scholarly journals Using Breakout Groups as an Active Learning Technique in a Large Undergraduate Nutrition Classroom at the University of Guelph

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justan Lougheed ◽  
James Kirkland ◽  
Genevieve Newton
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
Group Effectiveness ◽  
Consistent Finding ◽  
Physical Constraints ◽  
Breakout Group ◽  
Level Of Satisfaction ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Premier Cycle

Breakout groups have been widely used under many different conditions, but the lack of published information related to their use in undergraduate settings highlights the need for research related to their use in this context. This paper describes a study investigating the use of breakout groups in undergraduate education as it specifically relates to teaching a large 4th year undergraduate Nutrition class in a physically constrained lecture space. In total, 220 students completed a midterm survey and 229 completed a final survey designed to measure student satisfaction. Survey results were further analyzed to measure relationships between student perception of breakout group effectiveness and (1) gender and (2) cumulative GPA. Results of both surveys revealed that over 85% of students either agreed or strongly agreed that using breakout groups enhanced their learning experience, with females showing a significantly greater level of satisfaction and higher final course grade than males. Although not stratified by gender, a consistent finding between surveys was a lower perception of breakout group effectiveness by students with a cumulative GPA above 90%. The majority of respondents felt that despite the awkward room space, the breakout groups were easy to create and participate in, which suggests that breakout groups can be successfully used in a large undergraduate classroom despite physical constraints. The findings of this work are relevant given the applicability of breakout groups to a wide range of disciplines, and the relative ease of integration into a traditional lecture format. Les enseignants ont recours aux petits groupes dans de nombreuses conditions différentes, cependant, le manque d’information publiée sur leur utilisation au premier cycle confirme la nécessité d’effectuer des recherches sur ce format dans ce contexte. Le présent article rend compte d’une étude portant sur l’utilisation des petits groupes au premier cycle dans le cadre particulier d’un cours magistral de 4e année sur la nutrition dans un espace physiquement limité. Au total, 220 étudiants ont participé à un sondage à la moitié du trimestre et 229 ont répondu à un sondage à la fin du trimestre visant à mesurer le niveau de satisfaction. Les chercheurs ont ensuite analysé les données de manière à mesurer les relations entre la perception que les étudiants avaient de l’efficacité des petits groupes et 1) le sexe, et 2) la moyenne pondérée cumulative (MPC). Les résultats des deux sondages révèlent que plus de 85 % des étudiants étaient soit d’accord, soit tout à fait d’accord avec le fait que les petits groupes amélioraient leur apprentissage, les femmes manifestant un degré de satisfaction significativement plus élevé que les hommes. Elles avaient aussi de meilleures notes finales. Sans prendre en compte la stratification selon le sexe, le résultat constant d’un sondage à l’autre démontre que les étudiants dont la MPC était supérieure à 90 % avaient une perception moins élevée de l’efficacité des petits groupes. La majorité des répondants pensaient que malgré l’espace inconfortable de la pièce, il était facile de créer de petits groupes et d’y participer, ce qui suggère qu’il est possible d’utiliser ce type de groupe avec succès dans les grands auditoriums malgré les contraintes physiques. Les résultats de cette étude sont pertinents étant donné l’utilisation des petits groupes à une grande variété de disciplines et leur relative facilitée d’intégration au cours magistral.

scholarly journals Student Perspectives of Online Teaching and Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Burhan Ozfidan ◽  
Hala Ismail ◽  
Orchida Fayez
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Online Instruction ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Wide Range

This exploratory study explores an array of student perceptions regarding their online learning experience. In the present circumstances where the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all fields of life, most educational institutions have resorted to online instruction and virtual meetings. The present study explored the variables contributing to student satisfaction with online teaching and learning effectiveness. Data were collected through an online survey. Python with Scikit-Learn was used for data analysis to implement regression functions and classify the data. The results of the study defined effective online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. In combination, eight criteria contributed to the definition: motivating students to accomplish, communicating effectively, meeting students' needs, providing access to a wide range of content, providing a well-organized course structure, providing numerous sources, providing explanatory feedback, and facilitating meaningful discussions. The results of the study are beneficial to understand what kind of factors contribute to student satisfaction concerning online transition during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will also help them develop a future support plan to help youth cope with virtual classes and online instruction.

scholarly journals Distance Learning In Accounting Courses From The Students Perspective (1999-2006)

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Beaghan
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
Interactive Television ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Accounting Courses ◽  
Remote Sites

Universities throughout the nation are faced with the reality of an increase in demand from placebound, adult working students who live and work in locations that may be hundreds of miles from traditional college campuses, and require a less centralized mode of course instruction.  At the same time technological advances are now available that provide universities with a wide range of instructional modes of instruction that include interactive television (ITV) with real time audio and visual at a number of decentralized classroom sites, live and remote.  Distance learning/distance education (DE) technologies currently allow an instructor to deliver university course instruction to several remote sites in real time via live ITV, while teaching a class to students in a traditional university classroom setting.  While there are a growing number of studies on distance education, there are relatively few research studies on student satisfaction, with existing research showing mixed results (Anderson, Banks and Leary, 2002, Beaghan, 2006), and very little research on the effect of two-way ITV on university accounting and business course instruction (Arndt and Lafollette, 1991, Pirrong and Lathen, 1990, Seay and Milkman, 1994).  University accounting course instruction may involve a number of different modes of instruction that include live instruction, online instruction and distance education.  This research study looks at differences in student perception of value and satisfaction with quantitatively oriented courses delivered via ITV between groups of students in accounting courses taught between 1999 and 2006.  Specifically this study looks at differences in attitudes between two groups of students, live and remote, and whether students who receive course instruction at remote sites via ITV perceive the same degree of value and satisfaction as do students receiving the same course instruction live and in real time.

ORAL HISTORY SOURCES AS LEARNING MATERIALS: A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-93
Author(s):  
Gugulethu Shamaine Nkala ◽  
Rodreck David
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
National Archives ◽  
National University ◽  
Set Up

Knowledge presented by Oral History (OH) is unique in that it shares the tacit perspective, thoughts, opinions and understanding of the interviewee in its primary form. While teachers, lecturers and other education specialists have at their disposal a wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary sources upon which to relate and share or impart knowledge, OH presents a rich source of information that can improve the learning and knowledge impartation experience. The uniqueness of OH is presented in the following advantages of its use: it allows one to learn about the perspectives of individuals who might not otherwise appear in the historical record; it allows one to compensate for the digital age; one can learn different kinds of information; it provides historical actors with an opportunity to tell their own stories in their own words; and it offers a rich opportunity for human interaction. This article discusses the placement of oral history in the classroom set-up by investigating its use as a source of learning material presented by the National Archives of Zimbabwe to students in the Department of Records and Archives Management at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). Interviews and a group discussion were used to gather data from an archivist at the National Archives of Zimbabwe, lecturers and students in the Department of Records and Archives Management at NUST, respectively. These groups were approached on the usability, uniqueness and other characteristics that support this type of knowledge about OH in a tertiary learning experience. The findings indicate several qualities that reflect the richness of OH as a teaching source material in a classroom set-up. It further points to weak areas that may be addressed where the source is considered a viable strategy for knowledge sharing and learning. The researchers present a possible model that can be used to champion the use of this rich knowledge source in classroom education at this university and in similar set-ups. 

scholarly journals Teaching and Learning in Survival Mode: Students and Faculty Perceptions of Distance Education during the COVID-19 Lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 8053
Author(s):  
Maram Meccawy ◽  
Zilal Meccawy ◽  
Aisha Alsobhi
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Faculty Perceptions ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Negative Perception ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Online Distance Learning ◽  
Online Distance

(1) This study demonstrates how a Saudi university has responded to the COVID-19 lockdown in order to examine the success factors and highlight any challenges. The main purpose was to determine the perceptions of students and faculty towards emergency online distance learning from a teaching and learning perspective; (2) A cross-faculty study was conducted: two different self-administered questionnaires were developed for students and faculty, respectively. In addition, data was collected from official reports; (3) The results show that students had a more positive perception of e-Learning despite the difficulties that they may have faced, while faculty results leaned slightly towards a negative perception. However, there was not a definite positive or negative perception, depending on the aspect of teaching that was being evaluated. The study also indicated that faculty and students’ gender had no significant effect on their perceptions. Overall results showed that the university performed well in accordance with three of the five pillars of online learning quality framework in terms of student satisfaction, access and scalability. On the other, improvements are needed to achieve better results for faculty satisfaction and learning effectiveness; (4) The findings present a number of suggestions for increasing satisfaction to improve the online learning experience post COVID-19.

Quality of learning experience, student satisfaction and perceived overall experience in the COVID-19 context

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Venugopal Prabhakar Gantasala ◽  
Swapna Bhargavi Gantasala ◽  
Tareq Na'el Al Tawil ◽  
Prerana Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Medical Programs

PurposeThe intention for this study was to explore any relationship that might exist between quality of learning experience (QLE), the second construct student satisfaction (SS) and the third construct perceived overall experience (POE) among undergraduate students within the higher education context. This study also attempts to explain the path direction between QLE, SS and POE.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers utilized structural equation modeling to analyze the variables considered for this study – QLE, SS and POE and for hypotheses testing. Respondents for this study were medical students' coordinators of the undergraduate level of medical colleges in the 28 states of India. Data collected for the study were possible by utilizing a questionnaire that was emailed to these student coordinators. The emailing effort returned 198 (n) filled questionnaires (complete) representing 198 institutions offering undergraduate-level medical programs out of a total of 542 institutions that offer undergraduate medical programs.FindingsFindings from this study confirm the relationship between QLE with SS, and PLE. Interestingly, the findings established a significant relationship between SS and POE.Practical implicationsDecision-makers and administrators of higher education institutions (HEIs) can utilize the findings from this study to focus on strengthening important elements of QLE in ways that positively impact SS and POE of students taking online courses and program offerings. The study reiterates the importance of course content, course structure, lecture-delivery quality, instructor mentoring and student-instructor interactions on SS and POE. The role of SS in reinforcing confirmation, perceived usefulness, perceived openness of the online courses and the perceived reputation was established. This relationship is key to administrators while they focus on improving SS and building on the institutions' reputation in addition to their efforts to support marketing and enrollments during the pandemic.Originality/valueResearchers in the past have examined the relationships between QLE and another construct of this study – SS. Past research has also examined the relationship between QLE and POE. However, there is not enough research exploring the relationship between SS and POE. This study establishes the relationship between SS and POE that benefits decision-makers in higher education.

The Correlation between Servqual Dimensions and Student Satisfaction

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Nur Zihan Abd Rashid ◽  
Tuan Nur Athirah Nabilah Tuan Ismail ◽  
Bibianah Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
New Findings

Service quality is a very crucial element in ensuring the competitiveness of various institutions. By having a good service quality, the reputation of the organization will enhance and thus become their added competitive advantage. In higher education institution, service quality is important to ensure the students whom are their primary stakeholders are able to have a good learning experience in which will then influence their satisfaction. The primary objective of this paper is to analyze the correlation between five elements in SERVQUAL dimensions (tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy) and the student satisfaction. The questionnaires were distributed among the students in various faculties in UiTM Sabah by using convenience sampling technique and 250 questionnaires were managed to be collected for analysis. Overall, the result shows that the students are satisfied with service quality in UiTM Sabah. Specifically, all five SERVQUAL dimensions correlate with student satisfaction. Reliability, responsiveness and empathy dimensions have strong correlation with student satisfaction. Meanwhile, both tangibility and assurance have moderate correlation with student satisfaction. This study is hoped to contribute towards the new knowledge in the field of service quality especially in higher education institutions Future research is also proposed at the final section of this study to discover new findings from different perspectives of service quality. Keywords: servqual; students’ satisfaction; service quality; higher education institution; service delivery.

Dental Interns’ Perceptions of Their Training Experiences at Different Training Centers: A Look at Work Environment and Supervision

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Alenezi
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
The Third ◽  
Level Of Satisfaction ◽  
Strongly Agree ◽  
High Level

Abstract Background: the aim of this study was to explore dental interns perceptions on their learning environment and supervision. Methods: This survey was in form of questioner in which interns are required to fill and submit at the end of each training rotation. The questionnaire includes 20 items and was divided into three main parts: the first part of the questionnaire evaluated the interns perception toward the learning outcomes obtained from the field experience and their development. The second part of the study assessed the interns' perceptions toward their supervisors. The third part of the questionnaire investigated the interns' perceptions toward training centers facilities. Results: A total number of 234 questioners were filled and submitted by interns in which 134 from male intern (57.3%) and 100 from female interns (42.7%). In general, the interns from both genders appeared very satisfied with their training experience. With all the questionnaire 20 items, more than 75% of the obtained answers was either agree or strongly agree with similar obtained from both male and female interns. Conclusions: High level of satisfaction can be obtained when the the field experience outcomes is clearly explained to the dental interns. In addition, the availability of supervisors with full awareness of learning outcomes will improve the learning experience of dental interns.

scholarly journals Online or not? A comparison of students’ experiences of an online and an on-campus class

Curationis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tennyson Mgutshini
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Online Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Multiple Data

Educational discourse has long portrayed online, or e-based, learning and all non-campus-based learning options as second best to traditional face-to-face options. Critically much of the research and debate in this area of study has focused on evidence relating to student performance, attrition and retention with little consideration of the total learning experience, which values both the traditional learning outcome measures side-by-side with student-centered factors, such as students’ satisfaction with their learning experience. The objective of this study was to present a synchronous head-to-head comparison between online and campus-based students’ experiences of an undergraduate course. This paper reports on a qualitative comparative cross-sectional study, which used multiple data collection approaches to assess student learning and student satisfaction of 61 students who completed a semester of an undergraduate course. Of the 61 students, 34 were enrolled purely as online students, whilst the remaining 27 students studied the same material entirely through the traditional face-to-face medium. Methods included a standardised student satisfaction survey and an ‘achievement of learning outcomes’ measurement tool. Students on the online cohort performed better in areas where ‘self-direction’ in learning was indicated, for example self-directed problem-based tasks within the course. Online students gave less positive self-assessments of their perceived content mastery than their campus-based counterparts, despite performing just as well in both summative and formative assignments. A multi-factorial comparison shows online students to have comparable educational success and that, in terms of student satisfaction, online learners reported more satisfaction with their learning experience than their campus-based counterparts.

scholarly journals Evaluation of an Interprofessional Problem-based Learning Module on Care of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel D'Eon ◽  
Peggy Proctor ◽  
Jane Cassidy ◽  
Nora McKee ◽  
Krista Trinder
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Persons Living With Hiv ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Hiv Aids

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) holds great promise in continuing to reform the management of complex chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS, and Problem-based Learning (PBL) is a suitable format for IPE. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a large scale, compulsory interprofessional PBL module on HIV/AIDS education. In 2004, 30 physical therapy and 30 medical students at the University of Saskatchewan engaged in the HIV/AIDS PBL module. By 2007 over 300 students from seven healthcare programs were involved.Methods and Findings: The module was evaluated over the years using student satisfaction surveys, focus groups, self-assessments, and in 2007 with written pretest/post-tests. Students rated the learning experience about both HIV/AIDS and about interprofessional collaboration, at 4 or 5 out of 6 and effect sizes fell between d = .70 and 3.19. That only one pre-test/post-test study was conducted at a single institution is one of the limitations of this study.Conclusions: Students generally thought highly of the interprofessional PBL module on HIV/AIDS and learned a considerable amount. Although more research is needed to substantiate the self-assessment data, establish what and how much is being learned, and compare PBL to alternative methodologies, PBL is a promising approach to IPE.

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