scholarly journals Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Differing Research Expectations of First-Year Students and Professor

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meg Raven
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Instruction Strategies ◽  
Research Instruction ◽  
The University

Objective: This study sought to better understand the research expectations of first-year students upon beginning university study, and how these expectations differed from those of their professors. Most academic librarians observe that the research expectations of these two groups differ considerably and being able to articulate where these differences are greatest may help us provided more focused instruction, and allow us to work more effectively with professors and student support services. Methods: 317 first-year undergraduate students and 75 professors at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS were surveyed to determine what they each expected of first-year student research. Students were surveyed on the first day of term so as to best understand their research expectations as they transitioned from high school to university. Results: The gulf between student and professor research expectations was found to be considerable, especially in areas such as time required for reading and research, and the resources necessary to do research. While students rated their preparedness for university as high, they also had high expectations related to their ability to use non-academic sources. Not unexpectedly, the majority of professors believed that students are not prepared to do university-level research, they do not take enough responsibility for their own learning, they should use more academic research sources, and read twice as much as students believe they should. Conclusions: By better understanding differing research expectations, students can be guided very early in their studies about appropriate academic research practices, and librarians and professors can provide students with improved research instruction. Strategies for working with students, professors and the university community are discussed.

scholarly journals Assessment in First Year University: A Model to Manage Transition

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
J. A. Taylor ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Engineering Computing

For most students assessment guides their study and learning practice. Yet in the literature associated with the first year of study at university, few have mobilised the power of assessment to develop and engage first year undergraduate students. This paper presents a model of assessment for first year students which separates the semester into three overlapping assessment phases: assessment for transition, assessment for development and assessment for achievement. The implementation and usefulness of the model is supported by examples from mathematics, engineering, computing, communication and nursing studies at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Particular attention is paid to assessments for transition which occur early in the semester and are linked more closely with processes than specific content. Evidence is collated on the success of assessments in improving the participation of students, especially distance education students.

scholarly journals Relationship between Learning Motivation and Reflection in Undergraduate Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 97-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.S. Tikhomirova ◽  
N.V. Kochetkov
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
Second Year ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

This article aims to study the relationship between personal reflection and the intensity of motivation for learning in a university.In order to achieve this goal, the following techniques were employed: A.V.Karpov and V.V.Ponomaryova’s technique for identifying the individual level of reflectivity, and T.I.Ilyina’s technique for assessing learning motivation in university students.The empirical study involved 143 subjects.The obtained data indicate that for the first-year students the meaning of the ‘mastering the profession’ motive is directly connected with their reflections on the present and future activities, while the meaning of the ‘getting a diploma’ motive is inversely correlated with the reflection of communication.In the second year, the intensity of the ‘gaining knowledge’ motive correlates with the reflection of communication, and the meaning of the ‘mastering the profession’ motive has an inverse relationship with the reflection of future activity.In the third year, the values of the motive for acquiring knowledge correlate with the integral indicator of reflection, whereas in the fourth year none of the reflection components are interconnected with the components of the motivation for learning in the university.

Knowledge and Attitude Toward Emergency Contraceptive Pills Among First-Year Undergraduate Students in Southern Thailand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siranee Yongpraderm ◽  
Suriyon Uitrakul
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Emergency Contraceptive Pills ◽  
Contraceptive Pills ◽  
Emergency Contraceptive ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude ◽  
The University

Abstract Background: The objective of this study was to investigation of the knowledge and attitude towards emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) among first-year undergraduate students in a university in Thailand.Methods: This cross-sectional survey study was performed using the developed questionnaires that was validated by four experts. The questionnaires were distributed to all the first-year students in the university via an online platform. The characteristic data were descriptively analyzed and the knowledge data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test and one-way ANOVA.Results: A total of 335 students who responded to the questionnaires and met the eligible criteria for the study was analyzed. The mean knowledge score of all respondents was 7.76±0.15 out of 15. The most correct-answered questions were the questions relating to efficacy and safety of ECPs in pregnant women (78.5% and 72.2% corrected, respectively). On the contrary, the least correct-answered questions were about the ECP regimens and using ECPs instead of combined oral contraception (COC) (30.4% and 34.9%, respectively). In addition, the results indicated that experience in using ECPs and in ECP education were significant factors in high scores of knowledge. Moreover, most respondents trusted and would like to receive the information on ECPs from health professionals in hospitals, academic institutions, or pharmacies.Discussion: The average knowledge of ECPs of first-year students in a university in Thailand was at a moderate level. More knowledge about the regimens of the drug and using ECPs instead of COC should be advised to students, particularly at the university or pharmacies, and should be done by healthcare staff.

scholarly journals The effectiveness of an online grammar study scheme for Chinese undergraduate students

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan John Windsor
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Resource ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Grammar Learning ◽  
The University

AbstractThis paper outlines and describes the effectiveness of a virtual learning environment (VLE) as a grammar learning resource for first year students at a university in southern China over two academic years. The resource, named the Independent Grammar Study Scheme (IGSS), offered short grammar exercises that were completed over a 14-week period by two cohorts of year one students. The results of this study suggest that IGSS was successful in raising the grammar test scores of participants in both 2018 and 2019; that IGSS was more beneficial to students with lower English proficiency in 2018 but not in 2019; and that the VLE has been of great benefit to the university and to around one thousand students thus far.

Contrasting first and final year undergraduate students' plagiarism perceptions to investigate anti-plagiarism measures

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syeda Tuba Javaid ◽  
Sameera Sultan ◽  
John Fitzgerald Ehrich
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Rasch Analysis ◽  
Academic Misconduct ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
First Year ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Education Commission ◽  
The University

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of undergraduate students toward plagiarism and its change (if any) during their four-year study at a Pakistani university.Design/methodology/approachThe students who participated were majoring in electrical engineering; there were 106 first-year students and 127 final-year students. The students were asked to complete a plagiarism attitude scale (Harris, 2011) survey and reveal their attitudes toward plagiarism.FindingsRasch analysis was conducted on the scale to optimize its measurement qualities. Analysis indicated no significant changes in the attitude of the students, which remained very lenient and soft toward plagiarism despite the strict policy of the higher education commission of Pakistan and the university. These results indicate that the students lacked an understanding of what constitutes as plagiarism. Therefore, more awareness toward the ethical aspects of plagiarism is needed to reduce academic misconduct.Originality/valuePlagiarism is an academic offense yet very few studies have been conducted to understand the perceptions of the students in order to minimize it.

scholarly journals The Pedagogical Shift During COVID 19 Pandemic: Online Medical Education, Barriers and Perceptions in Central Kerala

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 238212052095179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aboobacker Mohammed Rafi ◽  
Pulikkottil Raphael Varghese ◽  
Praveenlal Kuttichira
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Good Learning ◽  
Class Room ◽  
The University ◽  
Study Participants

Owing to COVID 19 pandemic, all educational institutions including medical colleges were closed by the second week of March 2020 in Kerala, India. This college started online classes using various e-platforms by the third week of March. In this study, we report the barriers and perceptions of undergraduate students by an online questionnaire after 2.5 months of e-classes. The study participants were 364 students who responded in a week’s time. Most of the faculty used platforms like Google class room or recorded YouTube videos. The department of Physiology used the Impartus platform. Among the respondents 72.8% were using mobile data and 17.8% were using broadband facilities. Among network providers Jio was the most used. Only first year students were exposed to 3 different online platforms. Among those students, 63.6% reported in favor of Impartus, followed by YouTube and Google class room. Most of the students preferred recorded classes (69.2%) over live classes (33.5%). Submissions were mainly through the online platform itself (69.5%), email submission to the department (17%) or to the faculty (13.5%). Forty seven percent of the students wanted the classes to be of 30 to 45 minutes duration and 42% felt that the classes should be short and below 30 minutes. Only 28.3% of the students favored centralized online class by the university. Providing education to students cannot be discontinued for long. In the present study students are able to follow the online classes and have good learning experience on in the Didactic part. The medical educators could rise up to the challenge of continuing to teach even in times of crisis.

scholarly journals Flipping the Classroom: Revolutionising Legal Research Training

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 231-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Sales
Keyword(s):  
Information Overload ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Legal Research ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Training Concept ◽  
The University ◽  
Teaching Time

AbstractAt the University of Salford it is a struggle to find sufficient timetable space to deliver in-depth legal research training to new first year students. The training delivered often alienated students due to the information overload they experienced. Timetable pressures resulted in sessions being librarian-led with little interaction with students. This left students feeling overwhelmed, often nervous of using the library and performing research. As a result law students resorted to using Google as their academic research tool of choice. To combat these problems the Law Librarian, Nicola Sales, implemented the innovative training concept of ‘flipping the classroom’. Rather than using teaching time to instruct students in ‘how to’ perform research by demonstrating resources and concepts, the classroom was flipped so students studied online content before entering the classroom. Face to face teaching time was then spent actively learning through practical tasks and discussion to consolidate student learning. Students took responsibility for their own learning and teaching sessions were based on group work and discussion, facilitated by the librarian rather than being librarian-led. This article is based on the presentation, ‘Flipping Training’ delivered at the BIALL Conference 2013. It will look at how the ‘flipping the classroom’ concept works and how it has been implemented at the University of Salford. It will examine the benefits and drawbacks of flipping training as well as ideas for implementing flipped training within other organisations.

scholarly journals Reading competency of first-year undergraduate students at University of Botswana: A case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beauty B. Ntereke ◽  
Boitumelo T. Ramoroka
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Reading Levels ◽  
First Semester ◽  
University Of Botswana ◽  
Students First ◽  
Literacy Course ◽  
The University

The ability to read and interpret textbooks and other assigned material is a critical component of success at university level. Therefore, the aims of this study are twofold: to evaluate the reading levels of first-year students when they first enter the university to determine how adequately prepared they are for university reading. It is also to find out if there will be any significant improvement after going through the academic literacy course offered to first-year students. The participants were 51 first-year undergraduate humanities students enrolled in the Communication and Academic Literacy course at the University of Botswana. The data were collected through a reading test adopted from Zulu which was administered at the beginning of the first semester. The same test was administered at the end of the semester after the students had gone through the academic literacy course to see if there was any difference in performance. The findings of this study indicate that there is a mixed and wide variation of students reading competency levels when students first enter the university and that a significant number of first-year entrants are inadequately prepared for university reading.

Assessing the Impact of Supplemental Instruction on the Retention of Undergraduate Students after Controlling for Motivation

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenepher Lennox Terrion ◽  
Jean-Luc Daoust
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Supplemental Instruction ◽  
First Year ◽  
Group Program ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Personal Motivation ◽  
Final Grades ◽  
The University ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact

The University of Ottawa (UofO) in Ottawa, Canada offers a formal supplemental instruction program, called the residence study group program (RSGP), to residence students registered in first year courses that are associated with a high degree of failure or attrition. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of this program by comparing a sample of first year residence students who participated in the RSGP with a sample who did not participate. The study compared final grades of students in these courses after controlling for personal motivation and found that while those who participated in the RSGP did not receive higher final grades than non-participants, they were more likely to persist in their studies. It appears that the RSGP contributes in many important ways to the academic and social integration of first year students and these are critical to persistence beyond the first year.

Senior Students’ Perceptions of Entering a Research Community

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doug Brent
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Research Community ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
The University ◽  
Senior Students ◽  
The Universe

Most of the literature on the assignment traditionally called the research paper focusses on first-year students, and often centers on what they don’t know or can’t do. This article seeks to expand the conversation to one about the skills and knowledge displayed by senior students, and about their perceptions of the universe of academic research and their place in it. It does so by means of a qualitative study of 13 senior students at the University of Calgary. Through interviews, I probe their understanding of their own research processes, how they think they learned to do what they do, and, most important, their understanding of what it means to conduct academic research.

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