scholarly journals MEASURING THE IMPACT OF STUDENT LED TUTORIALS ON FIRST YEAR STUDENTS' LEARNING OUTCOMES

Author(s):  
Sohad Kadhum ◽  
Brad Buckham ◽  
Ben Nadler

ENGR 141: Engineering Mechanics is afoundational course in the UVic Engineering Faculty thatserves all of the engineering degree programs:biomedical, civil, mechanical, electrical, computer andsoftware. Between the 2013 and 2014 offerings of thecourse, the ENGR 141 population grew dramatically, bywell over 50%, necessitating changes in the coursestructure and methods of student assessment. In additionto addressing logistical challenges, the changes weredesigned to develop the students’ confidence in theirability to wield fundamental mechanical principlesindependently and in peer-to-peer working environments.This was done by repurposing the tutorial sections of thecourse to create student driven exploration, analysis andsolution of complex three dimensional mechanicsproblems.A series of 22 problems lying outside the domain of theassignment problem sets were addressed-two in eachweek of the tutorials. The assignments and midtermsproblems were constructed so that the impact of tutorialwork on students mastery of the course Intended LearningOutcomes could be extracted.Under the new tutorial format, instructors monitoredgroup dynamics, helped troubleshoot and providedencouragement. Presentation of solution strategies weremade by select student groups each week. The currentwork describes the motivation for the changes made,observations made at implementation and somepreliminary results from analyses of the impact of the newcourse structure on student mastery of the course learningoutcomes. Important conclusions are that the student-ledtutorials should be accompanied with additionalinstructor contact hours that provide opportunity forstudents to receive tutelage on a one-to-one basis andthat individual testing should stress the procedures andtools emphasized in the tutorials.In addition, students found that assessments madethrough multiple choice testing contradicted values andprinciples being stressed in the tutorial and seminarsessions.

Author(s):  
Diarmaid Lane ◽  
Sheryl Sorby

AbstractIn recent years, there has been a surge in research in spatial thinking across the international community. We now know that spatial skills are malleable and that they are linked to success across multiple disciplines, most notably Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). While spatial skills have been examined by cognitive scientists in laboratory environments for decades, current research is examining how these skills can be developed in field-based environments. In this paper, we present findings from a study within a Technology Teacher preparation programme where we examined first-year students’ spatial skills on entry to university. We explain why it was necessary to embed a spatial skills intervention into Year 1 of the programme and we describe the impact that this had on students’ spatial scores and on academic performance. The findings from our study highlight a consistent gender gap in spatial scores at the start of the first-year with female students entering the Technology Teacher preparation programme at a lower base level than male students. We describe how we integrated spatial development activities into an existing course and how an improvement in spatial scores and overall course performance was observed. The paper concludes by discussing the long-term sustainability of integrating spatial interventions within teacher preparation programmes while also highlighting the importance of future research to examine spatial skills as a fundamental component of technological capability.


Author(s):  
Sri Ariani ◽  
Tri Setianingsih

This research aims to find out Is there any significant differences between the impact of traditional teaching method and using Index Card Match in teaching English vocabulary at the First Year Students of SMA HANG TUAH 3 MATARAM and to find out does using Index Card Match have a positive effect on students’ vocabulary knowledge. The sample of this research is 40 students. The kind of this research is experimental research. The students are divided into two groups such as experimental group and control group. Then the research subjects are pre-tested to know their prior vocabulary mastery. After the treatment, the sample is post-tested to know their recent vocabulary mastery as the result of the treatment. The scores in both pre-test and post-test are taken as the main data of the research. The data is analyzed by using t-test.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-339
Author(s):  
Natalia Yevheniivna Dmitrenko ◽  
Iuliia Oleksiivna Budas

The present paper provides the results of the feedback influence on students’ autonomous ESP learning. It is aimed to study the impact of feedback on autonomous learning outcomes of first-year students, who are studying a two-year university course of “English for Specific Purposes (ESP)”, the significant part of which is dedicated to self-regulated learning. The aim of the course is to improve the students’ proficiency in professionally oriented English communication to the level of B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The investigation has proved the importance of teachers’ support in students’ autonomous ESP learning. The outcomes of those students who received the feedback regularly signify that even being self-sufficient, students strive for teachers’ or peer observation and feedback in the educational process. In the article, the interdependence between the level of students’ autonomous ESP learning competence and students’ feedback literacy is presented. The results of the study suggest that students’ autonomous ESP learning outcomes are considerably influenced by supportive external written feedback if it is sought, and their feedback literacy level is at least moderate or higher. A higher level of students’ feedback literacy is observed among students with a more advanced level of autonomous ESP learning competence and who demonstrate better academic achievements in professionally oriented English communication. The coherence of the elaborated levels of Ukrainian students’ feedback literacy and the ways of its enhancing can be significant for educators in other countries.


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine McKinnon ◽  
June McCrae

This paper presents the findings from a pilot study which explored the impact of embedding work-related learning activities in the first-year computing curriculum at Glasgow Caledonian University. Students worked in teams on practical projects which were formally assessed and the researchers gathered student feedback using two online surveys (n=159) and focus groups (n=29). The findings indicate that 85% of the students felt that their learning on the module had improved their employability skills but that their confidence levels in most skills were lower at the end of the module. The paper suggests that first-year students' realistic awareness of their own skills gaps leads to more focused learning in their remaining years of study.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Ravi Shankar ◽  
Kundan Kr. Singh ◽  
Ajaya Dhakal ◽  
Arati Shakya ◽  
Rano M. Piryani

A medical humanities (MH) module has been conducted for first year students at KIST Medical College, Lalitpur, Nepal for the last four years. The students are divided into small groups and case scenarios, role-plays, paintings, and activities are used to explore MH. The module for the fourth batch of students was conducted from December 2011 to March 2012. In this article the authors provide a brief overview of the MH module, Sparshanam and the learning objectives of different sessions. They provide transcripts of some of the role plays done during the module. The role plays were conducted in Nepali with the help and guidance of the facilitators and the written transcripts in English language were provided by different student groups.


Author(s):  
James McDowell

This chapter discusses a two-year project that explored the impact of video-enhanced learning, assessment, and feedback on undergraduate first-year students in higher education. Underpinned by a pragmatist epistemology, and arguing the case for a design-based methodological approach within a theoretical framework embracing the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, the community of inquiry, and the conversational framework, the chapter explores contemporary research into assessment and feedback, uses of technology-enhanced learning to promote inclusivity, and educational applications of asynchronous video.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Chambers ◽  
Salter ◽  
Muldrow

First-year students who enter college pursuing a STEM degree still face challenges persisting through the STEM pipeline (Chen, 2013; Leu, 2017). In this case study, researchers examine the impact of a utilitarian scientific literacy based academic intervention on retention of first-year students in STEM using a mixed methods approach. A sample (n = 116) of first-year students identified as at-risk of not persisting in STEM were enrolled in a for credit utilitarian scientific literacy course. Participants of the semester long course were then compared with a control group of first-year students identified as at-risk of persisting in STEM. A two-proportion z test was performed to assess the mean differences between students and participants of the course were given a survey to gauge student experiences. Quantitative results (φ 0.34, p < 0.05) indicate that the utilitarian scientific literacy course had a statistically significant impact on retention among first-year students at-risk of persisting in STEM. Moreover, qualitative data obtained from participant responses describe internal and external growth as positive outcomes associated with the intervention.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melany Hebles ◽  
Concepción Yaniz-Álvarez-de-Eulate ◽  
Mauricio Jara

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.


2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Harrison ◽  
David Dunbar ◽  
Lisa Ratmansky ◽  
Kimberly Boyd ◽  
David Lopatto

Our study, focused on classroom-based research at the introductory level and using the Phage Genomics course as the model, shows evidence that first-year students doing research learn the process of science as well as how scientists practice science. A preliminary but notable outcome of our work, which is based on a small sample, is the change in student interest in considering different career choices such as graduate education and science in general. This is particularly notable, as previous research has described research internships as clarifying or confirming rather than changing undergraduates’ decisions to pursue graduate education. We hypothesize that our results differ from previous studies of the impact of engaging in research because the students in our study are still in the early stages of their undergraduate careers. Our work builds upon the classroom-based research movement and should be viewed as encouraging to the Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education movement advocated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Foundation, and other undergraduate education stakeholders.


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