Development, Evaluation and Use of a Student Experience Survey in Undergraduate Science Laboratories: The Advancing Science by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory Student Laboratory Learning Experience Survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1795-1814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon C. Barrie ◽  
Robert B. Bucat ◽  
Mark A. Buntine ◽  
Karen Burke da Silva ◽  
Geoffrey T. Crisp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Laboratory Learning ◽  
Science Laboratories ◽  
Student Laboratory ◽  
Development Evaluation ◽  
Experience Survey ◽  
Undergraduate Science

scholarly journals Authentic Student Laboratory Classes in Science Education

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurgen Schulte
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
Minimum Requirement ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Laboratory Class ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Science Laboratories ◽  
Industry Engagement ◽  
Student Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory Experiences

The traditional hands-on nature in science laboratory classes creates a sense of immediacy and presence of authenticity in such learning experiences. The handling of physical objects in a laboratory class and the immediate responses provided by the experiments are certainly real-live observations, yet may be far from instilling an authentic learning experience in students. This paper explores the presence of authenticity in hands-on laboratory classes in introductory science laboratories. With our own laboratory program as backdrop we introduce four general types of hands-on laboratory experiences and assign degrees of authenticity according the processes and student engagement associated with them. In that course, we present a newly developed type of hands-on experiment which takes a somewhat different view of the concept of hands-on in a laboratory class. A proxemics-based study of teacher-student interactions in the hands-on laboratory classes presents us with some insights into the design of the different types of laboratory classes and the pedagogical presumptions we made. A step-by-step guide on how to embed industry engagement in the curriculum and the design of an authentic laboratory program is presented to highlight some minimum requirement for the sustainability of such program and pitfalls to avoid.

scholarly journals Perceptions and Misconceptions about the Undergraduate Laboratory from Chemistry, Physics and Biology Academics

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Anthony Buntine ◽  
Karen Burke da Silva ◽  
Scott Kable ◽  
Kieran Lim ◽  
Simon Pyke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Educational Research ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Laboratory Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Laboratory ◽  
The Usa

The undergraduate laboratory occupies a large fraction of science students’ time. Over 3000 students were asked to rate their laboratory learning experience using 12 metrics. 362 academics were asked to predict which of these 12 aspects of the student experience would correlate with the overall laboratory learning experience. Responses from academics in biology, chemistry and physics departments, and from the USA and Australia, are statistically the same. However, the correlation between these staff predictions and student results is poor. The student results are consistent with extant educational research, but it appears that these findings are not reaching those who are responsible for developing undergraduate laboratory courses. There is a great need for educational research to be made more accessible for academics who are trained in scientific, but not in educational research.

scholarly journals Authentic Student Laboratory Classes in Science Education

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurgen Schulte
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
Minimum Requirement ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Laboratory Class ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Science Laboratories ◽  
Industry Engagement ◽  
Student Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory Experiences

The traditional hands-on nature in science laboratory classes creates a sense of immediacy and a presence of authenticity in such learning experiences. The handling of physical objects in a laboratory class, and the immediate responses provided by these experiments, are certainly real-live observations, yet may be far from instilling an authentic learning experience in students. This paper explores the presence of authenticity in hands-on laboratory classes in introductory science laboratories. With our own laboratory program as a backdrop we introduce four general types of hands-on laboratory experiences and assign degrees of authenticity according the processes and student engagement associated with them. We present a newly developed type of hands-on experiment which takes a somewhat different view of the concept of hands-on in a laboratory class. A proxemics-based study of teacher-student interactions in the hands-on laboratory classes presents us with some insights into the design of the different types of laboratory classes and the pedagogical presumptions we made. A step-by-step guide on how to embed industry engagement in the curriculum and the design of an authentic laboratory program is presented to highlight some minimum requirement for the sustainability of such program and pitfalls to avoid.

scholarly journals Toward a comprehensive and distributed approach to assessing university student experience

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily M. Zeng ◽  
Luke K. Fryer ◽  
Yue Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
University Student ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
Distributed Approach ◽  
The Usa

Higher education’s rapid expansion is paired with growing social expectations of its benefits and concern on its teaching quality. In response to these, institutional/national surveys based on an array of theories are widely used in universities for quality assurance, enhancement, and benchmarking. This paper reviews three major types of instruments used for such purposes, including two distinct schools of theory that have guided the development of such assessment in the USA, Australia, UK and then spread to the other parts of the world. The theories shaping the development of the two instruments, the dimensions assessed, and the challenges and criticisms involved when using such instruments for quality assurance are each discussed. This review concludes with a call for comparisons of different lines of research in this area, discussions on student learning experience that include more diverse characterizations of student experience across different educational contexts, development of tools to enable distributed leadership among teachers, and encouragement of students as partners for quality enhancement in higher education.

scholarly journals Understanding interactions in face-to-face and remote undergraduate science laboratories: a literature review

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianye Wei ◽  
David F. Treagust ◽  
Mauro Mocerino ◽  
Anthony D. Lucey ◽  
Marjan G. Zadnik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Remote Laboratories ◽  
Science Laboratories ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Systematic Selection ◽  
Undergraduate Science

AbstractThis paper reviews the ways in which interactions have been studied, and the findings of such studies, in science education in both face-to-face and remote laboratories. Guided by a systematic selection process, 27 directly relevant articles were analysed based on three categories: the instruments used for measuring interactions, the research findings on student interactions, and the theoretical frameworks used in the studies of student interactions. In face-to-face laboratories, instruments for measuring interactions and the characterisation of the nature of interactions were prominent. For remote laboratories, the analysis of direct interactions was found to be lacking. Instead, studies of remote laboratories were mainly concerned with their practical scope. In addition, it is found that only a limited number of theoretical frameworks have been developed and applied in the research design. Existent theories are summarised and possible theoretical frameworks that may be implemented in studies of interactions in undergraduate laboratories are proposed. Finally, future directions for research on the inter-relationship between student interactions and laboratory learning are suggested.

Promoting self-directed learning using a menu of assessment options: the investment model

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 181-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Rangachari
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Investment Model ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Science

Undergraduate science students took an Inquiry course in their second (sophomore) year. The course was designed to explore the social life of scientific knowledge. They were given a set of eight assessment options: personal logs, targeted oral examinations, commentaries, mini-lectures, individual explorations, research proposals, book reviews, and problem-solving exercises. Each option had a specific maximum mark (percentage or grade point) associated with it. Students were permitted to select any set of options to obtain their total grade for the course. From the student’s perspective, the course provided a valuable learning experience and enabled them to recognize the complexities involved in the process of generating scientific information and making it useful and relevant to the public. The opportunity given to select their own assessment options enhanced their learning. For me, as the sole instructor managing 51 students, the experience was rewarding.

scholarly journals Play Brings Openness or Using a Creative Approach to Evaluate an Undergraduate Unit and Move Forward Together

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrissi Nerantzi ◽  
Haleh Moravej ◽  
Floyd Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Tutorial Group ◽  
Positive Side ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Uk Higher Education ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Insight Into

Within this reflective practice paper, a LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP) intervention will be shared that has been used at a UK higher education institution to evaluate an undergraduate unit during the academic year 2013/14 using a specific tutorial group. Authentic voices and perspectives linked to the LSP experience of the LSP facilitator, the unit tutor and a student linked to the workshop have been included. These have been gathered to provide an insight into the workshop experience and illustrate the value of this approach from three different perspectives for unit evaluation as well as personal and professional development. Within the context of this reflective analysis, LSP enabled opening up, sharing and reflection of the individual and collective student experience and provided a rich insight into the lived student experience. It also had positive side effects for students and the tutor as it helped them get to know each other and strengthen their learning relationship as well as foster community and belonging.Could play and ‘learning by making’ or constructionism (Papert & Harel, 1991) help students reflect on their learning experience and articulate this using their own metaphors that would be of value for the tutor to gain insight for evaluation and renewal of practice? The authors of this paper have put this to the test and share their reflective analysis, which might be of interest to the wider academic community.

scholarly journals Using Digital Imaging to Enhance Learning in Undergraduate Plant Biology Courses

HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 809B-809
Author(s):  
Alice S. Waegel*
Keyword(s):  
Digital Imaging ◽  
Independent Study ◽  
Plant Biology ◽  
Course Evaluations ◽  
Digital Cameras ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Science Laboratories ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Digital Still Camera ◽  
Undergraduate Science

With grant funds for upgrading technology in undergraduate science laboratories, digital cameras and microscopes were acquired for use in undergraduate biology laboratories. The digital imaging equipment has been used to enhance student learning in both Bio 244 Plant Biology and Bio 480 Biology Independent Study. In the student research oriented independent study course, digital photo-microscopy with a Nikon Digital Still camera (DXM 1200) mounted on a Nikon Stereo-scopic Zoom microscope (SMZ800) was used to illustrate a research project involving the effect of mycorrhizae fungi on root development of the shining club moss Huperzia lucidula. Digital photomicrographs of fungi isolated from the roots of H. lucidula collected in the wild were included in the student researcher's final PowerPoint report on the experiment. In Bio 244 Plant Biology the digital imaging equipment was used in a tree identification project. Students took Nikon Coolpix 995 cameras to a local arboretum (Tyler Arboretum, Media, Pa.) where, after minimal instruction in camera operation, they took photographs of 10 trees for inclusion in a tree identification PowerPoint presentation. Each pair of students selected different trees from their peers, taking shots of overall habit, leaves, bark, and flowers/fruit if present. Photos were downloaded onto lab computers at the conclusion of the field trip. The students were then responsible for incorporating descriptive text and digital images into PowerPoint presentations shown to the class later in the semester. Students and professor participated in the grading process, using a rubric which students helped design. In the end of course evaluations, digital imaging projects were highly rated by students.

scholarly journals Student Engagement Level in e-Learning Environment: Clustering Using K-means

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdallah Moubayed ◽  
Mohammadnoor Injadat ◽  
Abdallah Shami ◽  
Hanan Lutfiyya
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
American University ◽  
Performance Metric ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Event Log ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Learning Platforms ◽  
Undergraduate Science

E-learning platforms and processes face several challenges, among which is the idea of personalizing the e-learning experience and to keep students motivated and engaged. This work is part of a larger study that aims to tackle these two challenges using a variety of machine learning techniques. To that end, this paper proposes the use of k-means algorithm to cluster students based on 12 engagement metrics divided into two categories: interaction-related and effort-related. Quantitative analysis is performed to identify the students that are not engaged who may need help. Three different clustering models are considered: two-level, three-level, and five-level. The considered dataset is the students’ event log of a second-year undergraduate Science course from a North American university that was given in a blended format. The event log is transformed using MATLAB to generate a new dataset representing the considered metrics. Experimental results’ analysis shows that among the considered interaction-related and effort-related metrics, the number of logins and the average duration to submit assignments are the most representative of the students’ engagement level. Furthermore, using the silhouette coefficient as a performance metric, it is shown that the two-level model offers the best performance in terms of cluster separation. However, the three-level model has a similar performance while better identifying students with low engagement levels.

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