scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Embedding Online Academic and Information Literacy Resources into a First Year Business Course

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Rae ◽  
Margaret Hunn
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
First Year ◽  
Literacy Support ◽  
Online Resource ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives – Literature supports the concept that embedding academic and information literacy support into first year university courses enables students to proceed more confidently with researching and writing their assignments, and thus contributes to student success in their course. A need was identified for academic and information literacy support for a cohort of first year business students as part of the development of online course content for Griffith Online, the institution’s online study degree option. This led to a collaboration between information literacy librarians, learning skills advisers, educational designers, and academic course convenors to develop and implement online resources. This paper will present findings on the impact of these online resources. Methods – Drawing on measures and methods identified in ISO16439 “Information and documentation: Methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries” (International Organisation for Standardization, 2014), in conjunction with the indicators offered by Lizzio’s (2006) Five Senses of Success framework, evidence was collected and combined from a variety of sources over semester 2, 2014, and semester 1, 2015 to assess the impact of the online resource. Inferred evidence was gathered from usage statistics (number of hits on the sites) and from performance measures (comparing student essay grade between those that did and did not use the resource). Solicited evidence was gathered from a survey of students, students in focus groups, and interviews with course lecturers, tutors and other stakeholders. Results – The inferred evidence showed a positive impact on the student success indicators of the sense of resourcefulness, capability, connection, purpose and identity. The solicited evidence suggests that students saw the online resource in a positive light and that staff were happy with the impact it had on students’ work and learning. It is believed that the gathered evidence indicates the Module did achieve the impact objective of a positive impact on the contribution to student success for these first year business students. Conclusions – The evidence has shown that this resource contributed to student success, and that staff and student satisfaction with the resource contributed to increased confidence with student academic skills and information literacy in respect to their assignment task. Assessing the impact of the online resource on student success has helped to demonstrate the value of the library at Griffith University to the wider community. The four-pronged collaboration relationship required for this approach was fostered with stakeholders outside of the library.

scholarly journals Inquiry-based learning to improve student engagement in a large first year topic

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masha Smallhorn ◽  
Jeanne Young ◽  
Narelle Hunter ◽  
Karen Burke da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Multiple Choice Exam ◽  
The Impact

Increasing the opportunity for students to be involved in inquiry-based activities can improve engagement with content and assist in the development of analysis and critical thinking skills. The science laboratory has traditionally been used as a platform to apply the content gained through the lecture series. These activities have exposed students to experiments which test the concepts taught but which often result in a predicted outcome. To improve the engagement and learning outcomes of our large first year biology cohort, the laboratories were redeveloped. Superlabs were run with 100 students attending weekly sessions increasing the amount of contact time from previous years. Laboratories were redeveloped into guided-inquiry and educators facilitated teams of students to design and carry out an experiment. To analyse the impact of the redevelopment on student satisfaction and learning outcomes, students were surveyed and multiple choice exam data was compared before and after the redevelopment. Results suggest high levels of student satisfaction and a significant improvement in student learning outcomes. All disciplines should consider including inquiry-based activities as a methodology to improve student engagement and learning outcome as it fosters the development of independent learners. 

scholarly journals Developing Faculty Communities of Practice to Expand the Use of Effective Pedagogical Techniques

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Hoyert ◽  
Cynthia O'Dell
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
First Year ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Pedagogical Techniques ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Faculty Group

The scholarship of teaching and learning literature is replete with examples of pedagogical techniques that have been demonstrated to be effective in improving learning, motivation, and student success. The extension of these techniques beyond the original context has tended to be slow, difficult, and incomplete. The following paper examines an intervention designed to encourage the exploration and use of a variety of pedagogical techniques by faculty in a traditional, four-year college faculty within the context of the AASCU Re-imagining the First Year Initiative. Small groups of six to eight faculty, joined and created communities of practice. The groups were known as Pedagogical Interest Groups, or PIGs for short. The faculty read about and analyzed a series of pedagogical techniques and committed to introducing at least one technique into their courses to further explore the techniques. When the techniques were successful, the faculty members redesigned entire classes to expand the impact. The communities of practice were successful in encouraging faculty to explore a wide variety of techniques. The average faculty group explored eight different pedagogical techniques. Faculty were able to use the opportunity to experiment with techniques with the support from their colleagues in their PIG. A dozen techniques were explored across the PIGs and dozens of class sections have been completely redesigned. To date, over 2000 students have experienced redesigned courses. Measures of student success, satisfaction, and interest in those sections have increased. The effort has been accompanied by a robust increase in the campus-wide retention rates. ​

scholarly journals Impact of first-year seminar on student engagement, awareness, and general attitudes toward higher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bothaina A. Al-Sheeb ◽  
Mahmoud Samir Abdulwahed ◽  
Abdel Magid Hamouda
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
First Year ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Of Law ◽  
First Year Seminars ◽  
Campus Resources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

Purpose This study intends to add to the existing body of literature on the impact of a newly implemented first year seminar in the College of Law and Business. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects the course have on students in regard to three aspects: student awareness and utilization of resources, interaction patterns, as well as, general interests and attitudes toward higher education. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of the assessment included analysis of a survey that has been conducted by the end of Spring 2014 semester. A quasi-experimental design was implemented to measure the impact of the intervention on students’ awareness and utilization of resources, interactions, general interests, and attitudes toward higher education. Through the SPSS application, the Mann Whitney U Test, and χ2 tests were used to check for significant differences while comparing the means or frequencies for both groups. For the three questions, the authors have used the 90 percent confidence level and the standard significance level p-value of 0.05 or less for statistical analysis. Findings The results indicated that the course had a highly significant positive impact on student attitudes and awareness of campus resources but had less significant impact on student interactions and utilization of resources. The results in this study reveal a positive impact for the first-year seminar course on student satisfaction and attitudes toward higher education as well as their awareness of campus resources. However, in terms of the course impact on student interaction, results conveyed that students who have participated in the first-year seminar course show a slightly better interaction rate with instructors, academic advisors, and close friends than those in the control group. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study was that the sample was small. Nonetheless, it has provided valuable insights into the understanding of the social and academic impact of first-year seminars on student engagement; through the use of comparison groups, this study increased the validity of prior research. Practical implications The first-year seminar course evaluated in this study demonstrated the potential to support and enhance student social and academic engagement during the first year of college. Based on the results in this study, the study team recommended some revisions to the current first-year seminar model (UNIV P100 Skills for University Success). The team proposed three models for subsequent first-year seminars at this university. Originality/value This study adds to the existing literature by examining the impact of a newly implemented first-year seminar course at the College of Law and Business at this university on both academic and non-academic aspects from the students’ perspective. These aspects were selected as retention and GPA effects have been widely explored; therefore, the focus is on the less studied emotional and social factors associated with student success and retention. The results from this study can act as a guide for universities intending to introduce a first-year seminar course as it gives clear guidelines on design, content, and course implementation, which can be useful in enhancing general student motivation and attitudes toward academic study and higher education in general.

Information Literacy Education for First-Year Composition Students

2018 ◽  
pp. 85-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica D. T. Rysavy ◽  
Russell Michalak ◽  
Kevin Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Composition Students ◽  
First Year Composition ◽  
Composition Course ◽  
International Graduate

This chapter describes how the researchers at a small private Master's level college examined how different delivery modes—face-to-face (F2F), hybrid, and online instruction—may impact first-year students' perceptions of their information literacy (IL) skills compared to their test-assessed information literacy skills using the students perception of information literacy-questionnaire (SPIL-Q) and information literacy assessment (ILA) instruments. These instruments were developed and deployed to international graduate business students in two previous studies: Michalak and Rysavy and Michalak, Rysavy, and Wessel. The students (n=161) in this study were enrolled in a first-year English composition course in the Spring 2017 semester. This iteration achieved an overall response rate of 87.04% (n=141). Overall, results demonstrated the greatest achievement were demonstrated by students in hybrid course sections.

Learners’ preferences for online resources, activities, and communication tools: A comparative study of Turkey and Kyrgyzstan

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gülgün Afacan Adanır ◽  
Gulshat Muhametjanova ◽  
Mehmet Ali Çelikbağ ◽  
Asan Omuraliev ◽  
Rita İsmailova
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
First Year ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Communication Tools ◽  
Online Resource ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Social Media Tools ◽  
Study Participants

The progresses in technology lead to advances in e-learning as well as lead to increase in number of learners participating in e-learning courses. Richness of online resources, activities, and communication tools presented in online courses can be one of the factors that influence learners’ attendance to e-learning. In this regard, the initial purpose of this study was to identify online resource, activity and communication tool preferences of learners studying in two public universities: one located in Turkey and one located in Kyrgyzstan. At the second stage, comparison of Turkish and Kyrgyz learners’ preferences was carried out to explore differences in two countries. The participants are first-year undergraduate learners enrolled in first-year courses in the online environment. The total number of participants is 370, which involves 185 Turkish learners and 185 Kyrgyz learners. In the context of this study, participants’ submissions to the questionnaire were collected as quantitative data; while participants’ opinions toward online resources, activities, and communication tools were obtained as qualitative data. Thus, the study was designed as a mixed methods research that quantitative and qualitative methods were applied for the data analysis. The results demonstrated that Turkish learners perceive communication tools, online exams, and text-based course notes to be the most useful for e-learning, whereas perceive online group activities and wiki pages as not useful enough. On the other hand, Kyrgyz learners perceive interactive materials, online exams, and social media tools to be the most useful for e-learning, whereas perceive online chats and pages as not useful enough. The participants’ opinions cover important points for the improvement of current online materials. In addition, learners from Turkey and Kyrgyzstan showed both similarities and differences in terms of their preferences toward online resources, activities, and communication tools, which are explained through this paper.

scholarly journals Information Literacy and Retention: A Case Study of the Value of the Library

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Jo Catalano ◽  
Sharon Rose Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Outcome Data ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Writing Research ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
The Impact

Objective - The authors investigated the impact of library instruction on information literacy (IL) skills as part of ACRL’s AiA initiative. Additionally, the researchers sought to determine whether there was a relationship between IL tests scores and research experiences with student success outcomes such as retention. Methods - The researchers administered a standardized IL test to 455 graduate and undergraduate students in multiple disciplines. They then collected outcome data on GPA, retention, and graduation three years later. Results - While there were no significant differences between those students who had instruction and those who did not on the IL test, a regression analysis revealed that experience writing research papers that required library resources and an individual’s use of library books throughout their academic career demonstrated significant, positive relationships with whether a student passed the information literacy test. Additionally, using the longitudinal data on GPA, retention, graduation, and employment, the researchers found that students’ IL scores were significantly correlated with their GPAs, and that students who passed the IL test were more likely to be retained or graduate within six years. Conclusion - The ability to demonstrate IL skills appears to contribute to retention and graduation and, therefore, may be an integral part of one’s academic success. Further, experience writing research papers and other meaningful assignments contributes to student success.

Impact of cooperative learning on teamwork competence

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melany Hebles ◽  
Concepción Yaniz-Álvarez-de-Eulate ◽  
Mauricio Jara
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Complex Dimensions ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of a classroom application of the cooperative learning (CL) methodology on nine dimensions of business students’ teamwork competence (TC).Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a quasi-experimental pre-post design with a previous cohort as control group (first-year students from the year prior to treatment application), applying treatment to a sample of 228 first-year students in a School of Economics and Business at a Chilean University (114 as treatment and 114 as control).FindingsThe authors’ results show that CL had a positive, significant influence on five dimensions of TC: collective efficacy, planning, goal setting, problem solving and conflict management.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper upholds the importance and effectiveness of CL in developing TC. However, the evidence suggests that the effectiveness of the CL methodology was limited to development and improvement of less complex dimensions of TC. More complex dimensions require a longer period of time to be developed.Practical implicationsThis research is an important contribution to the design and implementation of appropriate methodologies for developing a widely needed area of competence in the workplace, considering its multidimensional nature, whether in academia or business.Originality/valueThis is the first study to seek empirical evidence that would link the CL methodology with TC. In addition, it fills a gap in the literature on the development of TC in its multiple dimensions. It particularly addresses the training of business professionals.

Effects of career‐related continuous learning: a case study

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Rowold ◽  
Sabine Hochholdinger ◽  
Jan Schilling
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Call Center ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Learning Climate ◽  
First Year ◽  
Continuous Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
The Impact

PurposeAlthough proposed from theory, the assumption that career‐related continuous learning (CRCL) has a positive impact on subsequent job performance has not been tested empirically. The present study aims to close this gap in the literature. A model is derived from theory that predicts a positive impact of CRCL, learning climate, and initial job performance on consequent job performance. In addition, CRCL is hypothesized to mediate the impact of learning climate on final job performance.Design/methodology/approachImplementing a longitudinal approach, this model was tested empirically in a call center context. Within the first year of their respective career, multiple source data were gathered from employees about their formal CRCL activities, their initial performance, as well as their perception about learning climate.FindingsResults indicated that CRCL predicted final job performance and mediated the impact of learning climate on final job performance. A total of 28 percent of final job performance was explained by the proposed model, highlighting the importance of CRCL for organizational contexts.Practical implicationsThe results of this study support the notion that CRCL programs are highly useful for both employees and organizations.Originality/valueFor the first time, the impact of CRCL on job performance is demonstrated empirically.

scholarly journals Embedding Digital (Information) Literacy in the First Year Curriculum: An Intervention

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Jane Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
First Year ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improving Student Performance

This paper describes an intervention aimed at reducing the occurrence of common weaknesses in first level work and thereby improving student performance in assessments. The project involved developing a more systematic approach to embedding information literacy (IL) into the first year curriculum in the Carnegie Faculty at Leeds Beckett University by combining the expertise of subject librarians with that of first year tutors. It was part of a broader programme of institutional curricular change. This collaborative approach was informed by data from individual interviews with previous students and based on a dual rationale: firstly from Sadler’s (2002) call for more high impact, low stakes assessment in the first year and secondly a need to avoid creating a culture of ‘testing’ (Sambell, McDowell, & Montgomery, 2013) in which students position themselves as submitting to others’ judgments rather than developing rational autonomy (Baxter-Magolda, 2003). In other words, we needed to design an assessed activity which encouraged students to engage in learning but created a supportive and collaborative approach. The embedding process together with some of the resources and tools which we developed are described in this paper as well as the respective contributions of the various participants. We explore the impact of two years of implementation based on student interviews and tutor evaluations. Recommendations and examples are provided to demonstrate how a similar approach might work elsewhere either as a local, course-specific intervention or as part of an institution-wide approach to improving students’ digital literacy.

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