzed for common links with regard to the essential capabilities these institutions purport to seek and to develop in their students. A conceptual model outlining what outcomes admissions tests ought to predict is then presented and discussed. Finally, the article considers whether admissions testing ought to be based on an applicant's aptitude, ability, or achievement in the essential skill areas that most universities aim to develop in their students.     

Basic Approaches

Abstract

Communication abilities, conflict management, and delegation are all important to students' success in the work force. Instructors often simulate situations that give students skills in these crucial areas by assigning group projects. It is often difficult for instructors to select individuals who will work successfully together. Common methods for selecting groups, many of which are ineffective, are discussed. A student self-assessment method used by the authors to group students according to their skills is described. The method, used for two years in both sophomore-and senior-level courses, has been proven to prevent intragroup skill imbalances.     

Can weekly discussions in a sensory science course influence student's perception and confidence in their professional success skills?

The Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) success skills highlight the importance of developing professional skills in the food science curriculum. On the other hand, many students in higher education report that the public school system feels disconnected and unrelated to their future. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate student's perceived importance of professional skills, as well as to enhance their awareness and confidence in them. Students in a sensory science class at the University of Illinois completed a questionnaire at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester to assess their opinion of and self‐assurance in professional skills, such as writing technical reports, providing leadership, making formal presentations, and applying critical thinking. During the semester, students received basic training and guidelines on each skill and were given assignments and activities to practice them as part of their coursework. Results showed increased knowledge about the existence of IFT core competencies, as well as an increased motivation to practice success skills regularly. They also showed an increased perceived importance of presentation skills, leadership, dealing with group conflict, researching scientific information, and library resources. Confidence in 80% of the skills increased significantly by the end of the semester, after students had been presented with opportunities to practice and discuss the skills in groups. Students were also able to relate their learning of specific success skills to different course assignments. This study concluded that a general exposure to the importance of practicing professional skills in a college setting enhanced student's experiences and awareness by connecting them to their future professional careers.     

Developmental Students: The Challenge of Peer Relationships

Despite increased program offerings at many community colleges, the retention and success of developmental students are often extremely low. Research has indicated that a complex set of challenges complicates developmental student success, but students' experiences with these variables are not well understood. In this paper, I report findings from a qualitative study that was conducted at a community college in New York City to explore the ways in which developmental students describe and understand their experiences with education. Findings indicated that students viewed their decision to attend college as a separation from high school peers whom they associated with academic failure; they continued to differentiate themselves from their peers when they entered college and were wary of developing college friendships because they viewed peers as a hindrance to educational success. However, relationships with like-minded college peers might prove to be a necessary source of support that is essential to their retention and success. These results indicate that students may need great assistance to develop the peer support networks that could assist them in pursuit of their educational goals. I offer recommendations for future research as well as specific suggestions to address developmental students' possible resistance to peer interaction including tutoring and learning community designs and collaborative/cooperative learning approaches.     

The Impact of Self-assessment on Achievement: The effects of self-assessment training on performance in external examinations

Can the quality of students' work be improved through training in self- assessment practices? This paper considers the impact of training high school students on their performance in external examinations. Teachers were selected from a sample of high schools and trained in how to develop students' self-assessment skills. Ten high schools representative of the top, middle and bottom levels of academic achievement in national examinations were chosen and students trained in self-assessment by their normal class teachers as part of their final year curriculum. An experimental group comprising 256 participants received formal training in self-assessment skills for the entire three terms of the academic year. A control group was selected from matched classes not receiving such training. A significant difference favouring those trained in self-assessment was found overall and in each curriculum area. While it is demonstrated that self-assessment training can have an impact on student performance the paper considers the circumstances of the study and whether similar outcomes might be possible in less favourable conditions.     

An examination of the relationships among United States college students' media use habits,need for cognition,and grade point average

The current study uses survey methods to understand how US college students' use of various types of social media, such as social networking websites and text messaging on smart phones, as well as consumption of traditional media, such as watching television and reading books for pleasure, is (or is not) related to intellectual cognitive processing and performance in school. The current results, which were based on a number of multiple regression analyses, revealed college students’ use of traditional media appears to be a significant and viable predictor of both college students’ grade point averages (GPAs) and their levels of need for cognition (NFC). On the other hand, college students’ use of socially interactive technologies appears to be wholly unrelated to college students’ GPAs and their levels of NFC. Implications of these findings, both in terms of the relationships among social and traditional media use and success at school as well as relationships among shifts in young people's media use habits and possible related shifts in their levels of cognitive processing, are explored.     

高校学生社团与大学生社会化的关系研究

社会化有助于大学生培养优良习惯、构建多元智能结构、定位社会角色,这些直接影响到大学生的成长成才以及价值实现。高校学生社团作为自发形成的同辈团体,在大学生基本技能社会化、基本规范社会化、角色社会化等方面具有积极意义。因此,必须积极引导、科学管理、加强扶持,有效发挥学生社团对大学生社会化的促进作用。     

Online self-assessment and peer-assessment as a tool to enhance student-teachers’ assessment skills

Self-assessment and peer-assessment are strategies employed to encourage students to take more responsibility for the learning process. Although the advantages are not obvious, the process has the potential to empower learning and to assist the development of assessment skills, which are so important for future teachers. The research aimed to identify student-teachers' attitudes concerning the contribution of self-assessment and anonymous peer-assessment to the quality of their assignments and improvement of their assessment skills, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The sample included 300 students studying for bachelor’s or master’s degrees. Texts that were analysed included: responses to a questionnaire, self and peer-assessments, word comments on the assignments and written blog content relating to students’ activities and their performance of peer evaluations. The students noted that they significantly benefitted from the process, learned various methods of assignment and assessment performance and it positioned them in relation to others, noticing how others evaluated them. Anonymous evaluation allowed students to overcome inhibitions in evaluating peers' works and improved their assessment skills.     

Executive Function Coaching for College Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD: A New Approach for Fostering Self‐Determination

Given growing numbers of college students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or learning disabilities (LD), it is important to understand why these students choose ADD (“executive function”) coaching to enhance their academic success when more traditional forms of campus support already offer this help. Fifty‐four undergraduates with ADHD and/or LD participated in a study of their experiences with coaching. To better understand students’ perspectives on the manner in which coaching helped them minimize executive function challenges while addressing academic goals, a purposive sample of seven of these students participated in two interviews. All seven described highly self‐determined approaches to goal attainment that they associated with coaching. These students also reported that, in contrast to traditional campus services, coaching focused primarily on supporting their emerging autonomy, helping them develop and manage their executive function skills and promoting their self‐efficacy and confidence about future success. Findings are linked to recommendations for additional research and service delivery options.     

多媒体模式下艺术专业学生英语自主学习策略探究

由于艺术专业录取时侧重专业水平的选拔,对于英语成绩要求不高,因而艺术专业学生平时学习注重专业课,轻视文化课,他们英语基础薄弱,缺乏英语学习动机。在多媒体教学模式下,采用英语自主学习策略,可有效激发学生的英语学习兴趣,培养其自主学习能力,提高英语课堂教学效率。在教学中,教师可利用学生制作多媒体课件等方法激发艺术专业学生英语学习的主观能动性;讲授相应的英语学习策略,培养艺术专业学生的自主学习能力和习惯;根据艺术专业学生的实际,编写和使用适合其特点的英语学习教材;针对艺术专业学生的学习和性格差异,采取个性化的英语教学策略;利用多媒体技术培养和提高艺术专业学生合作、探究式学习能力。     

大学生人际交往现状的调查与思考

人际交往能力在大学生的整体素质中占有非常重要的地位,其发展水平直接影响到大学生的全面发展。通过对重庆市五所高校392名大学生的问卷调查发现,当前大学生在人际交往中存在着诸如交往动机过于功利、交往能力不强、缺乏交往的主动性和交往技巧等问题。因此,高校应引导大学生树立以人为本的交往观,培养其自主负责的道德习惯,并营造和谐的校园文化环境,以不断提升大学生的人际交往能力,构建良好的人际关系。     

从行为习惯养成看高职空乘专业学生的培养

习惯是指因不断重复练习而巩固下来的行为方式,良好的行为习惯是人成功的重要条件。空乘专业学生需要有高度的服务意识和技能,高校在空乘专业学生培养中必须重视其行为习惯的养成。     

The literacy achievement of Norwegian minority students

The article presents the literacy achievement of Norwegian minority students, their reading habits, and their enjoyment of reading based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 study. Aspects of their family background and attitudes towards school are related to literacy achievement results. A comparison between Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany shows that the achievement gap between majority and minority students is larger in Denmark and Germany than in Norway and Sweden. A more detailed presentation of the Norwegian reading results shows that 35% of the Norwegian minority students perform at a level indicating that they are able to read in a technical sense, but they are unlikely to be able to use reading as an independent tool in acquiring knowledge and skills. The minority students' responses to questions about socio‐economic family background, reading habits, learning strategies and school motivation give a complex picture of their situation in Norwegian schools. The results indicate that there is some potential for equalising differences between minority students and majority students.     

Listening to our Students: Understanding the factors that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students' academic success

While the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in higher education in Australia has doubled in recent years, the gap between their attainment and the attainment of other Australians has remained consistent. It is essential to elucidate the factors that promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students' academic success, not in order to justify the exclusion of these students from tertiary education, but to refine and develop curriculum and management strategies which promote their academic success. This study focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander students' experiences in a diploma program offered in block mode, in order to better understand the ‘on-’ and ‘off-’ campus experiences which are related to academic success and the factors which challenge or enhance students' study. The research yields important findings related to students' motivations to enrol and their definitions of academic success; the challenges they experience in making the transition to tertiary study; the vulnerability of our students' determination to succeed; the effects of being in a program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students; and the ways in which minor challenges, if unresolved, can accumulate to interfere with students' study.     

Distance students and online research: Promoting information literacy through media literacy

Today's college students, particularly distance students, are increasingly dependent on the Web for their research needs. At the same time they lack the critical thinking skills required to successfully evaluate the actual credibility of online information, a critical aspect of information literacy. Furthermore, rather than access the online library database, distance students are more likely to employ generic search engines in their research quests, making more critical the need for information literacy. The current study employed an online survey designed to explore the relationships between critical evaluation of online information, as a measure of information literacy, and components of media literacy. Results suggest a significant, positive relationship between these literacies. These findings suggest variety in the types of strategies instructors and instructional designers might employ towards the development of information literacy skills required for today's graduates to successfully negotiate the 21st century information society.     

First-semester students’ capacity to predict academic achievement as related to approaches to learning

ABSTRACT

Students’ ways of approaching their studies influence their academic outcomes. Expecting high grades and having the skills to steer learning activities towards assessment demands seem to be important components of academic success. However, our knowledge about students’ capacity to predict academic achievement is limited. Focusing on first-semester psychology students, this study aimed to investigate (a) students’ self-assessment skills, and (b) how approaches to learning were related to self-assessment skills, and to expected and final academic outcomes. Data from two sources were analysed: (1) students’ (N = 189) responses to the 52-item version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) questionnaire and their assessment expectations and (2) final course grades that were retrieved from official university records. Results showed that 18 per cent of the students provided perfect ratings of their final grades while most underestimated their grades. Students reporting the best self-assessment skills expected high grades, but achieved low grades, and reported a low surface approach. Students with a low surface and a high strategic approach both expected and achieved high grades. Students with a deep approach expected high grades but did not perform as expected. Taken together, students new to a discipline seem to have difficulties estimating their grades. Variations between approaches probably relate to the discipline being new and to circumstances characterising the local educational setting, such as the examination favouring a strategic approach. Practical implications involve carefully considering how assessments may steer student approaches and learning outcomes.     

大学生体质健康水平下降对策研究

大学生体质健康水平下降是由社会、学校、家庭以及学生本身等原因造成的.解决的对策主要有：恢复体育的本身地位,发挥体育教育的功能效应;按照体育运动技能掌握原则的规律安排教学内容;从激发兴趣、培养爱好、掌握技能、养成习惯入手实施教学;树立健康观念,建立健康管理体制制度,严把升学、毕业、就业关;拓宽健康教育资源渠道,加大健康科研教育力度.对以上对策加以分析研究以求对大学体质健康水平的提升有所帮助.