Introducing Students to Self‐assessment

This study describes the introduction of self‐assessment to third‐year education students as a strategy for improving learning. Students were required to self‐assess a literature review using the marking guide developed by the course lecturer. The results showed a good level of agreement between students and the teacher but with a tendency for more students to overestimate than underestimate their grades. Interviews with students indicated that those who over estimated their grades were less clear about the standard by which to judge their work and looked for more specific guidance on what the lecturer ‘wanted’ than students whose estimates were closer to the lecturer's. The former group also tended to include ‘effort’ as a factor in their judgement. Students who responded more positively to the self‐assessment exercise were also more positive about the value of having a marking guide given out with the assignment. The paper concludes with suggestions for improving the study and some advice to other teachers who are contemplating the introduction of self‐assessment.     

Student non‐completion of an undergraduate degree: wrong program selection or part of a career plan?

Institution wide comparisons of students who leave university before completing their degree and students who complete their studies, have identified ‘wrong course selection’ and a lack of vocational focus as common reasons for non‐completion. It is not fully understood, though, whether these trends are constant across different disciplines and programs and whether all relevant contributing factors, in particular career intentions, have been considered. This study was undertaken to explore reasons for student non‐completion in more detail in one program. Students enrolled in an undergraduate health sciences degree completed a questionnaire at enrolment and another 12 months later, regarding their reasons for enrolment, career intentions and expectations for/experiences of learning. Students who did not re‐enrol after the first year were invited to complete a separate exit questionnaire regarding their reasons for not re‐enrolling. Many students who did not re‐enrol after the first year of study transferred to another degree that was more aligned with their career intentions. In this context rather than a ‘wrong’ selection, non‐completion of the initial undergraduate degree formed part of a career plan.     

Students’ assessment preferences and approaches to learning: can formative assessment make a difference?

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the relationships between hands‐on experiences with formative assessment, students’ assessment preferences and their approaches to learning. The sample consisted of 108 university first‐year Bachelor’s students studying criminology. Data were obtained using the Revised two‐factor study process questionnaire (R‐SPQ‐2F) and the Assessment preferences inventory (API). The study shows that differences in assessment preferences are correlated with differences in approach to learning. Students’ preferences for assessment methods with higher‐order thinking tasks are significantly lower after actual experience with a formative assessment. Moreover, students also changed their approaches to learning after hands‐on experience with a formative mode of assessment. Surprisingly, this change evinced a more ‘surface approach’ to learning. Nevertheless, this is in line with other recent research findings. The paper ends with some possible explanations, and new directions for research are proposed.     

Academic Adjustment and Learning Processes: a comparison of international and local students in first‐year university

This article examines the academic adjustment and learning processes of international and local first‐year students. Twenty first‐year local and international students participated in a semi‐structured interview study upon the completion of their first year in a Faculty of Commerce and Management. Students reported positive and negative critical incidents which helped or hindered their learning during the first year. In addition, students described their feelings, thoughts and behaviours in relation to these incidents. Critical incidents were coded, themes identified, and comparisons made across local and international student groups. The impact of particular teaching processes are considered, and implications for teaching and learning in the first year are discussed.     

Impact and educational outcomes of a small group self‐directed teaching strategy in a clinical neuroscience curriculum

The complexity of the material being taught in clinical neuroscience within the medical school curriculum requires creative pedagogies to teach medical students effectively. Many clinical teaching strategies have been developed and are well described to address these challenges. However, only a few have been evaluated to determine their impact on the performance of students studying clinical neuroscience. Interactive, 2‐hour, self‐directed small‐group interactive clinical case‐based learning sessions were conducted weekly for 4 weeks to integrate concepts learned in the corresponding didactic lectures. Students in the small groups analyzed cases of patients suffering from neurological disease that were based on eight learning objectives that allowed them to evaluate neuroanatomical data and clinical findings before presenting their case analysis to the larger group. Students’ performances on the formative quizzes and summative tests were compared to those of first‐year medical students in the previous year for whom the self‐directed, small‐group interactive clinical sessions were not available. There was a significant improvement in the summative performance of first‐year medical students with self‐directed clinical case learning in the second year (Y2) of teaching clinical neuroscience (P < 0.05) when compared with first‐year students in the first year (Y1) for whom the self‐directed learning approach was not available. Student performance in the formative assessments between Y1 and Y2 was not significantly different (P = 0.803). A target of ≥70% student scoring above 80% in the final summative examination was met. The current study revealed evidence for the impact and educational outcomes of a self‐directed, clinical teaching strategy in a clinical neuroscience curriculum for first‐year medical students. Anat Sci Educ 11: 478–487. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

An experiment in student self-assessment

This article describes a lecturer's experiment in self-assessment by students. His principal motivation was the belief that it would encourage better learning. Students were set somewhat open-ended tasks, and were encouraged to collaborate with each other and with him as their lecturer, before assessing their work against their own choice of criteria. Most students were enthusiastic about the effect of self-assessment on their learning. The method was very time-consuming for the lecturer, but he believes that its benefits outweigh this drawback.     

Access and assessment? Incentives for independent study

This paper explores incentives for students to engage with continuous learning outside the classroom, i.e. independent study. Two questionnaires were completed with undergraduate students, asking them quantitative and qualitative questions regarding their engagement (or lack thereof) with weekly readings which are non‐assessed and non‐monitored. The questionnaires identified that the majority of students do not complete the readings despite a consensus that they are crucial for understanding the course material. The two primary reasons expressed for not undertaking independent study are lack of assessment or time‐bound deadlines and poor access to reading material. Students were also asked to imagine potential incentives to encourage the completion of weekly readings, and then ranked these ideas in the second questionnaire. The two proposals with a majority of student support are the introduction of assessment measures to incentivise weekly readings (albeit with some student opposition to such an interventionalist approach) and the introduction of mechanisms that provide greater access to learning materials. These findings introduce the role of ‘access’ as a key mechanism to stimulate independent study, thus challenging the literature’s emphasis on assessment as the primary means to facilitate learning.     

The interrupted learner: How distractions during live and video lectures influence learning outcomes

New instructional technologies have been increasingly incorporated into the medical school learning environment, including lecture video recordings as a substitute for live lecture attendance. The literature presents varying conclusions regarding how this alternative experience impacts students' academic success. Previously, a multi‐year study of the first‐year medical histology component at the University of Michigan found that live lecture attendance was positively correlated with learning success, while lecture video use was negatively correlated. Here, three cohorts of first‐year medical students (N = 439 respondents, 86.6% response rate) were surveyed in greater detail regarding lecture attendance and video usage, focusing on study behaviors that may influence histology learning outcomes. Students who reported always attending lectures or viewing lecture videos had higher average histology scores than students who employed an inconsistent strategy (i.e., mixing live attendance and video lectures). Several behaviors were negatively associated with histology performance. Students who engaged in “non‐lecture activities” (e.g., social media use), students who reported being interrupted while watching the lecture video, or feeling sleepy/losing focus had lower scores than their counterparts not engaging in these behaviors. This study suggests that interruptions and distractions during medical learning activities—whether live or recorded—can have an important impact on learning outcomes. Anat Sci Educ 11: 366–376. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

The influence of first‐year chemistry students’ learning experiences on their educational choices 1

The research reported here examined factors that influence student tertiary level chemistry enrolment choices. Students enrolled in a first‐year chemistry class were surveyed, using the Chemistry Attitudes and Experiences Questionnaire (CAEQ), three times throughout their academic year: at the start of the year (n=126), the end of the first semester (n=109), and the end of the second semester (n=84). Additionally, 19 students were interviewed using a semistructured interview protocol at the same stages throughout the year. A number of influences on student enrolment intentions are posited based on a modified version of Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour: learning experiences, attitude‐toward‐chemistry and chemistry self‐efficacy. The extent to which the students believe they had control over enrolling in chemistry and normative beliefs about enrolling in chemistry, also were investigated. Influential factors include chemistry self‐efficacy (both positive and negative), prior secondary school experiences and the fact that chemistry is compulsory for some programs. Normative beliefs exert indirect effect with students having associates in a science related field more likely to enrol in second‐year chemistry.     

A study of accounting students' motives,expectations and preparedness for higher education

Framed by the accounting education change debate and growing national concern regarding student attrition, this paper examines the perceptions of first‐year students as they commence their study of accounting at an Irish university. It explores a range of factors which impact on students' learning: their motives for entering higher education, their rationale for selecting an accounting programme, their preparedness for further study and their expectations. The findings offer accounting educators the opportunity to have a greater sensitivity to, and a better understanding of, their students. This will enable better‐informed curriculum, teaching and assessment within the accounting discipline, aiding students' transition to higher education and leading to higher quality learning.     

Telling the second half of the story: linking academic development to student experience of learning

Common measures used by academic developers, e.g. lecturer satisfaction with workshops, are necessary but insufficient indicators of impact since they tell only the first half of the story. Documenting whether positive responses translate into teaching actions that influence students is the second half of the story. In this study, the project team undertook to document this second half: the influence of a workshop for lecturers on student experience of learning in courses designed during the workshop. This paper describes the results of the study and also examines the implications – the difficulties and value of reconciling the desirable with the do‐able in undertaking studies such as this.     

Cross‐Validated Prediction of Academic Performance of First‐Year University Students: Identifying Risk Factors in a Nonselective Environment

Early prediction of academic performance is important for student support. The authors explored, in a multivariate approach, whether pre‐entry data (e.g., high school study results, preparative activities, expectations, capabilities, motivation, and attitude) could predict university students’ first‐year academic performance. Preregistered applicants for a bachelor's program filled out an intake questionnaire before study entry. Outcome data (first‐year grade point average, course credits, and attrition) were obtained 1 year later. Prediction accuracy was assessed by cross‐validation. Students who performed better in preparatory education, followed a conventional educational path before entering, and expected to spend more time on a program‐related organization performed better during their first year at university. Concrete preuniversity behaviors were more predictive than psychological attributions such as self‐efficacy. Students with a “love of learning” performed better than leisure‐oriented students. The intake questionnaire may be used for identifying up front who may need additional support, but is not suitable for student selection.     

Literary reading activities of good and weak students: A think aloud study

In this study we examined how good and weak students of literature interact with short literary stories. We focused on differences in the use of cognitive and affective reading activities, and in the extent to which good and weak students adapt their activities to (parts of) the story they are reading. 19 Dutch tenth-grade students from 8 classes participated in the study, of whom 10 were known to be good students of literature and 9 were known as weak literature students. Each student read five literary stories under think aloud conditions. The stories were presented segment by segment on a computer screen. Students responses were transcribed, segmented and coded. Analysis of variance was applied to the data to test the diffrences between good and weak students.     

The path of least resistance: a voice‐relational analysis of disabled students’ experiences of discrimination in English universities

Recent legislation means that it is now illegal to treat a student, for reasons relating to a disability, less favourably than a non‐disabled student unless this is justified to maintain academic standards. However, recent research has identified numerous barriers faced by students with disabilities when they attempt to access the higher education curriculum. This study uses a methodology combining life‐story approaches with a voice‐relational analysis and aims to explore in more detail these barriers by listening to first person accounts from university students with a disability. The students’ narratives suggest that disabled students have to work considerably harder than non‐disabled students to overcome a wide range of physical, attitudinal, social, cultural and political barriers. Students appear to take the path of least resistance by choosing routes where the barriers are least great and it is argued that in this way they are being discriminated against. The research shows that voice‐relational methodology is excellent at producing a thorough account of the phenomenological world of these students without neglecting a materialist and cultural analysis of their environment. These insider perspectives are then used to suggest possible improvements to policy and practice in higher education.     

Rethinking the role of open and distance teaching institutions

This investigation compared outcomes in disabled and non‐disabled students taking courses by distance learning with the Open University UK in 2003. Students with mental health difficulties showed poorer course completion than non‐disabled students. Students with restricted mobility and students with other disabilities showed lower pass rates than non‐disabled students. Students with dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties showed lower pass rates and poorer grades than non‐disabled students. Finally, students with multiple disabilities showed poorer course completion, lower pass rates and poorer grades than non‐disabled students. Accommodations to support disabled students in distance education need to be focused on different groups of students with particular disabilities.     

Correlates of orthographic learning in third‐grade children's silent reading

This study examined word identification, phonological recoding efficiency, familiar word reading efficiency, orthographic choice for familiar words and serial naming speed as potential correlates of orthographic learning following silent reading in third‐grade children. Children silently read a series of short stories, each containing six repetitions of a different target non‐word. They subsequently read target non‐words faster than homophones and preferred target non‐words to homophones in an orthographic choice task, indicating that they had formed functional orthographic representations of the target non‐words through phonologically recoding them during silent story reading. Target non‐word orthographic choice was correlated with all measures bar non‐symbol naming speed. The association between phonological recoding efficiency and orthographic learning lends support to the hypothesis that self‐teaching occurs through phonological recoding even in silent reading. Our findings were not generally consistent with the view that serial naming speed assesses orthographic learning aptitude.     

Prior learning in biology at high school does not predict performance in the first year at university

Students in their first year of university face a number of transition issues that can make realising their academic potential difficult. In the sciences, first-year courses cover a large amount of material across broad subject areas, which can make them troublesome for students without background knowledge, and students need to adapt to typically large class sizes and develop active, independent learning skills. We expected a student's prior learning to be important to their academic performance in a large, first-year introductory biology subject and analysed the relationships between students' results in this course with their senior high school results in related subjects over three years from 2007 to 2009. We predicted that students with prior learning in biology would have higher results than those without it, but that chemistry might also be important, given the biochemical nature of much of the course content. Students who completed biology at the senior high school-level did perform better than those who had not, but only if they also completed chemistry. Prior learning in biology was of no benefit to students in first-year biology, except when combined with chemistry, suggesting that potential differences in biology curricula between high school and the first year at university may need to be addressed.     

A comparative study on student perceptions of their learning outcomes in undergraduate science degree programmes with differing curriculum models

ABSTRACT

This study investigated students’ perceptions of their graduate learning outcomes including content knowledge, communication, writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking in two Australian universities. One university has a traditional discipline-orientated curriculum and the other, an interdisciplinary curriculum in the entry semester of first year. The Science Students Skills Inventory asked students (n?=?613) in first and final years to rate their perceptions of the importance of developing graduate learning outcomes within the programme; how much they improved their graduate learning outcomes throughout their undergraduate science programme; how much they saw learning outcomes included in the programme; and how confident they were about their learning outcomes. A framework of progressive curriculum development was adopted to interpret results. Students in the discipline-oriented degree programme reported higher perceptions of scientific content knowledge and ethical thinking while students from the interdisciplinary curriculum indicated higher perceptions of oral communication and teamwork. Implications for curriculum development include ensuring progressive development from first to third years, a need for enhanced focus on scientific ethics, and career opportunities from first year onwards.     

Digital storytelling: a meaningful technology-integrated approach for engaged student learning

Although research emphasizes the importance of integrating technology into the curriculum, the use of technology can only be effective if teachers themselves possess the expertise to use technology in a meaningful way in the classroom. The aim of this study was to assist Egyptian teachers in developing teaching and learning through the application of a particular digital technology. Students were encouraged to work through the process of producing their own digital stories using MS Photo Story, while being introduced to desktop production and editing tools. They also presented, published and shared their own stories with other students in the class. Quantitative and qualitative instruments, including digital story evaluation rubric, integration of technology observation instruments and interviews for evaluating the effectiveness of digital storytelling into learning were implemented to examine the extent to which students were engaged in authentic learning tasks using digital storytelling. The findings from the analysis of students-produced stories revealed that overall, students did well in their projects and their stories met many of the pedagogical and technical attributes of digital stories. The findings from classroom observations and interviews revealed that despite problems observed and reported by teachers, they believed that the digital storytelling projects could increase students’ understanding of curricular content and they were willing to transform their pedagogy and curriculum to include digital storytelling.