Showing papers on "Coursework published in 2016"
TL;DR: The results indicate that the quality of interpersonal interaction within a course relates positively and significantly to student grades, and suggest that frequent and effective student-instructor interaction creates an online environment that encourages students to commit themselves to the course and perform at a stronger academic level.
Abstract: Given the rapid growth in online coursework within higher education, it is important to establish and validate quality standards for these courses. While many online learning quality rubrics do exist, thus far there has been little empirical evidence establishing a clear link between specific course design features and concrete, student-level course outcomes. In the current study, the authors develop an online course design assessment rubric that includes four areas, and explore the impact of each area on student end-of-semester performance in 23 online courses at two community colleges. The results indicate that the quality of interpersonal interaction within a course relates positively and significantly to student grades. Additional analyses based on course observation and interview data suggest that frequent and effective student-instructor interaction creates an online environment that encourages students to commit themselves to the course and perform at a stronger academic level. A new online design assessment rubric is developed.The relationship between four online course design features and student course grades is examined.Quality of online interpersonal interaction relates positively to student grades.Typical practices of online courses with high- versus low-quality interpersonal interaction are showcased.Potential strategies to improve online learning outcomes are discussed.
305 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the factor structure, validity, and reliability of general and skill-specific engineering self-efficacy measures created for use with undergraduate engineering students, and found evidence for the reliability, validity and predictive utility of the engineering selfefficacy scales.
Abstract: Background
Self-efficacy has been shown to be positively related to undergraduate engineering students' achievement. Designing self-efficacy measures to assess the multifaceted skills required of engineers could improve the predictive relationship between efficacy beliefs and performance.
Purpose
This study evaluates the factor structure, validity, and reliability of general and skill-specific engineering self-efficacy measures created for use with undergraduate engineering students.
Design/Method
Self-efficacy items used for the measures were created and adapted from those used previously. Survey responses were collected from engineering students attending two southeastern universities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine factor structure. Multiple regression analyses examined the relationship between engineering self-efficacy and academic achievement and intent to persist in engineering, both uniquely and when considering other motivation variables.
Results
Factor analysis results suggested two self-efficacy scales. The General Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale is unidimensional; the Engineering Skills Self-Efficacy Scale is multidimensional with three factors representing experimental skills, tinkering skills, and design. General engineering self-efficacy predicted academic achievement, even when prior achievement was controlled. Students' intrinsic value in engineering predicted their intentions to persist in the engineering profession.
Conclusions
We found evidence for the reliability, validity, and predictive utility of the engineering self-efficacy scales. These scales can be used to assess undergraduate students' beliefs in their capabilities to perform tasks in their coursework and future roles as engineers and to investigate the association between self-efficacy and academic outcomes of interest.
126 citations
TL;DR: Results suggest that medical school faculty should present inter racial encounters as opportunities to practice skills shown to reduce bias, and faculty and students should be encouraged to learn from one another about mistakes in interracial encounters.
Abstract: There is a paucity of evidence on how to train medical students to provide equitable, high quality care to racial and ethnic minority patients. We test the hypothesis that medical schools’ ability to foster a learning orientation toward interracial interactions (i.e., that students can improve their ability to successfully interact with people of another race and learn from their mistakes), will contribute to white medical students’ readiness to care for racial minority patients. We then test the hypothesis that white medical students who perceive their medical school environment as supporting a learning orientation will benefit more from disparities training. Prospective observational study involving web-based questionnaires administered during first (2010) and last (2014) semesters of medical school to 2394 white medical students from a stratified, random sample of 49 U.S. medical schools. Analysis used data from students’ last semester to build mixed effects hierarchical models in order to assess the effects of medical school interracial learning orientation, calculated at both the school and individual (student) level, on key dependent measures. School differences in learning orientation explained part of the school difference in readiness to care for minority patients. However, individual differences in learning orientation accounted for individual differences in readiness, even after controlling for school-level learning orientation. Individual differences in learning orientation significantly moderated the effect of disparities training on white students’ readiness to care for minority patients. Specifically, white medical students who perceived a high level of learning orientation in their medical schools regarding interracial interactions benefited more from training to address disparities. Coursework aimed at reducing healthcare disparities and improving the care of racial minority patients was only effective when white medical students perceived their school as having a learning orientation toward interracial interactions. Results suggest that medical school faculty should present interracial encounters as opportunities to practice skills shown to reduce bias, and faculty and students should be encouraged to learn from one another about mistakes in interracial encounters. Future research should explore aspects of the medical school environment that contribute to an interracial learning orientation.
118 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that high school course taking patterns provide evidence of program effectiveness and equity in access and have the potential to raise awareness about how educators and school leaders approach educational equity and access, key elements central to the spirit of EL education policy.
Abstract: Purpose: English learner (EL) education policy has long directed schools to address EL students’ linguistic and academic development without furthering inequity or segregation. The recent Every Student Succeeds Act reauthorization expresses a renewed focus on evidence of equity, effectiveness, and opportunity to learn. We propose that high school course taking patterns provide evidence of program effectiveness and equity in access. Research Design: Using data from the nationally representative Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, we employ multinomial regression models to predict students’ likelihood of completing two types of high school coursework (basic graduation, college preparatory) by their linguistic status. Findings: Despite considerable linguistic, sociodemographic, and academic controls, marked disparities in high school course taking patterns remain, with EL students experiencing significantly less academic exposure. Implications for Policy and Practice: Building on McKenzie and Scheurich’s...
94 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored how teacher self-efficacy (TSE) of two cohorts of preservice teachers (advanced and beginning) changes during coursework at university and during a practicum at school.
79 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that the HG papers in both courses expressed stance with significantly greater frequency than the corresponding LG papers and in ways that project greater contrastiveness, critical distance, and positive alignment with disciplinary concepts.
76 citations
TL;DR: The project has improved the understanding of a successful implementation of the target course based on group work and learning materials in the context of independent study, while the attribute of flexibility revealed a contradiction that indicates the need for further action.
Abstract: This article reports on an action research project on improving a functional programming course by moving toward a practical and flexible study environment—flipped and blended classroom. Teaching the topic of functional programming was found to be troublesome using a traditional lectured course format. The need to increase students’ amount of practice emerged while subsequent challenges relating to students’ independent practical coursework were observed. Particular concerns relating to group work, learning materials, and the attribute of flexibility were investigated during the third action research cycle. The research cycle was analyzed using a qualitative survey on students’ views, teacher narrative, and students’ study activity data. By this third research cycle, we found that (i) the “call for explanation” is an apt conceptualization for supporting independent work, and in particular for the design of learning materials; (ii) use of student-selected groups that can be flexibly resized or even disbanded enables spontaneous peer support and can avoid frustration about group work; and (iii) students greatly appreciate the high degree of flexibility in the course arrangements but find that it causes them to slip from their goals. The project has improved our understanding of a successful implementation of the target course based on group work and learning materials in the context of independent study, while the attribute of flexibility revealed a contradiction that indicates the need for further action.
56 citations
TL;DR: The results confirm the need to revise the nursing curriculum and to use various teaching methods to deliver patient safety education more comprehensively and effectively and there is a need to develop an integrated approach to ensuring students' balanced competency.
Abstract: This cross-sectional study examines baccalaureate nursing programs in South Korea to determine how and to what extent patient safety education was delivered, and to assess nursing students' patient safety competency. The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) student evaluation survey and a Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation tool were used. We distributed 234 surveys to senior students in four nursing schools; 206 (88%) students responded to the survey. The majority of students (81.6%) reported that they had received patient safety education during coursework. Patient safety education was delivered primarily by lecture rather than during laboratory or simulation sessions. The degree of coverage of QSEN competency and the students' self-reported competency in total and attitude scores showed statistical differences among nursing schools. Students' attitude score was significantly higher than skill and knowledge. Our results confirm the need to revise the nursing curriculum and to use various teaching methods to deliver patient safety education more comprehensively and effectively. Furthermore, there is a need to develop an integrated approach to ensuring students' balanced competency.
53 citations
TL;DR: This article investigated pre-service teachers' perceptions of disciplinary, or mathematical, literacy and factors related to their teacher education program at a public research university that influenced these perceptions, and found that PSTs considered certain elements of literacy (i.e., communication, application, vocabulary) to be important in mathematics education, but PSTs felt that literacy coursework did little to support their understanding of mathematical literacy.
52 citations
25 Aug 2016
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the role of fictionalized narratives in critical race theory (CRT) by utilizing the story of two high schools to illustrate CRT constructs from legal studies.
Abstract: This chapter highlights the role of fictionalized narratives in critical race theory (CRT) by utilizing the story of the two high schools to illustrate CRT constructs from legal studies. The predominantly white schools in the story had well-kept facilities, computers, laboratory equipment, library materials, qualified teachers, and advanced coursework. The schools that served students of color had far fewer of these same resources. One characteristic of whiteness as property is the institutionalization of this property right. It does not depend on the racist attitudes or actions of individuals. The story "The First Day of School" does not concentrate on individual racist acts, nor does it attend to symbolic manifestations of white supremacy. Rather, the focus of the story is on the inequitable distribution of material resources. The story also illustrates the principle of interest convergence. The story, "The First Day of School" takes "real" conditions of schools and reverses those conditions for a brief fictional moment.
49 citations
TL;DR: Elective medical humanities coursework correlated with improved empathy score outcomes in a group of US medical students, and may reflect a direct effect of the humanities course work.
TL;DR: This article evaluated statistical requirements for PhD training and identified opportunities for improving biostatistics education in the basic sciences to provide recommendations for improving statistics training for basic biomedical scientists.
Abstract: Numerous studies demonstrating that statistical errors are common in basic science publications have led to calls to improve statistical training for basic scientists. In this article, we sought to evaluate statistical requirements for PhD training and to identify opportunities for improving biostatistics education in the basic sciences. We provide recommendations for improving statistics training for basic biomedical scientists, including: 1. Encouraging departments to require statistics training, 2. Tailoring coursework to the students' fields of research, and 3. Developing tools and strategies to promote education and dissemination of statistical knowledge. We also provide a list of statistical considerations that should be addressed in statistics education for basic scientists.
TL;DR: This article provided an exploratory look at makerspaces within universities and aimed to specifically address the research question: What are the experiences of Australian universities with makerspaces? A qualitative approach to data collection was undertaken by reviewing Australian university websites.
Abstract: Makerspaces are more than just places to make things; a makerspace is ‘a physical location where people gather to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build’. The NMC Horizon Report: 2015 Higher Education Edition lists the time-to-adoption of makerspaces within the higher education context, as two to three years. While there is a push to include makerspaces in universities, little is known about the experience of establishing makerspaces on academic campuses. This paper provides an exploratory look at makerspaces within universities and aims to specifically address the research question: What are the experiences of Australian universities with makerspaces? A qualitative approach to data collection was undertaken by reviewing Australian university websites. Makerspaces are noted in 12 of 43 Australian universities websites (October 2015). Typically, these makerspaces employ specialist staff, contain 3D printers and laser cutters, and offer facilities to conduct coursework, ...
01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: This paper examined the effects of remediation using a unique data set of over 28,000 students and found that students in remediation are more likely to persist in college in comparison to students with similar backgrounds who were not required to take the courses.
Abstract: Each year, thousands graduate high school academically underprepared for college. Many must take remedial or developmental postsecondary coursework, and there is a growing debate about the effectiveness of such programs. This paper examines the effects of remediation using a unique data set of over 28,000 students. To account for selection biases, the paper implements an instrumental variables strategy based on variation in placement policies and the importance of proximity in college choice. The results suggest that students in remediation are more likely to persist in college in comparison to students with similar backgrounds who were not required to take the courses.
TL;DR: Results suggest that programming preparation presented in an authentic engineering context provides an important foundation that goes beyond increasing students' control self-beliefs, and seems to effectively enable students to leverage computational practices for the purpose of acquiring disciplinary concepts.
TL;DR: This article examined how preservice teachers, from a funds of knowledge perspective, in a community-based early childhood teacher preparation programme learned about the language and (bi)literacy development of young English emergent bilinguals.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine how preservice teachers, from a funds of knowledge perspective, in a community-based early childhood teacher preparation programme learned about the language and (bi)literacy development of young English emergent bilinguals. Through a series of in-depth home observations their early childhood education (ECE) coursework preservice teachers reflected on young children's literacy learning and family literacy practices. We followed case studies of six participating preservice teachers who were placed with families with children enrolled in preschool programmes as part of their field experience. A research team composed of two university professors and two graduate students gathered a variety of data during one academic year. Data sources include field notes, video and audio recordings and children's emergent literacy samples from six family home interactions by the preservice teachers with their assigned case study families. During these family home visits, preservice ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the learning reported by a set of volunteer participants from three university teacher education programs: from one Southwestern U.S. University, the program in secondary English/Language Arts Education and the program of elementary education; and from one Southeastern U. Southeastern University, a program in higher education.
Abstract: This study investigates the learning reported by a set of volunteer participants from three university teacher education programs: from one Southwestern U.S. University, the program in secondary English/Language Arts Education and the program in Elementary Education; and from one Southeastern U.S. University, the program in secondary English/Language Arts Education. Based on interviews conducted between the end of coursework and the beginning of student teaching, this study uses a sociocultural perspective to consider not only the manner in which the teacher candidates’ learning was mediated by a host of factors, including formal teacher education courses and mentor teacher guidance, but also a wide range of factors that introduced competing conceptions of effective teaching. The interviews were analyzed collaboratively by the two authors, who relied on a sociocultural analysis attending to the pedagogical tools, attribution of learning to specific sources and the settings in which they were located, the ...
TL;DR: This paper investigated the relationship between diversity-related coursework and moral development among students over four years of college and found that students who entered college with lower precollege academic ability might experience greater gains relating to the impact of diversity coursework on their moral growth.
Abstract: We utilized data from a multi-institutional longitudinal study to investigate the association between diversity-related coursework and moral development among students over 4 years of college. Our findings parallel the prior research, which support the positive effects of diversity on college students, by offering new evidence that diversity experiences positively impact moral development. Further, the findings revealed that students who enter college with lower precollege academic ability might experience greater gains relating to the impact of diversity coursework on their moral growth.
TL;DR: An early-entry PhD option designed to engage students in PhD coursework and research during the undergraduate nursing major was developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and differences were found on measures of diversity, program progression, and perceptions of clinical competence.
TL;DR: The authors used video-stimulated recall to interview 17 junior and senior-level chemistry majors after they carried out an experiment as part of a laboratory course, and found that the upper-level students displayed strong similarities to students in introductory-level coursework: holding conflicting goals and lacking reflection on their progress toward achieving those goals.
Abstract: Efforts to reform undergraduate chemistry laboratory coursework typically focus on the curricula of introductory-level courses, while upper-level courses are bypassed. This study used video-stimulated recall to interview 17 junior- and senior- level chemistry majors after they carried out an experiment as part of a laboratory course. It is assumed that the students who are taking those courses are inherently more interested and motivated to learn the material, thus requiring less support from the curriculum. The videos and interviews revealed that the upper-level students displayed strong similarities to students in introductory-level coursework: holding conflicting goals and lacking reflection on their progress toward achieving those goals. Upper-level laboratory curricula should be scrutinized to ensure that students receive the maximum benefit from laboratory coursework. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach
TL;DR: This article conducted a course on Cultural Diversity and Education serving 76 culturally and linguistically diverse undergraduate students, many of whom planned to become teachers, and found that a deep understanding of the often-unexposed language ideologies of potential teachers is a necessary first step toward developing coursework and experiences that will help guide them toward more expansive views of language.
Abstract: The pedagogical innovation of this study is self-reflexive inquiry into language, culture, and identity. This work was conducted in a course on Cultural Diversity and Education serving 76 culturally and linguistically diverse undergraduate students, many of whom planned to become teachers. Through analysis of a Personal Language Inventory and other assignments and surveys, we surface the range of beliefs these diverse students hold about language, prompted by reflective activities, including the impact of their experiences with linguicism and the tensions and variations they report on dominant language ideologies. We highlight potential openings for transformation and argue that a deep understanding of the often-unexposed language ideologies of potential teachers before and as they enter teacher preparation programs is a necessary first step toward developing coursework and experiences that will help guide them toward more expansive views of language. Such expansive views may impact future teacher...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that completing Advanced Placement (AP) coursework is an important part of the selective college admission process, and access to AP coursework can be viewed as a measure of equal opportunity.
Abstract: Completing Advanced Placement (AP) coursework is an important part of the selective college admissions process, and access to AP coursework can be viewed as a measure of equal opportunity. Relative...
TL;DR: This paper found that upwardly mobile students identify more with either the working class or middle class, and they can do so without rejecting the other without rejecting either This paper. And they also indicated that colleges can encourage a healthy class transition by providing support with student organizations, role models, and coursework.
Abstract: First-generation, working-class college students are on the path to upward mobility and may have social and psychological problems related to cultural differences between the working class and the middle class. In her study, Hurst (2007, 2010) reports that students of working-class origin often choose loyalty to one class. However, I revise Hurst’s model after finding that, while upwardly mobile students identify more with either the working class or middle class, they can do so without rejecting the other. The findings also indicate that colleges can encourage a healthy class transition by providing support with student organizations, role models, and coursework.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on the experiences of 104 doctoral candidates who participated in six offerings (2008-2015) of an intensive 5-day course for doctoral candidates associated with the research programme of an international research network.
Abstract: This article reports on the experiences of 104 doctoral candidates who participated in six offerings (2008–2015) of an intensive 5-day course for doctoral candidates associated with the research programme of an international research network. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate how higher education practices, like those of this course, can be understood through the lens of a particular form of practice theory, namely the theory of practice architectures. The analyses show how the practice architectures of the course enable and constrain candidates’ academic practices such as presenting and discussing their own research, chairing seminar presentations and being discussants for research papers whose authors are present. The candidates entered some new academic practices in the course but sometimes contested these practices, for example by requesting greater structure in some sessions, perhaps reflecting their expectations that the course would be more similar to other doctoral courses they had attended. Using the lens of the theory of practice architectures, the analyses shows how these new practices were enabled and constrained by specific arrangements built into the design of the course that served both as practice architectures for learning in the course and for the academic practices being learned. Keywords: academic practices, theory of practice architectures, doctoral coursework, enabling research collaboration, international networking, higher education (Published: 9 June 2016) Citation: Education Inquiry (EDUI) 2016, 7, 27558, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/edui.v7.27558
TL;DR: Virtual classroom training was found to be effective in improving knowledge and key MNH skills of GNM students in Bihar, India.
TL;DR: In 2003, Chicago launched Double-Dose Algebra, which required students with pretest scores below the national median to take two periods of algebra and supplemental coursework as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In 2003, Chicago launched “Double-Dose Algebra,” requiring students with pretest scores below the national median to take two periods of math–algebra and supplemental coursework In many schools, a
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01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: The history of Brazil is a dramatic tale that interweaves stories of slavery, sugar, gold, immigration, gender, and race as mentioned in this paper, and the way in which industrialization, Marxism, nationalism, and urbanization transformed Brazil during the democracies and dictatorships of the 20th century.
Abstract: The history of Brazil is a dramatic tale—one that interweaves stories of slavery, sugar, gold, immigration, gender, and race. Over the course of the semester, we will examine Brazil’s history over a period of five hundred years. Central themes include the dynamics of a multiethnic society in colonial Brazil; the establishment of an American monarchy sustained by slavery; the role of abolition and immigration in the rise of a Republican government; and the manner in which industrialization, Marxism, nationalism, and urbanization transformed Brazil during the democracies and dictatorships of the 20th century. Course Requirements The class itself is composed of lectures, readings, discussions, film, written work, and a midterm and comprehensive final examination. All are integral parts of the course and are required for its successful completion. The course is divided into six broad sections that deal with particular periods and themes of Brazilian history. Each lecture is accompanied by a set of readings that will be discussed by students at greater length in class. Students will also be required to attend one film screening outside of class. Final course grades will be based upon each of these elements as follows: attendance, readings, and discussion (20%), two 7-8 page papers (20% each), a midterm (15%), and a comprehensive final exam (25%). All requirements must be completed in order to successfully pass the course. This course is open to graduate students. Accordingly, all graduate students enrolled in the course will have their examinations and papers graded at a higher level than their undergraduate colleagues. Additionally, they will be required to complete additional coursework to be worked out on an individual basis with the instructor at the beginning of the semester.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the ways that cross-cultural engagement and experiential learning gained through students' qualitative research might lead to the realization of the anticipated benefits of internationalization at home.
Abstract: Study-abroad and international-student programs are commonly understood to transform their participants into "global citizens" possessing "cross-cultural competencies." Similar benefits are anticipated from "internationalization at home"—defined as any on-campus, internationally related activity—whereby international students engage with and thus enrich the lives of domestic students. In this article, we reflect on a research project tied to two coursework units, in which largely domestic undergraduate students undertake qualitative research with or about international students. When developing the project, we postulated that the researcher– informant engagement that characterizes qualitative research mirrors that required for effective domestic–international student engagement. In describing engagement, we utilize research on experiential learning, which suggests that experiences can become knowledge only through reflection, analysis, and synthesis. We examine the ways that cross-cultural engagement and experiential learning gained through students’ qualitative research might lead to the realization of the anticipated benefits of internationalization at home.
TL;DR: The Mentored Innovation Model as discussed by the authors is an online collaborative mentoring model developed in Hungary to help teachers integrate technology in their classrooms in meaningful ways, which combines an online modular approach of formal pedagogical ICT training with an informal online community experience of sharing, developing and critiquing of shared learning resources during teacher education coursework.
Abstract: The Mentored Innovation Model is an online collaborative mentoring model developed in Hungary to help teachers integrate technology in their classrooms in meaningful ways. It combines an online modular approach of formal pedagogical ICT training with an informal online community experience of sharing, developing and critiquing of shared learning resources during teacher education coursework. In this article we describe its implementation with pre-service teachers to support them with technology integration in their teaching. We then discuss the usefulness of the model for teacher education based on the results of a technology self-efficacy and mentoring satisfaction survey with 116 pre-service teachers.
TL;DR: This article conducted a narrative literature review which explores the student profiles of these teachers, asking how they differ from school leavers entering teacher education, and explored the characteristics of training approaches that are most suitable for second-career teachers based on their general student profile.
Abstract: Second-career teachers are career changers who leave their current jobs to become teachers. This study conducts a narrative literature review which explores the student profiles of these teachers, asking how they differ from school leavers entering teacher education. The literature review also explores the characteristics of training approaches that are most suitable for second-career teachers based on their general student profile. Results show that second-career teachers are older, have strong intrinsic motivation, possess a wide range of knowledge and skills, have a self-directed and application-oriented approach to learning and teaching, and appreciate peer support. They benefit from teacher education programs that are flexible and include a preparatory period, that transfer their expertise into the teaching profession, provide opportunities for self-directed learning and peer support, integrate coursework and field experience, offer a significant amount of field experience and provide intensive