Evaluation of a peer mentoring program for a mature cohort of first-year undergraduate paramedic students

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanne H. Hryciw ◽  
Kathy Tangalakis ◽  
Briony Supple ◽  
Gill Best
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Health Science ◽  
First Year ◽  
Mentoring Program ◽  
Mentor Training ◽  
Student Transition ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Study Session ◽  
Pass Program

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer-assisted study session (PASS) program for a large class of Bachelor of Health Science (Paramedic) students. This cohort was made up predominantly of mature aged students who have not undertaken any study for many years. Within a bioscience first-year core subject, student mentees attended PASS sessions on a voluntary basis, with second-year Bachelor of Health Science (Paramedic) students acting as mentors. Mentors were recruited based on their outstanding academic performance in bioscience the previous year and selected based on group and individual interviews. Successful candidates participated in a compulsory 2 days of student mentor training and were supported throughout the program to develop their mentoring skills in both face-to-face workshops and online. Mentee students were allocated to a PASS session with a maximum size of 25 students/group that was facilitated by 2 student mentors. In general, the program was viewed favorably by both mentors and mentees. There was an increase in academic performance and a decrease in the fail rate of the mentee group compared with the cohort of students that did not participate in the PASS program. Importantly, mentees believed that the program improved their study skills and gave them confidence in their approach to studying. This is a significant consideration for the improvement of student transition and retention in a mature aged student cohort.

A framework for understanding student nurses’ experience of chemistry as part of a health science course

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 597-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerrie Boddey ◽  
Kevin de Berg
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Student Nurses ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Health Science ◽  
First Year ◽  
Total Cohort

Twenty-seven first-year nursing students, divided across six focus groups formed on the basis of their past chemistry experience, were interviewed about their chemistry experience as a component of a Health Science unit. Information related to learning and academic performance was able to be established from student conversations resulting in three themes (and associated categories): Connectivity (curriculum, application, and social interaction); Reductivity (nature of chemistry, exposition, and control of learning); and Reflexivity (confidence, anxiety, and goal orientation). The framework proved useful in portraying relationships between themes for conversations related to tutorial sessions, prior knowledge, and chemistry in nursing. The focus groups were representative of the total cohort of students in terms of gender, age, working hours, academic performance, enjoyment level of chemistry, and the extent of the relevance of chemistry to nursing. Implications for chemistry educators, especially those supporting novices, are considered.

scholarly journals Improving Academic Performance and Retention of First-Year Biology Students through a Scalable Peer Mentorship Program

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Wilton ◽  
Daniel Katz ◽  
Anthony Clairmont ◽  
Eduardo Gonzalez-Nino ◽  
Kathy R. Foltz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Peer Mentoring ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Mentoring Program ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Mentorship Program ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Peer Mentorship

This study evaluates the performance of a near-peer mentoring program for first-year biology majors. The program’s intention is to improve student retention generally, and academic and soft skills more specifically. The effect of the program was investigated via ethnographic methods, a program-specific survey, and regression analyses.

scholarly journals Adjustment to college and academic performance: Insights from Filipino college freshmen in an allied health science course

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Alipio
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Health Science ◽  
First Year ◽  
Radiologic Technology ◽  
Adjustment To College ◽  
Technology Students ◽  
Bivariate Correlation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Weighted Point

This paper aims to know the relationship between the level of adjustment to college and academic performance of first year Radiologic Technology students of a higher education institution in the Philippines. A descriptive-correlational study using survey questionnaire was employed to 132 respondents who were chosen through stratified random sampling and Slovin’s formula. Standard questionnaires were used to gather data on the demographic profile and level of adjustment of the respondents while the academic performance was measured through the Weighted Point Average (WPA) requested from the school’s Registrar. Results showed that the majority of the respondents are female (53.8%), belong to middle income class (34.8%), were from STEM (59.1%) and travel between one kilometer and 10 kilometers to school (34.1%). The study reported a moderate level of adjustment and a 2.63 overall WPA of students. Test of difference showed that there is significant difference in the academic adjustment and academic strand taken during SHS (p<0.05); and in the institutional attachment and proximity of house to school (p<0.05). Bivariate correlation among variables revealed that there is no significant relationship between the level of adjustment to college and academic performance of first year Radiologic Technology students College (p>0.05).

scholarly journals Predictive validity of a Uniform Entrance Test for the health professionals

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahila Ali ◽  
Syeda Kausar Ali ◽  
Azam Afzal
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Degree Program ◽  
Health Science ◽  
First Year ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
Science Degree ◽  
Entrance Test

Objective: To investigate the predictive validity of Uniform Entrance Test for academic performance in the first two years in various health science degree programs. Methods: A retrospective analysis of admissions data and academic performance of students admitted in under-graduate programs of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy of three cohorts was taken. The independent and dependent variables were entry test scores and semester scores respectively. Spearman’s Correlation co-efficient was computed to determine the association between entrance test scores and semester scores for three groups. Results: Majority of the students were from the MBBS degree program (61%) with majority of female students (65%) in all three programs. In MBBS the highest correlation coefficient between entry test and semester scores was observed for semester one rs = 0.334 and lowest in semester four rs= 0.208. In BDS degree program both highest and lowest correlations were in semester one. In the Pharm-D degree program, a significant correlation was only seen in cohort 1 but not in the subsequent cohorts. Conclusion: The uniform entrance test has an incremental predictive validity for the MBBS and BDS programs as compared to Pharm-D. Better performance in the entrance test predicts higher semester scores and more likelihood of achieving higher scores in the first year as compared to the second year. How to cite this:Ali R, Ali SK, Afzal A. Predictive validity of a Uniform Entrance Test for the health professionals. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(2):---------.   doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.2.334 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

A Cohort study to compare Admission criteria and Academic performance among preclinical students at The Copperbelt University School of Medicine: complete enumeration (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Mwila
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Clinical Medicine ◽  
Average Score ◽  
First Year ◽  
Admission Criteria ◽  
Biomedical Sciences ◽  
Dental Surgery ◽  
School Of Medicine ◽  
Better Than

BACKGROUND The Copperbelt University is the second public University in Zambia. The School of Medicine has four major programs namely; Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Bachelor of Clinical Medicine and Bachelor of Biomedical sciences. The Copperbelt University School of Medicine runs a five-year training program for both the BDS and the MBCHB programs. Students are admitted into the Medical school after successfully completing their first year at the Main campus in the School of Natural Sciences with an average of 4 B grades or higher (B grade is a mark of 65 to 74%). OBJECTIVE The study was done to determine the association between admission criteria and academic performance among preclinical students. Hence, the study compares the academic performance among preclinical students admitted into the Bachelor of Dental Surgery and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at the Copperbelt University School of Medicine. METHODS This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at Michael Chilufya Sata School of medicine Campus. A pilot study was conducted with 30 BDS and 30 MBCHB students and the obtained information helped determine the sample size. SPSS was used to analyze the data. The study period lasted approximately 7 weeks at a cost of K1621. RESULTS In 2014, there was an improvement in average performance between 2nd and 3rd year for each program. An average score of 15.4 (SD 4.2) was obtained in 3rd year compared to 12.8 (SD 4.9) in 2nd year (p<0.001). Meanwhile, 3rd MB ChB mean score was 12.6 (SD 3.7) compared to 10.7 (SD 3.6) in 2nd years (p<0.05). However, in 2016, both programs, 3rd year mean scores were lower than 2nd year (MB ChB 2nd year mean score was 12.0 (SD 4.3) compared to 3rd year with a mean score of 9.5 (SD 4.5), p<0.001; BDS 2nd year mean score was 10.6 (SD 4.0) compared to 3rd year mean score of 8.2 (SD 3.4), p<0.01. On average MB ChB students performed better than BDS students in all the years (p<0.05), except in 2016 when the results were comparable. CONCLUSIONS Results from the study shows that entry criteria has a correlation to academic performance as students admitted with higher grades perform much better than those with lower grades.

scholarly journals Performance in grade 12 mathematics and science predicts student nurses’ performance in first year science modules at a university in the Western Cape

Curationis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katlego D.T. Mthimunye ◽  
Felicity M. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Student Nurses ◽  
First Year ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mathematics And Science ◽  
First Year Student

Background: The demand for highly qualified and skilled nurses is increasing in South Africa as well as around the world. Having a background in science can create a significant advantage for students wishing to enrol for an undergraduate nursing qualification because nursing as profession is grounded in scientific evidence.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of grade 12 mathematics and science on the academic performance of first year student nurses in science modules.Method: A quantitative research method using a cross-sectional predictive design was employed in this study. The participants included first year Bachelor of Nursing students enrolled at a university in the Western Cape, South Africa. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to analyse the data by using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences versions 24. Descriptive analysis of all variables was performed as well as the Spearman’s rank correlation test to describe the relationship among the study variables. Standard multiple linear regressions analysis was performed to determine the predictive validity of grade 12 mathematics and science on the academic performance of first year student nurses in science modules.Results: The results of this study showed that grade 12 physical science is not a significant predictor (p > 0.062) of performance in first year science modules. The multiple linear regression revealed that grade 12 mathematics and life science grades explained 37.1% to 38.1% (R2 = 0.381 and adj R2 = 0.371) of the variation in the first year science grade distributions.Conclusion: Based on the results of the study it is evident that performance in grade 12 mathematics (β = 2.997) and life science (β = 3.175) subjects is a significant predictor (p < 0.001) of the performance in first year science modules for student nurses at the university identified for this study.

Correlating entrance data and first year academic performance of students enrolled in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Porto

2021 ◽  
pp. 030641902110156
Author(s):  
TMGP Duarte ◽  
AM Lopes ◽  
LFM da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
First Year ◽  
Female Type ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Over Time

Understanding how the academic performance of first year undergraduate students is influenced by home, personal and institutional factors is fundamental to delineate policies able to mitigate failure. This paper investigates possible correlations between the academic performance of students at the end of high school with their achievements at the end of first year university. Data for students in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering (MIEM) program within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto are analysed for the period 2016/2017 to 2019/2020. The students’ performance is measured by two metrics and the students are structured as a whole and by groups, according to their gender (Male/Female), type of secondary school (Public/Private), living place (Away/Home) and the rank of MIEM in their application list of options (Option 1/Option 2–6). The information is organized statistically and possible correlations between the data are investigated. The analysis reveals limited correlation between the two metrics, meaning that all students may exhibit good or poor results at the end of first year in MIEM, independent of their status at entrance. An unanticipated pattern is exhibited for the group Option 2–6, since it shows that, despite entering into MIEM without top application marks, the students in this group can perform as well as the others. This behavior is consistent over time.

scholarly journals The Use of Monologue Speaking Tasks to Improve First-Year Students’ English-Speaking Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Irina Karpovich ◽  
Oksana Sheredekina ◽  
Tatyana Krepkaia ◽  
Larisa Voronova
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Social Adaptation ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Speaking Skills

A significant number of studies are devoted to the psychological and social adaptation of students to the educational process at university. This research contributes to the solution of the problem of first-year students’ academic performance in the framework of studying a foreign language by working with monologue speaking tasks. The study offers an analysis of the improvement of academic performance in this particular type of language activity. The study took place at Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia, and involved 274 first-year students enrolled in undergraduate programs. Mixed qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to collect and analyse data for the study. The research included the qualitative content analysis of monologue speaking tasks. Results of the study make it possible to conclude that the use of monologue speaking tasks paired with peer interaction and peer assessment can improve first-year students’ English-speaking skills.

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