scholarly journals One Week, Many Ripples: Measuring the Impacts of the Fall Reading Week on Student Stress

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 163-172
Author(s):  
Heather Poole ◽  
Ayesha Khan ◽  
Michael Agnew
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Negative Experience ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Student Stress ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Complex Picture ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Lower Ratio

More and more Canadian post-secondary institutions are introducing a fall break into their term calendars. In 2015, a full week fall break was introduced at our university in order to enhance academic performance and improve mental health amongst students. Our interdisciplinary team surveyed undergraduate students at our university about their experience of the fall break, collected standardized measures of experienced stressors and perceptions of stress before and after the break, and hosted several focus groups to develop a detailed narrative of students’ experience. Stress can also be assessed through non-invasive hormone measures. We collected saliva samples to profile metabolic hormones, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), from first-year male engineering students in order to document possible changes in their stress levels before and after the week-long break. This group was compared to male engineering students at a similar university that does not hold a fall break. Students exhibited a lower ratio of cortisol to DHEA after a fall break than those that did not experience a break. Our survey results indicate that the majority of students thought the fall break was a positive experience. However, self-reports of stress show a more complex picture, with many students reporting increased perceived stress after the break. Additionally, a portion of students reported that the fall break was a negative experience. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first of its kind to use a mixed-methods approach to examine the impacts of a fall break.

scholarly journals Measuring the Impact of a Weeklong Fall Break on Stress Physiology in First Year Engineering Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayesha Khan ◽  
Heather Poole ◽  
Elliott A Beaton
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Nous Avons ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Control Sample ◽  
First Year ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Student Stress ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Lower Ratio ◽  
The Impact

Canadian post-secondary institutions are increasingly introducing a fall break into their term calendars, with the stated goal of reducing student stress and improving academic success. We conducted a pilot study around the time of this fall break during which we collected saliva samples to measure the ratio of two metabolic hormones (cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)) from first-year male engineering students in order to document possible changes in their stress levels before and after the break. Participants self-identified a particular day in the week prior to the break that they considered to be most stressful, followed by a day in the week after the break that was perceived to be equally stress-inducing. A control sample of student engineers was recruited from another university with equivalent academic rigour but without a fall break. Students who experienced the fall break exhibited a marginally lower ratio of cortisol to DHEA after the break than did those who did not experience the break indicating a difference in psychological stress. Since fall breaks are now increasing in popularity, we make the recommendation that it is imperative to empirically investigate their impact on student mental health. Un nombre de plus en plus grand d’établissements post-secondaires introduisent un congé d’automne dans leur calendrier, avec l’objectif déclaré de réduire le stress des étudiants et d’améliorer la réussite académique. Nous avons mené une étude pilote aux alentours de ce congé d’automne au cours duquel nous avons recueilli des échantillons de salive auprès d’étudiants mâles de première année en génie afin de mesurer le ratio de deux hormones métaboliques (le cortisol et la déhydroépiandrostérone - la DHEA)) et pour documenter les changements possibles dans leurs niveaux de stress avant et après le congé. Les participants ont identifié eux-mêmes un jour spécifique de la semaine avant le congé qu’ils considéraient comme étant le plus stressant, suivi par un jour particulier de la semaine après le congé qu’ils percevaient comme étant aussi stressant. Un échantillon témoin d’étudiants en génie a été recruté dans une autre université où la rigueur académique était équivalente mais où il n’y avait pas de congé d’automne. Les étudiants qui ont bénéficié d’un congé d’automne ont manifesté un ratio plus bas de cortisol par rapport à la DHEA après le congé par rapport aux étudiants qui n’avaient pas bénéficié d’un tel congé, ce qui indique une différence de stress psychologique. Étant donné que la popularité des congés d’automne est en augmentation, nous recommandons qu’il est impératif d’établir empiriquement leur impact sur la santé mentale des étudiants.

scholarly journals COURSE SCHEDULING ACCORDING TO STUDENT STRESS

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuai Ma ◽  
Ali Akgunduz ◽  
Yong Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
First Year ◽  
Scheduling Problem ◽  
Stress Model ◽  
Student Stress ◽  
Course Scheduling ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Course Difficulty

As many as one in three first-year undergraduate students cannot make it back for the sophomore year. The low retention rate for students, especially engineering students, is a widespread problem. In this paper, the quantification of course difficulty and student stress is discussed, followed by a student stress model which can integrate student stress into the course scheduling problem. Some future work is presented in the conclusion.

scholarly journals CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL REFLECTION SKILLS IN FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING INFORMED THROUGH STUDENT PERSPECTIVES

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth DaMaren ◽  
Danielle Pearlston ◽  
Stephen Mattucci
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Student Activities ◽  
Academic Settings ◽  
Directed Learning

Reimagined curriculum models offer new possibilities for embedding durable competencies into the curriculum, including critical reflection, which promotes the development of self-directed learning skills. However, students often perceive these skills as unimportant with pre-existing biases focusing on technical content as the core of engineering.  The primary goal of this work was to identify key considerations when integrating critical reflection into engineering curricula, specifically in the context of first-year engineering, to promote the development of student self-directed learning skills.  This work was framed within the Students-as-Partners (SaP) approach, where two undergraduate students worked in collaboration with the instructor. To gather information regarding student perceptions of critical reflection, focus groups were conducted for first-year engineering students and students familiar with reflection.  Qualitative thematic analysis was performed on the focus group data and key insights were identified and categorized into five themes: approaches, supporting students, evaluation and framing, development pathway and value, and reflection for engineers. Suggested learning outcomes, student activities, and evaluation methods are proposed. These findings are applicable to implementing reflection across a variety of academic settings, as they highlight main considerations and challenges faced with reflection from the perspective of students in multiple programs. 

scholarly journals Understanding Barriers to Student Success: What Students Have to Say

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kuley ◽  
Sean Maw ◽  
Terry Fonstad
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University

This paper focuses on feedback received from a set of qualitative questions that were administered to undergraduate students in the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, as part of a larger mixed methods study. The larger study aims to identify what characteristics, if any, can predict or are related to student success; The “start-stop-continue” method was utilized to assess student perceptions about  their success in the college as a whole. The students were asked: Are there any specific things that you can think of that act/acted as barriers to your success in engineering (stop)? What could the college do/change to make first year more successful for engineering students (start)? Is there anything in your engineering degree so far that you feel is done well and helps students succeed (continue)? Students identified the quality of instruction early in their program as well as adjustment to college workloads and self-directed learning as the most significant barriers tostudent success.

scholarly journals Understanding Pre-Service Teachers’ Familiarity and Interest in Phonics and Potential Implications

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Wendy Tada
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Key Points ◽  
National University ◽  
Survey Results

The aim of this study was to better understand pre-service teachers’ familiarity with and interest in phonics and how these factors might influence the development of future phonics courses. For this study, 86 first year undergraduate students attending a national university for teacher education completed a survey in 2017. Participants from one class submitted a journal after attending three lessons introducing phonics. The survey results showed that most participants did not learn phonics before entering university, and admitted they had trouble reading new English words. Furthermore, according to the journal comments, participants gained an awareness of their own pronunciation skills, and an understanding of the key points of phonics and how it can be taught using songs. 本研究では、フォニックスに関する教育実習生の学習経験と関心、及びこれらの要素が将来のフォニックスコース開発にどのような影響を与えるかをより把握することを目的とした。本研究に関して、2017年にある国立教育大学で86名の1年生の学部生が調査を行いました。また、あるクラスからの参加者が、フォニックスを紹介するレッスンに3回参加した後、日誌を提出しました。その調査結果によると、ほとんどの参加者は大学入学前にフォニックスを習得しておらず、ほとんどの参加者は英語の新しい単語を読むのに問題があると認めました。さらに、その日誌のコメントによると、自分の発音スキル、フォニックスの要点、及び歌をどのように使って教えているかという認識が得られたと結論づけることができました。

scholarly journals A DESIGN-CENTERED LABORATORY CURRICULUM FOR FIRST-YEAR BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING STUDENTS

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Lam
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Biomedical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Laboratory Course ◽  
Structured Design ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Design Projects

A new first-year biomedical engineering laboratory course was created using a problem-based learning approach. Centered on four semi-structured design projects and experiments, the laboratory course was designed to facilitate meaningful experiential learning. Preliminary analyses of survey results suggest that the semi-structured nature of lab activities is viewed both positively and negatively by students, depending on their perception of preparedness for the project. Its correlation with student performance will be better understood with thorough study of other components of survey results.

scholarly journals Stress and Heart Rate Variability during University Final Examination among Lebanese Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabah Hammoud ◽  
Rita Karam ◽  
Rabih Mourad ◽  
Iman Saad ◽  
Mazen Kurdi
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
Real Life ◽  
First Year ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Degree Of Confidence

Real-life stressors, such as university examination, cause an increase in sympathetic activity of the nervous system innervating the heart, and thus an increase in heart rate (HR). Our study aimed to detect changes in heart rate variability (HRV) during different stages of an exam in a group of 90 healthy university students (30 males and 60 females), over 4 h of monitoring divided into 1 h before, 2 h during, and 1 h after the examination. HRV was significantly highest after the exam, indicating release from stress, as compared to before and during the examination when stress was observable. Undergraduate students in different academic years did not differ in terms of stress, indicating the absence of adaptation to exam procedures. However, HR and R-R interval after the exam showed significant difference between first year undergraduate studies and first year of a graduate program, indicating a higher degree of confidence in graduate students. Results also suggest that HRV in females is significantly lower than that in males before and after examination, despite men having greater sympathetic input. In conclusion, the results of our novel study assessing stress in real-time examination show important gender differences, and lack of adaptation with academic study year.

scholarly journals Short-Term Research Experience (SRE) in the Traditional Lab: Qualitative and Quantitative Data on Outcomes

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. ar64 ◽  
Author(s):  
David I. Hanauer ◽  
Justin Nicholes ◽  
Fang-Yu Liao ◽  
Aaron Beasley ◽  
Heather Henter
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Personal Investment ◽  
Matching Technique ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Survey Results

The San Diego Biodiversity Project introduces undergraduate students at four different 2- and 4-year schools to a short-term research experience (SRE) that was implemented as a module in the last third of a traditional laboratory course. The study assesses the qualities of this SRE for students using three different methods. Twenty-one participants were interviewed about their experiences in the traditional and research components of their course. In a repeated-measures design, 124 participants took the Persistence in the Sciences (PITS) survey immediately before and after their participation in the SRE. Finally, using a propensity score matching technique, PITS survey results for SRE students were compared with those for students in a course-based research experience (CRE). Student perceptions of the traditional lab and the SRE are different—students appreciate learning basic processes and procedures in the traditional lab, but they express having personal investment in and a sense of participating in science in the SRE. Significant increases were found for the variable of Project Ownership in the SRE condition over the traditional lab, but SRE outcomes were lower than CRE outcomes. Although the SRE may not provide the benefits of a CRE, it is a serious option for expanding access to authentic research.

Assessing the enterprising tendencies of Arab female undergraduate engineering students in the Sultanate of Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-439
Author(s):  
Naveed Yasin ◽  
Zeinab Khansari ◽  
Taimur Sharif
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Boot Camp ◽  
First Year ◽  
Need For Achievement ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Extended Duration ◽  
The Impact

This study assesses the enterprising characteristics of first-year undergraduate Omani female chemical engineering students in Muscat, Oman. Pre and post surveys were conducted with 27 respondents from an entrepreneurship boot camp module mandated by the Oman Ministry of Higher Education. The variables, measured on a 10-point Likert scale, included need for achievement, need for autonomy, creativity, risk-taking, and locus of control. Statistical analysis was performed on the integrated data to measure the impact of student learning using a t-test approach and comparing mean averages. This was followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews that were examined using thematic analysis. The comparison of students’ enterprise tendencies before and after the module indicates minor to moderate improvements in their entrepreneurial abilities and their understanding of entrepreneurial behavior. The most noticeable impact was on students’ risk-taking abilities, followed by their creativity, need for achievement, need for control, and, lastly, their need for autonomy. The findings illustrate that students perceived entrepreneurship positively but were concerned about the scheduling of the module and its integration into their core program of study. Students may have benefited further from a module of extended duration as opposed to the block delivery “boot camp” mode of learning. Due to the limited number of participants and the focus on female students only, the results of the study cannot be generalized. However, the article presents an initial exploration of and offers insights into enterprising characteristics among an empirically underexplored demographic and nonbusiness group.

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