The Impact of Screen-Free Zones in an Undergraduate Psychology Classroom: Assessing Exam Performance and Instructor Evaluations in Two Quasi-Experiments

2021 ◽  
pp. 009862832110174
Author(s):  
Laura Rhinehart ◽  
Salvador R. Vazquez ◽  
Patricia M. Greenfield

Background: With in-person instruction, many undergraduates look at screens during lectures. Because screens can distract, attempts to curb this behavior through screen policies are increasingly common but understudied. Objective and Method: Two quasi-experimental studies (Study 1: N = 412; Study 2: N = 179) in the same Psychology class explore results of restricting screens to one area of the classroom on exam performance and instructor/course evaluation. Results: In both studies, these policies improved exam scores in the class. In Study 2, students who chose to sit in the screen-free zone did better on exams. Limiting screen use to the back of the classroom (Study 1) produced student pushback in qualitative comments and lower evaluations in quantitative instructor and course ratings. In contrast, placing screen and screen-free zones side-by-side (Study 2) was accepted without comment by students. Conclusion: Together, these studies suggest that creating screen-free zones in classrooms can be beneficial for students, especially for those students who choose to sit in the screen-free section. Additionally, students accept side-by-side division of a classroom into screen and screen-free zones. Teaching Implications: Because these studies are ecologically valid, results have implications for how students take notes and how instructors set restrictions on screens in their classroom.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Manzano-León ◽  
Pablo Camacho-Lazarraga ◽  
Miguel A. Guerrero ◽  
Laura Guerrero-Puerta ◽  
José M. Aguilar-Parra ◽  
...  

Educational gamification consists of the use of game elements and game design techniques in the educational context. The objective of this study is to examine the existing evidence on the impact of educational gamification on student motivation and academic performance in the last five years in order to analyze its distribution over time, educational level, variables, and most used game elements, and know the advantages of its implementation in the classroom. For this, a systematic review is proposed through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology in three multidisciplinary databases, through an exhaustive search with inclusion and exclusion criteria on quantitative experimental studies that explore gamification in educational centers, which provide information about the most current lines of research. Fourteen studies were included in this review. These used experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Most of them report gamification as a valid learning strategy. The results support the conclusion that educational gamification has a potential impact on the academic performance, commitment, and motivation of students. Therefore, this study implies the need to expand research on the needs and challenges of students when learning with gamified techniques.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafal Ohme ◽  
Christo Boshoff

Purpose Some marketers have challenged psychologists’ contention that human beings can only learn by using conscious effort. They argue that advertising can be effective at low levels of (or even no) attention. Also, despite the absence of (or low levels of) consciousness, these subconscious responses can be linked to brands. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of implicit learning in the context of logo substitution – an image that may not look like the original logo, and may not even be consciously associated with the original brand or its logo. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by means of two quasi-experimental studies. Findings The results suggest that, thanks to implicit learning, logo substitution can be effective. Research limitations/implications One limitation was that data were collected from two relatively small convenience samples. Practical implications Logo substitution can be of value when a company faces a situation when advertising is banned or restricted, when the target market is saturated with marketing stimuli (clutter) and when there is a risk that aggressive advertising can lead to psychological reactance. The purpose of logo substitution would then be to unobtrusively activate mental representations closely related to the original logo. Originality/value The central contribution of this study is that it demonstrates how the principles of implicit social cognition, implicit learning and logo substitution can be used by marketers to overcome the undesirable and even adverse advertising circumstances they sometimes face.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 735-760
Author(s):  
Hui Shi ◽  
Alan C.K. Cheung ◽  
Elizabeth S.T. Cheung

Stratified teaching is an effective method and means to implement teaching students per their aptitude. Domestic and foreign scholars have carried out many experimental and quasi-experimental studies to observe the impact of stratified teaching on students’ academic performance, but the results are quite different. So, can stratified teaching effectively help Chinese students improve their academic performance? How big is its impact? Which model is more suitable for Chinese students? To answer these questions, this article uses meta-analysis to quantitatively analyze 22 Chinese studies on the impact of Stratified teaching on student academic performance. We found that (i) stratified teaching has a positive effect on students’ academic performance, and the overall combined effect size is 0.53; (ii) among the seven subjects of mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and information technology, stratified teaching has had a positive effect on their learning. Stratified teaching’s order of effect on different subjects was English > Physics > Geography > Information Technology > Mathematics > Biology > Chemistry; (iii) stratified teaching is suitable for students of different sizes of classrooms. However, the smaller the number of students in the classroom, the better the learning effect, and (iv) stratified teaching is more suitable for improving their learning in the mobile learning system.


SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402095697
Author(s):  
Gayoung Kim ◽  
Dohyeon Kim ◽  
Woo Jin Lee ◽  
Sunyoung Joung

Recent years have witnessed the worldwide growth of entrepreneurship education (EE) as entrepreneurship is regarded as the key driver of innovation and economic growth. Most extant studies on EE have focused on its impact on entrepreneurial intentions. However, the application of the same EE measurements for both adults and adolescents has long been criticized; the indices developed for potential adult entrepreneurs may not be suitable for young entrepreneurs, considering the large time gap before they enter the workforce. This study aims to develop appropriate indicators for the assessment of youth EE in Korea and to examine the effectiveness of youth EE. Two large-scale quasi-experimental studies were conducted with pre- and posttest matched-comparison groups for verification. This study suggests six common variables for measuring the impact of youth EE: opportunity discovery, opportunity exploitation, entrepreneurship, creativity capacity, social problem solving, and entrepreneurial intention. The analyses showed that all these indicators positively influenced youth EE. We also proposed practical suggestions for the development of EE programs.


Author(s):  
Lorena Gutiérrez-Puertas ◽  
Verónica V. Márquez-Hernández ◽  
Vanesa Gutiérrez-Puertas ◽  
Genoveva Granados-Gámez ◽  
Gabriel Aguilera-Manrique

Introduction: Nursing students establish therapeutic relationships with their patients and as future nursing professionals, they should be trained to be effective communicators. The objective of this systematic review was to know the impact of educational interventions on nursing students to develop their communication skills with patients. Methods: A systematic review of literature was carried out. The following databases were consulted: CINAHL, PubMed (Ovid Medline), SCOPUS and Web of Science. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guided this review. As for inclusion criteria, published articles in English from 2000 to 2020 were included. The methodological rigor of the included articles was evaluated with the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trial or Quasi-Experimental Studies. Changes in communication skills with the patient after the implementation of an intervention were analyzed. Results: Of the included studies in this systematic review (N = 19), two studies were randomized controlled trials, others were single group quasi-experimental studies (N = 11) and two group quasi-experimental studies (n = 6). The majority of the studies were carried out in the USA (n = 7). The most frequent educational intervention was simulation (n = 11). As for the improvement of communication skills, 13 of the 19 articles found statistically significant differences in patient-centered communication skills of nursing students. Conclusions: This systematic review provides preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of interventions used to train nursing students in patient-centered communication. Although all the interventions obtained significant results in communication skills, it has not yet been determined which methodology is more effective.


Author(s):  
Karla Lobos Peña ◽  
Claudio Bustos ◽  
Alejandro Díaz

Introduction. Current research based on observational design studies characterized the teaching practices that stimulate the development of academic self-concept, but there is a need for experimental and quasi-experimental studies to validate those findings. The present research evaluate the impact of a teacher training program based on academic self-concept stimulation strategies on academic self-concept, attendance and grades of their students. Method. 36 teachers of primary level and 819 students from public schools of the Province of Concepción, Chile, participated. A quasi-experimental design with pre and post measures was applied. Information was collected through self-report and information available on official records. Results. After the intervention, teachers in the experimental group have greater capacity to stimulate the self-concept of their students, D(1, 41700.91)=17.09, p < 0.001, encouring self-concept related to capacity, work procedures and class participation. Also, the students on experimental group have a greater perception about their capacity to participate in classes after the intervention, dependent on the pre-test perceived capacity, D(1, 983-22)=6.10, p=0.014,  and higher attendance rates, D(1, 691.34)=82.50, p<0.001, than control group. Discussions and conclusions. The teacher training program is effective to improve the teaching strategies of stimulating the academic self-concept, the perception of competence to participate in classes of the students and to increase the levels of attendance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1151-1166
Author(s):  
Pınar Karaman

This meta-analysis study synthesizing the results of experimental and quasi experimental studies examined the effects of self-assessment interventions on student academic performance from primary education to higher education. A total of 16 studies with 46 effect sizes involving more than 7,650 participants were included in the analysis. Research synthesis showed that an overall small influence of self-assessment interventions on academic performance (g=.37, p .05). Additionally, moderator analysis was used to examine moderating effects of some variables. The analysis indicated that traditional self-assessment interventions without external feedback have significantly a larger effect (g =.47, p.05) than self-assessment with external feedback (g=.28, p.05) on academic performance. However, effectiveness of other moderating variables (e.g. education level, assessment criteria type, self-assessment training) on academic performance were not statistically significant. The results suggest that further empirical studies are needed to reveal the moderating effects of self-assessment.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089443932090706
Author(s):  
Philipp E. Sischka ◽  
Jean Philippe Décieux ◽  
Alexandra Mergener ◽  
Kristina M. Neufang ◽  
Alexander F. Schmidt

Forced answering (FA) is a frequent answer format in online surveys that forces respondents to answer each question in order to proceed through the questionnaire. The underlying rationale is to decrease the amount of missing data. Despite its popularity, empirical research on the impact of FA on respondents’ answering behavior is scarce and has generated mixed findings. In fact, some quasi-experimental studies showed that FA has detrimental consequences such as increased survey dropout rates and faking behavior. Notably, a theoretical psychological process driving these effects has hitherto not been identified. Therefore, the aim of the present study was twofold: First, we sought to experimentally replicate detrimental effects of FA on online questionnaire data quality. Second, we tried to uncover an explanatory psychological mechanism. Specifically, we hypothesized that FA effects are mediated through reactance. Zero-order effects showed that FA increased state reactance and questionnaire dropout as well as reduced answer length in open-ended questions. Results of survival and mediation analyses corroborate negative FA effects on data quality and the proposed psychological process.


2019 ◽  
pp. emermed-2018-207536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Agyeiwaa Poku ◽  
Pippa Hemingway

ObjectiveNon-urgent paediatric ED (PED) visits appear to contribute a large portion to the growing use of EDs globally. Several interventions have tried to curb repeated non-urgent attendances, but no systematic review of their effectiveness exists. This review examines the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce subsequent non-urgent PED visits after a non-urgent attendance.MethodA systematic review design. A systematic search of four databases and key journals was conducted from their inception to November 2018. Experimental studies, involving children aged 0–18 years presenting to an ED for non-urgent care, which assessed the effectiveness of interventions on subsequent non-urgent attendance were considered.Results2120 studies were identified. Six studies, including four randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and two quasi-experimental, were included. Studies were of moderate quality methodologically. All studies originated from the USA and involved informational and/or follow-up support interventions. Only two RCTs demonstrated the longest duration of intervention effects on reducing subsequent non-urgent PED attendance. These studies identified participants retrospectively after ED evaluation. The RCT with the largest number of participants involved follow-up support by primary physicians. Meta-analysis was impractical due to wide heterogeneity of the interventions.ConclusionsThere is inconclusive evidence to support any intervention aimed at reducing subsequent non-urgent PED visits following a non-urgent attendance. The long-term impact of interventions is limited, although the effect may be maximised if delivered by primary care providers in children identified after their ED attendance. However, further research is required to evaluate the impact of any such strategies in settings outside the USA.


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