scholarly journals Beyond Attrition and Retention: Working With Students to Enhance the First Year Experience

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Gerodetti ◽  
Darren Nixon
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Attrition Rates ◽  
University Life ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Ontological Position

Student retention and attrition rates have been established as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for course teams in the Higher Education landscape in the UK. Against this quantified (and neoliberal) auditable undertaking, in this paper we offer an examination of a set of alternative qualitative efforts which are intended to improve the first year student experience by helping students transition into their course, and university life more generally. Working with students to enhance the first year experience is at the centre of our ontological position and we draw heavily on the idea of a “long thin” induction which continues throughout the first year at university. We explore the benefits of facilitating ‘students as producers’ and incorporating ‘student intelligence’ into university teaching and learning practices before presenting a series of activities that are designed to help students transition successfully and build a strong course identity. Having offered students different ways of structured integration into the course we reflect on how these activites can help first-year students develop the kinds of skills and knowledge base that contributes to a better experience of the transition and acculturation into university life in all of its facets.

scholarly journals “University Challenges”: Addressing Transition and Retention through Games-Based Learning

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Gerodetti ◽  
Darren Nixon
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Attrition Rates ◽  
University Life ◽  
Academic Courses ◽  
Retention And Attrition ◽  
Uk Higher Education

In the changing UK Higher Education landscape, addressing student retention and attrition rates is of increasing importance. In this paper, after first reviewing literature on the factors influencing student retention and attrition, we explore how the transition to university life for first-year students might be addressed through a games-based learning approach. We explore the benefits of facilitating ‘students as (games) producers’ and incorporating ‘student intelligence’ into university teaching and learning practices before presenting ‘University Challenges’, a new-traditional board game produced through a collaborative staff-student project between sociology students and lecturers at Leeds Beckett University. Drawing on data from student evaluations from three different academic courses, we reflect on how playing ‘University Challenges’ can help first-year students develop the kinds of skills and knowledge basis that contributes to a better experience of the transition and acculturation into university life in all of its facets.

scholarly journals Exploring the first-year experience in a diverse population: Using participatory action research to explore strategies to support student transition into fast-track undergraduate degree programs

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
Greg Rickard ◽  
Marguerite Bramble ◽  
Hazel Maxwell ◽  
Rochelle Einboden ◽  
Sally Farrington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fast Track ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Student Transition ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
University Life

As the cohort of students in Australian universities become increasingly diverse, attention to ensuring their success is an emerging issue of social justice in tertiary education. Navigating transitions through the student journey is crucial to their success. Exploring and responding to the needs of a cohort of first-year students is the focus of this research. Using a participatory action approach, this project aimed to discover what is meaningful for first-year students, by exploring how students experienced the processes of admission, enrolment, commencement, and learning and teaching in two fast-track and one online health degrees. Nine students were partnered with nine academics for a six-month period. The analysis offers insights into equity issues in relation to the institution’s admission processes, the quality of support and engagement from academics to students when transitioning to university life, and how students find their ‘place’. Strategies to support the transition process for first-year students are identified and discussed.

PEER FEEDBACK TECHNIQUE IN IMPROVING THE STUDENTS’ WRITING ABILITY OF THE FIRST GRADE STUDENTS IN SMA NEGERI BALIKPAPAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-131
Author(s):  
Dayang Suriani
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Peer Feedback ◽  
First Grade ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Writing Practice

This study is directed to obtain information how peer feedback can improve students’ ability in writing. Specifically, it is directed to investigate whether peer feedback works and can improve students’ writing ability in writing sentences and narrative paragraphs, at the first year students of SMA Negeri 1 Balikpapan. The study was conducted based on the result of preliminary study at the school. It is found that the students’ ability in the language skills especially in writing is still insufficient. In the teaching and learning process the teacher provides fewer portions in writing activities for the students in class. In addition, the strategies used in the teaching and learning process are uninteresting because the students have to do the writing activities in under pressure. To answer the problems, a classroom action research is conducted. The teacher as a researcher works in planning the action, implementing the action, observing, and analyzing and reflecting the action. The subjects of the study are the second year students (X-IPA-1) of 2019/2020 academic year consisting of 40 students. The results shows that peer feedback obviously can improve the students’ ability in writing sentences and narrative paragraphs at the first year students of SMA Negeri 1 Balikpapan. It has been observed that the improvements are caused by the regular writing practice done by the students and the teacher’s response given to their writing. It becomes a sort of on going dialogue.

scholarly journals Trauma Registry Development for Jos University Teaching Hospital: Report of the First Year Experience

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth N. Ozoilo ◽  
Mariam Ali ◽  
Solomon Peter ◽  
Lohfa Chirdan ◽  
Charles Mock
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Hospital ◽  
Trauma Registry ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Hospital Report

scholarly journals Challenges and Opportunities of Asynchronicity: Task-Based Approach After COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Līga Beļicka ◽  
◽  
Tatjana Bicjutko
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Asynchronous Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Professional Contexts

The fast transition to fully online studies due to the pandemic made the universities around the world question many of their accepted notions on teaching foreign languages in general and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) methodology in particular. Putting stress on the synchronous remote teaching and learning has proven to yield a reductionist perspective missing asynchronicity, the dimension which makes reconsider the whole educational process. With its shift from the sole focus on learning terminology to training skills in authentic professional contexts, the task-based approach has long excelled in meeting the diverse needs of students. Thus, the research question is how well task-based teaching (TBT) solves the problems raised with asynchronous learning in a university ESP course. The research of available literature on TBT yielded the framework for constructing an extended task applicable in the advanced medical English. The case study with 120 first-year students of medicine organised around an informational interview with health professionals demonstrated easy adaptability of the task to the asynchronous nature of the educational process. Personal observations by the course instructor, summaries of student-conducted interviews, and student written feedback proved the responsiveness of the method to the learners’ needs and the potential of the approach in terms of motivation. The emphasis on self-directed learning, however, threatens the systematicity of the acquired language skills, as a more controlled teaching environment would not allow “skipping” any learning step. Additionally, TBT does not solve the problem of the voluminous teaching load.

scholarly journals Effective mathematics teaching in tertiary technological education: The case of ASPETE

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-168
Author(s):  
Katerina Kasimatis ◽  
Andreas Moutsios-Rentzos ◽  
Nikolaos Matzakos ◽  
Varvara Rozou ◽  
Dionisios Kouloumpis
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Effectiveness ◽  
Learning System ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Technological Education ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning Mathematics ◽  
Learning Mathematics

In this mixed methods study, we draw upon a systemic perspective to investigate the way that effective mathematics teaching is constructed in the ASPETE (School of Pedagogical and Technological Education) learning system. We focused on the perspectives of the first-year students (through questionnaires), of the lecturer who taught the course (through interviews), as well as of the research team (through observations). We considered both the pragmatic level (what they actually experienced) and the desired level (what they would prefer to experience). The results of the conducted analyses support the proposed research approach, revealing convergences and divergences in the mapped perspectives, which identify the mathematics teaching effectiveness of the subsystem of the mathematics class in ASPETE as an emergent, systemic phenomenon. The pedagogical implications are discussed, with respect to the planifications of teaching and learning mathematics in the ASPETE learning system.

The value of a semi-formal peer mentorship program for first-year students’ studies, socialization and adaptation

2020 ◽  
pp. 146978742094521
Author(s):  
Art Tsang
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
Peer Mentors ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Mentorship Program ◽  
Peer Mentorship ◽  
Mentor Relationships ◽  
University Life ◽  
Transitional Challenges ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Adaptation To College

Mentoring is a widespread practice in different sectors in society. It is particularly prevalent in higher education. Many have acknowledged the various transitional challenges encountered by first-year tertiary-level students. Greater support is therefore needed for this particular student group. This mixed-methods year-long case study examined the value of a semi-formal peer mentorship program for 10 first-year students who were low-achievers. It focused on the assistance provided by peer mentors for their studies, socialization, and adaptation to college/university life. The three mentors’ views of the program were also explored. Data were collected via questionnaires administered three times to the mentees and end-of-program group interviews for both the mentees and mentors. The overall findings show that the students perceived the assistance from the mentors to be useful for academic studies, socialization, and adaptation to college/university life. However, their perceptions varied across the entire year. The metaphors used by the mentees to describe their mentors—shepherds, torches and candlewax—depicted different facets of the mentee-mentor relationships and the value of the program. The study highlights the value of such semi-formal peer mentoring for low-achieving first-year students especially for institutions which lack resources.

scholarly journals Selective Planning of the First Year Experience in Higher Education: A Sweden-Australia Comparative Study of Support

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Michael Christie ◽  
Sorrel Penn-Edwards ◽  
Sharn Donnison ◽  
Ruth Greenaway
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
Fourth Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Satellite Campus ◽  
First Case ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The University

Literature on the support of the First Year Experience (FYE) in institutions of Higher Education provides a range of modelled approaches. However, we argue that institutions still need to selectively plan which approach/es and attendant strategies are best suited to their particular contexts and institutional policy and practice frameworks and how their FYE is to be presented for their particular student cohort. This paper compares different ways of supporting students in their first year in two contrasting universities. The first case study focuses on a first year course at Stockholm University (SU), Sweden, a large, metropolitan, single campus institution, while the second investigates a strategy for supporting first year students using a community of practice at a satellite campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), a small regional university in South-East Queensland, Australia. The research contrasts a formal, first generation support approach versus a fourth generation support approach which seeks to involve a wider range of stakeholders in supporting first year students. The research findings draw conclusions about how effective the interventions were for the students and provide clear illustrations that selective planning in considering the institution’s strategic priorities and human, physical, and resource contexts was instrumental in providing a distinctive experience which complemented the institute and the student cohort. (212 words)

Hospitality Management Students' Conceptions of Education

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 256-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wichard Zwaal ◽  
Hans Otting
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Hospitality Management ◽  
Management Programme ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Educational Innovations ◽  
Conceptions Of Assessment ◽  
Management Students ◽  
Senior Students ◽  
Development Of Students

The major issue addressed in this study is the alignment between the institutional conception of education and the students’ conceptions of education, decomposed into three parts: conceptions of knowledge, conceptions of teaching and learning, and conceptions of assessment. Subjects in this study were 324 students enrolled in a four-year hospitality management programme. Three instruments were administered to measure students’ conceptions of education. Results indicate that the three sets of conceptions seem to fit in the traditional-constructivist dichotomy with students showing a congruent pattern in the three sets of conceptions. Finally, first-year students hold more traditional conceptions of education than senior students. The implication for educational innovations is that serious attention should be paid to the development of students’ conceptions of education.

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