scholarly journals Implementing first-year assessment principles: An analysis of selected scholarly literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Theda Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Academic Transition ◽  
Scholarly Literature ◽  
Assessment Tasks

Assessment plays an important role in students’ learning as students often frame their learning around their assessment tasks. Well-designed assessment can be used to facilitate first-year students making their social and academic transition to university. In 2009, Professor David Nicol prepared a framework for first-year assessment practices that included 12 principles. In this study, these principles were revisited and used to analyse papers from 2013 to 2016 in the journals: ‘Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education’, ‘The International Journal of First Year in Higher Education’ and ‘Student Success’. The purpose of the study was to determine how current literature addresses Nicol’s first-year assessment principles, whether there were any issues in implementing them and whether anything new is emerging in the field. Based on this analysis, proposals are made for modifying the principles and recommendations are made for future research.

scholarly journals Entering Higher Professional Education: Unveiling First-Year Students’ Key Academic Experiences and Their Occurrence Over Time

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Willems ◽  
Liesje Coertjens ◽  
Vincent Donche
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
First Year ◽  
Study Program ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Academic Transition ◽  
First Semester

To date, little understanding exists of how first-year students in professionally oriented higher-education (HE) programs (i.e., those that provide vocational education to prepare students for a particular occupation) experience their academic transition process. In the present study, we first argued how the constructs of academic adjustment and academic integration can provide complementary perspectives on the academic transition of first-year students in (professional) HE. Next, we examined what first-year students in professional HE contexts perceive to be the most important experiences associated with their academic transition process in the first semester of their first year of higher education (FYHE). To this end, we adopted the fundamentals of the critical incident technique and asked 104 students in a Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) university college (which offers professional HE programs, such as nursing) to complete “reflective logs” with open questions at the start of the second semester of their FYHE, wherein they reflected on three critical academic experiences during their first semester. An inductive, cross-case content analysis of the collected narratives showed that students reported on nine themes of academic experiences, which relate to five adjustment themes (dealing with the organization of the study program, organizing study work, committing to the study, following class and taking notes, and processing learning content outside class) and four integration themes (feeling competent, feeling stressed, feeling prepared, and feeling supported). Further analyses showed that although some of the nine themes of academic experiences appear to be more important at different times in the first semester, they all seem to be meaningful throughout the whole semester.

scholarly journals Are Course Withdrawals a Useful Student Success Strategy?

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-93
Author(s):  
Patrick Akos ◽  
Scott James
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Advisors ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Significant Cost ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Second Year

Course withdrawals have significant cost and curricular implications for both students and institutions. Yet within the retention literature, little is known about the context or impact of course withdrawals. This study examines course withdrawals of first year students from a sample of nine universities. Data reveal that demographic and contextual factors differentially influence the use of course withdrawals. Further, these data suggest that course withdrawals have negative consequences for second year retention, with nuanced significance when compared to making grades of D or F. We discuss implications for academic advisors, retention specialists, and faculty leaders, as well as policy and future research considerations.

scholarly journals Bridging the gap: blending spatial skills instruction into a technology teacher preparation programme

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diarmaid Lane ◽  
Sheryl Sorby
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Technology Teacher ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact

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.

A FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS’ ADAPTATION TO DIFFICULTIES AT HIGH EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS

2021 ◽  
pp. 97-113
Author(s):  
Nailya R. Salikhova ◽  
◽  
Aida R. Fakhrutdinova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Social Community ◽  
Transition To Higher Education ◽  
Study Participants

Data from an empirical study aimed at identifying the difficulties faced by students in their transition to higher education, the overcoming of which is important for personal development, are presented in the article. The study participants (n=179) were asked to describe the difficulties of transition from school to University in the 1st year based on analysis of their autobiographical memory. The content analysis of texts allowed identifying the main themes and compiling a list of challenges, and then the frequency of occurrence of each of them was determined. According to the results, the most actual difficulties are the different aspects of integrating into the new social community due to sharp changes in the social environment during the transition from school to University. A big challenge is the need for self-organization in educational and everyday matters, planning and organizing your time. The third most frequently mentioned is learning difficulties, especially those related to mastering the material in the new educational environment. Problematic areas of adaptation to higher education that have not been previously reflected in the sources are the establishment of a common life in the dormitory, pressure from parents, the manifestation of their individuality, the increase in the length of classes and the pace of learning, romantic relationships and language barriers. The difficulties of the first examination session are much less frequently mentioned, and are more frequently mentioned when examining the current adaptation process. The results of the study can be used for the development and subsequent implementation of a system of practical measures aimed at helping students to adapt to the new environment and conditions. Such assistance to students in building a new way of life at a university, especially at an early stage of study, is necessary not only to improve the effectiveness of the educational process, but also to facilitate the processes of personal growth and development of students

Japan: The "Haves" are Gaining and the "Have-Nots" are Losing

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Obara
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Prospective Students ◽  
Risk Of Falling ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Rural Colleges ◽  
Negative Cycle ◽  
Rural Institutions

Many Japanese private higher education institutions also face a risk of falling into the "losing group." It seems that small/rural colleges end up receiving less extra income from admissions over the tei-in (the quota for first-year students) level. This loss creates less scholarship money for capable students. The small/rural institutions are likely to lose prospective students as a negative cycle works against them. This tendency, in turn, augments the opportunities available to large, metropolitan higher education institutions. In Japan, a clear division is anticipated, with the larger institutions getting much larger and the smaller and rural ones getting much smaller. This is a hard fact that we will face in the foreseeable future.

Data Analytics and STEM Student Success: The Impact of Predictive Analytics-Informed Academic Advising Among Undeclared First-Year Engineering Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu (April) Chen ◽  
Sylvester Upah
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Academic Advising ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Predictive Analytics ◽  
First Year ◽  
Program Of Study ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Mathematics Student ◽  
And Mathematics

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics student success is an important topic in higher education research. Recently, the use of data analytics in higher education administration has gain popularity. However, very few studies have examined how data analytics may influence Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics student success. This study took the first step to investigate the influence of using predictive analytics on academic advising in engineering majors. Specifically, we examined the effects of predictive analytics-informed academic advising among undeclared first-year engineering student with regard to changing a major and selecting a program of study. We utilized the propensity score matching technique to compare students who received predictive analytics-informed advising with those who did not. Results indicated that students who received predictive analytics-informed advising were more likely to change a major than their counterparts. No significant effects was detected regarding selecting a program of study. Implications of the findings for policy, practice, and future research were discussed.

scholarly journals Personality traits and academic performance: Correcting self-assessed traits with vignettes

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248629
Author(s):  
Johan Coenen ◽  
Bart H. H. Golsteyn ◽  
Tom Stolp ◽  
Dirk Tempelaar
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Risk Preference ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Point Estimates

In this study, we investigate whether Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Risk Preference relate to student performance in higher education. We employ anchoring vignettes to correct for heterogeneous scale use in these non-cognitive skills. Our data are gathered among first-year students at a Dutch university. The results show that Conscientiousness is positively related to student performance, but the estimates are strongly biased upward if we use the uncorrected variables. We do not find significant relationships for Emotional Stability but find that the point estimates are larger when using the uncorrected variables. Measured Risk Preference is negatively related to student performance, yet this is fully explained by heterogeneous scale use. These results indicate the importance of using more objective measurements of personality traits.

scholarly journals SOCIOCULTURAL ADAPTATION OF FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS IN THE MODERN SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
L.V. Annikova ◽  
◽  
T.V. Bakhutashvili ◽  
E.V. Ilchenko ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sociocultural Adaptation ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Modern System
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