INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIVING-LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND SENSE OF BELONGING IN FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS

In this work, a monitoring experience of student workload and attendance is presented. During four academic years, from 2015 until 2019, first-year students of an Engineering degree have been asked, three times a week, to estimate their autonomous workload devoted to the Statistics subject. The monitoring strategy has been anonymous, open and voluntary and has shown a high ratio of participation: 407 students out of 433. To generate the final dataset this information has been combined with attending records to classroom-based lectures and final grades achieved. Results indicate that declared student’s workload hardly reaches the 90 hours of autonomous work established in the ECTS ratio of our university. Nonparametric comparisons show strong statistical evidences of the relationship between final grades in the subject and declared workload and attendance. We find that attendance is crucial in order to achieve a homogeneous workload along the semester and a success in the subject’s grading.

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The Relationship Between First-Year Learning Communities and Academic Performance in Introductory Psychology and Sociology

Teaching of Psychology ◽

10.1177/00986283211018455 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 009862832110184

Author(s):

Christine Ma-Kellams ◽

Roy Kwon

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Learning Communities ◽

Learning Community ◽

Student Performance ◽

Introductory Psychology ◽

First Year ◽

Introductory Courses ◽

First Year Students ◽

The Social ◽

The Relationship

Objective: How do learning communities influence academic performance in Introductory Psychology? Method: The present research examines the relationship between participation in first-year students learning communities and academic performance across a variety of course requirements (midterms, finals, papers, and class participation) in introductory psychology and, for comparison, sociology courses. Results: Students who took Introductory Psychology as part of a first-year-student learning community outperformed their peers (who took the same course without a learning community) on the first exam of the semester and were less likely to miss assignments but otherwise showed no significant differences on the other course assignments; introductory sociology students part of these communities showed even greater differences in performance that lasted through the end of the semester. Conclusion: First-year students learning communities offers significant albeit limited benefits for student performance in introductory courses in the social sciences. Teaching Implications: Short of institutional efforts to enact programming for first-year learning communities, introductory psychology instructors can attempt to simulate the experience of such communities by promoting a sense of belonging via extra-curricular service or discipline-related activities.

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Intervention to Improve Self-Efficacy and Sense of Belonging of First-Year Underrepresented Engineering Students

10.18260/1-2--20695 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kari Jordan ◽

Sheryl Sorby

Keyword(s):

Self Efficacy ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Engineering Students ◽

First Year

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Living–Learning Communities Improve First-year Engineering Student Academic Performance and Retention at a Small Private University

10.18260/p.24435 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

William Palm ◽

Charles Thomas

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Learning Communities ◽

Private University ◽

First Year ◽

Engineering Student ◽

Student Academic Performance ◽

Living Learning Communities

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Examining the academic performance and retention of first-year students in living-learning communities, freshmen interest groups and first year experience courses

10.32469/10355/4710 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

John R. Purdie

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Interest Groups ◽

Learning Communities ◽

First Year Experience ◽

First Year ◽

First Year Students ◽

Living Learning Communities

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Mens sana: An Investigation into the Relationship between Psychological Traits and Academic Success of First Year Engineering Students

2018 3rd International Conference of the Portuguese Society for Engineering Education (CISPEE) ◽

10.1109/cispee.2018.8593486 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Domhnall Sheridan ◽

Michael Carr

Keyword(s):

Academic Success ◽

Engineering Students ◽

First Year ◽

Psychological Traits ◽

The Relationship

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Effect of a Place-Based Learning Community on Belonging, Persistence, and Equity Gaps for First-Year STEM Students

Innovative Higher Education ◽

10.1007/s10755-020-09519-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (6) ◽

pp. 509-531

Author(s):

Matthew D. Johnson ◽

Amy E. Sprowles ◽

Katlin R. Goldenberg ◽

Steven T. Margell ◽

Lisa Castellino

Keyword(s):

Experimental Design ◽

Student Success ◽

Learning Communities ◽

Learning Community ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Reference Group ◽

Natural World ◽

First Year ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Stem Students

AbstractWe combined tenets of learning communities and place-based learning to develop an innovative first-year program for STEM students. Using a quasi-experimental design, we found that participants in the place-based learning community had a stronger sense of belonging, improved academic performance, and increased first-year persistence relative to a matched reference group. We also showed that participation narrowed equity gaps in first-year outcomes for students underrepresented in the sciences. A sense of place arises not just from a location, but from interrelationships between people and the natural world, and these results suggest organizing learning around place can promote inclusive student success.

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