scholarly journals USAGE OF CRITICAL THINKING STRATEGIES IN THE CHEMISTRY COURSE FOR A FUTURE DOCTOR

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27
Author(s):  
Irina Kazuša
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Study Planning ◽  
Process Modification ◽  
Thinking Strategies ◽  
Study Process ◽  
Intensive Work ◽  
Future Doctor

The goal of general chemistry and biochemistry – teach students to use their knowledge about chemical structure of organism and molecular processes. To better understand explanations and to prognosticate processes students are given, information presented on other courses. As time dedicated for chemistry course for first year students of RSU is reduced, use of critical thinking strategies in starting period of study process increases probability of achieving positive results. By organizing study process at the beginning of semester, students are introduced to detailed plan thus giving an opportunity to organize their own time according to previous learning experience. Students are provided with thorough study material both in printed and electronic form thus allowing them to find more time for fact analysis, problem solving and relation finding. By stepping away from the traditional routine, the proportion between lectures and practical lessons was changed in favour of practical lessons. Gained experience allows concluding that intensive work with small groups, by introducing students to different approaches to information analysis, graphical systematization of information, development of dialog skills and other methods is effective and worth developing. Key words: critical thinking, study process modification, study planning.

CAD Platform Independent Software for Automatic Grading of Technical Drawings

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanchit Ingale ◽  
Anirudh Srinivasan ◽  
Diana Bairaktarova
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Spatial Visualization ◽  
First Year ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Students Success ◽  
Mechanical Objects

Spatial visualization is the ability of an individual to imagine an object mentally and understand its spatial orientation. There have been multiple works proving that spatial visualization skills can be improved with an appropriate training. Such training warrant a critical place in the undergraduate engineering curricula in many engineering schools as spatial skills are considered vital for students’ success in the technical and design fields [1–4]. Enhanced spatial skills help not only professionals in the engineering field but also everyone in the 21st century environment. Drawing sectional views requires mental manipulation and visual thinking. To enhance students spatial reasoning, one of the authors of this study, conducted a class in spatial visualization. The course-learning goal aimed at improving first-year engineering students’ spatial reasoning through instruction on freehand drawings of sectional view. During the semester, two teaching assistants had to grade more than 500 assignments that consisted of sectional views of mechanical objects. This was a tedious and a time consuming task. Motivated by this experience, this paper proposes a software aiming at automating grading of students’ sectional view drawings. The proposed software will also give live feedback to students while they are working on the drawings. This interactive tool aims to 1) improve the learning experience of first year students, with limited CAD knowledge, and 2) introduce a pedagogical tool that can enhance spatial visualization training.

scholarly journals Fostering students’ autonomy in learning English in nonlinguistic university

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 03007
Author(s):  
Oksana Pershukova ◽  
Nina Nikolska ◽  
Oksana Vasiukovych
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Autonomous Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Autonomy Development ◽  
Special Approach ◽  
And Control

The study aims to find out whether it is possible to foster students’ learner autonomy in the context of ESP language learning in non-linguistic universities by using a special approach. The experiment was carried out at National Aviation University in Ukraine with two groups of first-year students of electronics (experimental and control) in 2018-2019. Testings to determine students’ level of communicative competence in English and surveys to identify students’ level of learner autonomy development were conducted in September and May of the same year of education. The control group did not receive any special training, while in the experimental group were created special learning conditions. With the purpose to prepare students to accept responsibility for their learning, they were given the opportunities to choose educational materials; to set goals of their learning; to reflect the process and evaluate the results of learning, etc. Modern technologies were widely used as well as scaffolding (if necessary). According to the results of the experiment, it was stated that only a part of the most active students used the created conditions and gained experience in autonomous learning. The conclusion was made about creating such an environment. It is a challenge that is appropriate to realize to give an autonomous learning experience to aspiring students.

UNDERGRADUATE HEALTHCARE STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TO E-LEARNING AT MEDICAL UNIVERSITY - PLOVDIV

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 855-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yordanka Tsokova ◽  
Tanya Taneva ◽  
Biyanka Tornyova ◽  
Todor Cherkezov
Keyword(s):  
Time Management ◽  
Management System ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Content Management ◽  
University Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Traditional Classroom Teaching ◽  
Medical University

E-learning is seen as a possible solution to the problem of modernization of the university education in response to the changing needs of the society. In undergraduate healthcare training, e-learning is implemented predominantly as blended learning in addition to the traditional classroom teaching. A major factor in the success of e-learning are learners’ attitudes, beliefs and concerns. The aim of the present study was to investigate undergraduate healthcare students’ attitude to e-learning at Medical University – Plovdiv. In this case, e-learning is considered to be electronic educational resources organized as an interactive e-learning unit or course, provided through a learning content management system. The survey was carried out in 2016 through a self-reported questionnaire among 270 first year students from ten healthcare specialties. Participants were asked to express a degree of agreement with nine statements on a five point Likert scale. The influence of gender, age, specialty and previous e-learning experience on the opinion of students was investigated. The results showed that students’ attitudes towards e-learning were positive, but learners were not enthusiastic about it. Genders have different views about e-learning implementation – women are more likely to accept it. The experience first year students had did not allow them to judge if e-learning supports better time-management or life-long learning skills. Students agreed that implementation of e-learning depends on the subjects and there are disciplines that can be provided as distant courses within the learning management system.

Lowering the threshold for online learning with Facebook

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Fourie
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Communication Course ◽  
Grounded Theory Method

Students’ understanding of their own learning needs can improve, if they can be made more aware of their own learning processes by supporting their metacognitive development. Research has shown that membership of online communities can positively contribute to the social acculturation process of first year students (Wohn, Ellison, Khan, Fewins-Bliss, & Gray, 2013). Moreover, these social networking sites could meet specific learning needs. A group of South African first year medical students doing a second language communication course were invited to become members of a closed Facebook group with the purpose of lowering the threshold of online learning. These students reported that their metacognitive awareness about their own learning processes was raised, which made it possible for them to progress towards and access the online learning experience. Data collected during the course were analysed following the grounded theory method and a framework for raising metacognitive awareness was created.

scholarly journals Easing the transition from secondary school to higher education through recognition of the skills of our students

2016 ◽  
pp. 51-55
Author(s):  
Orla C Kelly ◽  
Odilla E Finlayson
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Short Communication ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Business Innovation ◽  
University Level ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Chemical Events

This short communication discusses research, which has investigated students‟ self-perception of their skills. This was to identify which skills they felt most and least confident in upon starting university. General and scientific and practical skills as well as skills related to improving learning were explored. The results suggested that students felt most confident in working in groups, interacting with people to obtain the necessary information and assistance, and observing chemical events and changes among others. In contrast students felt least confident in planning and presenting an oral presentation, analysing and evaluating experimental data, and using the internet and other resources to gain information. Details of how the findings were used to make effective changes to an existing module will be discussed. Furthermore, the relevance of this in terms of supporting our first year students in their transition to university-level work and subsequently planning appropriate modules will be discussed in relation to the recently published results from the UK Physical Sciences Centre Review of the Student Learning Experience in Chemistry and in light of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills Higher Ambitions and Skills for Growth papers.

scholarly journals Soft Skill Development along the Education Path Evaluating expectations on and perceptions of student competencies in Software Engineering education

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Böttcher ◽  
Veronika Thurner ◽  
Veronika Winter
Keyword(s):  
High School Teachers ◽  
First Year ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Software Engineering Education ◽  
Basic Competencies ◽  
Intellectual Capacity ◽  
Study Process ◽  
The University ◽  
Student Competencies

In our everyday teaching we experience that many first-year students are ill prepared for the demands of an academic study process in technical domains. Usually, the students’ problems are not rooted in a lack of intellectual capacity or previously acquired founding expertise in the chosen course of study. Rather, it is the deficiencies in more basic competencies such as practical and cognitive, self and social areas that place a major hurdle in the students’ learning process. In an attempt to elucidate and improve this situation, as a first step we develop a questionnaire that captures the high school teachers’ as well as the lecturers’ expectations on student competencies in these areas, as opposed to their perception of competencies that first-year students possess in reality. This questionnaire is also applied to capture the university-employer skill gap.

scholarly journals Understanding Student Experiences in a Near-Peer Resident Shadowing Program

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon R. Turner ◽  
Jonathan White ◽  
Cheryl Poth ◽  
W. Todd Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Clinical Training ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
First Year ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Close Relationship

Introduction. The preparation of medical students for clerkship has been criticized, both in terms of students’ ability to understand their new role as clinical trainees and in their ability to carry out that role. To begin to address this gap, this paper reports the experiences of students in a shadowing program aimed at enhancing the preparedness of medical students for clinical training. The study examined a novel program, the Resident-Medical Student Shadowing Program, in which first-year medical students at the University of Alberta shadowed a first-year resident during clinical duties over the course of eight months. Methods. A study was conducted to assess the experiences of 83 first-year medical student participants who shadowed a first-year resident intermittently for one year. Student and resident participants’ experiences were explored using semistructured interviews. Results. Students and residents experiences indicate that participation increased students’ understanding of the clinical environment and their role within it and introduced them to skills and knowledge needed to perform that role. Students reported that a close relationship with their resident enhanced their learning experience. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that a low-cost program in which first-year students shadow residents may be a useful tool for helping prepare students for clerkship.

scholarly journals Cognitive Growth Learning Model to Improve the Students’ Critical Thinking Skills

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-123
Author(s):  
Aprilia Nurul Chasanah
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Differential Calculus ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Inductive Reasoning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cognitive Growth ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Central Java

The ability to think critically and mathematically is strongly needed so that the students are able to face the challenges of 4.0 industrial revolution. By thinking critically, they are expected to be more adaptive in finding solutions to each problem. This study aims to identify the students' mathematical critical thinking skills in solving differential calculus problem solving based on some indicators of mathematical critical thinking skills in learning using cognitive growth model. This is a Classroom Action Research (CAR) which was caried out within four weeks in the odd semester of academic year 2018/2019. The subjects of this study were the first-year students of the Mathematics Education Program in one of higher education institutions in Magelang, Central Java who took the Differential Calculus course. Data collection techniques in this study were test, observation, and interviews. The test results were then analyzed quantitatively, and the indicators of critical thinking skills in each question were also described. Based on the results of the study, it can be shown that about 30% students who begin to think critically is initiated by achieving the indicator of analyzing the arguments. However, not all students who begin to think critically are also able to draw conclusions precisely through deductive and inductive reasoning. There are only five or 16.67% who have been able to draw conclusions correctly.

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