Homework questions designed to require higher-order cognitive skills in an undergraduate animal physiology course did not produce desirable difficulties, testing effects, or improvements in information retention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin N Cadaret ◽  
Dustin T Yates
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Information Retention ◽  
Desirable Difficulties ◽  
Animal Physiology ◽  
Initial Learning ◽  
Retention Of Knowledge ◽  
Practical Exam

Abstract Studies show that retrieval practices such as homework assignments that are completed during the encoding phase of learning benefit knowledge acquisition and retention. In addition, desirable difficulties, which are strategies that intentionally create a greater challenge during initial learning to enhance encoding and retrieval pathways, also benefit learning long term. Our objective was to determine whether weekly homework questions intended to create desirable difficulties by requiring higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) benefited students’ long-term retention of physiology concepts compared to questions designed to require lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS). Undergraduate students in a junior-level animal physiology course were presented information during weekly laboratory periods, and then required to complete retrieval practices in the form of online homework assignments 5 d after each lab. Homework questions were formatted per Bloom’s Taxonomy to require HOCS (i.e. level 4 or 5) or LOCS (i.e. level 1 or 2). Information retention was assessed the next week via performance on an in-class quiz and again at semesters’ end via performance on a final practical exam. We observed no differences in performance on the in-class quiz or final practical exam between students randomly assigned to complete homework with HOCS questions compared to LOCS questions. However, students that received homework with HOCS questions had decreased (P < 0.05) performance scores on 9 out of the 11 homework assignments compared to those receiving homework with LOCS questions. These findings indicate that desirable difficulties were not created by our HOCS homework questions because students receiving these more difficult retrieval practices did not achieve equal success on them. As a result, this attempt to create variations in cognitive demand did not enhance retention of knowledge in this study.

scholarly journals Enhancing Information Retention of Forensic Science Students: Incorporating a Simulated Crime Scene Practicum in the College Classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 2843-2853 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Science ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Information Retention ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Assessment Measures ◽  
Mock Crime ◽  
Retention Of Knowledge

The purpose of this research was to investigate whether crime scene simulations benefit the learning process in terms of retention of knowledge.  By providing a real-word experience via the Applied Learning pedagogy, the comprehension of the basic foundations of forensic science were indeed retained and reinforced through the incorporation of a mock crime scene in the classroom.  A total of 50 undergraduate students majoring in criminal justice participated and were evaluated using three different assessment measures employed throughout the practicum: feedback, reflection, and debriefings.  This qualitative research uncovered that students’ retention of the theories and concepts continued past the midterm examination while the instructor benefited from a multi-assessment approach to gauging student performance.  Additionally, this research also found that learners benefited in ways beyond the scope of this study; they also came away with practical realizations relating to the benefits of collaboration and an understanding of how this course prepares them for careers in law enforcement.

scholarly journals An Exploratory Examination of Student-Led, Asynchronous Collaborative Online Discussions in Fostering Higher-Order Cognitive Skills and Ethical Leadership Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron ◽  
Larisa Olesova ◽  
Brianna Calkins
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Leadership Education ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Collaborative Discussion ◽  
Leadership Class

Previous studies have contextualized student-led, asynchronous online discussions as collaborative learning experiences that positively impact students’ learning and foster higher order cognitive skills. From a leadership education perspective, student-led discussions have come to the fore as a helpful resource for deepening learning because of their focus on collaboration and shared leadership. While literature on student-led online discussions, leadership learning, and cognitive skill is plentiful, there is no single study that explores all these elements together or fully points to how practicing meaning-making in online, asynchronous leadership courses can inform larger cognitive processes. Thus, the purpose of this conceptual content analysis-based study was to examine 35 undergraduate students’ collaborative discussion board posts at the beginning, middle, and end of an online, asynchronous Ethics and Leadership class to assess not only if and to what extent students expressed cognitive skills, in general, but also if and to what extent they understood ethical leadership via these types of discussions. Further, from an exploratory lens, this study examined if there was a relationship between expression of higher order cognitive skills and more complex ethical leadership understanding. Results indicate that, while students achieved higher order cognitive skills and more holistic ethical leadership understanding overall, robustness of student engagement could be situational in nature and expressions of cognitive skills and ethical leadership understanding tapered as the course progressed. Additional findings and implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Phone-based audience response system as an adjunct in orthodontic teaching of undergraduate dental students: a cross-over randomised controlled trial

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad Alharbi ◽  
Khulud Alazmi ◽  
Bashar R. El Momani ◽  
Anas Almukhtar ◽  
Lubna Al-Muzian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Randomised Control Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Information Retention ◽  
Short And Long Term

Abstract Background: The advent of electronic teaching facilities opened doors towards a better tutor-student communication. The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of phone-based ARS (PB-ARS) using text- and multimedia-based questions on information retention by male dental undergraduate students and to explore the students’ perception and acceptance of ARS. Methods: A cross-over clustered randomised control trial was conducted at the College of Dentistry, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University/Alkharj/ Saudi Arabia. Students were allocated to one of two event groups (G1 or G2) using computer generated randomization. During the first intervention (lecture 1), G1 received ARS assisted lecture and G2 acts as a control group, then crossed over during the second intervention (lecture 2). Data for short- and long-term information retention were treated on intention to treat analysis basis and tested using Mann–Whitney U and t-test in addition to qualitative assessment of students’ perception and acceptance. Results : The results showed marginal improvements in short and long term retention of information in addition to positive attitude of students towards the ARS system. 87.5% of students in ARS group showed an improvement in their quiz score compared to 79.3% for control group. No statistically significant differences were observed between the intervention and control groups. Conclusion : the ARS system could be considered as an adjunctive teaching method to improve on information retention and interest in Orthodontics taught materials.

Cognitive Communicative Challenges in TBI: Assessment and Intervention in the Long Term

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori G. Cook ◽  
Roberta DePompei ◽  
Sandra B. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Early Brain Injury ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
School Environments ◽  
Educational Functioning ◽  
The Subject

Neurocognitive stall is defined as a failure or lag in achieving later emerging cognitive milestones, representing an increasing “gap” in neurocognitive, social, and educational functioning after early brain injury (Chapman, 2006). This paper provides an overview of the subject in regard to pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI), briefly discussing both ineffective and proactive methods for detecting and monitoring later emerging deficits associated with neurocognitive stall. The paper concludes with discussion of an emerging intervention to mitigate impairments in higher-order cognitive skills and enhance learning efficiency, including suggestions for use in rehabilitation settings and within school environments.

scholarly journals Retrieval practice in the form of online homework improved information retention more when spaced 5 days rather than 1 day after class in two physiology courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin N. Cadaret ◽  
Dustin T. Yates
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Online Homework ◽  
Information Retention ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Desirable Difficulties ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Spaced Retrieval ◽  
The Impact

Studies have shown that practicing temporally spaced retrieval of previously learned information via formal assessments increases student retention of the information. Our objective was to determine the impact of online homework administered as a first retrieval practice 1 or 5 days after introduction of physiology topics on long-term information retention. Students in two undergraduate courses, Anatomy and Physiology (ASCI 240) and Animal Physiological Systems (ASCI 340), were presented with information on a specific physiological system during each weekly laboratory and then completed an online homework assignment either 1 or 5 days later. Information retention was assessed via an in-class quiz the following week and by a comprehensive final exam at semester’s end (4–13 wk later). Performance on homework assignments was generally similar between groups for both courses. Information retention at 1 wk did not differ due to timing of homework in either course. In both courses, however, students who received homework 5 days after class performed better on final exam questions relevant to that week’s topic compared with their day 1 counterparts. These findings indicate that the longer period between introducing physiology information in class and assigning the first retrieval practice was more beneficial to long-term information retention than the shorter period, despite seemingly equivalent benefits in the shorter term. Since information is typically forgotten over time, we speculate that the longer interval necessitates greater retrieval effort in much the same way as built-in desirable difficulties, thus allowing for stronger conceptual connections and deeper comprehension.

The Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Resiliency Scale in Chinese Undergraduates

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 162-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lixia Cui ◽  
Xiujie Teng ◽  
Xupei Li ◽  
Tian P.S. Oei
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Concurrent Validity ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Criterion Variable ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
High Level ◽  
Chinese Undergraduates

The current study examined the factor structure and the psychometric properties of Sandra Prince-Embury’s Resiliency Scale for Adolescents (RESA) in Chinese undergraduates. A total of 726 undergraduate students were randomly divided into two subsamples: Sample A was used for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Sample B was used for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EFA revealed that 56 items and a model of 10 factors with 3 higher order factors (as described by Sandra) were to be retained; CFA with Sample B confirmed this result. The overall scale and the subscales of the Chinese-RESA demonstrated a high level of internal consistency. Furthermore, concurrent validity was demonstrated by the correlation of the scale with other instruments such as the PANAS and the CSS, and the predictive validity was confirmed via three multiple regression analyses using the PANAS as a criterion variable: one for the 10 subscales of the C-RESA, one for the 3 higher order scales, and one for the total C-RESA. We concluded that the C-RESA may be used for research into Chinese undergraduates’ adaptive behaviors.

Registered Report: Transcriptional Analysis of Savings Memory Suggests Forgetting Is Due to Retrieval Failure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Calin-Jageman ◽  
Irina Calin-Jageman ◽  
Tania Rosiles ◽  
Melissa Nguyen ◽  
Annette Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Memory Trace ◽  
Aplysia Californica ◽  
Transcriptional Response ◽  
Transcriptional Analysis ◽  
Retrieval Failure ◽  
Initial Learning ◽  
Rigorous Test ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
Induced Changes

[[This is a Stage 2 Registered Report manuscript now accepted for publication at eNeuro. The accepted Stage 1 manuscript is posted here: https://psyarxiv.com/s7dft, and the pre-registration for the project is available here (https://osf.io/fqh8j, 9/11/2019). A link to the final Stage 2 manuscript will be posted after peer review and publication.]] There is fundamental debate about the nature of forgetting: some have argued that it represents the decay of the memory trace, others that the memory trace persists but becomes inaccessible due to retrieval failure. These different accounts of forgetting lead to different predictions about savings memory, the rapid re-learning of seemingly forgotten information. If forgetting is due to decay, then savings requires re-encoding and should thus involve the same mechanisms as initial learning. If forgetting is due to retrieval failure, then savings should be mechanistically distinct from encoding. In this registered report we conducted a pre-registered and rigorous test between these accounts of forgetting. Specifically, we used microarray to characterize the transcriptional correlates of a new memory (1 day after training), a forgotten memory (8 days after training), and a savings memory (8 days after training but with a reminder on day 7 to evoke a long-term savings memory) for sensitization in Aplysia californica (n = 8 samples/group). We found that the re-activation of sensitization during savings does not involve a substantial transcriptional response. Thus, savings is transcriptionally distinct relative to a newer (1-day old) memory, with no co-regulated transcripts, negligible similarity in regulation-ranked ordering of transcripts, and a negligible correlation in training-induced changes in gene expression (r = .04 95% CI [-.12, .20]). Overall, our results suggest that forgetting of sensitization memory represents retrieval failure.

Stage 1 Registered Report Manuscript - Transcriptional Correlates of Savings Memory: Is Forgetting Due to Decay or Retrieval Failure?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Calin-Jageman ◽  
Irina Calin-Jageman ◽  
Tania Rosiles ◽  
Melissa Nguyen ◽  
Annette Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Memory Trace ◽  
Aplysia Californica ◽  
Retrieval Failure ◽  
Initial Learning ◽  
Rigorous Test ◽  
Regulated Gene Expression ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
Weak Similarity

[[This is a Stage 1 Registered Report manuscript. The project was submitted for review to eNeuro. Upon revision and acceptance, this version of the manuscript was pre-registered on the OSF (9/11/2019, https://osf.io/fqh8j) (but due to an oversight not posted as a preprint until July 2020). A Stage 2 manuscript is now posted as a pre-print (https://psyarxiv.com/h59jv) and is under review at eNeuro. A link to the final Stage 2 manuscript will be added when available.]]There is fundamental debate about the nature of forgetting: some have argued that it represents the decay of the memory trace, others that the memory trace persists but becomes inaccessible due to retrieval failure. These different accounts of forgetting make different predictions about savings memory, the rapid re-learning of seemingly forgotten information. If forgetting is due to decay then savings requires re-encoding and should thus involve the same mechanisms as initial learning. If forgetting is due to retrieval-failure then savings should be mechanistically distinct from encoding. In this registered report we conducted a pre-registered and rigorous test between these accounts of forgetting. Specifically, we used microarray to characterize the transcriptional correlates of a new memory (1 day from training), a forgotten memory (8 days from training), and a savings memory (8 days from training but with a reminder on day 7 to evoke a long-term savings memory) for sensitization in Aplysia californica (n = 8 samples/group). We find that the transcriptional correlates of savings are [highly similar / somewhat similar / unique] relative to new (1-day-old) memories. Specifically, savings memory and a new memory share [X] of [Y] regulated transcripts, show [strong / moderate / weak] similarity in sets of regulated transcripts, and show [r] correlation in regulated gene expression, which is [substantially / somewhat / not at all] stronger than at forgetting. Overall, our results suggest that forgetting represents [decay / retrieval-failure / mixed mechanisms].

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