scholarly journals Investigating the Role of an Inquiry-Based Biology Lab Course on Student Attitudes and Views toward Science

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. ar61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Jeffery ◽  
Kathy Nomme ◽  
Thomas Deane ◽  
Carol Pollock ◽  
Gülnur Birol
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
English Language ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
First Year ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Attitudes About Science

Students’ academic experiences can influence their conceptualization of science. In contrast experts hold particular beliefs, perceptions, opinions, and attitudes about science that are often absent in first-year undergraduate students. Shifts toward more expert-like attitudes and views have been linked to improved student engagement, critical-thinking ability, conceptual understanding, and academic performance. In this study, we investigate shifts in attitudes and views toward science by students in four biology classes with differences in student enrollment, academic support, and instruction. We observe significant, positive effects of enrollment in a guided-inquiry lab course and academic performance on the percentage of expert-like student attitudes and views at the end of term. We also identify variation in two aspects of student attitudes and views: 1) confidence and interest and 2) understanding and acceptance. In particular, enrollment in the lab course boosts student confidence and interest in scientific inquiry in the short term, even for students with low academic performance or little English-language experience. Our results suggest that low-performing students in particular may require additional opportunities for experiential learning or greater academic support to develop expert-like perceptions of biology as a science.

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 Learning Approaches, Learning Difficulties and Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students of Physiotherapy

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreemathi Mayya ◽  
A. Krishna Rao ◽  
Ramnaryana K.
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Academic Problems ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Surface Approach

A locally developed ‘Approaches to Learning Inventory (ALI)’ was administered to explore the learning difficulties and learning approaches of undergraduate students of Bachelor of Physiotherapy, College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal. University examination marks of these students were also collected. Learning approach and learning difficulties were summarized by computing mean, standard deviation and percentage of students experiencing some of the academic and non-academic problems. Spearman’s correlation was computed between standardized scores of examination marks, learning approach and learning difficulty scale scores. Academic performance has shown significant negative correlation with surface approach and various problems of learners like fear of failure and lack of confidence, non-academic distracters and poor English language ability. This study demonstrated significant positive association between surface approach and various problems of the learners. The students have also reported a number of academic and non-academic problems.

Gender and Language

2021 ◽  
pp. 161-177
Author(s):  
Didem Koban Koç
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Year ◽  
Teaching Program ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Meanings

The present study investigated gender differences in the use of linguistic features as well as the social meanings attached to those differences. Academic essays, written by 44 (22 male, 22 female) first-year undergraduate students enrolled in the English Language Teaching program at a government university were analyzed with respect to the use of linguistic features (adjectives, empty adjectives, intensifiers, linking adverbials) as well as the number of words and sentences used by the students. The results showed that, in comparison to males, females used more adjectives, intensifiers, and words. Males, on the other hand, used more empty adjectives and linking adverbials than females. Based on the results, pedagogical implications are discussed, and recommendations are provided in order to increase teachers' awareness of gender differences and improve students' writing skills.

scholarly journals Growing a growth mindset: characterizing how and why undergraduate students’ mindsets change

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa B. Limeri ◽  
Nathan T. Carter ◽  
Jun Choe ◽  
Hannah G. Harper ◽  
Hannah R. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Growth Mindset ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Survey Responses

Abstract Background The extent to which students view their intelligence as improvable (i.e., their “mindset”) influences students’ thoughts, behaviors, and ultimately their academic success. Thus, understanding the development of students’ mindsets is of great interest to education scholars working to understand and promote student success. Recent evidence suggests that students’ mindsets continue to develop and change during their first year of college. We built on this work by characterizing how mindsets change and identifying the factors that may be influencing this change among upper-level STEM students. We surveyed 875 students in an organic chemistry course at four points throughout the semester and interviewed a subset of students about their mindsets and academic experiences. Results Latent growth modeling revealed that students tended to shift towards viewing intelligence as a stable trait (i.e., shifted towards a stronger fixed mindset and a weaker growth mindset). This trend was particularly strong for students who persistently struggled in the course. From qualitative analysis of students’ written survey responses and interview transcripts, we determined that students attribute their beliefs about intelligence to five factors: academic experiences, observing peers, deducing logically, taking societal cues, and formal learning. Conclusions Extensive prior research has focused on the influence of mindset on academic performance. Our results corroborate this relationship and further suggest that academic performance influences students’ mindsets. Thus, our results imply that mindset and academic performance constitute a positive feedback loop. Additionally, we identified factors that influence undergraduates’ mindset beliefs, which could be leveraged by researchers and practitioners to design more persuasive and effective mindset interventions to promote student success.

scholarly journals Supplemental Instruction as a Tool for Students' Academic Performance in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oyinlola Omolara Adebola
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
South African ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Supplemental Instruction ◽  
Dropout Rate ◽  
First Year ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
First Year Students

Supplemental instruction (SI), which can be referred to as academic support has been linked to the successful academic performance of university students both locally and internationally. This study explores the successful implementation of SI to encourage students toward academic performance in a South African university. Constructivism theory (CT) was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study while Participatory Research (PR) was the research design. A focused group interview was used to collect data because of its relevance and assumptions of academic support such as supplemental instruction. Two lecturers, two tutors, two tutees, and two SI personnel were selected for the study from a selected university. At the same time, thematic analysis was chosen to analyse the data generated. The findings showed that through the intervention of SI, first-year students' academic performance increased while the dropout rate has also reduced.

scholarly journals Challenges of Short Sentence Writing Encounter 1st Year Uundergraduate Students in English Language Departments at Al-Baha University

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 118-131
Author(s):  
Ahmed Ibrahim Alsalami
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Written Feedback ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Short Sentence ◽  
English Major

This study aims to find out the most common challenges of writing short sentences encountered by first-year English-major undergraduate students of English language departments. A mixed method was used including quantitative and qualitative as data was obtained using student questionnaires and interview questions for the lecturers. About 122 first-year English-major undergraduate students (%50.4 female and %49.6 male) from the English Language Departments at all colleges of Al-Baha University were randomly chosen, including 30 lecturers, and were interviewed in the study (15 males and 15 females). The study revealed significant results which have shown difficulties in constructing short sentences, the distinction of active and passive voice, and the use of conjunctions, punctuations, quantifiers, and the correct auxiliary. Also among common issues, students find difficulties in using comparative and superlative degree, subject–verb agreement and the use of articles. Thus, the study recommends that first-year English-major undergraduate students should be given more written exercises as well as written feedback so that students can be able to write more effective short sentences. The study suggests that more studies could be conducted qualitative researches for first-year students of English language department to investigate and analyze the most common challenges and difficulties of the students’ written samples or documents.

A longitudinal study: Affective wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, self‐efficacy and academic performance among first‐year undergraduate students

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 518-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubia Cobo‐Rendón ◽  
María V. Pérez‐Villalobos ◽  
Darío Páez‐Rovira ◽  
Marcela Gracia‐Leiva
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
First Year

scholarly journals Exploring the Key Factors Influencing the Academic Performance of First Year Students at Undergraduate Level in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 288
Author(s):  
Md. Solaiman Jony
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Academic Failure ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Dropout Rates ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Undergraduate Level

Since the number of students entering into the higher education system is increasing along with the dropout rates, therefore it is important for the institutions to identify the reasons that impact students’ academic performance in order to introduce the provision for necessary support for the students. This study is stimulated by the demand to determine such factors at undergraduate level that cause academic failure and dropout rates. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate what students perceive as the key influential factor the effects the academic performance of first year undergraduate students at university level. A quantitative research approach was followed to conduct the study. A survey was designed with questionnaires and was administered. Total 450 first year students, both from public and private universities in Bangladesh, were selected by convenience and stratified simple random sampling. The findings of this study disclosed that appropriate choice of course of study; students’ interest in the subject; regular attendance at lectures; timely and regular examination preparation; teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and skills; effective written communications skills; effective study methods are the topmost success factors that influence students’ academic performance. Oppositely, lack of interest in the course content; inadequate or poor exam preparation; irregular attendance at lectures/tutorials; late submission of assignments; lack of self-discipline, self-motivation and confidence; inability to distinguish between important and unimportant information; heavy course workload; inefficient time management reverse the academic performance of the students.

scholarly journals First year Business students’ perceptions of academic support through embedding. A Practice Report

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-63
Author(s):  
Carmela De Maio ◽  
Anibeth Desierto
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Class Time ◽  
Additional Support

This paper explores the perceptions of first year Business students to embedding sessions and additional support workshops offered through a collaboration between learning advisors and lecturers in a first year foundational unit. Through a social constructivist lens and utilising action research methods, questionnaires (n=42) were administered to two cohorts of students at the conclusion of the unit in 2011 and 2012 to explore firstly, whether or not they perceived the embedding sessions to be of benefit and, secondly, whether having the learning advisor in the class made them more likely to utilise additional support outside class time. In addition, the researchers sought to explore whether there were any improvements in students’ final results which might be attributable to the academic support offered to them through the embedding sessions. The findings from the quantitative and qualitative data suggest that the students perceived the embedding workshops as having positive effects on their academic literacy skills.  Furthermore, there was a slight increase in the number of students that sought additional support outside of class time.  However, it appears that the embedding workshops did not lead to an improvement in students’ final marks for the unit and this is an area which requires further investigation.

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