scholarly journals Role of Mindfulness Practices in the College Classroom

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-163
Author(s):  
Erica F. Kosal
Keyword(s):  
Student Attitudes ◽  
College Classroom ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Mindfulness Practices ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Exam Scores ◽  
Introductory Biology Course ◽  
Mindful Practices

The following study examined the effect of mindful practices on college student attitudes and learning comprehension using two sections of an introductory biology course taught by the same instructor. One section used lecture complemented with active learning formats while the other section additionally included mindful practices. Comparisons were made between the students’ surveys and quiz/exam scores. Students in the mindful section also kept journals. Results showed no significant differences in quiz and exam scores between the two groups; however, students in the mindfulness section found value in the practices both in and outside the classroom. Students reported a gain in their attitude towards the value of mindfulness practices as well as the use of mindfulness practices and reported a decrease in anxiety levels. Students identified these practices as helping them with focused attention, peace, and relaxation. At the end of the semester, over 90% of students agreed that mindfulness has a valuable place in the college classroom.

scholarly journals Context Dependence of Students’ Views about the Role of Equations in Understanding Biology

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Watkins ◽  
Andrew Elby
Keyword(s):  
Physics Education ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Quantitative Reasoning ◽  
Context Dependence ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Instructional Environments ◽  
Epistemological Views

Students’ epistemological views about biology—their ideas about what “counts” as learning and understanding biology—play a role in how they approach their courses and respond to reforms. As introductory biology courses incorporate more physics and quantitative reasoning, student attitudes about the role of equations in biology become especially relevant. However, as documented in research in physics education, students’ epistemologies are not always stable and fixed entities; they can be dynamic and context-dependent. In this paper, we examine an interview with an introductory student in which she discusses the use of equations in her reformed biology course. In one part of the interview, she expresses what sounds like an entrenched negative stance toward the role equations can play in understanding biology. However, later in the interview, when discussing a different biology topic, she takes a more positive stance toward the value of equations. These results highlight how a given student can have diverse ways of thinking about the value of bringing physics and math into biology. By highlighting how attitudes can shift in response to different tasks, instructional environments, and contextual cues, we emphasize the need to attend to these factors, rather than treating students’ beliefs as fixed and stable.

scholarly journals In an "ecological-belonging" intervention to reduce inequities in STEM, context matters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah P Hammarlund ◽  
Cheryl Scott ◽  
Kevin R Binning ◽  
Sehoya Cotner
Keyword(s):  
Effect Study ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Performance Gap ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Introductory Biology Course

Doubts about belonging in the classroom are often shouldered disproportionately by students from historically marginalized groups, which can lead to underperformance. Ecological-belonging interventions use a classroom-based activity to instill norms that adversity is normal, temporary and surmountable. Building on prior studies, we sought to identify the conditions under which such interventions are effective. In a chemistry course (Study 1), students from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds underperformed relative to their peers in the absence of the intervention. This performance gap was eliminated by the intervention. In an introductory biology course (Study 2), there were no large performance gaps in the absence of the intervention, and the intervention had no effect. Study 2 also explored the role of the instructor that delivers the intervention. The intervention boosted scores in classrooms of instructors with a fixed (versus growth-oriented) intelligence mindset. Our results suggest that ecological-belonging interventions are more effective in more threatening classroom contexts.

The Role of Pain Catastrophizing and Anxiety Levels on Quality of Life in Fibromyalgia Compared with Healthy Women

2019 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keren Grinberg ◽  
Dyana Meshalhov ◽  
Daniel Adadi ◽  
Tomer Biton
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Pain Catastrophizing ◽  
Healthy Women ◽  
Anxiety Levels

scholarly journals Motivation, self-efficacy beliefs, and speaking anxiety in language MOOCs

ReCALL ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-160
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Bárkányi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Course Completion ◽  
Efficacy Beliefs ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Anxiety Levels

AbstractThis paper examines the role of motivation, anxiety, and self-efficacy beliefs and their interplay with regard to speaking on beginners’ Spanish LMOOCs. It answers three research questions: (1) what are learners’ motivations and goals for joining these LMOOCs and how do these relate to foreign language speaking anxiety; (2) how do learners’ self-efficacy beliefs and anxiety levels change as a result of course completion; and (3) is there a correlation between motivation, foreign language speaking anxiety, and self-efficacy beliefs in this context? A mixed-methods research design used quantitative and qualitative data gathered from self-reflective questionnaires and forum discussions. The results reveal that learners with intrinsic motivation are more likely to complete the courses than those who sign up to manage a personal situation or advance in their career or studies. No direct correlation was, however, found between motivation and the other variables under scrutiny. Learners present higher self-efficacy beliefs at the end of the courses than at the beginning, while anxiety levels are affected to a much smaller degree by course completion. Although spoken interactions in this learning environment are not synchronous, apprehension and anxiety prevent many learners from fully participating in the speaking activities.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Anxiety and Student Interpreters’ Learning Outcomes: Implications for the Theory and Measurement of Interpretation Learning Anxiety

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung-Nan Chiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Learning Anxiety ◽  
Exam Scores

Although anxiety has been documented as an important variable in both interpretation performance and second language acquisition, there has been virtually no research on the interconnections between the anxiety reactions induced by these two cross-linguistic / cultural endeavors. A review of the literature on anxiety and interpretation performance finds that most of the existing studies have treated the anxiety induced by interpretation as a transfer of other general types of anxieties, such as trait anxiety, without considering the probable role of second language anxiety in interpretation performance. In order to determine the role of foreign language anxiety in 213 Chinese-English interpretation students’ learning outcomes, which were indexed by the participants’ mid-term exam scores and semester grades, this study employed Spielberger’s (1983)Trait Anxiety Inventoryto measure the students’ trait anxiety, while utilizing Horwitz, Horwitzet al.’s (1986)Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale(FLCAS) to measure the participants’ foreign language anxiety. Results of correlation analyses showed that a) trait anxiety was not related to either mid-term exam scores or semester grades, b) foreign language anxiety was significantly and negatively associated with both outcome measures, c) after controlling for the effect of trait anxiety, the relationship between foreign language anxiety and interpretation learning outcomes remained significant, and d) a vast majority of theFLCASitems had significant and negative associations with both outcome measures. Implications for developing a theory of and a measurement instrument for interpretation learning anxiety are suggested.

scholarly journals Writing Assignments with a Metacognitive Component Enhance Learning in a Large Introductory Biology Course

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Mynlieff ◽  
Anita L. Manogaran ◽  
Martin St. Maurice ◽  
Thomas J. Eddinger
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Act Scores ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Calibrated Peer Review ◽  
Written Recall ◽  
Introductory Biology Course ◽  
Retention Of Knowledge ◽  
Improve Student Learning

Writing assignments, including note taking and written recall, should enhance retention of knowledge, whereas analytical writing tasks with metacognitive aspects should enhance higher-order thinking. In this study, we assessed how certain writing-intensive “interventions,” such as written exam corrections and peer-reviewed writing assignments using Calibrated Peer Review and including a metacognitive component, improve student learning. We designed and tested the possible benefits of these approaches using control and experimental variables across and between our three-section introductory biology course. Based on assessment, students who corrected exam questions showed significant improvement on postexam assessment compared with their nonparticipating peers. Differences were also observed between students participating in written and discussion-based exercises. Students with low ACT scores benefited equally from written and discussion-based exam corrections, whereas students with midrange to high ACT scores benefited more from written than discussion-based exam corrections. Students scored higher on topics learned via peer-reviewed writing assignments relative to learning in an active classroom discussion or traditional lecture. However, students with low ACT scores (17–23) did not show the same benefit from peer-reviewed written essays as the other students. These changes offer significant student learning benefits with minimal additional effort by the instructors.

A Mixed Exam Format Closes the Gap for Students with a Conflict between Their Religious Belief & the Theory of Evolution

2014 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin F. Stanger-Hall ◽  
Julianne A. Wenner
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Religious Conflict ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Constructed Response ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Acceptance Of Evolution ◽  
Introductory Biology Course

We assessed the performance of students with a self-reported conflict between their religious belief and the theory of evolution in two sections of a large introductory biology course (N = 373 students). Student performance was measured through pretest and posttest evolution essays and multiple-choice (MC) questions (evolution-related and non-evolution-related questions) on the final exam and posttest. The two class sections differed only in exam format: MC with or without constructed-response (CR) questions. Although students with a reported conflict scored significantly lower on the final exam in the MC-only section, they scored equally well in the MC+CR section, and all students in the MC+CR section performed significantly better overall. As a result, (1) a religious conflict with evolution can be negatively associated with student achievement in introductory biology, but (2) assessment with constructed response was associated with a closed performance gap between students with and without a conflict. We suggest that differences in exam format and focus on student acceptance of evolution (either evidence-based or opinion), rather than reported conflict, may contribute to the inconsistencies in student learning of evolution across research studies, and that CR questions may help students overcome other obstacles to learning evolution.

Processual responsiveness in dialogic facilitation

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Helle Alrø ◽  
Lise Billund
Keyword(s):  
Special Interest ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Interpersonal Relations ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Dialogic Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the role of a group facilitator when taking a dialogical stance. A special interest is facilitator’s processual responsiveness and its potential for supporting a dialogic approach to process facilitation. Design/methodology/approach Theoretically, the article is based on dialogue and dialectic relationship theory. Empirically, it is based on pragmatic analysis of excerpts from audio recordings of a two-day process facilitation with an organizational group called KUDIAS. Findings The analysis highlights the importance of processual responsiveness of the facilitator in terms of focused attention to the process as well as to the interpersonal relations between the participants in the process. Being processually responsive, the facilitator supports the process in becoming dialogic toward all participants’ perspectives and in creating a climate characterized by curiosity, wondering, exploration and recognition. However, facilitator’s processual responsiveness also requires the ability to balance the process between support and confrontation. Originality/value Processual responsiveness is developed and discussed theoretically as well as empirically.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document