An Interactive, Instant Polling Exercise to Allay Student Anxiety in Science Courses

2017 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 496-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel K. Thiet
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Student Motivation ◽  
Interdisciplinary Science ◽  
Student Anxiety ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Honor Students ◽  
Interdisciplinary Courses

Many high school and undergraduate students enter science courses feeling intimidated by course content and unsure of their abilities. Teachers are frequently challenged in mixed-level and interdisciplinary courses to ascertain and honor students’ levels and areas of experience. In these cases, the application of critical pedagogy techniques can create a culture of caring and thereby allay student anxiety and increase student motivation and success. Here I describe a simple instant polling exercise that employs critical pedagogy to stimulate dialogue about students’ experiences with course content. This exercise is especially useful for mixed-level and interdisciplinary science courses, and can be easily adapted for small or large classes.

scholarly journals Using a personal response system as an in-class assessment tool in the teaching of basic college chemistry

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzy-Ling Chen ◽  
Yu-Li Lan
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Course Content ◽  
College Chemistry ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Actual Learning

<p>Since the introduction of personal response systems (PRS) (also referred to as "clickers") nearly a decade ago, their use has been extensively adopted on college campuses, and they are particularly popular with lecturers of large classes. Available evidence supports that PRS offers a promising avenue for future developments in pedagogy, although findings on the advantages of its effective use related to improving or enhancing student learning remain inconclusive. This study examines the degree to which students perceive that using PRS in class as an assessment tool effects their understanding of course content, engagement in classroom learning, and test preparation. Multiple, student-performance evaluation data was used to explore correlations between student perceptions of PRS and their actual learning outcomes. This paper presents the learning experiences of 151 undergraduate students taking basic chemistry classes and incorporating PRS as an in-class assessment tool at the National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. While the research revealed positive student perceived benefits and effectiveness of PRS use, it also indicated the need for further studies to discover what specific contribution PRS can make to certain learning outcomes of a large chemistry class in higher education.</p><br />

scholarly journals Students from a large Australian university use Twitter to identify difficult course concepts to review during face-to-face lectorial sessions

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Halpin ◽  
Jeremiah Johnson ◽  
Emilio Badoer
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Content Delivery ◽  
Student Feedback ◽  
Summary Statistics ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Twitter Data

Engaging undergraduate students in large classes is a constant challenge for many lecturers, as student participation and engagement can be limited. This is a concern since there is a positive correlation between increased engagement and student success. The lack of student feedback on content delivery prevents lecturers from identifying topics that would benefit students if reviewed. Implementing novel methods to engage the students in course content and create ways by which they can inform the lecturer of the difficult concepts is needed to increase student success. In the present study, we investigated the use of Twitter as a scalable approach to enhance engagement with course content and peer-to-peer interaction in a large course. In this pilot study, students were instructed to tweet the difficult concepts identified from content delivered by videos. A software program automatically collected and parsed the tweets to extract summary statistics on the most common difficult concepts, and the lecturer used the information to prepare face-to-face (F2F) lectorial sessions. The key findings of the study were 1) the uptake of Twitter (i.e., registration on the platform) was similar to the proportion of students who participated in F2F lectorials, 2) students reviewed content soon after delivery to tweet difficult concepts to lecturer, 3) Twitter increased engagement with lecturers, 4) the difficult concepts were similar to previous years, yet the automated gathering of Twitter data was more efficient and time saving for the lecturer, and 5) students found the lectorial review sessions very valuable.

scholarly journals Crossing Boundaries: Steps Toward Measuring Undergraduates’ Interdisciplinary Science Understanding

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. ar8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brie Tripp ◽  
Sophia A. Voronoff ◽  
Erin E. Shortlidge
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Interdisciplinary Science ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Assessment Development ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Science Understanding ◽  
Interdisciplinary Framework ◽  
Undergraduate Science

A desired outcome of education reform efforts is for undergraduates to effectively integrate knowledge across disciplines in order to evaluate and address real-world issues. Yet there are few assessments designed to measure if and how students think interdisciplinarily. Here, a sample of science faculty were surveyed to understand how they currently assess students’ interdisciplinary science understanding. Results indicate that individual writing-intensive activities are the most frequently used assessment type (69%). To understand how writing assignments can accurately assess students’ ability to think interdisciplinarily, we used a preexisting rubric, designed to measure social science students’ interdisciplinary understanding, to assess writing assignments from 71 undergraduate science students. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 25 of those students to explore similarities and differences between assignment scores and verbal understanding of interdisciplinary science. Results suggest that certain constructs of the instrument did not fully capture this competency for our population, but instead, an interdisciplinary framework may be a better model to guide assessment development of interdisciplinary science. These data suggest that a new instrument designed through the lens of this model could more accurately characterize interdisciplinary science understanding for undergraduate students.

scholarly journals Self-Regulation and “Time Off”: Evaluations and Reflections on the Development of a Blended Course

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Spadafora ◽  
Zopito Marini
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Premier Cycle ◽  
University Course ◽  
The Way

Changes in both the landscape of education and digital technology are giving rise to interesting, innovative, and potentially effective pedagogical possibilities. As educators of the 21st century, we are witnessing continuous changes in the way we teach as well as the way students learn. This study is a part of an ongoing research program aimed at evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of blended teaching. More specifically, this paper aims to describe some of our reflections as we developed, delivered, and carried out an evaluation of a university course taught using a blended format. Undergraduate students (n=109) in a fourth-year capstone course participated in this study. We report on the students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the delivery method of the course, while focusing on the struggles they encountered, including difficulties keeping up with the course content, particularly on the weeks where the lecture was online, as well as a struggle to stay organized and connected with their peers and their assignments. Self-regulation turned out to be a major determinant of success in this type of course. We conclude with suggestions to improve students’ social and academic experiences as they navigate learning in a digital world. Les changements survenus à la fois dans le paysage de l’éducation et dans la technologie numérique donnent naissance à des possibilités pédagogiques intéressantes, innovatrices et potentiellement efficaces. En tant qu’éducateurs du XXIe siècle, nous assistons à des changements continus dans la manière dont nous enseignons ainsi que dans la manière dont les étudiants apprennent. Cette étude s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un programme de recherche en cours qui a pour objectif d’évaluer l’efficacité pédagogique de l’enseignement hybride. Plus spécifiquement, cet article vise à décrire certaines de nos réflexions au fur et à mesure que nous élaborons, livrons et exécutons l’évaluation d’un cours universitaire enseigné selon un format hybride. Des étudiants de premier cycle (n=109) inscrits dans un tout dernier cours de quatrième année ont participé à cette étude. Nous présentons un rapport sur la manière dont les étudiants ont perçu l’efficacité de la méthode employée pour enseigner ce cours, tout en mettant l’accent sur les problèmes qu’ils ont rencontrés, y compris les difficultés à faire face au contenu du cours, en particulier durant les semaines où les cours magistraux étaient présentés en ligne, ainsi que sur leurs difficultés à rester organisés et connectés avec leurs camarades de classe et avec leurs devoirs. Il s’avère que l’autorégulation est un élément important pour la réussite de ce type de cours. Pour conclure, nous présentons des suggestions pour améliorer l’expérience sociale et académique des étudiants dans leur parcours de l’apprentissage au sein d’un monde numérique.

scholarly journals Higher Education Course Content: Paper-Based Online or Hybrid Course Delivery?

10.28945/2794 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen Van Der Vyver ◽  
Michael Lane
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Hybrid Models ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Hybrid Course ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Electronic Delivery

The emergence of the Internet has made many institutions involved in the delivery of distance education programs re-evaluate the course delivery framework. A variety of models and techniques co-exist in an often uneasy alliance at many such institutions. These range from the traditional distance learning model, which remains paper-based, to the purely online model. Recently, hybrid models have emerged which apparently attempt to forge elements taken from several models into a unified whole. Many of these hybrid models seek to eliminate paper-based materials from the tuition process. While many arguments are put forward about the efficacy of purely electronic delivery mechanisms, cost containment is often the driving motivation. This study explores student perceptions of the various delivery mechanisms for distance learning materials. In particular, it seeks to determine what value students place on paper-based delivery mechanisms. The study surveys a group of undergraduate students and a group of graduate students enrolled in the Faculty of Business at a large regional Australian university.

Enhancing Student Learning on Emerging Infectious Diseases: An Ebola Exemplar

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (7) ◽  
pp. 493-500
Author(s):  
Derek Dube ◽  
Tracie M. Addy ◽  
Maria R. Teixeira ◽  
Linda M. Iadarola
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Mode Of Instruction

Throughout global history, various infectious diseases have emerged as particularly relevant within an era. Some examples include the Bubonic plague of the fourteenth century, the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918, the HIV epidemic of the 1980s, and the Zika virus outbreak in 2015–16. These instances of emerging infectious disease represent ideal opportunities for timely, relevant instruction in natural and health science courses through case studies. Such instructional approaches can promote student engagement in the material and encourage application and higher-order thinking. We describe here how the case study approach was utilized to teach students about emerging infectious diseases using the 2014–16 Ebola virus outbreak as the subject of instruction. Results suggest that students completing the case study not only had positive perceptions of the mode of instruction, but also realized learning gains and misconception resolution. These outcomes support the efficacy of case pedagogy as a useful teaching tool in emerging infectious diseases, and augment the paucity of literature examining Ebola virus knowledge and misconceptions among undergraduate students within United States institutions.

Design Integration Into Circuits and Mechatronics Courses

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn K. S. Nagel ◽  
S. Keith Holland
Keyword(s):  
James Madison ◽  
Physical Systems ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Design Build ◽  
Design Requirements ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Design Integration ◽  
Structured Approach

Lab exercises have traditionally been a time when students follow a given procedure, collect data, and interpret the data. The highly structured experience often leads to students focusing on the procedure and not fully thinking through the concepts being covered. While labs are fully completed each week, the structured approach does not prepare students for the open-ended, non-procedural work entry-level engineers will encounter in industry. To encourage a deeper understanding of course concepts and how they translate to physical systems and better prepare students for the workforce, open-ended design projects were offered in place of structured labs in the circuits and mechatronics courses at James Madison University. The design projects are undirected experiences that build on the directed experiences in lecture and lab. Students are challenged to work in teams to design, build, test, and in one case, calibrate, an electrical system. No instruction is provided for the project, rather, a set of design requirements, timetable, and supplemental materials (e.g., data sheets, vendor design briefs, past labs relevant to the design requirements) are given. Students must synthesize multiple weeks of course content into a single design project. This paper reports on our observations and student feedback for embedding design experiences in engineering science courses.

scholarly journals “When I saw my peers annotating”

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremiah Holden Kalir ◽  
Esteban Morales ◽  
Alice Fleerackers ◽  
Juan Pablo Alperin
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Learning Technology ◽  
Digital Resources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Social Annotation ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Social annotation (SA) is a genre of learning technology that enables the annotation of digital resources for information sharing, social interaction and knowledge production. This study aims to examine the perceived value of SA as contributing to learning in multiple undergraduate courses. Design/methodology/approach In total, 59 students in 3 upper-level undergraduate courses at a Canadian university participated in SA-enabled learning activities during the winter 2019 semester. A survey was administered to measure how SA contributed to students’ perceptions of learning and sense of community. Findings A majority of students reported that SA supported their learning despite differences in course subject, how SA was incorporated and encouraged and how widely SA was used during course activities. While findings of the perceived value of SA as contributing to the course community were mixed, students reported that peer annotations aided comprehension of course content, confirmation of ideas and engagement with diverse perspectives. Research limitations/implications Studies about the relationships among SA, learning and student perception should continue to engage learners from multiple courses and from multiple disciplines, with indicators of perception measured using reliable instrumentation. Practical implications Researchers and faculty should carefully consider how the technical, instructional and social aspects of SA may be used to enable course-specific, personal and peer-supported learning. Originality/value This study found a greater variance in how undergraduate students perceived SA as contributing to the course community. Most students also perceived their own and peer annotations as productively contributing to learning. This study offers a more complete view of social factors that affect how SA is perceived by undergraduate students.

scholarly journals Fear of Negative Evaluation and Student Anxiety in Community College Active-Learning Science Courses

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. ar20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia R. Downing ◽  
Katelyn M. Cooper ◽  
Jacqueline M. Cala ◽  
Logan E. Gin ◽  
Sara E. Brownell
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Fear Of Negative Evaluation ◽  
Learning Science ◽  
Student Anxiety ◽  
Science Courses

Twenty-nine students enrolled in community colleges were interviewed to probe factors that affect their anxiety in active-learning science courses. Student anxiety decreased when students perceived that active learning enhanced their learning, and fear of negative evaluation was the primary construct underlying student anxiety in active learning.

scholarly journals Comparing Conventional, Hybrid, and Distance Learning Courses in Horticulture

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 677-682
Author(s):  
William J. Sciarappa ◽  
Vivian Quinn ◽  
Daniel L. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Student Evaluation ◽  
Online Version ◽  
Conventional Instruction ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Conventional Curriculum ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Hybrid Format ◽  
Online Format

In a conventional sophomore level course entitled “Organic Farming and Gardening,” 114 undergraduate students registered from years 2007 to 2009. Due to high demand and insufficient classroom space, this conventional curriculum was reformatted with identical course content into both a hybrid and a fully online version in which 361 students registered from years 2010 to 2012 and 336 students from 2013 to 2015. In comparing conventional instruction with hybrid and fully online versions over a 9-year period, few significant differences were found in final grades involving 811 students. Final class grade averages of these three learning systems ranged from 85.5% to 89.6% over their first 3-year spans. Over their 6-year span, the conventional class average of 89.6% was higher compared with 88.3% for the hybrid format and 86.8% for the online format. Student evaluation surveys assessed faculty performance with eight evaluative questions on a 1 to 5 scale from years 2012 to 2014. No significant difference existed between teaching in person vs. remotely, averaging 4.35 for the hybrid and 4.17 for the online. An additional eight questions measured educational methodology, technology, student confidence, and class satisfaction. There were no significant differences in comparing the combined averages of 4.12 for the hybrid format and 4.00 for the online version. Student responses indicated a significant preference overall for hybrid and online course formats compared with conventional methods. Registration numbers indicated an overwhelming choice for online education with an average class enrollment of 91.0 students compared with 38.0 students for conventional classes and 25.2 students for the hybrid format.

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