ENHANCING STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN FIRST YEAR CHEMISTRY THROUGH WEB -BASED LEARNING IN AN OPEN DISTANCE UNIVERSITY CONTEXT

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-86
Author(s):  
Hadley S Clayton ◽  
Mark G Smith
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Pass Rate ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Individual Student ◽  
First Year ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Web Based Learning ◽  
The Impact

This paper reports the results of a study to assess the impact of MasteringChemistry® on student performance in chemistry. The proprietary MasteringChemistry® is a web-based tutoring application and assessment system currently used in first year chemistry modules at the University of South Africa (Unisa). This web-based programme provides supplementary work, giving students practice with instructor-assigned problems. The system is able to coach students with feedback specific to their needs and with simpler problems upon request. The application also provides the individual student with immediate and specific feedback on incorrect or partially incorrect answers. There is great potential for web-based learning in an open distance-learning environment. In particular, in subjects such as chemistry where problem-solving strategies are intrinsic to the learning process, the internet could be an effective medium for teaching and learning. The rationale for this study was to explore new teaching strategies to increase the pass rate in chemistry. A profile of the student demographic, with data gathered from registration records, is presented. Data collection on student assessment occurred through the instructor diagnostic tools in the MasteringChemistry® application or with the assistance of the Unisa Examination Administration. Here we present preliminary results that indicate that most students who regularly accessed the material achieved better examination results than those who did not. This pilot study has led to improved and innovative formative assessment practices by the academic staff in the Chemistry Department at Unisa. It further formed an interesting and challenging learning experience for staff investigating web-based approaches directed at improvement of their assessment activities. 

scholarly journals Alternative Assessment Approaches and Quality Product Design Within Web-Based Learning Environments

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-74
Author(s):  
Ahlam Mohammed Al-Abdullatif
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Alternative Assessment ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Web Based Learning ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
The Impact

The aim of the present study is to identify the impact of the alternative web-based self and peer assessment approaches on improving the quality of student educational projects. In this context, a study was carried out during the second semester of the 2017-2018 academic year among 48 postgraduate students at King Faisal University. Results indicated that both self and peer-assessment approaches are effective when assessing the quality of educational products. The results also showed that the extent of student experience with the self-assessment approach affects their assessment credibility and objectivity. This study emphasized the value of utilizing alternative assessment approaches in web-based learning environments as means of improving student performance, particularly when designing educational products. It may have theoretical and pedagogical implications for learners and teachers.

scholarly journals ReFresh: Retaining First Year Engineering Students and Retraining for Success

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Shyminsky ◽  
Lesley Mak
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Student Development ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Individual Student ◽  
First Year ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Student retention and support are key priorities at the University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, as is evidenced by a first year to second year average retention rate of 91% over the past 4 years. At U of T Engineering, academic standing and registration are determined on a term-by-term basis. As a result, student performance in the fall term can result in obligatory withdrawal from their studies in January, including first year students. While approximately only 4% of the first year class have to withdraw, the impact can be very distressing for the individual student, as his/her plans for the year are disrupted and their confidence shaken. Withdrawal from studies can occur for many reasons such as insufficient academic background from their high school, personal crisis, low resilience and lack of study skills and these struggles can be especially acute for international students. The ReFresh Program gives these students an opportunity to continue their education while learning from their mistakes. A small classroom environment allows students to integrate into a collaborative community, create study groups with classmates, communicate easily with their instructors and TA’s and benefit from constant support from First Year Office staff. This format helps students deal with the personal and academic challenges that prevented them from performing at their best in the fall term, relearn the foundations and key concepts of Calculus, Physics, Computer Programming, Chemistry and Linear Algebra and develop a plan to be successful for the next fall to repeat their first semester. This paper will discuss the structure of the ReFresh program as well as the impact on student success, student development and retention.

An Exploratory Study of the Online Learning Environment

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia J. Khanlarian ◽  
Rahul Singh
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
It Use ◽  
Environment Impact ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Improve Student Performance ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Relevant Factors ◽  
Significant Factors

ABSTRACT Web-based homework (WBH) is an increasingly important phenomenon. There is little research about its character, the nature of its impact on student performance, and how that impact evolves over an academic term. The primary research questions addressed in this study are: What relevant factors in a WBH learning environment impact students' performance? And how does the impact of these factors change over the course of an academic term? This paper examines and identifies significant factors in a WBH learning environment and how they impact student performance. We studied over 300 students using WBH extensively for their coursework, throughout a semester in an undergraduate class at a large public university. In this paper, we present factors in the WBH learning environment that were found to have a significant impact on student performance during the course of a semester. In addition to individual and technological factors, this study presents findings that demonstrate that frustration with IT use is a component of the learning environment, and as a construct, has a larger impact than usefulness on student performance at the end of a course. Our results indicate that educators may benefit from training students and engaging them in utility of co-operative learning assignments to mitigate the level of frustration with the software in the WBH learning environment and improve student performance.

E-learning and Language and Style in Lancaster

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mick Short
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Introductory Course ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Web

This article reports on research conducted in the department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University from 2002 to 2005 on first-year undergraduate student performance in, and reaction to, a web-based introductory course in stylistic analysis. The main focus of this report is a comparison of student responses to the varying ways in which the web-based course was used from year to year. The description of student responses is based on an analysis of end-of-course questionnaires and a comparison of exit grades. In 2002–3, students accessed the first two-thirds of the course in web-based form and the last third through more traditional teaching. In 2003–4 the entire course was accessed in web-based form, and in 2004–5 web-based course workshops were used as part of a combined package which also involved weekly lectures and seminars. Some comparison is also made with student performance in, and responses to, the traditional lecture + seminar form of the course, as typified in the 2001–2 version of the course.

scholarly journals E-Mail Usage in South Pacific Distance Education

2005 ◽  
pp. 1034-1039
Author(s):  
Jonathan Frank ◽  
Janet Toland ◽  
Karen D. Schenk
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Group Interactions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Web Based Learning ◽  
Active Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
E Mail ◽  
Active Research Area

The impact of cultural diversity on group interactions through technology is an active research area. Current research has found that a student’s culture appears to influence online interactions with teachers and other students (Freedman & Liu, 1996). Students from Asian and Western cultures have different Web-based learning styles (Liang & McQueen, 1999), and Scandinavian students demonstrate a more restrained online presence compared to their more expressive American counterparts (Bannon, 1995). Differences were also found across cultures in online compared to face-to-face discussions (Warschauer, 1996). Student engagement, discourse, and interaction are valued highly in “western” universities. With growing internationalization of western campuses, increasing use of educational technology both on and off campus, and rising distance learning enrollments, intercultural frictions are bound to increase.

scholarly journals E-Mail Usage in South Pacific Distance Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 2325-2332
Author(s):  
Jonathan Frank ◽  
Janet Toland ◽  
Karen D. Schenk
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Group Interactions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Web Based Learning ◽  
Active Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
E Mail ◽  
Active Research Area

The impact of cultural diversity on group interactions through technology is an active research area. Current research has found that a student’s culture appears to influence online interactions with teachers and other students (Freedman & Liu, 1996). Students from Asian and Western cultures have different Web-based learning styles (Liang & McQueen, 1999), and Scandinavian students demonstrate a more restrained online presence compared to their more expressive American counterparts (Bannon, 1995). Differences were also found across cultures in online compared to face-to-face discussions (Warschauer, 1996). Student engagement, discourse, and interaction are valued highly in “western” universities. With growing internationalization of western campuses, increasing use of educational technology both on and off campus, and rising distance learning enrollments, intercultural frictions are bound to increase.

Progression to intermediate level courses; is a “pass” enough?

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-287
Author(s):  
Nicola J. Beatson ◽  
David A.G. Berg ◽  
Jeffrey K. Smith ◽  
Christine Smith-Han
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
First Year ◽  
Prior Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the impact of a rule that affects tertiary students progressing from an introductory level finance course to intermediate level. The rule restricted students from progressing until they achieved a higher grade than just a “pass” mark. Design/methodology/approach Archival data were gathered from 11 semesters regarding student performance pre and post the rule being introduced. Findings Results show that the rule was associated with an increase in the chances of success at intermediate level for those students enrolled after the rule was introduced. Practical implications This paper’s main contribution regards the evidence that increasing prior learning at an introductory level has a positive follow-on effect for students learning at intermediate level. This has a practical implication for educators, as the rule has shown to increase the chance of success for knowledge development in the first year of studies. Originality/value The setting for this paper is unique and could potentially be replicated elsewhere. In 1980, Schaffer and Calkins called for an evaluation of the pre-requisites necessary for finance education at the tertiary level, and this paper answer this call stating that pre-requisites can contribute to the academic success of finance students.

scholarly journals The Life and Times of a Learning Technology System

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 24-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Pahl
Keyword(s):  
Factor Model ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Learning Technology ◽  
Environmental Constraints ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Technology System ◽  
Web Based Learning ◽  
Change Factor ◽  
Long Life ◽  
The Impact

With the inception of the web now being more than 20 years ago, many web-based learning technology systems (LTS) have had a long life and have undergone many changes, both affecting content and infrastructure technologies. A change factor model can capture the various factors causing LTS to change. Methods for change-aware design of LTS have been suggested. The purpose of this investigation is, firstly, to add empirical results to aspects of these models and methods in order to show the relevance of such a change factor model by specifically looking at an LTS that has been developed, maintained and extended over a period of 20 years. Secondly, these results shall be used to develop a conceptual model capturing and assessing the impact of change. A key observation is an unexpectedly high impact of environmental constraints on the LTS, but also new opportunities emerging over time have had dramatic changes as their consequence.

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