Designing IDE Interventions to Promote Social Interaction and Improved Programming Outcomes in Early Computing Courses

As in other STEM disciplines, early computing courses tend to stress individual assignments and discourage collaboration. This can lead to negative learning experiences that compel some students to give up. According to social learning theory, one way to improve students’ learning experiences is to help them form and participate actively in vibrant social learning communities. Building on social learning theory, we have designed a set of software interventions (scaffolds and prompts) that leverage automatically collected learning process data to promote increased social interactions and better learning outcomes in individual programming assignments, which are a key component of early undergraduate computing courses. In an empirical study, we found that students’ interaction with the interventions was correlated with increased social activity, improved attitudes toward peer learning, more closely coupled social networks, and higher performance on programming assignments. Our work contributes a theoretically motivated technological design for social programming interventions; an understanding of computing students’ willingness to interact with the interventions; and insights into how students’ interactions with the interventions are associated with their social behaviors, attitudes, connectedness with others in the class, and their course outcomes.

Critical Perspective Analysis of Higher Education Studies in the Online Mode – Emerging Challenges and Solutions

Many academic institutions that had previously hesitated to modify their old pedagogical method had to opt for completely online modules due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. This paper provides insight into the perception of students of higher education concerning the online mode of learning. Data was collected from 310 students pursuing different courses. A questionnaire, divided into 7 sections was administered including: general information of students, time management, understanding of course content, view of students on assignments and submissions, ease and comfort of study, skill development and motivation, and course satisfaction. The data was analyzed quantitative analysis. Results showed that 72.4% of students do not prefer the online platform for learning and this view is contributed by parameters like net connectivity, time, overall development of the candidate and evaluation of the course outcomes. Various parameters such as internet connectivity, parallel data users, unwanted anxiety, extra time, comfort, understanding of the concepts, interaction, information absorption and retainment, course evaluation and assignments, expense comparison, skill development, lecture participation and extracurricular growth were mentioned. It is suggested that an alternative to classroom learning must be used to maintain one's academic progress.

A Systematic Approach for Assessment of Attainment in Outcome-based Education

The capabilities expected to be attained by learners, after learning a course or programme, are called course outcomes (CO) and programme outcomes (PO), respectively. The objectives of outcome-based education (OBE) are to ensure realization of grooming graduates with all the theoretical, practical and soft skills required to make them competent and industry-ready professionals. This article discusses the implementation of an assessment system for analysing the attainment of outcomes in OBE. It is a web-based application for evaluating the attainment of COs, POs and programme educational objectives (PEOs) in institutions of higher learning. Recently, OBE and choice-based credit system (CBCS) have become prevalent in institutions of higher learning. The significance and benefits of OBE and CBCS are recognized by all stakeholders, including accrediting agencies. The process for establishing and refining, the vision and mission of the institution, vision and mission of the department offering the programme, COs, POs and PEOs are discussed. The procedure and rubrics for assessing the attainment of the outcomes are also discussed. Accreditation is an honouring mechanism used to assess the standards and quality of the education offered by a programme to a student at an institution of higher learning. The article discusses a systematic approach for assessment of attainment of outcomes by graduates of a programme in an autonomous engineering college following OBE with CBCS.

Clinical Outcomes of Patients With Primary Membranous Nephropathy and Subnephrotic Proteinuria

Objectives: To update the information about the prognosis of patients with primary membranous nephropathy (MN) and subnephrotic proteinuria and identify the relevant predictors.Methods: In total, 474 cases of biopsy-proven primary MN with at least 18 months of follow-up were reviewed to determine the outcomes of the subgroup of patients that presented with subnephrotic proteinuria. Clinical data included initial proteinuria and microhematuria, defined as the average proteinuria/microhematuria of the first 6 months during the course. Outcomes included partial remission (PR), complete remission (CR), nephrotic proteinuria progression, and kidney function progression, defined as ≥50% loss of kidney function or end-stage kidney disease.Results: In total, 205 patients with primary MN and subnephrotic proteinuria at biopsy were eligible. During a median follow-up of 43 months, 200 (97.56%), 167 (81.46%), and 53 (25.85%) patients attained PR, CR, and nephrotic proteinuria progression, respectively. Only one patient (0.49%) progressed to the kidney function progression. By multivariate Cox hazards regression analyses, the initial proteinuria was identified as the independent predictor for PR, CR, and nephrotic proteinuria progression with adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) of 0.67 (95% confidence interval, 0.56–0.80), 0.50 (95% CI, 0.40–0.63), and 2.97 (95% CI, 2.23–3.97), respectively. A higher level of initial microhematuria was also associated with an increased risk of nephrotic proteinuria progression. The corresponding aHR was 1.11 (95% CI, 1.05–1.17).Conclusion: Among patients with primary MN and subnephrotic proteinuria, although the overall prognosis is excellent, dynamic detection and effective management of proteinuria remain important. In addition, initial microhematuria may be another predictor of nephrotic proteinuria progression.

Instructional Design for an Undergraduate Laboratory Course in Molecular Biophysics

ABSTRACT In this article, an approach to teaching molecular biophysics is described. The organization and course content has been carefully chosen and curated so that fundamental ideas in molecular biophysics can be taught effectively to upper classmen in higher education. Three general topic areas are introduced along with accompanying experiments that illustrate major principles related to each topic area. This article outlines an approach to organizing chosen course material and suggests multiple teaching activities within each major topic area: thermodynamics, kinetics, and structural biology. Subtopics are presented along with suggested laboratory experiments. The experiments are outlined in a way that they can be readily adopted by educators teaching a biophysical chemistry lab. The accompaniment of workshop exercises as an additional teaching modality is a component of the course intended to enhance the development of important problem-solving skills and comprehension of new content. Finally, a reflection on student feedback and course outcomes along with targeted learning goals is discussed.

Comparing the Outcomes of the Different Teaching Modes: All-in-Person, Hybrid, and Online, for Different Student Demographic Groups in a Business School

The concept of hybrid education is spreading. Far less research has been done comparing hybrid teaching to online and F2F teaching. Nearly all this research assumes that there is no difference in the students entering F2F, Hybrid, or online sections of a course. This study used data from four years of courses that were taught in Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. This data set with individual student and course outcomes, included full student demographics including previous university GPA. The results showed for all demographics, hybrid course sections gave better final course grades than online sections, which in gave better final grades than F2F sections. However, for instructors who taught Hybrid courses also gave higher course GPAs for F2F sections than those who did not teach hybrid.

Machine Learning Techniques for Enhancing Student Learning Experiences

Outcome-based learning (OBL) is a tried-and-true learning technique based on a set of predetermined objectives. Program Educational Objectives (PEOs), Program Outcomes (POs), and Course Outcomes are the three components of OBL (COs). Faculty members may adopt many ML-based advised actions at the conclusion of each course to improve the quality of learning and, as a result, the overall education. Due to the huge number of courses and faculty members involved, harmful behaviors may be advocated, resulting in unwanted and incorrect choices. The education system is described in this study based on college course requirements, academic records, and course learning results evaluations is provided for anticipating appropriate actions utilizing various machine learning algorithms. Dataset translates to different problem conversion methods and adaptive methods such as one-versus-all, binary significance, naming power set, series classification and custom classification ML-KNN. The suggested recommender ML-based system is used as a case study at the Institute of Computer and Information Sciences to assist academic staff in boosting learning quality and instructional methodologies. The results suggest that the proposed recommendation system offers more measures to improve students' learning experiences.

Instructors’ conceptualization and implementation of scaffolding in online higher education courses

This multiple case study explores how instructors conceptualize and employ scaffolding in online courses. Participants included full time faculty (n = 4) who have designed and taught at least one online course within the past 12 months. Data sources included pre-interview surveys, semi-structured interviews, and online course observations. Data were analyzed by employing a general analytical strategy for developing a case description (Yin, 2018). The results showed that (a) instructors define scaffolding as a support to help students achieve course outcomes and (b) instructors implement different types of scaffolding (i.e., conceptual, metacognitive, procedural, strategic, and motivational) in hard and soft scaffolding forms. The results also showed that instructors' conceptualization and implementation of scaffolding differed based on their discipline and teaching philosophy, and the unique features of online courses. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

The virtual COVID-19 classroom: surveying outcomes, individual differences, and technology use in college students

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many colleges to quickly shift to virtual learning, leading students to rely on technology to complete coursework while also experiencing new situations and stressors. The present study explored students’ technology use in their online course in conjunction with several student outcomes and individual difference measures. Ninety-six undergraduate students were surveyed about devices used and their perceptions of those devices. In addition, the survey measured students’ engagement, motivation, procrastination, perceived stress, and self-efficacy. It also asked students to report their current grade as well as how satisfied and isolated they felt in their course. Relationships emerged in predictable ways between course outcomes and individual difference measures. And though laptops were most used for coursework, more smartphone use related to lower feelings of isolation. Lower feelings of isolation then related to higher grades and less stress. Regression analyses confirmed that smartphone use explained unique variance in feelings of isolation, and further revealed that perceived stress consistently predicted all outcomes. From these results and complementary qualitative survey data, it seems that both laptops and smartphones hold importance for academics in the current context. Educators should further explore the role of device in students’ experience as well as consider this information when designing online courses.