The Learning Gains and Student Perceptions of a Second Life Virtual Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cobb, Stephanie; Heaney, Rose; Corcoran, Olivia; Henderson-Begg, Stephanie

2009-01-01

This study examines students' reactions to the virtual biosciences laboratory developed in Second Life[R] (SL) at the University of East London. Final year undergraduates and masters students studying biotechnology took part in a trial of a virtual Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) experiment in Second Life and evaluated their experience by…

Factors Affecting Student Choice of the Undergraduate Research Project: Staff and Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harland, Janice; Pitt, Sarah; Saunders, Venetia

2005-01-01

As pressures on resources are growing and some question the value and types of final year research work for students in the biosciences and other disciplines, it is important to be well informed about student expectations of their project. In this case study within Biomolecular Sciences, questionnaires were used to compare staff and student…

Closing the Social Class Achievement Gap for First-Generation Students in Undergraduate Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harackiewicz, Judith M.; Canning, Elizabeth A.; Tibbetts, Yoi; Giffen, Cynthia J.; Blair, Seth S.; Rouse, Douglas I.; Hyde, Janet S.

2014-01-01

Many students start college intending to pursue a career in the biosciences, but too many abandon this goal because they struggle in introductory biology. Interventions have been developed to close achievement gaps for underrepresented minority students and women, but no prior research has attempted to close the gap for first-generation students,…

The Utility of Writing Assignments in Undergraduate Bioscience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Libarkin, Julie; Ording, Gabriel

2012-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that engagement in a few, brief writing assignments in a nonmajors science course can improve student ability to convey critical thought about science. A sample of three papers written by students (n = 30) was coded for presence and accuracy of elements related to scientific writing. Scores for different aspects of…

Teaching Bioethics via the Production of Student-Generated Videos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willmott, Christopher J. R.

2015-01-01

There is growing recognition that science is not conducted in a vacuum and that advances in the biosciences have ethical and social implications for the wider community. An exercise is described in which undergraduate students work in teams to produce short videos about the science and ethical dimensions of current developments in biomedicine.…

A biosafety level 2 virology lab for biotechnology undergraduates.

PubMed

Matza-Porges, Sigal; Nathan, Dafna

2017-11-01

Medical, industrial, and basic research relies heavily on the use of viruses and vectors. Therefore, it is important that bioscience undergraduates learn the practicalities of handling viruses. Teaching practical virology in a student laboratory setup presents safety challenges, however. The aim of this article is to describe the design and implementation of a virology laboratory, with emphasis on student safety, for biotechnology undergraduates. Cell culture techniques, animal virus infection, quantification, and identification are taught at a biosafety level 2 for a diverse group of undergraduates ranging from 20 to 50 students per group. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(6):537-543, 2017. © 2017 The Authors Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Writing Activities Embedded in Bioscience Laboratory Courses to Change Students' Attitudes and Enhance Their Scientific Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Susan E.; Woods, Kyra J.; Tonissen, Kathryn F.

2011-01-01

We introduced writing activities into a project style third year undergraduate biomolecular science laboratory to assist the students to produce a final report in the form of a journal article. To encourage writing while the experimental work was proceeding, the embedded writing activities required ongoing analysis of experimental data. After…

Perceptions of Play: Using Play-Doh to Enhance the Student Experience in Bioscience Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lace-Costigan, Gemma

2017-01-01

Playful and kinaesthetic learning approaches are used in numerous early years (birth to 5 years old) learning environments, however studies in HE STEM disciplines are uncommon. This study aimed to explore the use of Play-Doh in an undergraduate anatomy module as a method of enhancing engagement. 63 students attended the "kinaesthetic…

Using Explicit Teaching to Improve How Bioscience Students Write to the Lay Public

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moni, Roger W.; Hryciw, Deanne H.; Poronnik, Philip; Moni, Karen B.

2007-01-01

The media role model was recently developed to frame how science faculty members can teach their students to write more effectively to lay audiences (14). An Opinion Editorial (Op-Ed) was introduced as a novel assignment for final-year physiology and pharmacology undergraduates. This second phase of this study, reported here, demonstrated the…

Comparison of Soluble and Immobilised Enzymes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiseman, Alan

2003-01-01

This short article was written in response to a proposed practical featured in the Spring 2002 issue of the "Journal of Biological Education." Beaumont, Cotterill and Williams described a system representing a useful way by which the deleterious effects of free radical attack on enzymes can be demonstrated to undergraduate bioscience students,…

Apprenticeship in Science Research: Whom Does It Serve?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Paul

2016-01-01

This article advances the thinking of Thompson, Conaway and Dolan's "Undergraduate students' development of social, cultural, and human capital in a network research experience". Set against a background of change in the biosciences, and participation, it firstly explores ideas of what it means to be a scientist, then challenges the…

Online Preparation Resources Help First Year Students to Benefit from Practical Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittle, Sue R.; Bickerdike, Sue R.

2015-01-01

Practical skills are important for the employability of biosciences graduates; however, first year science undergraduates often struggle to adapt to university practical classes, affecting skills development and decreasing their enthusiasm for laboratory work. This study describes the effects of introducing online multimedia practical support…

Closing the Social Class Achievement Gap for First-Generation Students in Undergraduate Biology

PubMed Central

Harackiewicz, Judith M.; Canning, Elizabeth A.; Tibbetts, Yoi; Giffen, Cynthia J.; Blair, Seth S.; Rouse, Douglas I.; Hyde, Janet S.

2014-01-01

Many students start college intending to pursue a career in the biosciences, but too many abandon this goal because they struggle in introductory biology. Interventions have been developed to close achievement gaps for underrepresented minority students and women, but no prior research has attempted to close the gap for first-generation students, a population that accounts for nearly a fifth of college students. We report a values affirmation intervention conducted with 798 U.S. students (154 first-generation) in an introductory biology course for majors. For first-generation students, values affirmation significantly improved final course grades and retention in the second course in the biology sequence, as well as overall GPA for the semester. This brief intervention narrowed the achievement gap between first-generation and continuing generation students for course grades by 50% and increased retention in a critical gateway course by 20%. Our results suggest that educators can expand the pipeline for first-generation students to continue studying in the biosciences with psychological interventions. PMID:25049437

Simulating Phase Variation: A Practical Approach to Teaching Mutation and Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wanford, Joe; Aidley, Jack; Bayliss, Chris; Ketley, Julian; Goodwin, Mark

2018-01-01

Mutation, diversity, natural selection and the biology of human pathogens (including antibiotic resistance) are key features of the biosciences curriculum at A Level and undergraduate study. Few resources exist to allow students to engage with these topics in an interactive manner. This paper describes an interactive, online simulation of mutation…

Integrating psychology with interpersonal communication skills in undergraduate nursing education: addressing the challenges.

PubMed

McCarthy, Bridie; Trace, Anna; O'Donovan, Moira

2014-05-01

The inclusion of the social, behavioural and bio-sciences is acknowledged as essential to the development of the art and science of nursing. Nonetheless, the literature highlights on-going debate about the content and delivery of these subject areas in undergraduate nursing education. The bio-sciences and social sciences in particular have received much attention but more recently the inclusion of psychology in nursing curricula is gaining momentum. Studies conducted on nursing students' views of these supporting sciences have also highlighted problems with their understanding, relevance and application to nursing practice. Although broad guidelines are given as to what should be included, no detail is given as to how much detail or at what level these subjects should be taught. Subsequently, approved institutions are responsible for their own course content. This has resulted in inconsistent and varied approaches to integrating the sciences in undergraduate nursing curricula. Following a recent review of the undergraduate nursing curriculum in one university in the Republic of Ireland a decision was made to combine the teaching, learning and assessment of Applied Psychology with Interpersonal Communication skills. This paper will describe the developmental process and evaluation of the integrated module. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Benefits of Multi-Year Research Experiences: Differences in Novice and Experienced Students’ Reported Gains from Undergraduate Research

PubMed Central

Thiry, Heather; Weston, Timothy J.; Laursen, Sandra L.; Hunter, Anne-Barrie

2012-01-01

This mixed-methods study explores differences in novice and experienced undergraduate students’ perceptions of their cognitive, personal, and professional gains from engaging in scientific research. The study was conducted in four different undergraduate research (UR) programs at two research-extensive universities; three of these programs had a focus on the biosciences. Seventy-three entry-level and experienced student researchers participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews and completed the quantitative Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) instrument. Interviews and surveys assessed students’ developmental outcomes from engaging in UR. Experienced students reported distinct personal, professional, and cognitive outcomes relative to their novice peers, including a more sophisticated understanding of the process of scientific research. Students also described the trajectories by which they developed not only the intellectual skills necessary to advance in science, but also the behaviors and temperament necessary to be a scientist. The findings suggest that students benefit from multi-year UR experiences. Implications for UR program design, advising practices, and funding structures are discussed. PMID:22949423

The impact of attaining the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma on academic performance in bioscience higher education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yhnell, Emma; Wood, Heather; Baker, Mathew; Amici-Dargan, Sheila; Taylor, Chris; Randerson, Peter; Shore, Andrew

2016-01-01

Since the introduction of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma Qualification (WBQ) in 2003, an increasing number of students are applying to higher education institutions (HEIs) with this qualification. The advanced-level WBQ is regarded as equivalent to one General Certificate of Education A-Level (GCE A-Level). This study assesses the impact of attaining the WBQ in addition to three GCE A-Levels on overall university degree performance in comparison to attaining four GCE A-Levels, in three cohorts of undergraduate students (Year 1 = 318, Year 2 = 280, Year 3 = 236) studying Biosciences from 2005 to 2011 at a UK HEI. Binary logistic regression was used to compare the academic attainment of students who had achieved four GCE A-Levels to those who had achieved three GCE A-Levels in addition to the WBQ. Comparisons were also made between students who had achieved three GCE A-Levels and those who had achieved three GCE A-Levels in addition to the WBQ. The results suggest that students who achieved the WBQ qualification in its current form, in addition to three GCE A-Levels, performed less well academically in undergraduate studies than those who achieved four GCE A-Levels. Furthermore, this effect was still present when the balance between coursework and examination was considered, and when students who had achieved the WBQ in addition to three GCE A-Levels were compared to students who had achieved three GCE A-Levels.

Supporting the Development of Undergraduates' Experimental Design Skills and Investigating their Perceptions of Project Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacKenzie, Jane; Ruxton, Graeme

2006-01-01

Project work represents a significant component of most Bioscience degrees. Conscious that students are not necessarily given adequate preparation for their final year project, we have investigated two core elements in the 3rd year of a 4-year Honours programme. One element, an investigative project on aspects of insect biology, has run for…

Reflective writing as a tool for assessing teamwork in bioscience: insights into student performance and understanding of teamwork.

PubMed

Mayne, Lynne

2012-07-01

To ensure a modern bioscience curriculum that responds to the current needs of stakeholders, there is a need to embed a range of generic capabilities that enables graduates to succeed in and contribute to a rapidly changing world, as well as building strong bioscience skills and knowledge. The curriculum must also prepare students for a rapidly evolving competitive work place and align with the needs of industry. This creates a challenge, how do we develop generic capabilities without losing discipline content. This report analyses teamwork projects embedded in an undergraduate Biotechnology degree designed to promote teamwork skills along with a deeper understanding of the underpinning biochemistry. Student reflective writing was used to capture students' understanding and experience of teamwork as well as provide insight into their metacognition. The analysis demonstrates that 73% of Year 3 and 93% of Year 4 students were capable of learning about teamwork through reflective writing. While the importance of frequent high quality communication was a common theme, evidence suggests that many students were unsophisticated in their use of communication software. The analysis also highlighted the depth of metacognition that underpins successful team function and the significant weaknesses in self-insight some students possess. These findings challenge assumptions regarding student capacity for leadership and the ability of some students to contribute to successful team outcomes. It is essential for the design of teamwork experiences to fully understand the competencies that underlie teamwork, the metacognitive processes required, and ensure that assessments are fair and measure individual academic performance. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The use of team-based, guided inquiry learning to overcome educational disadvantages in learning human physiology: a structural equation model.

PubMed

Rathner, Joseph A; Byrne, Graeme

2014-09-01

The study of human bioscience is viewed as a crucial curriculum in allied health. Nevertheless, bioscience (and particularly physiology) is notoriously difficult for undergraduates, particularly academically disadvantaged students. So endemic are the high failure rates (particularly in nursing) that it has come to be known as "the human bioscience problem." In the present report, we describe the outcomes for individual success in studying first-year human physiology in a subject that emphasises team-based active learning as the major pedagogy for mastering subject learning outcomes. Structural equation modeling was used to develop a model of the impact team learning had on individual performance. Modeling was consistent with the idea that students with similar academic abilities (as determined by tertiary entrance rank) were advantaged (scored higher on individual assessment items) by working in strong teams (teams that scored higher in team-based assessments). Analysis of covariance revealed that students who studied the subject with active learning as the major mode of learning activities outperformed students who studied the subject using the traditional didactic teaching format (lectures and tutorials, P = 0.000). After adjustment for tertiary entrance rank (via analysis of covariance) on two individual tests (the final exam and a late-semester in-class test), individual student grades improved by 8% (95% confidence interval: 6-10%) and 12% (95% confidence interval: 10-14%) when students engaged in team-based active learning. These data quantitatively support the notion that weaker students working in strong teams can overcome their educational disadvantages. Copyright © 2014 The American Physiological Society.

The use of team-based, guided inquiry learning to overcome educational disadvantages in learning human physiology: a structural equation model

PubMed Central

Byrne, Graeme

2014-01-01

The study of human bioscience is viewed as a crucial curriculum in allied health. Nevertheless, bioscience (and particularly physiology) is notoriously difficult for undergraduates, particularly academically disadvantaged students. So endemic are the high failure rates (particularly in nursing) that it has come to be known as “the human bioscience problem.” In the present report, we describe the outcomes for individual success in studying first-year human physiology in a subject that emphasises team-based active learning as the major pedagogy for mastering subject learning outcomes. Structural equation modeling was used to develop a model of the impact team learning had on individual performance. Modeling was consistent with the idea that students with similar academic abilities (as determined by tertiary entrance rank) were advantaged (scored higher on individual assessment items) by working in strong teams (teams that scored higher in team-based assessments). Analysis of covariance revealed that students who studied the subject with active learning as the major mode of learning activities outperformed students who studied the subject using the traditional didactic teaching format (lectures and tutorials, P = 0.000). After adjustment for tertiary entrance rank (via analysis of covariance) on two individual tests (the final exam and a late-semester in-class test), individual student grades improved by 8% (95% confidence interval: 6–10%) and 12% (95% confidence interval: 10–14%) when students engaged in team-based active learning. These data quantitatively support the notion that weaker students working in strong teams can overcome their educational disadvantages. PMID:25179611

Attitude to the subject of chemistry in undergraduate nursing students at Fiji National University and Federation University, Australia.

PubMed

Brown, Stephen; Wakeling, Lara; Peck, Blake; Naiker, Mani; Hill, Dolores; Naidu, Keshni

2015-01-01

Attitude to the subject of chemistry was quantified in first-year undergraduate nursing students, at two geographically distinct universities. A purpose-designed diagnostic instrument (ASCI) was given to students at Federation University, Australia (n= 114), and at Fiji National University, Fiji (n=160). Affective and cognitive sub-scales within ASCI showed reasonable internal consistency. Cronbach's alpha for the cognitive sub-scale was 0.786 and 0.630, and 0.787 and 0.788 for affective sub-scale for the Federation University and Fiji National University students, respectively. Mean (SD) score for the cognitive sub-scale was 10.5 (5.6) and 15.2 (4.1) for students at Federation University and Fiji National University, respectively (P<0.001, t-test). Mean (SD) score for the affective sub-scale was 13.1 (5.1) and 20.7 (4.3) for students at Federation University and Fiji National University, respectively (P < 0.001, t-test). An exploratory factor analysis (n=274) confirmed a two-factor solution consistent with affective and cognitive sub-scales, each with good internal consistency. Quantifying attitude to chemistry in undergraduate nursing students using ASCI may have utility in assessing the impact of novel teaching strategies used in the education of nursing students in areas of bioscience and chemistry. However, geographically distinct populations of undergraduate nurses may show very different attitudes to chemistry.

A mixed methods evaluation of team-based learning for applied pathophysiology in undergraduate nursing education.

PubMed

Branney, Jonathan; Priego-Hernández, Jacqueline

2018-02-01

It is important for nurses to have a thorough understanding of the biosciences such as pathophysiology that underpin nursing care. These courses include content that can be difficult to learn. Team-based learning is emerging as a strategy for enhancing learning in nurse education due to the promotion of individual learning as well as learning in teams. In this study we sought to evaluate the use of team-based learning in the teaching of applied pathophysiology to undergraduate student nurses. A mixed methods observational study. In a year two, undergraduate nursing applied pathophysiology module circulatory shock was taught using Team-based Learning while all remaining topics were taught using traditional lectures. After the Team-based Learning intervention the students were invited to complete the Team-based Learning Student Assessment Instrument, which measures accountability, preference and satisfaction with Team-based Learning. Students were also invited to focus group discussions to gain a more thorough understanding of their experience with Team-based Learning. Exam scores for answers to questions based on Team-based Learning-taught material were compared with those from lecture-taught material. Of the 197 students enrolled on the module, 167 (85% response rate) returned the instrument, the results from which indicated a favourable experience with Team-based Learning. Most students reported higher accountability (93%) and satisfaction (92%) with Team-based Learning. Lectures that promoted active learning were viewed as an important feature of the university experience which may explain the 76% exhibiting a preference for Team-based Learning. Most students wanted to make a meaningful contribution so as not to let down their team and they saw a clear relevance between the Team-based Learning activities and their own experiences of teamwork in clinical practice. Exam scores on the question related to Team-based Learning-taught material were comparable to those related to lecture-taught material. Most students had a preference for, and reported higher accountability and satisfaction with Team-based Learning. Through contextualisation and teamwork, Team-based Learning appears to be a strategy that confers strong pedagogical benefits for teaching applied pathophysiology (bioscience) to student nurses. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Facilitating long-term changes in student approaches to learning science.

PubMed

Buchwitz, Brian J; Beyer, Catharine H; Peterson, Jon E; Pitre, Emile; Lalic, Nevena; Sampson, Paul D; Wakimoto, Barbara T

2012-01-01

Undergraduates entering science curricula differ greatly in individual starting points and learning needs. The fast pace, high enrollment, and high stakes of introductory science courses, however, limit students' opportunities to self-assess and modify learning strategies. The University of Washington's Biology Fellows Program (BFP) intervenes through a 20-session, premajors course that introduces students to the rigor expected of bioscience majors and assists their development as science learners. This study uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess whether the 2007-2009 BFP achieved its desired short- and long-term impacts on student learning. Adjusting for differences in students' high school grade point average and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, we found that participation in the BFP was associated with higher grades in two subsequent gateway biology courses, across multiple quarters and instructors. Two to 4 yr after participating in the program, students attributed changes in how they approached learning science to BFP participation. They reported having learned to "think like a scientist" and to value active-learning strategies and learning communities. In addition, they reported having developed a sense of belonging in bioscience communities. The achievement of long-term impacts for a short-term instructional investment suggests a practical means to prepare diverse students for the rigors of science curricula.

An Internship May Not Be Enough: Enhancing Bioscience Industry Job Readiness through Practicum Experiences.

PubMed

Cramer, Jason M; Hamilton, Paul T

2017-04-01

In contrast to the narrowing of options in academic careers, the bioscience industry offers robust employment opportunities for STEM-trained workers, especially those who display both scientific and business talent. Unfortunately, traditional science programs typically lack curricular features that develop this type of worker. The North Carolina State University Master of Microbial Biotechnology (MMB) program facilitates industry-specific experiential learning to fill this training gap. Similar programs often rely on a single industry internship to provide students relevant work experience, but completion of one internship might not suffice to position students for employment in a highly competitive job market. The MMB program requires students to complete an internship and three practicum projects in an industry setting, to promote development of key skills in a variety of areas, to build confidence in the ability to perform initial job duties, and to establish a more extensive work history in industry. In this Perspective we discuss an unmet need in undergraduate and graduate STEM education that can be filled by incorporating a similar set of industry-specific work experiences for students who desire to transition from academe into the life science industry.

Challenges and opportunities for early-career Teaching-Focussed academics in the biosciences.

PubMed

Hubbard, Katharine; Gretton, Sarah; Jones, Katherine; Tallents, Lucy

2015-01-01

Twenty-seven percent of academics in UK Higher Education (HE) are in Teaching-Focussed positions, making major contributions to undergraduate programmes in an era of high student expectations when it comes to teaching quality. However, institutional support for Teaching-Focussed academics is often limited, both in terms of peer networking and opportunities for career development. As four early-career stage Teaching-Focussed academics working in a variety of institutions, we explore what motivated our choices to make teaching our primary academic activity, and the challenges that we have faced in doing so. In addition to highlighting the need for universities to fully recognise the achievements of teaching staff, we discuss the role that the various biosciences learned societies have in supporting Teaching-Focussed academics. We identify that there is a need for the learned societies to come together and pool their expertise in this area. The fragmented nature of the Teaching-Focussed academic community means that clear sources of national support are needed in order to best enable the next generation of bioscience educators to reach their full potential.

Challenges and opportunities for early-career Teaching-Focussed academics in the biosciences

PubMed Central

Hubbard, Katharine; Gretton, Sarah; Jones, Katherine; Tallents, Lucy

2015-01-01

Twenty-seven percent of academics in UK Higher Education (HE) are in Teaching-Focussed positions, making major contributions to undergraduate programmes in an era of high student expectations when it comes to teaching quality. However, institutional support for Teaching-Focussed academics is often limited, both in terms of peer networking and opportunities for career development. As four early-career stage Teaching-Focussed academics working in a variety of institutions, we explore what motivated our choices to make teaching our primary academic activity, and the challenges that we have faced in doing so. In addition to highlighting the need for universities to fully recognise the achievements of teaching staff, we discuss the role that the various biosciences learned societies have in supporting Teaching-Focussed academics. We identify that there is a need for the learned societies to come together and pool their expertise in this area. The fragmented nature of the Teaching-Focussed academic community means that clear sources of national support are needed in order to best enable the next generation of bioscience educators to reach their full potential. PMID:25977754

Teaching wave phenomena via biophysical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reich, Daniel; Robbins, Mark; Leheny, Robert; Wonnell, Steven

2014-03-01

Over the past several years we have developed a two-semester second-year physics course sequence for students in the biosciences, tailored in part to the needs of undergraduate biophysics majors. One semester, ``Biological Physics,'' is based on the book of that name by P. Nelson. This talk will focus largely on the other semester, ``Wave Phenomena with Biophysical Applications,'' where we provide a novel introduction to the physics of waves, primarily through the study of experimental probes used in the biosciences that depend on the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter. Topic covered include: Fourier analysis, sound and hearing, diffraction - culminating in an analysis of x-ray fiber diffraction and its use in the determination of the structure of DNA - geometrical and physical optics, the physics of modern light microscopy, NMR and MRI. Laboratory exercises tailored to this course will also be described.

Facilitating Long-Term Changes in Student Approaches to Learning Science

PubMed Central

Buchwitz, Brian J.; Beyer, Catharine H.; Peterson, Jon E.; Pitre, Emile; Lalic, Nevena; Sampson, Paul D.; Wakimoto, Barbara T.

2012-01-01

Undergraduates entering science curricula differ greatly in individual starting points and learning needs. The fast pace, high enrollment, and high stakes of introductory science courses, however, limit students’ opportunities to self-assess and modify learning strategies. The University of Washington's Biology Fellows Program (BFP) intervenes through a 20-session, premajors course that introduces students to the rigor expected of bioscience majors and assists their development as science learners. This study uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess whether the 2007–2009 BFP achieved its desired short- and long-term impacts on student learning. Adjusting for differences in students’ high school grade point average and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, we found that participation in the BFP was associated with higher grades in two subsequent gateway biology courses, across multiple quarters and instructors. Two to 4 yr after participating in the program, students attributed changes in how they approached learning science to BFP participation. They reported having learned to “think like a scientist” and to value active-learning strategies and learning communities. In addition, they reported having developed a sense of belonging in bioscience communities. The achievement of long-term impacts for a short-term instructional investment suggests a practical means to prepare diverse students for the rigors of science curricula. PMID:22949424

Lessons Learned from Undergraduate Students in Designing a Science-Based Course in Bioethics

PubMed Central

Loike, John D.; Rush, Brittany S.; Schweber, Adam; Fischbach, Ruth L.

2013-01-01

Columbia University offers two innovative undergraduate science-based bioethics courses for student majoring in biosciences and pre–health studies. The goals of these courses are to introduce future scientists and healthcare professionals to the ethical questions they will confront in their professional lives, thus enabling them to strategically address these bioethical dilemmas. These courses incorporate innovative pedagogical methods, case studies, and class discussions to stimulate the students to think creatively about bioethical issues emerging from new biotechnologies. At the end of each course, each student is required to submit a one-page strategy detailing how he or she would resolve a bioethical dilemma. Based on our experience in teaching these courses and on a qualitative analysis of the students’ reflections, we offer recommendations for creating an undergraduate science-based course in bioethics. General recommendations include: 1) integrating the science of emerging biotechnologies, their ethical ramifications, and contemporary bioethical theories into interactive class sessions; 2) structuring discussion-based classes to stimulate students to consider the impact of their moral intuitions when grappling with bioethical issues; and 3) using specific actual and futuristic case studies to highlight bioethical issues and to help develop creative problem-solving skills. Such a course sparks students’ interests in both science and ethics and helps them analyze bioethical challenges arising from emerging biotechnologies. PMID:24297296

Effect of A-Level Subject Choice and Entry Tariff on Final Degree and Level 1 Performance in Biosciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Nicola C.; Aves, Stephen J.

2012-01-01

Following the publication of the higher education white paper increasing entry tariff and widening participation have become even more important issues for universities. This report examines the relationship between entry tariff and undergraduate achievement in Biosciences at the University of Exeter. We show that, whilst there is a significant…

Developing and evaluating effective bioscience learning activities for nursing students.

PubMed

Salvage-Jones, Judith; Hamill, Jessie; Todorovic, Michael; Barton, Matthew J; Johnston, Amy N B

2016-07-01

Effective engagement of nursing students in the study of biosciences remains a challenge for many tertiary institutes. In this study we attempted to implement and then evaluate a simple hands-on intervention, consisting of a series of hands-on games and puzzles, to increase nursing student engagement with core concepts and anatomical learning involved in clinical anatomy and physiology. The study used a quazi-experimental longitudinal before and after design, to explore the effect of a learning intervention on student performance. Set across three different campuses of the same University, it included 1320 first year undergraduate nursing students from 2013 to 2014 who were studying Anatomy and Physiology. Students were exposed to the interventions or not, and concomitant academic performance, weekly quiz scores, performance in fortnightly worksheets and, across the semester, exam performance were compared. The results show that while the intervention appeared to increase academic performance in students on one campus (2013) compared to the other two, this difference was not sustained into 2014 when a bigger cohort was examined. Despite significant subjective student satisfaction and enthusiasm about these learning and teaching interventions, the data does not support the capacity of these activities to enhance student academic performance. Tertiary entrance scores, being a non-native English speakers and socio-economic status all had a bigger impact on student performance than engagement with fun anatomy and physiology activities. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preregistration nursing students' perspectives on the learning, teaching and application of bioscience knowledge within practice.

PubMed

Molesworth, Mark; Lewitt, Moira

2016-03-01

This paper aims to explore student nurses' experiences of bioscience learning, teaching and application within the practice setting. It draws upon the social learning theory of communities of practice to consider the issues raised. The teaching of bioscience within many nursing curricula has shifted from traditional to more integrated approaches. Student nurses recognise bioscience as a valuable component of their studies, but many find it challenging. The focus of previous research in this area has often focussed on bioscience learning in theoretical rather than practice settings. A phenomenological study. Data were collected via focus group or interview with a total of seven students across two campuses in a Scottish university. Participants were offered the opportunity to share their experiences at both the end of year one and year two of their studies. A thematic analysis was undertaken independently then jointly by the authors. The findings suggest that although participants recognise the value of bioscience within practice settings, they found that opportunities for learning were often limited. Bioscience-related learning, teaching and application was perceived to have been given less legitimacy by the practice setting than other aspects of placement activity. To enhance bioscience approaches participants expressed a desire for more structured and integrated approaches within both practice and university along with further peer learning opportunities. Students recognise that bioscience knowledge is important in relation to the provision of safe and effective care. They request greater structure and consistency in relation to the learning, teaching and application of this topic during their placements. Those with a stake in educating nurses within clinical settings may find the views of student nurses on the topic of bioscience learning useful when planning and facilitating placement experiences. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development of an Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Bioengineering Program at Lehigh University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herz, Lori; Russo, M. Jean; Ou-Yang, H. Daniel; El-Aasser, Mohamed; Jagota, Anand; Tatic-Lucic, Svetlana; Ochs, John

2011-01-01

The undergraduate Bioengineering Program at Lehigh University was established as part of the university's Bioscience and Biotechnology Initiative with support from the National Science Foundation through a grant from its Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC). The objective here is to describe the program development and…

Can active learning principles be applied to the bioscience assessments of nursing students? A review of the literature.

PubMed

Bakon, Shannon; Craft, Judy; Christensen, Martin; Wirihana, Lisa

2016-02-01

To explore if active learning principles be applied to nursing bioscience assessments and will this influence student perception of confidence in applying theory to practice? A review of the literature utilising searches of various databases including CINAHL, PUBMED, Google Scholar and Mosby's Journal Index. The literature search identified research from twenty-six original articles, two electronic books, one published book and one conference proceedings paper. Bioscience has been identified as an area that nurses struggle to learn in tertiary institutions and then apply to clinical practice. A number of problems have been identified and explored that may contribute to this poor understanding and retention. University academics need to be knowledgeable of innovative teaching and assessing modalities that focus on enhancing student learning and address the integration issues associated with the theory practice gap. Increased bioscience education is associated with improved patient outcomes therefore by addressing this "bioscience problem" and improving the integration of bioscience in clinical practice there will subsequently be an improvement in health care outcomes. From the literature several themes were identified. First there are many problems with teaching nursing students bioscience education. These include class sizes, motivation, concentration, delivery mode, lecturer perspectives, student's previous knowledge, anxiety, and a lack of confidence. Among these influences the type of assessment employed by the educator has not been explored or identified as a contributor to student learning specifically in nursing bioscience instruction. Second that educating could be achieved more effectively if active learning principles were applied and the needs and expectations of the student were met. Lastly, assessment influences student retention and the student experience and as such assessment should be congruent with the subject content, align with the learning objectives and be used as a stimulus tool for learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is LabTutor a helpful component of the blended learning approach to biosciences?

PubMed

Swift, Amelia; Efstathiou, Nikolaos; Lameu, Paula

2016-09-01

To evaluate the use of LabTutor (a physiological data capture and e-learning package) in bioscience education for student nurses. Knowledge of biosciences is important for nurses the world over, who have to monitor and assess their patient's clinical condition, and interpret that information to determine the most appropriate course of action. Nursing students have long been known to find acquiring useable bioscience knowledge challenging. Blended learning strategies are common in bioscience teaching to address the difficulties students have. Student nurses have a preference for hands-on learning, small group sessions and are helped by close juxtaposition of theory and practice. An evaluation of a new teaching method using in-classroom voluntary questionnaire. A structured survey instrument including statements and visual analogue response format and open questions was given to students who participated in Labtutor sessions. The students provided feedback in about the equipment, the learning and the session itself. First year (n = 93) and third year (n = 36) students completed the evaluation forms. The majority of students were confident about the equipment and using it to learn although a few felt anxious about computer-based learning. They all found the equipment helpful as part of their bioscience education and they all enjoyed the sessions. This equipment provides a helpful way to encourage guided independent learning through practice and discovery and because each session is case study based and the relationship of the data to the patient is made clear. Our students helped to evaluate our initial use of LabTutor and found the sessions enjoyable and helpful. LabTutor provides an effective learning tool as part of a blended learning strategy for biosciences teaching. Improving bioscience knowledge will lead to a greater understanding of pathophysiology, treatments and interventions and monitoring. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Promoting active learning using audience response system in large bioscience classes.

PubMed

Efstathiou, Nikolaos; Bailey, Cara

2012-01-01

This paper considers the challenges of bioscience teaching and learning in pre-registration nurse education. Effective learning requires active student participation which is problematic when teaching large groups of students. New technologies, such as the audience response system (ARS), have been introduced to increase student participation and support them in the understanding of complex bioscience concepts. Within one university department, an evaluation was undertaken to identify the perceptions of pre-registration nurse students on the use of ARS in the teaching and learning of bioscience. Our findings concur with others that ARS increases student participation and aids in identifying misconceptions and in correcting them. Students found ARS very useful and wanted ARS to be used in additional modules too. Although ARS did not seem to motivate students to study adequately before attending the relevant sessions, it increased discussion among students and awareness of their level of knowledge compared to their peers. Further research is required to identify the effectiveness of ARS in the teaching and learning of bioscience and its impact on the performance of the students in their final assessments. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Topology Prediction of Membrane Proteins: A Web-Based Tutorial.

PubMed

Kandemir-Cavas, Cagin; Cavas, Levent; Alyuruk, Hakan

2018-06-01

There is a great need for development of educational materials on the transfer of current bioinformatics knowledge to undergraduate students in bioscience departments. In this study, it is aimed to prepare an example in silico laboratory tutorial on the topology prediction of membrane proteins by bioinformatics tools. This laboratory tutorial is prepared for biochemistry lessons at bioscience departments (biology, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics, and faculty of medicine). The tutorial is intended for students who have not taken a bioinformatics course yet or already have taken a course as an introduction to bioinformatics. The tutorial is based on step-by-step explanations with illustrations. It can be applied under supervision of an instructor in the lessons, or it can be used as a self-study guide by students. In the tutorial, membrane-spanning regions and α-helices of membrane proteins were predicted by internet-based bioinformatics tools. According to the results achieved from internet-based bioinformatics tools, the algorithms and parameters used were effective on the accuracy of prediction. The importance of this laboratory tutorial lies on the facts that it provides an introduction to the bioinformatics and that it also demonstrates an in silico laboratory application to the students at natural sciences. The presented example education material is applicable easily at all departments that have internet connection. This study presents an alternative education material to the students in biochemistry laboratories in addition to classical laboratory experiments.

The Utility of Writing Assignments in Undergraduate Bioscience

PubMed Central

Libarkin, Julie; Ording, Gabriel

2012-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that engagement in a few, brief writing assignments in a nonmajors science course can improve student ability to convey critical thought about science. A sample of three papers written by students (n = 30) was coded for presence and accuracy of elements related to scientific writing. Scores for different aspects of scientific writing were significantly correlated, suggesting that students recognized relationships between components of scientific thought. We found that students' ability to write about science topics and state conclusions based on data improved over the course of three writing assignments, while the abilities to state a hypothesis and draw clear connections between human activities and environmental impacts did not improve. Three writing assignments generated significant change in student ability to write scientifically, although our results suggest that three is an insufficient number to generate complete development of scientific writing skills. PMID:22383616

The 'bioscience problem' for nursing students: an integrative review of published evaluations of Year 1 bioscience, and proposed directions for curriculum development.

PubMed

McVicar, Andrew; Andrew, Sharon; Kemble, Ross

2015-03-01

The difficulties that nursing students have in learning human biosciences have given cause for concern for over 20 years but the problem remains. To conduct an integrative review of published primary research into the 'bioscience problem', evaluate their outcomes, and provide a contemporary analysis of potential directions for curriculum planners. A systematic search of electronic databases CINAHL, Medline, British Nursing Index and Google Scholar was conducted for empirical research studies, published between 1990 and 2013, designed to either predict performance of students in bioscience assessments in Year 1 of their studies or identify in-course curriculum delivery issues. The search generated nineteen papers that met inclusion criteria. Twelve papers involved predictive factors for bioscience attainment and seven surveyed student views on curriculum issues. Four others that surveyed reflections of later-year students or qualified nurses on Year 1 outcomes were also retained for additional context. Prediction based on pre-admission academic achievement was not reliable. Student factors including age at entry, self-efficacy in science, and having appropriate study skills in particular appear to be confounding factors. In-course influences such as teaching strategy or lecturer skills are also inconsistent and likely to represent confounders operating at local, institutional level. The integrative review approach enabled analysis of incongruencies between studies that have been a barrier to curriculum development. Sound admissions criteria based on pre-university academic performance show promise in resolving the 'bioscience problem' but will likely be contingent on innovative support early in Year 1 for study skills and the fundamentals of human bioscience, plus attention to local quality assurance for curriculum delivery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Approaches to the Teaching of Bioethics and Professional Ethics in Undergraduate Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Downie, Roger; Clarkeburn, Henriikka

2005-01-01

The role of ethics in bioscience undergraduate degrees is now widely accepted, but how ethics should be taught, who should teach it and what the curriculum should include are matters for debate. This article discusses teaching strategies: specialist options, or embed ethics in other courses, or both; use of professional philosophers, or…

Reflective Writing as a Tool for Assessing Teamwork in Bioscience: Insights into Student Performance and Understanding of Teamwork

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayne, Lynne

2012-01-01

To ensure a modern bioscience curriculum that responds to the current needs of stakeholders, there is a need to embed a range of generic capabilities that enables graduates to succeed in and contribute to a rapidly changing world, as well as building strong bioscience skills and knowledge. The curriculum must also prepare students for a rapidly…

Predictors of academic performance in the discipline-specific bioscience paper: a retrospective qualitative study.

PubMed

Khareedi, R

2018-05-01

The cohort of students enrolled in the discipline-specific bioscience paper reflects a structural diversity in that it includes students of multiple ethnicities, varied age groups, differing scholastic and life experiences. These divergent identities of students are known to influence academic performance. The purpose of this retrospective quantitative study was to determine the ability of a set of variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, level of prior education, the place from which prior education was obtained, work experience and prior academic achievement to predict academic performance in the discipline-specific bioscience paper. The sample for this study was a purposive sample of all oral health students who had enrolled in the paper at the Auckland University of Technology from 2011 to 2014. The desensitised empirical data of 116 students from the University's database were subject to multivariable regression analysis. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated. Prior academic achievement was a statistically significant predictor variable (P < 0.001) for the academic performance in the discipline-specific bioscience paper and was also positively correlated (r = 0.641, P < 0.001) to the grades in the discipline-specific bioscience paper. Prior academic achievement was the only variable that was demonstrated to be correlated to and predictive of the academic performance in the discipline-specific bioscience paper. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Biosciences in nurse education: is the curriculum fit for practice? Lecturers' views and recommendations from across the UK.

PubMed

Taylor, Vanessa; Ashelford, Sarah; Fell, Patricia; Goacher, Penelope J

2015-10-01

This study aims to review the biosciences component of preregistration nursing programmes in higher education institutions across the UK through the experiences and perceptions of lecturers involved in nursing education. Studies suggest that some qualified nurses lack confidence in explaining the bio-scientific rationale for their clinical practice. Biosciences can be difficult to understand and integrate into clinical decision-making and require protected time within preregistration nurse education. In the absence of explicit national guidelines, it is unclear as to the depth and extent biosciences are taught across different institutions and the level achieved at the point of registration. A survey approach was adopted to generate quantitative and qualitative feedback. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire seeking the experiences and views of lecturers involved in teaching biosciences to nursing students across the UK. Data received from 10 institutions were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Lecturers reported that the hours of taught biosciences ranged from 20-113 hours, principally within the first year. This represents between 0·4-2·4% of time within a preregistration nursing programme (4600 hours). Large group lectures predominate, supplemented by smaller group or practical work, and online materials. The biosciences are assessed specifically in half the institutions surveyed and as part of integrated assessments in the rest. In relation to student feedback, all respondents stated that students consistently requested more time and greater priority for biosciences in their programme. This survey suggests that the number of hours spent teaching biosciences is minimal and varies widely between higher education institutions. All respondents expressed concern about the challenges of teaching difficult bio-scientific concepts to large groups in such a limited time and called for greater clarity in national guidelines to ensure that all nurses are adequately educated and assessed in bioscience subjects. Failure to understand the biosciences underpinning care has implications for safe and competent nursing. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using yeast to determine the functional consequences of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene: An introductory course-based undergraduate research experience in molecular and cell biology.

PubMed

Hekmat-Scafe, Daria S; Brownell, Sara E; Seawell, Patricia Chandler; Malladi, Shyamala; Imam, Jamie F Conklin; Singla, Veena; Bradon, Nicole; Cyert, Martha S; Stearns, Tim

2017-03-04

The opportunity to engage in scientific research is an important, but often neglected, component of undergraduate training in biology. We describe the curriculum for an innovative, course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) appropriate for a large, introductory cell and molecular biology laboratory class that leverages students' high level of interest in cancer. The course is highly collaborative and emphasizes the analysis and interpretation of original scientific data. During the course, students work in teams to characterize a collection of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene via expression and analysis in yeast. Initially, student pairs use both qualitative and quantitative assays to assess the ability of their p53 mutant to activate expression of reporter genes, and they localize their mutation within the p53 structure. Through facilitated discussion, students suggest possible molecular explanations for the transactivation defects displayed by their p53 mutants and propose experiments to test these hypotheses that they execute during the second part of the course. They use a western blot to determine whether mutant p53 levels are reduced, a DNA-binding assay to test whether recognition of any of three p53 target sequences is compromised, and fluorescence microscopy to assay nuclear localization. Students studying the same p53 mutant periodically convene to discuss and interpret their combined data. The course culminates in a poster session during which students present their findings to peers, instructors, and the greater biosciences community. Based on our experience, we provide recommendations for the development of similar large introductory lab courses. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):161-178, 2017. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Developing Iowa's Bioscience Workforce: The Role of the Community Colleges of Iowa in Creating Skilled Workers for the Emerging Bioscience/Biotechnology Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iowa Department of Education, 2006

2006-01-01

This report provides an overview of the efforts of Iowa's community colleges to train workers for the emerging bioscience/biotechnology sector. The report explains the programs available and the future plans of individual community colleges designed to educate students for careers in the biosciences. Also detailed are a variety of creative…

Development of an Electronic Role-Play Assessment Initiative in Bioscience for Nursing Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craft, Judy; Ainscough, Louise

2015-01-01

Devising authentic assessments for subjects with large enrolments is a challenge. This study describes an electronic role-play assessment for approximately 600 first-year nursing students to learn and apply pathophysiology (bioscience) concepts to nursing practice. Students used Microsoft Office PowerPoint[R] to prepare electronic role-plays both…

Challenges in Understanding Photosynthesis in a University Introductory Biosciences Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Södervik, Ilona; Virtanen, Viivi; Mikkilä-Erdmann, Mirjamaija

2015-01-01

University students' understanding of photosynthesis was examined in a large introductory biosciences class. The focus of this study was to first examine the conceptions of photosynthesis among students in class and then to investigate how a certain type of text could enhance students' understanding of photosynthesis. The study was based on pre-…

Using yeast to determine the functional consequences of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene: An introductory course‐based undergraduate research experience in molecular and cell biology

PubMed Central

Brownell, Sara E.; Seawell, Patricia Chandler; Malladi, Shyamala; Imam, Jamie F. Conklin; Singla, Veena; Bradon, Nicole; Cyert, Martha S.; Stearns, Tim

2016-01-01

Abstract The opportunity to engage in scientific research is an important, but often neglected, component of undergraduate training in biology. We describe the curriculum for an innovative, course‐based undergraduate research experience (CURE) appropriate for a large, introductory cell and molecular biology laboratory class that leverages students′ high level of interest in cancer. The course is highly collaborative and emphasizes the analysis and interpretation of original scientific data. During the course, students work in teams to characterize a collection of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene via expression and analysis in yeast. Initially, student pairs use both qualitative and quantitative assays to assess the ability of their p53 mutant to activate expression of reporter genes, and they localize their mutation within the p53 structure. Through facilitated discussion, students suggest possible molecular explanations for the transactivation defects displayed by their p53 mutants and propose experiments to test these hypotheses that they execute during the second part of the course. They use a western blot to determine whether mutant p53 levels are reduced, a DNA‐binding assay to test whether recognition of any of three p53 target sequences is compromised, and fluorescence microscopy to assay nuclear localization. Students studying the same p53 mutant periodically convene to discuss and interpret their combined data. The course culminates in a poster session during which students present their findings to peers, instructors, and the greater biosciences community. Based on our experience, we provide recommendations for the development of similar large introductory lab courses. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):161–178, 2017. PMID:27873457

Students' and Teacher's Experiences of the Validity and Reliability of Assessment in a Bioscience Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Räisänen, Milla; Tuononen, Tarja; Postareff, Liisa; Hailikari, Telle; Virtanen, Viivi

2016-01-01

This case study explores the assessment of students' learning outcomes in a second-year lecture course in biosciences. The aim is to deeply explore the teacher's and the students' experiences of the validity and reliability of assessment and to compare those perspectives. The data were collected through stimulated recall interviews. The results…

Multimedia Interactive eBooks in Laboratory Bioscience Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Neil P.; Lambe, James

2017-01-01

Bioscience students in the UK higher education system are making increasing use of technology to support their learning within taught classes and during private study. This experimental study was designed to assess the role for multimedia interactive eBooks in bioscience laboratory classes, delivered using a blended learning approach. Thirty-nine…

Quantitative skills as a graduate learning outcome of university science degree programmes: student performance explored through theplanned-enacted-experiencedcurriculum model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Kelly E.; Adams, Peter; Goos, Merrilyn

2016-07-01

Application of mathematical and statistical thinking and reasoning, typically referred to as quantitative skills, is essential for university bioscience students. First, this study developed an assessment task intended to gauge graduating students' quantitative skills. The Quantitative Skills Assessment of Science Students (QSASS) was the result, which examined 10 mathematical and statistical sub-topics. Second, the study established an evidential baseline of students' quantitative skills performance and confidence levels by piloting the QSASS with 187 final-year biosciences students at a research-intensive university. The study is framed within the planned-enacted-experienced curriculum model and contributes to science reform efforts focused on enhancing the quantitative skills of university graduates, particularly in the biosciences. The results found, on average, weak performance and low confidence on the QSASS, suggesting divergence between academics' intentions and students' experiences of learning quantitative skills. Implications for curriculum design and future studies are discussed.

Importance of Peer Support and Tutor Involvement in Entrepreneurship Education for Overseas Bioscience Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, P. C.; McKeown, A. E.

2004-01-01

An increasing number of Bioscience courses embed entrepreneurship learning outcomes within the curriculum, across a number of modules and/or within a dedicated module. The level 2, Developing People and Products module is one such example, involving students in 100 study effort hours over 7 weeks. This module was delivered to students (n = 37)…

Biosciences within the pre-registration (pre-requisite) curriculum: an integrative literature review of curriculum interventions 1990-2012.

PubMed

McVicar, Andrew; Andrew, Sharon; Kemble, Ross

2014-04-01

The learning of biosciences is well-documented to be problematic as students find the subjects amongst the most difficult and anxiety-provoking of their pre-registration programme. Studies suggest that learning consequently is not at the level anticipated by the profession. Curriculum innovations might improve the situation but the effectiveness of applied interventions has not been evaluated. To undertake an integrative review and narrative synthesis of curriculum interventions and evaluate their effect on the learning of biosciences by pre-registration student nurses. Review methods A systematic search of electronic databases CINAHL, Medline, British Nursing Index and Google Scholar for empirical research studies was designed to evaluate the introduction of a curriculum intervention related to the biosciences, published in 1990-2012. Studies were evaluated for design, receptivity of the intervention and impact on bioscience learning. The search generated fourteen papers that met inclusion criteria. Seven studies introduced on-line learning packages, five an active learning format into classroom teaching or practical sessions, and two applied Audience Response Technology as an exercise in self-testing and reflection. Almost all studies reported a high level of student satisfaction, though in some there were access/utilization issues for students using on-line learning. Self-reporting suggested positive experiences, but objective evaluation suggests that impacts on learning were variable and unconvincing even where an effect on course progress was identified. Adjunct on-line programmes also show promise for supporting basic science or language acquisition. Published studies of curriculum interventions, including on-line support, have focused too heavily on the perceived benefit to students rather than objective measures of impact on actual learning. Future studies should include rigorous assessment evaluations within their design if interventions are to be adopted to reduce the 'bioscience problem'. © 2013.

Attitudes to Teaching Ethics to Bioscience Students: An Interview-Based Study Comparing British and American University Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, John A.; Morgan, Cindy L.

2007-01-01

An interview-based survey was carried out with British and American university teachers. In both countries there was widespread (but in the UK, not unanimous) support for the proposition that ethics should be taught to Bioscience students. Reasons included a need to help students engage with the ethical issues associated with their subject and the…

Apprenticeship in science research: whom does it serve?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Paul

2016-12-01

This article advances the thinking of Thompson, Conaway and Dolan's "Undergraduate students' development of social, cultural, and human capital in a network research experience". Set against a background of change in the biosciences, and participation, it firstly explores ideas of what it means to be a scientist, then challenges the current view of the apprenticeship model of career trajectory, before going onto to consider the nature of participation in communities of practice and issues related to underrepresented minority groups in science. Central to this analysis is the place that the notion of habitus plays in thinking about shaping future scientists and the how this can both support, but also suppress, opportunities for individuals through a maintenance of the status quo.

The Role of the Postgraduate Student in Delivering Bioscience Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Jon; Maw, Stephen J.

2009-01-01

There has been much recent interest in the extent to which the teaching in higher education delivered by non-academic staff has increased in the recent past. Within the Biosciences there has always been a tradition of engaging postgraduate students to support the delivery of some forms of teaching. In this paper we report on the findings of a…

Curating blood: how students' and researchers' drawings bring potential phenomena to light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hay, D. B.; Pitchford, S.

2016-11-01

This paper explores students and researchers drawings of white blood cell recruitment. The data combines interviews with exhibit of review-type academic images and analyses of student model-drawings. The analysis focuses on the material aspects of bio-scientific data-making and we use the literature of concrete bioscience modelling to differentiate the qualities of students model-making choices: novelty versus reproduction; completeness versus simplicity; and the achievement of similarity towards selected model targets. We show that while drawing on already published images, some third-year undergraduates are able to curate novel, and yet plausible causal channels in their graphic representations, implicating new phenomenal potentials as lead researchers do in their review-type academic publications. Our work links the virtues of drawing to learn to the disclosure of potential epistemic things, involving close attention to the contours of non-linguistic stuff and corresponding sensory perception of substance; space; time; shape and size; position; and force. The paper documents the authority and power students may achieve through making knowledge rather than repeating it. We show the ways in which drawing on the images elicited by others helps to develop physical, sensory, and sometimes affective relations towards the real and concrete world of scientific practice.

The impact of maths support tutorials on mathematics confidence and academic performance in a cohort of HE Animal Science students.

PubMed

van Veggel, Nieky; Amory, Jonathan

2014-01-01

Students embarking on a bioscience degree course, such as Animal Science, often do not have sufficient experience in mathematics. However, mathematics forms an essential and integral part of any bioscience degree and is essential to enhance employability. This paper presents the findings of a project looking at the effect of mathematics tutorials on a cohort of first year animal science and management students. The results of a questionnaire, focus group discussions and academic performance analysis indicate that small group tutorials enhance students' confidence in maths and improve students' academic performance. Furthermore, student feedback on the tutorial programme provides a deeper insight into student experiences and the value students assign to the tutorials.

Secondary School Science Predictors of Academic Performance in University Bioscience Subjects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Rod; Brown, Elizabeth; Ward, Alex

2009-01-01

In 2009 the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia is introducing a common first year for 11 different undergraduate courses in the faculty. Current prerequisite science entry requirements vary with course and range from none to at least two science or mathematics subjects and from [approximately]50 to 99 in…

Making Bioinformatics Projects a Meaningful Experience in an Undergraduate Biotechnology or Biomedical Science Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutcliffe, Iain C.; Cummings, Stephen P.

2007-01-01

Bioinformatics has emerged as an important discipline within the biological sciences that allows scientists to decipher and manage the vast quantities of data (such as genome sequences) that are now available. Consequently, there is an obvious need to provide graduates in biosciences with generic, transferable skills in bioinformatics. We present…

Self-efficacy as a predictor of academic performance in science.

PubMed

Andrew, S

1998-03-01

Nursing students have traditionally experienced difficulties with the science subjects in nursing curricula, and irrespective of the institution conducting a nursing programme, this trend appears to be continuing. A satisfactory means of predicting academic performance in these subjects will facilitate the development of educational strategies designed to assist students overcome their difficulties. In this study, an instrument called the Self-Efficacy for Science (SEFS) was developed and tested. The SEFS was designed to predict academic performance in the science areas of a first-year undergraduate nursing course. A cohort of first-year students enrolled in a bachelor of nursing course were surveyed by questionnaire. Students' academic scores for two first-year science subjects were obtained and used as the criterion measure for the study. Principal component factor analysis revealed the SEFS contained six instead of the hypothesized four factors. These six factors could explain 70% of students' self-efficacy for science. Cronbach alpha of the SEFS was 0.9. The SEFS could predict 24% of the cohort's academic performance in a physical science subject and 18.5% for a bioscience subject. Studying science in the final year at high school was not statistically significantly related to the SEFS. Implications for students and future research are discussed.

An undergraduate laboratory activity on molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Spitznagel, Benjamin; Pritchett, Paige R; Messina, Troy C; Goadrich, Mark; Rodriguez, Juan

2016-01-01

Vision and Change [AAAS, 2011] outlines a blueprint for modernizing biology education by addressing conceptual understanding of key concepts, such as the relationship between structure and function. The document also highlights skills necessary for student success in 21st century Biology, such as the use of modeling and simulation. Here we describe a laboratory activity that allows students to investigate the dynamic nature of protein structure and function through the use of a modeling technique known as molecular dynamics (MD). The activity takes place over two lab periods that are 3 hr each. The first lab period unpacks the basic approach behind MD simulations, beginning with the kinematic equations that all bioscience students learn in an introductory physics course. During this period students are taught rudimentary programming skills in Python while guided through simple modeling exercises that lead up to the simulation of the motion of a single atom. In the second lab period students extend concepts learned in the first period to develop skills in the use of expert MD software. Here students simulate and analyze changes in protein conformation resulting from temperature change, solvation, and phosphorylation. The article will describe how these activities can be carried out using free software packages, including Abalone and VMD/NAMD. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The impact of maths support tutorials on mathematics confidence and academic performance in a cohort of HE Animal Science students

PubMed Central

Amory, Jonathan

2014-01-01

Students embarking on a bioscience degree course, such as Animal Science, often do not have sufficient experience in mathematics. However, mathematics forms an essential and integral part of any bioscience degree and is essential to enhance employability. This paper presents the findings of a project looking at the effect of mathematics tutorials on a cohort of first year animal science and management students. The results of a questionnaire, focus group discussions and academic performance analysis indicate that small group tutorials enhance students’ confidence in maths and improve students’ academic performance. Furthermore, student feedback on the tutorial programme provides a deeper insight into student experiences and the value students assign to the tutorials. PMID:25024925

Design of an Integrated Team Project as Bachelor Thesis in Bioscience Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peeters, Marie-Christine; Londers, Elsje; Van der Hoeven, Wouter

2014-01-01

Following the decision at the KU Leuven to implement the educational concept of guided independent learning and to encourage students to participate in scientific research, the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering decided to introduce a bachelor thesis. Competencies, such as communication, scientific research and teamwork, need to be present in the…

What is provided and what the registered nurse needs--bioscience learning through the pre-registration curriculum.

PubMed

Davis, Geraldine M

2010-11-01

Registered nurses undertaking programmes of study to become non-medical prescribers appear to have limited biological science knowledge. A case study was undertaken to determine whether the nurses entering Prescriber programmes considered studies in bioscience in their pre-registration nursing courses had been sufficient, linked to practice, and had prepared them for their roles as registered nurses. The literature identifies a continuing trend amongst nursing students describing a lack of sufficient bioscience in initial nurse education; there is limited literature on the views of experienced registered nurses. The participants in this study were 42 registered nurses from adult and mental health nursing, community and inpatient services. The results obtained from questionnaires and interviews are described. Questionnaire analysis identified that 57.1% of participants indicated bioscience in their pre-registration nursing programme had been limited and 40.5% stated the bioscience content had not prepared them for their roles on registration. Those reporting extensive coverage of bioscience were all aged over 41 years and had qualified before 1995. Greatest coverage of bioscience in pre-registration programmes was reported in relation to anatomy and physiology, with relatively limited coverage of microbiology, pharmacology or biochemistry. Respondents considered all five topics to be important. Interviews supported the questionnaire findings. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of an integrated team project as bachelor thesis in bioscience engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peeters, Marie-Christine; Londers, Elsje; Van der Hoeven, Wouter

2014-11-01

Following the decision at the KU Leuven to implement the educational concept of guided independent learning and to encourage students to participate in scientific research, the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering decided to introduce a bachelor thesis. Competencies, such as communication, scientific research and teamwork, need to be present in the design of this thesis. Because of the high number of students and the multidisciplinary nature of the graduates, all research divisions of the faculty are asked to participate. The yearly surveys and hearings were used for further optimisation. The actual design of this bachelor thesis is presented and discussed in this paper.

Embedded academic writing support for nursing students with English as a second language.

PubMed

Salamonson, Yenna; Koch, Jane; Weaver, Roslyn; Everett, Bronwyn; Jackson, Debra

2010-02-01

This paper reports a study which evaluated a brief, embedded academic support workshop as a strategy for improving academic writing skills in first-year nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency. Nursing students who speak English as a second language have lower academic success compared with their native English-speaking counterparts. The development of academic writing skills is known to be most effective when embedded into discipline-specific curricula. Using a randomized controlled design, in 2008 106 students pre-enrolled in an introductory bioscience subject were randomized to receive either the intervention, a 4-day embedded academic learning support workshop facilitated by two bioscience (content) nursing academics and a writing and editing professional, or to act as the control group. The primary focus of the workshop was to support students to work through a mock assignment by providing progressive feedback and written suggestions on how to improve their answers. Of the 59 students randomized to the intervention, only 28 attended the workshop. Bioscience assignment results were analysed for those who attended (attendees), those randomized to the intervention but who did not attend (non-attendees), and the control group. Using anova, the results indicated that attendees achieved statistically significantly higher mean scores (70.8, sd: 6.1) compared to both control group (58.4, sd: 3.4, P = 0.002) and non-attendees (48.5, sd: 5.5, P = 0.001). A brief, intensive, embedded academic support workshop was effective in improving the academic writing ability of nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency, although reaching all students who are likely to benefit from this intervention remains a challenge.

The role biomedical science laboratories can play in improving science knowledge and promoting first-year nursing academic success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arneson, Pam

The Role Biomedical Science Laboratories Can Play In Improving Science Knowledge and Promoting First-Year Nursing Academic Success The need for additional nursing and health care professionals is expected to increase dramatically over the next 20 years. With this in mind, students must have strong biomedical science knowledge to be competent in their field. Some studies have shown that participation in bioscience laboratories can enhance science knowledge. If this is true, an analysis of the role bioscience labs have in first-year nursing academic success is apposite. In response, this study sought to determine whether concurrent enrollment in anatomy and microbiology lecture and lab courses improved final lecture course grades. The investigation was expanded to include a comparison of first-year nursing GPA and prerequisite bioscience concurrent lecture/lab enrollment. Additionally, research has indicated that learning is affected by student perception of the course, instructor, content, and environment. To gain an insight regarding students' perspectives of laboratory courses, almost 100 students completed a 20-statement perception survey to understand how lab participation affects learning. Data analyses involved comparing anatomy and microbiology final lecture course grades between students who concurrently enrolled in the lecture and lab courses and students who completed the lecture course alone. Independent t test analyses revealed that there was no significant difference between the groups for anatomy, t(285) = .11, p = .912, but for microbiology, the lab course provided a significant educational benefit, t(256) = 4.47, p = .000. However, when concurrent prerequisite bioscience lecture/lab enrollment was compared to non-concurrent enrollment for first-year nursing GPA using independent t test analyses, no significant difference was found for South Dakota State University, t(37) = -1.57, p = .125, or for the University of South Dakota, t(38) = -0.46, p = .651. Student perception survey examination included computation of means and standard deviations for statements related to the educational importance of lab courses, the value of lab experimentation, and the usefulness of concurrent lecture/lab enrollment. Independent t test analyses sought to determine differences within the courses of anatomy lab and microbiology lab as well as differences between the instructors involved. Results suggested that student perceptions may be dependent on the course, the instructor, and possibly the content.

Harnessing the power of communities: career networking strategies for bioscience PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.

PubMed

Blackford, Sarah

2018-04-01

With an ever more competitive global labour market, coupled with an ever-increasing population of PhD-qualified graduates, the ability to communicate effectively and build strategic connections with others can be advantageous in the job-search process. Whether in pursuit of a tenure-track or non-academic position, many postdoctoral researchers and PhD students will benefit from networking as early as possible to enhance their career prospects. Sometimes viewed cynically as 'using people' or dismissed as 'the old boy network,' the ability to make meaningful connections and build relationships can be more valuable than other job-related skills in order to gain entry to, and progress within, many professions. This mini-review highlights the positive influence of networking and how bioscience PhD students and postdoctoral researchers can harness the power of communities to achieve career success. It is argued that those who make connections and promote personal patronage through networking can gain an advantage over their contemporaries. A summary of key theories and research studies that underpin the practice of networking provides credence to these assertions, which are further substantiated with examples pertinent to the academic community. Although primarily focussed on the biosciences, much of the content is applicable to other scientists at a similar career stage.

Enhancing the Student Experience of Laboratory Practicals through Digital Video Guides

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croker, Karen; Andersson, Holger; Lush, David; Prince, Rob; Gomez, Stephen

2010-01-01

Laboratory-based learning allows students to experience bioscience principles first hand. In our experience, practical content and equipment may have changed over time, but teaching methods largely remain the same, typically involving; whole class introduction with a demonstration, students emulating the demonstration in small groups, gathering…

Biology Students Building Computer Simulations Using StarLogo TNG

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, V. Anne; Duncan, Ishbel

2011-01-01

Confidence is an important issue for biology students in handling computational concepts. This paper describes a practical in which honours-level bioscience students simulate complex animal behaviour using StarLogo TNG, a freely-available graphical programming environment. The practical consists of two sessions, the first of which guides students…

Contentious problems in bioscience and biotechnology: a pilot study of an approach to ethics education.

PubMed

Berry, Roberta M; Borenstein, Jason; Butera, Robert J

2013-06-01

This manuscript describes a pilot study in ethics education employing a problem-based learning approach to the study of novel, complex, ethically fraught, unavoidably public, and unavoidably divisive policy problems, called "fractious problems," in bioscience and biotechnology. Diverse graduate and professional students from four US institutions and disciplines spanning science, engineering, humanities, social science, law, and medicine analyzed fractious problems employing "navigational skills" tailored to the distinctive features of these problems. The students presented their results to policymakers, stakeholders, experts, and members of the public. This approach may provide a model for educating future bioscientists and bioengineers so that they can meaningfully contribute to the social understanding and resolution of challenging policy problems generated by their work.

Curating Blood: How Students' and Researchers' Drawings Bring Potential Phenomena to Light

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hay, D. B.; Pitchford, S.

2016-01-01

This paper explores students and researchers drawings of white blood cell recruitment. The data combines interviews with exhibit of review-type academic images and analyses of student model-drawings. The analysis focuses on the material aspects of bioscientific data-making and we use the literature of concrete bioscience modelling to differentiate…

Written Feedback for Students: Too Much, Too Detailed or Too Incomprehensible to Be Effective?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glover, Chris; Brown, Evelyn

2006-01-01

A three year research study entitled "Improving the effectiveness of Formative Assessment in Science Teaching", involving Biosciences and Physical Sciences staff and students at two UK Universities, has been examining the potential for improving student learning by making changes to the way formative assessment and feedback are…

Quantitative Skills as a Graduate Learning Outcome of University Science Degree Programmes: Student Performance Explored through the "Planned-Enacted-Experienced" Curriculum Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Kelly E.; Adams, Peter; Goos, Merrilyn

2016-01-01

Application of mathematical and statistical thinking and reasoning, typically referred to as quantitative skills, is essential for university bioscience students. First, this study developed an assessment task intended to gauge graduating students' quantitative skills. The Quantitative Skills Assessment of Science Students (QSASS) was the result,…

Attitudes to the Uses of Animals in Higher Education: Has Anything Changed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donaldson, Lynda; Downie, Roger

2007-01-01

Bioscience staff and students at Glasgow University in session 2005-06 were questioned on their attitudes to animal uses in higher education, as follow-up to a similar survey 20 years before. Disapproval by students of animal use was generally reduced compared to 20 years ago, but students remained in a "moral bind", recognising the…

"Cancer Cell Biology:" A Student-Centered Instructional Module Exploring the Use of Multimedia to Enrich Interactive, Constructivist Learning of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bockholt, Susanne M.; West, J. Paige; Bollenbacher, Walter E.

2003-01-01

Multimedia has the potential of providing bioscience education novel learning environments and pedagogy applications to foster student interest, involve students in the research process, advance critical thinking/problem-solving skills, and develop conceptual understanding of biological topics. "Cancer Cell Biology," an interactive, multimedia,…

Interactive problem-solving sessions in an introductory bioscience course engaged students and gave them feedback, but did not increase their exam scores.

PubMed

McEvoy, James P

2017-10-02

Active learning, including the promotion of student interactivity in lectures, has been found to improve student engagement and performance in university science classes. This letter describes the use of Pearson's Learning Catalytics to run regular, formatively assessed problem-solving sessions as part of the semiflipped redesign of an introductory level university bioscience course. Students found the problem-solving sessions more engaging than a traditional lecture, and felt that they were receiving better feedback on their progress in the course. Their participation in the problem-solving sessions was strongly associated with their performance in the course's summative assessments, making it possible to identify and assist probable poor performers early in the course. Other measures of student engagement with the course were not improved, and neither were their average exam grades when compared with their grades in a course which had not been redesigned. Possible reasons for this are discussed. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Team-based learning increases active engagement and enhances development of teamwork and communication skills in a first-year course for veterinary and animal science undergraduates.

PubMed

Hazel, Susan J; Heberle, Nicole; McEwen, Margaret-Mary; Adams, Karen

2013-01-01

Team-based learning (TBL) was implemented into a first-year course (Principles in Animal Behaviour, Welfare and Ethics) for BSc Veterinary Bioscience (VB) and Animal Science (AS) students. TBL is now used widely in teaching medical students, but has had more limited uptake in veterinary education. This study reports its use over 2 years with cohorts of 126 and 138 students in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Average individual marks for multiple-choice question (MCQ) tests in the Readiness Assurance component of TBL were higher for the teams than for individuals for each session, explicitly demonstrating the advantages of teamwork. Students reported that they felt actively involved and that TBL helped them both with their learning and in developing other important skills, such as teamwork and communication. Qualitative analysis of written feedback from the students revealed positive themes of discussion, application, revelation, socializing, engagement, clarification, and retention/revision. In 2011 negative comments included the need to shorten the TBL sessions, but in 2012 tightening of the timelines meant that this was no longer a major concern. Requests to provide better introductory and background materials and ambiguity in questions in the TBL activities were what students least liked about the TBL. However, most comments were positive rather than negative in nature, and many students preferred the TBL to lectures. With requirements for curricula to teach professional skills, such as communication and teamwork, and the positive results from TBL's implementation, it is hoped that this study will encourage others to trial the use of TBL in veterinary education.

Estimating the Size of Onion Epidermal Cells from Diffraction Patterns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groff, Jeffrey R.

2012-01-01

Bioscience and premedical profession students are a major demographic served by introductory physics courses at many colleges and universities. Exposing these students to biological applications of physical principles will help them to appreciate physics as a useful tool for their future professions. Here I describe an experiment suitable for…

Stimulate Students' Interest by Genetics Exordium Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Yan

2009-01-01

Genetics is the important specialized course of bioscience and whether exordium is taught wonderfully or not plays the important and pivotal role. Well teaching exordium class may stimulate students, deep interest and intense desire for knowledge in this class. This text, according to teaching experience and taste, puts forward several teaching…

Quantitative Skills as a Graduate Learning Outcome: Exploring Students' Evaluative Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Kelly E.; Adams, Peter; Goos, Merrilyn

2017-01-01

In the biosciences, quantitative skills are an essential graduate learning outcome. Efforts to evidence student attainment at the whole of degree programme level are rare and making sense of such data is complex. We draw on assessment theories from Sadler (evaluative expertise) and Boud (sustainable assessment) to interpret final-year bioscience…

"Here's One We Prepared Earlier": Involving Former Students in Careers Advice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willmott, Chris

2011-01-01

Graduate employability is an important concern for contemporary universities. Alongside the development of employability skills, it is also crucial that students of bioscience, a "non-vocational" subject, have awareness of the breadth of potential careers that can follow from their initial degree. Over the past five years we have developed the…

Recruitment and Retention of Students--An Integrated and Holistic Vision of Mathematics Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croft, A. C.; Harrison, M. C.; Robinson, C. L.

2009-01-01

Students' lack of preparedness for the mathematical demands of higher education is affecting a wide range of programmes in universities worldwide. In the UK this has been recognized at the highest levels and provoked several inquiries. The ability to use mathematics in courses as varied as nursing, biosciences, and business is an essential skill…

Academic Performance and Pass Rates: Comparison of Three First-Year Life Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Downs, C. T.

2009-01-01

First year students' academic performance in three Life Science courses (Botany, Zoology and Bioscience) was compared. Pass rates, as well as the means and distributions of final marks were analysed. Of the three components (coursework, practical and theory examinations) contributing to the final mark of each course, students performed best in the…

Near-peer mentorship for undergraduate training in Ugandan medical schools: views of undergraduate students

PubMed Central

Rukundo, Godfrey Zari; Burani, Aluonzi; Kasozi, Jannat; Kirimuhuzya, Claude; Odongo, Charles; Mwesigwa, Catherine; Byona, Wycliff; Kiguli, Sarah

2016-01-01

Introduction Masters Students are major stakeholders in undergraduate medical education but their contribution has not been documented in Uganda. The aim of the study was to explore and document views and experiences of undergraduate students regarding the role of masters students as educators in four Ugandan medical schools. Methods This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using qualitative data collection methods. Eight Focus Group Discussions were conducted among eighty one selected preclinical and clinical students in the consortium of four Ugandan medical schools: Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Makerere College of Health Sciences, Gulu University and Kampala International University, Western Campus. Data analysis was done using thematic analysis. Participants’ privacy and confidentiality were respected and participant identifiers were not included in data analysis. Results Undergraduate students from all the medical schools viewed the involvement of master's students as very important. Frequent contact between masters and undergraduate students was reported as an important factor in undergraduate students’ motivation and learning. Despite the useful contribution, master’ students face numerous challenges like heavy workload and conflicting priorities. Conclusion According to undergraduate students in Ugandan medical schools, involvement of master's students in the teaching and learning of undergraduate students is both useful and challenging to masters and undergraduate students. Masters students provide peer mentorship to the undergraduate students. The senior educators are still needed to do their work and also to support the master's students in their teaching role. PMID:27347289

Taking nanomedicine teaching into practice with atomic force microscopy and force spectroscopy.

PubMed

Carvalho, Filomena A; Freitas, Teresa; Santos, Nuno C

2015-12-01

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a useful and powerful tool to study molecular interactions applied to nanomedicine. The aim of the present study was to implement a hands-on atomic AFM course for graduated biosciences and medical students. The course comprises two distinct practical sessions, where students get in touch with the use of an atomic force microscope by performing AFM scanning images of human blood cells and force spectroscopy measurements of the fibrinogen-platelet interaction. Since the beginning of this course, in 2008, the overall rating by the students was 4.7 (out of 5), meaning a good to excellent evaluation. Students were very enthusiastic and produced high-quality AFM images and force spectroscopy data. The implementation of the hands-on AFM course was a success, giving to the students the opportunity of contact with a technique that has a wide variety of applications on the nanomedicine field. In the near future, nanomedicine will have remarkable implications in medicine regarding the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of different diseases. AFM enables students to observe single molecule interactions, enabling the understanding of molecular mechanisms of different physiological and pathological processes at the nanoscale level. Therefore, the introduction of nanomedicine courses in bioscience and medical school curricula is essential. Copyright © 2015 The American Physiological Society.

Does the transition to an active-learning environment for the introductory course reduce students' overall knowledge of the various disciplines in biology?

PubMed

Simurda, Maryanne C

2012-01-01

As biology education is being redesigned toward an interdisciplinary focus and as pedagogical trends move toward active-learning strategies and investigative experiences, a restructuring of the course content for the Introductory Biology course is necessary. The introductory course in biology has typically been a survey of all the biosciences. If the total number of topics covered is reduced, is the students' overall knowledge of biology also reduced? Our introductory course has been substantially modified away from surveying the biological sciences and toward providing a deep understanding of a particular biological topic, as well as focusing on developing students' analytical and communication skills. Because of this shift to a topic-driven approach for the introductory course, we were interested in assessing our graduating students' overall knowledge of the various biological disciplines. Using the Major Field Test - Biology (Educational Testing Service (ETS), Princeton, NJ), we compared the test performance of graduating students who had a traditional lecture-based introductory course to those who had a topic-driven active-learning introductory course. Our results suggest that eliminating the traditional survey of biology and, instead, focusing on quantitative and writing skills at the introductory level do not affect our graduating students' overall breadth of knowledge of the various biosciences.

Perceptions of Undergraduate Students and Faculty Regarding the Impact of Electronic Communication on the Written-Communication Skills of Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houser, Laura Ann Camlet

2012-01-01

This narrative-qualitative study investigated the perceived impact that electronic communication has on the written-communication skills of undergraduate students. Open-ended survey questions queried the experiences of undergraduate students who use electronic communication, as well as the perceptions of faculty who teach undergraduate students.…

Taking Nanomedicine Teaching into Practice with Atomic Force Microscopy and Force Spectroscopy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carvalho, Filomena A.; Freitas, Teresa; Santos, Nuno C.

2015-01-01

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a useful and powerful tool to study molecular interactions applied to nanomedicine. The aim of the present study was to implement a hands-on atomic AFM course for graduated biosciences and medical students. The course comprises two distinct practical sessions, where students get in touch with the use of an atomic…

Students' Knowledge of, and Attitudes towards Biotechnology Revisited, 1995-2014: Changes in Agriculture Biotechnology but Not in Medical Biotechnology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Shao-Yen; Chu, Yih-Ru; Lin, Chen-Yung; Chiang, Tzen-Yuh

2016-01-01

Modern biotechnology is one of the most important scientific and technological revolutions in the 21st century, with an increasing and measurable impact on society. Development of biotechnology curriculum has become important to high school bioscience classrooms. This study has monitored high school students in Taiwan on their knowledge of and…

The Complex Relationship between Students' Critical Thinking and Epistemological Beliefs in the Context of Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyytinen, Heidi; Holma, Katariina; Toom, Auli; Shavelson, Richard J.; Lindblom-Ylänne, Sari

2014-01-01

The study utilized a multi-method approach to explore the connection between critical thinking and epistemological beliefs in a specific problem-solving situation. Data drawn from a sample of ten third-year bioscience students were collected using a combination of a cognitive lab and a performance task from the Collegiate Learning Assessment…

Research Experience for Undergraduate Students and Its Impact on STEM Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhan, Wei

2014-01-01

Research experience has been proven to be effective in enhancing the overall educational experience for undergraduate students. In this article, two engineering research projects with undergraduate students involvement are discussed. The projects provided the undergraduate student researchers with motivation for independent research work and…

Using Screencast Videos to Enhance Undergraduate Students' Statistical Reasoning about Confidence Intervals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strazzeri, Kenneth Charles

2013-01-01

The purposes of this study were to investigate (a) undergraduate students' reasoning about the concepts of confidence intervals (b) undergraduate students' interactions with "well-designed" screencast videos on sampling distributions and confidence intervals, and (c) how screencast videos improve undergraduate students' reasoning ability…

A Comparison between Flash and Second Life Programs as Aids in the Learning of Basic Laboratory Procedures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Booth, Paula; Henderson-Begg, Stephanie

2011-01-01

Invited as a paper from E-Learn 2009 This study compared two programmes developed as a learning tool for students to practise basic laboratory procedures. One was a Flash simulation programme, the other a Second Life virtual reality programme. A cohort of 93 bioscience students participated in the between trial. A control group was used to…

Time Perspectives and Boredom Coping Strategies of Undergraduate Students from Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eren, Altay; Coskun, Hamit

2015-01-01

Using person-centered and variable-centered analyses, this study examined the relationships between undergraduate students' time perspectives and boredom coping strategies. A total of 719 undergraduate students voluntarily participated in the study. Results of the study showed that undergraduate students' time perspectives can be reliably defined…

Undergraduate Students' Performance: The Case of University of Malaya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alfan, Ervina; Othman, Md Nor

2005-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the undergraduate students' performance in the Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya and the factors influencing the performance of the undergraduate students. Design/methodology/approach: The performance of the undergraduate students in this study is measured by their…

Undergraduate research experiences support science career decisions and active learning.

PubMed

Lopatto, David

2007-01-01

The present study examined the reliability of student evaluations of summer undergraduate research experiences using the SURE (Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences) and a follow-up survey disseminated 9 mo later. The survey further examines the hypothesis that undergraduate research enhances the educational experience of science undergraduates, attracts and retains talented students to careers in science, and acts as a pathway for minority students into science careers. Undergraduates participated in an online survey on the benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Participants indicated gains on 20 potential benefits and reported on career plans. Most of the participants began or continued to plan for postgraduate education in the sciences. A small group of students who discontinued their plans for postgraduate science education reported significantly lower gains than continuing students. Women and men reported similar levels of benefits and similar patterns of career plans. Undergraduate researchers from underrepresented groups reported higher learning gains than comparison students. The results replicated previously reported data from this survey. The follow-up survey indicated that students reported gains in independence, intrinsic motivation to learn, and active participation in courses taken after the summer undergraduate research experience.

Social networking as a learning tool: nursing students' perception of efficacy.

PubMed

Tower, Marion; Latimer, Sharon; Hewitt, Jayne

2014-06-01

The pedagogical use of social networking technology in education is of growing interest to academics as a potential teaching and learning tool. However, the educational use of social networking sites such as Facebook is still under explored. Nursing students often perceive bioscience subjects as difficult and lack self-efficacy in their ability to be successful. In this case, as the final assessment for a bioscience related subject approached, students became increasingly anxious about their ability to perform in the assessment item. To better support students, a Facebook group was formed. The aim of the study was to examine students' perceptions of the efficacy of using Facebook as a tool to support study. A convenience sample of BN students (n=533 across 3 campuses), enrolled in the subject Medications and Safe Administration, were invited to join. 373 BN students joined the group (70% of the student cohort). A solution-focussed orientation underpinned the management of the group. A descriptive, online survey was administered following release of students' results for the final assessment item to assess students' perceptions of how effective the group had been in helping them learn. The survey contained both quantitative and qualitative questions. Responses were received from 89 students (24%). Survey data were analysed descriptively and qualitative data were analysed thematically by the academic team. Students perceived the group to be an innovative method of study support that guided learning by enhancing self-efficacy in their learning. Students also described how it was useful in promoting peer learning and engaging with academics. Social media platforms such as Facebook have the potential to enhance students' self-efficacy in learning and can support students to develop their learning to a deeper level. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring undergraduate student needs and activities at Experimental Biology: APS pilot survey.

PubMed

Nichols, Nicole L; Ilatovskaya, Daria V; Matyas, Marsha L

2017-06-01

Life science professional societies play important roles for undergraduates in their fields and increasingly offer membership, fellowships, and awards for undergraduate students. However, the overall impacts of society-student interactions have not been well studied. Here, we sought to develop and test a pilot survey of undergraduate students to determine how they got involved in research and in presenting at the Experimental Biology (EB) meeting, what they gained from the scientific and career development sessions at the meeting, and how the American Physiological Society (APS) can best support and engage undergraduate students. This survey was administered in 2014 and 2015 to undergraduate students who submitted physiology abstracts for and attended EB. More than 150 students responded (38% response rate). Respondents were demographically representative of undergraduate students majoring in life sciences in the United States. Most students (72%) became involved in research through a summer research program or college course. They attended a variety of EB sessions, including poster sessions and symposia, and found them useful. Undergraduate students interacted with established researchers at multiple venues. Students recommended that APS provide more research fellowships (25%) and keep in touch with students via both e-mail (46%) and social media (37%). Our results indicate that APS' EB undergraduate activities are valued by students and are effective in helping them have a positive scientific meeting experience. These results also guided the development of a more streamlined survey for use in future years. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Student Loan Default Rates in Minnesota, 2007

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimes, Tricia

2010-01-01

While Minnesota undergraduates are more likely to take out student loans, they are substantially less likely than their peers nationally to default on federal student loans. Fifty-four percent of Minnesota undergraduates took out student loans in 2007-2008, compared to 39 percent of undergraduates across the U.S. Minnesota undergraduates were also…

Monitoring Undergraduate Student Needs and Activities at Experimental Biology: APS Pilot Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nichols, Nicole L.; Ilatovskaya, Daria V.; Matyas, Marsha L.

2017-01-01

Life science professional societies play important roles for undergraduates in their fields and increasingly offer membership, fellowships, and awards for undergraduate students. However, the overall impacts of society-student interactions have not been well studied. Here, we sought to develop and test a pilot survey of undergraduate students to…

Undergraduate Student Perceptions of the Pedagogy Used in a Leadership Course: A Qualitative Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odom, Summer F.

2015-01-01

This exploratory, qualitative, descriptive study examined undergraduate student perspectives of pedagogy used in an undergraduate leadership elective course to describe how students view the effectiveness and impact of pedagogies used in the course. Undergraduate students (n = 28) reflected on the effectiveness of the pedagogies and the learning…

Video Episodes and Action Cameras in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory: Eliciting Student Perceptions of Meaningful Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galloway, Kelli R.; Bretz, Stacey Lowery

2016-01-01

A series of quantitative studies investigated undergraduate students' perceptions of their cognitive and affective learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. To explore these quantitative findings, a qualitative research protocol was developed to characterize student learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Students (N = 13)…

Changes of Explicit and Implicit Stigma in Medical Students during Psychiatric Clerkship.

PubMed

Wang, Peng-Wei; Ko, Chih-Hung; Chen, Cheng-Sheng; Yang, Yi-Hsin Connine; Lin, Huang-Chi; Cheng, Cheng-Chung; Tsang, Hin-Yeung; Wu, Ching-Kuan; Yen, Cheng-Fang

2016-04-01

This study examines the differences in explicit and implicit stigma between medical and non-medical undergraduate students at baseline; the changes of explicit and implicit stigma in medical undergraduate and non-medical undergraduate students after a 1-month psychiatric clerkship and 1-month follow-up period; and the differences in the changes of explicit and implicit stigma between medical and non-medical undergraduate students. Seventy-two medical undergraduate students and 64 non-medical undergraduate students were enrolled. All participants were interviewed at intake and after 1 month. The Taiwanese version of the Stigma Assessment Scale and the Implicit Association Test were used to measure the participants' explicit and implicit stigma. Neither explicit nor implicit stigma differed between two groups at baseline. The medical, but not the non-medical, undergraduate students had a significant decrease in explicit stigma during the 1-month period of follow-up. Neither the medical nor the non-medical undergraduate students exhibited a significant change in implicit stigma during the one-month of follow-up, however. There was an interactive effect between group and time on explicit stigma but not on implicit stigma. Explicit but not implicit stigma toward mental illness decreased in the medical undergraduate students after a psychiatric clerkship. Further study is needed to examine how to improve implicit stigma toward mental illness.

Increasing Research Productivity in Undergraduate Research Experiences: Exploring Predictors of Collaborative Faculty–Student Publications

PubMed Central

Morales, Danielle X.; Grineski, Sara E.; Collins, Timothy W.

2017-01-01

Little attention has been paid to understanding faculty–student productivity via undergraduate research from the faculty member’s perspective. This study examines predictors of faculty–student publications resulting from mentored undergraduate research, including measures of faculty–student collaboration, faculty commitment to undergraduate students, and faculty characteristics. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze data from 468 faculty members across 13 research-intensive institutions, collected by a cross-sectional survey in 2013/2014. Results show that biomedical faculty mentors were more productive in publishing collaboratively with undergraduate students when they worked with students for more than 1 year on average, enjoyed teaching students about research, had mentored Black students, had received more funding from the National Institutes of Health, had a higher H-index scores, and had more years of experience working in higher education. This study suggests that college administrators and research program directors should strive to create incentives for faculty members to collaborate with undergraduate students and promote faculty awareness that undergraduates can contribute to their research. PMID:28747352

A Comparison of Student Confidence Levels in Open Access and Undergraduate University Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atherton, Mirella

2017-01-01

Confidence levels of students enrolled in open access programs and undergraduate courses were measured at the University of Newcastle. The open access science students aimed to gain access to undergraduate studies in various disciplines at University. The undergraduate students were enrolled in a variety of degrees and were surveyed during their…

The impacts and "best practices" of undergraduate - graduate student mentoring relationships in undergraduate research experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campanile, Megan Faurot

With the growth of undergraduate research in the U.S., over the past two decades, faculty are more often assigning graduate students to mentor undergraduate students than providing the one-on-one mentoring themselves. A critical gap that exists in the literature is how undergraduate -- graduate student mentoring relationships in undergraduate research influences both students' academic and career paths. The research questions that framed this study were: (1) What, if any, changes occur in the academic and career paths of undergraduate and graduate students who participate in undergraduate research experiences? and (2) Are there variables that constitute "best practices" in the mentoring relationships in undergraduate research experiences and, if so, what are they? The study context was the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Illinois Institute of Technology and the 113 undergraduate researchers and 31 graduate student mentors who participated from 2006 -- 2014. Surveys and interviews were administered to collect pre- and post-program data and follow-up data during the 2014 -- 2015 academic year. Descriptive statistics, content analysis method, and constant comparative method were used to analyze the data. Key findings on the undergraduate researchers were their actual earned graduate degree types (Ph.D. 20%, M.D. 20%, M.S. 48%, other 12%) and fields (STEM 57%, medical 35%, other 8%) and the careers they were pursuing or working in. All the graduate student mentors were pursuing or working in the STEM fields (academia 50%, industry 40%, government 10%). More than 75% of both the undergraduate and graduate students reported that their mentoring relationships had a somewhat to extremely influential impact on their academic and career paths. A set of "best practices" of mentoring were developed for both the undergraduate and graduate students and focused on the mentoring experiences related to learning and teaching about research; relationship dynamics and roles; and, planning, practicing, and preparing for the future. Future studies recommended include additional longitudinal studies and comparative studies of programs with and without mentor training. Ultimately, by improving the mentoring relationships in undergraduate research it has the potential to improve both undergraduate and graduate education and produce a more highly qualified U.S. STEM workforce. oth undergraduate and graduate education and produce a more highly qualified U.S. STEM workforce.

Fostering successful interprofessional teamwork through an undergraduate student placement in a secondary school.

PubMed

Fortugno, Mariella; Chandra, Smriti; Espin, Sherry; Gucciardi, Enza

2013-07-01

This exploratory case study examined an interprofessional placement of undergraduate students from nutrition, nursing, early childhood education, and child and youth care who collaborated to develop and deliver four healthy-living modules to secondary school students in Canada. An inductive thematic analysis was used to describe the teamwork that occurred between students. Data collected included focus groups with undergraduate students and preceptors, undergraduate students' reflections and secondary school students' evaluations of the modules delivered. Two major themes that emerged from all data sources were "team functioning" and "shift in perspectives". The undergraduate students identified several ways that facilitated their successful and positive teamwork with one another and also expressed how the placement experience improved their interprofessional skills. Findings from this study are discussed in relation to contact theory (Allport, 1954) and self-presentation theory (Goffman, 1963). This study suggests that providing undergraduate students with interprofessional placements in an educational setting can enhance interprofessional teamwork opportunities for students of various disciplines.

Do They Want to Stay or Do They Want to Return? The Stay Inclinations for Chinese Undergraduate Students in a Public Mid-West Research University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lu

2017-01-01

This study expands understanding of Chinese international undergraduate students' stay inclinations in the United States. It analyzed a sample of 247 Chinese undergraduate students from a public Midwestern research university during Spring 2017. This study compared the differences in stay inclinations between Chinese undergraduate students who…

The Influence of Student Gender on the Assessment of Undergraduate Student Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birch, Phil; Batten, John; Batey, Jo

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived student gender on the feedback given to undergraduate student work. Participants (n = 12) were lecturers in higher education and were required to mark two undergraduate student essays. The first student essay that all participants marked was the "control" essay.…

Values--A Study of Teacher and Student Perceptions in Four Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahmud, Shamsul H.; Warchal, Judith R.; Masuchi, Ayumi; Ahmed, Rafiq; Schoelmerich, Axel

2009-01-01

The study aimed to assess and compare the values prevalent among the students and teachers of Universities in Bangladesh, Japan, USA and Germany. The sample consisted of 480 students and 236 teachers. The sample included 120 undergraduate students from Japan; 120 undergraduate students from Bangladesh; 120 undergraduate students from USA, and 120…

Graduate and Undergraduate Students Together: An Experiential Learning Model for Teaching Student Development Theory in Student Personnel Preparation Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Champagne, Delight E.

Undergraduates on college campuses are one of the best resources for learning about college student development. Nonetheless, graduate programs which prepare student personnel professionals have typically neglected to involve undergraduates in courses which attempt to teach student development theory and research. Without input and feedback from…

AGU Activities to Promote Undergraduate Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grove, K.; Johnson, R.; Giesler, J.

2001-05-01

A primary goal of the AGU Committee on Education and Human Resources (CEHR) is to significantly increase the participation of undergraduate students at AGU meetings. Involving students in scientific meetings at this level of their education helps them to better prepare for graduate school and for a career in the geophysical sciences. Ongoing CEHR activities to promote undergraduate participation include: (1) sponsoring technical sessions to showcase undergraduate research; (2) sponsoring sessions about careers and other topics of special interest to students; (3) sponsoring workshops to inform faculty about doing research with undergraduates; (4) sponsoring meeting events to partner graduate student mentors with first-time undergraduate attendees; (5) working with sections to create situations where undergraduates and section scientists can interact; (6) creating a guide for first-time meeting attendees; (7) sponsoring an Academic Recruiting Forum at meetings to connect undergraduates with geophysical graduate programs; (8) running a Career Center at meetings to connect students and employers; (9) raising funds for more travel grants to provide more student support to attend meetings; (10) developing a listserve to inform AGU members about opportunities to do research with undergraduates and to involve more members in mentoring activities; and (11) collecting data, such as career outcomes and demographic characteristics of recent Ph.D. recipients, that are of interest to students.

A Tiered Mentoring Model of Exposing and Engaging Students with Research Throughout the Undergraduate Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerard, J.; Hayes, S. M.

2015-12-01

Incorporating research into undergraduate curricula has been linked to improved critical thinking, intellectual independence, and student retention, resulting in a graduating population more ready for the workforce or graduate school. We have designed a three-tier model of undergraduate chemistry courses that enable first-year students with no previous research experience to gain the skills needed to develop, fund and execute independent research projects by the close of their undergraduate studies. First-year students are provided with context through a broadly focused introductory class that exposes them to current faculty research activities, and also gives them direct experience with the research process through peer mentored research teams as they participate in faculty-directed projects. Mid-career undergraduate students receive exposure and support in two formats: illustrative examples from current faculty research are incorporated into lessons in core classes, and courses specially designed to foster research independence. This is done by providing content and process mentoring as students develop independent projects, write proposals, and build relationships with faculty and graduate students in research groups. Advanced undergraduates further develop their research independence performing student-designed projects with faculty collaboration that frequently result in tangible research products. Further, graduate students gain experience in mentoring though formal training, as well as through actively mentoring mid-career undergraduates. This novel, integrated approach enables faculty to directly incorporate their research into all levels of the undergraduate curriculum while fostering undergraduates in developing and executing independent projects and empowering mentoring relationships.

Graduate and Undergraduate Internships | NREL

Science.gov Websites

undergraduate or graduate students have the opportunity to join the NREL team as an intern while gaining opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, click the Find Your Opportunity button above and select Intern under the Job Type list. Full-time undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled in a U.S

Adjustment Differences Between Married and Single Undergraduate University Students: An Historical Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busselen, Harry J., Jr.; Busselen, Carroll Kincaid

1975-01-01

Prior to 1940, the presence of married undergraduate students on the majority of college and university campuses was an unusual occurance. Today, approximately 21 percent of the undergraduate population is married. Reviews over 30 years of research dealing with the adjustment differences of married and single undergraduate students. (Author)

Enhancing Student Learning of Research Methods through the Use of Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crowe, Jessica; Ceresola, Ryan; Silva, Tony

2014-01-01

By using a quasi-experimental design, in this study, we test the effect of undergraduate teaching assistants on student learning. Data were collected from 170 students enrolled in four sections of a quantitative research methods course, two sections without undergraduate teaching assistants and two sections with undergraduate teaching assistants,…

Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study.

PubMed

Mellis, Birgit; Soto, Patricia; Bruce, Chrystal D; Lacueva, Graciela; Wilson, Anne M; Jayasekare, Rasitha

2018-01-01

For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004-2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students.

Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study

PubMed Central

Soto, Patricia; Bruce, Chrystal D.; Lacueva, Graciela; Wilson, Anne M.; Jayasekare, Rasitha

2018-01-01

For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004–2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students. PMID:29698502

Undergraduate Student Teachers' Views and Experiences of a Compulsory Course in Research Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lombard, B. J. J.

2015-01-01

In comparison to attention given to research methods for education students at postgraduate level, the offering of research methods for education students at undergraduate level is less often considered. Yet, it is agreed that research methods for undergraduate level students is important for shaping student attitudes, learning and achievement in…

Ethics education in undergraduate pre-health programs. The contribution of undergraduate colleges and universities to the ethical and moral development of future doctors in the medical and dental professions.

PubMed

Erratt, Tamie D

2011-08-01

There are many barriers to ethics education of students attending medical and dental schools. The question is asked, "Should more attention be given to addressing students' ethics education during their undergraduate years of preparation for professional healthcare programs?" This qualitative study utilizes digitally recorded personal interviews with two undergraduate pre-healthcare students, one medical student, one recently matriculated dental student, one undergraduate pre-healthcare faculty member, three dental school faculty members, and three medical school faculty members. Interview participants discuss areas of personal knowledge and experience concerning: the admissions process and screening of potential medical/dental students for ethical traits and behaviors, influences on student ethical development, undergraduate pre-healthcare ethics training, and preferred college major for pre-healthcare students. The study concludes that undergraduate pre-healthcare programs should take the initiative to be proactive and deliberate in strengthening the positive influences on students. Strategies include: 1) humanities curricula to broaden perspectives and increase non-prejudice; 2) mentoring and modeling by older students, faculty, and community and professional volunteers; 3) ethical case study discussions in class or extracurricular activities; and 4) volunteer/service learning activities. Additionally, curriculum learning is enhanced by the use of reflection and writing, discussions, and media.

Anticipation of Personal Genomics Data Enhances Interest and Learning Environment in Genomics and Molecular Biology Undergraduate Courses

PubMed Central

Weber, K. Scott; Jensen, Jamie L.; Johnson, Steven M.

2015-01-01

An important discussion at colleges is centered on determining more effective models for teaching undergraduates. As personalized genomics has become more common, we hypothesized it could be a valuable tool to make science education more hands on, personal, and engaging for college undergraduates. We hypothesized that providing students with personal genome testing kits would enhance the learning experience of students in two undergraduate courses at Brigham Young University: Advanced Molecular Biology and Genomics. These courses have an emphasis on personal genomics the last two weeks of the semester. Students taking these courses were given the option to receive personal genomics kits in 2014, whereas in 2015 they were not. Students sent their personal genomics samples in on their own and received the data after the course ended. We surveyed students in these courses before and after the two-week emphasis on personal genomics to collect data on whether anticipation of obtaining their own personal genomic data impacted undergraduate student learning. We also tested to see if specific personal genomic assignments improved the learning experience by analyzing the data from the undergraduate students who completed both the pre- and post-course surveys. Anticipation of personal genomic data significantly enhanced student interest and the learning environment based on the time students spent researching personal genomic material and their self-reported attitudes compared to those who did not anticipate getting their own data. Personal genomics homework assignments significantly enhanced the undergraduate student interest and learning based on the same criteria and a personal genomics quiz. We found that for the undergraduate students in both molecular biology and genomics courses, incorporation of personal genomic testing can be an effective educational tool in undergraduate science education. PMID:26241308

Anticipation of Personal Genomics Data Enhances Interest and Learning Environment in Genomics and Molecular Biology Undergraduate Courses.

PubMed

Weber, K Scott; Jensen, Jamie L; Johnson, Steven M

2015-01-01

An important discussion at colleges is centered on determining more effective models for teaching undergraduates. As personalized genomics has become more common, we hypothesized it could be a valuable tool to make science education more hands on, personal, and engaging for college undergraduates. We hypothesized that providing students with personal genome testing kits would enhance the learning experience of students in two undergraduate courses at Brigham Young University: Advanced Molecular Biology and Genomics. These courses have an emphasis on personal genomics the last two weeks of the semester. Students taking these courses were given the option to receive personal genomics kits in 2014, whereas in 2015 they were not. Students sent their personal genomics samples in on their own and received the data after the course ended. We surveyed students in these courses before and after the two-week emphasis on personal genomics to collect data on whether anticipation of obtaining their own personal genomic data impacted undergraduate student learning. We also tested to see if specific personal genomic assignments improved the learning experience by analyzing the data from the undergraduate students who completed both the pre- and post-course surveys. Anticipation of personal genomic data significantly enhanced student interest and the learning environment based on the time students spent researching personal genomic material and their self-reported attitudes compared to those who did not anticipate getting their own data. Personal genomics homework assignments significantly enhanced the undergraduate student interest and learning based on the same criteria and a personal genomics quiz. We found that for the undergraduate students in both molecular biology and genomics courses, incorporation of personal genomic testing can be an effective educational tool in undergraduate science education.

Investigating Undergraduate Science Students’ Conceptions and Misconceptions of Ocean Acidification

PubMed Central

Danielson, Kathryn I.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

2015-01-01

Scientific research exploring ocean acidification has grown significantly in past decades. However, little science education research has investigated the extent to which undergraduate science students understand this topic. Of all undergraduate students, one might predict science students to be best able to understand ocean acidification. What conceptions and misconceptions of ocean acidification do these students hold? How does their awareness and knowledge compare across disciplines? Undergraduate biology, chemistry/biochemistry, and environmental studies students, and science faculty for comparison, were assessed on their awareness and understanding. Results revealed low awareness and understanding of ocean acidification among students compared with faculty. Compared with biology or chemistry/biochemistry students, more environmental studies students demonstrated awareness of ocean acidification and identified the key role of carbon dioxide. Novel misconceptions were also identified. These findings raise the question of whether undergraduate science students are prepared to navigate socioenvironmental issues such as ocean acidification. PMID:26163563

Compendium of student papers : 2008 Undergraduate Transportation Scholars Program.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-08-01

This report is a compilation of research papers written by students participating in the 2008 Undergraduate : Transportation Scholars Program. The ten-week summer program, now in its eighteenth year, provides : undergraduate students in Civil Enginee...

Compendium of student papers : 2009 undergraduate transportation engineering fellows program.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-01

This report is a compilation of research papers written by students participating in the 2009 Undergraduate : Transportation Scholars Program. The ten-week summer program, now in its nineteenth year, provides : undergraduate students in Civil Enginee...

Predictors of performance of students in biochemistry in a doctor of chiropractic curriculum.

PubMed

Shaw, Kathy; Rabatsky, Ali; Dishman, Veronica; Meseke, Christopher

2014-01-01

Objective : This study investigated the effect of completion of course prerequisites, undergraduate grade point average (GPA), undergraduate degree, and study habits on the performance of students in the biochemistry course at Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida. Methods : Students self-reported information regarding academic preparation at the beginning of the semester using a questionnaire. Final exam grade and final course grade were noted and used as measures of performance. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine if number of prerequisites completed, undergraduate GPA, undergraduate degree, hours spent studying in undergraduate study, and hours spent studying in the first quarter of the chiropractic program were associated significantly with the biochemistry final exam grade or the final grade for the biochemistry course. Results : The number of prerequisites completed, undergraduate degree, hours spent studying in undergraduate study, and hours spent studying in the first quarter of the chiropractic program did not significantly affect the biochemistry final exam grade or the final grade for the biochemistry course, but undergraduate GPA did. Subsequent univariate analysis and Tukey's post hoc comparisons revealed that students with an undergraduate GPA in the 3.5 to 3.99 range earned significantly higher final course grades than students with an undergraduate GPA in the 2.5 to 2.99 range. Conclusion : No single variable was determined to be a factor that determines student success in biochemistry. The interrelationship between the factors examined warrants further investigation to understand fully how to predict the success of a student in the biochemistry course.

Ain't I a Leader: Exploring the Leadership Narratives of Black Female Undergraduate Student Leaders at a Predominantly White Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warren, Lamara D.

2009-01-01

Traditionally, research on student leadership development has been exclusive and focused primarily on the experiences of White, male undergraduate student leaders. Therefore, there is little knowledge about the leadership development of Black female undergraduate students. This exploratory study attempts to fills a gap in the student leadership…

Toward a Holistic View of Undergraduate Research Experiences: An Exploratory Study of Impact on Graduate/Postdoctoral Mentors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolan, Erin; Johnson, Deborah

2009-01-01

Involvement in research has become a fixture in undergraduate science education across the United States. Graduate and postdoctoral students are often called upon to mentor undergraduates at research universities, yet mentoring relationships in undergraduate-graduate/postdoctoral student dyads and undergraduate-graduate/postdoctoral…

Student Perceptions on Live-Case Projects: Undergraduate Marketing Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gundala, Raghava Rao; Singh, Mandeep; Baldwin, Andrew

2014-01-01

This paper is an investigation into undergraduate students' perceptions on use of live projects as a teaching pedagogy in marketing research courses. Students in undergraduate marketing research courses from fall 2009 to spring 2013 completed an online questionnaire consisting of 17 items. The results suggested that student understanding of…

Investigating Undergraduate Science Students' Conceptions and Misconceptions of Ocean Acidification

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danielson, Kathryn I.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

2015-01-01

Scientific research exploring ocean acidification has grown significantly in past decades. However, little science education research has investigated the extent to which undergraduate science students understand this topic. Of all undergraduate students, one might predict science students to be best able to understand ocean acidification. What…

Engaging Students: An Authentic Undergraduate Research Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alderton, Elizabeth; Manzi, Michelina

2017-01-01

Engaging students in valuable undergraduate research can be an arduous task to craft outside of the regular schedule of both staff and students. This paper describes a successful research experience that was part of an ongoing methods class for undergraduate pre-service education students. Participants simultaneously engaged in community service…

Developing Effective Undergraduate Research Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, Michael; Ilie, Carolina C.

2011-03-01

Undergraduate research is a valuable educational tool for students pursuing a degree in physics, but these experiences can become problematic and ineffective if not handled properly. Undergraduate research should be planned as an immersive learning experience in which the student has the opportunity to develop his/her skills in accordance with their interests. Effective undergraduate research experiences are marked by clear, measurable objectives and frequent student-professor collaboration. These objectives should reflect the long and short-term goals of the individual undergraduates, with a heightened focus on developing research skills for future use. 1. Seymour, E., Hunter, A.-B., Laursen, S. L. and DeAntoni, T. (2004), ``Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences: First findings from a three-year study''. Science Education, 88: 493--534. 2. Behar-Horenstein, Linda S., Johnson, Melissa L. ``Enticing Students to Enter Into Undergraduate Research: The Instrumentality of an Undergraduate Course.'' Journal of College Science Teaching 39.3 (2010): 62-70.

Descriptive study of burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in undergraduate nursing students at a tertiary education institution in KwaZulu-Natal.

PubMed

Mathias, Christina T; Wentzel, Dorien L

2017-09-22

Studies have investigated burnout and compassion fatigue among nurses and effects in the nursing profession. However, there are limited investigations of burnout and compassion fatigue among undergraduate nursing students in South Africa, as nursing students may experience distressful situations during their nursing education course, which may have an impact during their training and in their profession as they graduate. The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and burnout among undergraduate nursing students at a tertiary nursing institution. A quantitative descriptive study was conducted to describe compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and burnout among undergraduate nursing students at a tertiary nursing institution in KwaZulu-Natal. Convenience sampling was used. Sixty-seven undergraduate students (26 third-year and 41 fourth-year nursing students) took the self-test Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL). The study results indicate that undergraduate students experienced average levels of compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction. As shown in the study, some of the undergraduate students are experiencing compassion fatigue and burnout, associated with relieving suffering of others. Therefore, knowledge of compassion fatigue and burnout and the coping strategies should be part of nursing training.

Compendium of student papers : 2010 undergraduate transportation scholars program.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-06-01

This report is a compilation of research papers written by students participating in the 2010 Undergraduate : Transportation Scholars Program. The 10-week summer program, now in its 20th year, provides : undergraduate students in Civil Engineering th...

Compendium of student papers : 2012 undergraduate transportation scholars program.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-01

This report is a compilation of research papers written by students participating in the 2012 Undergraduate : Transportation Scholars Program. The 10-week summer program, now in its 22nd year, provides : undergraduate students in Civil Engineering th...

Compendium of student papers : 2011 undergraduate transportation scholars program.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-05-01

This report is a compilation of research papers written by students participating in the 2011 Undergraduate : Transportation Scholars Program. The 10-week summer program, now in its 21st year, provides : undergraduate students in Civil Engineering th...

Compendium of student papers : 2013 undergraduate transportation scholars program.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-11-01

This report is a compilation of research papers written by students participating in the 2013 Undergraduate Transportation Scholars Program. The 10-week summer program, now in its 23nd year, provides undergraduate students in Civil Engineering the op...

Intrinsic and extrinsic goals as moderators of stress and depressive symptoms in Chinese undergraduate students: A multi-wave longitudinal study.

PubMed

Ling, Yu; He, Yushu; Wei, Yong; Cen, Weihong; Zhou, Qi; Zhong, Mingtian

2016-05-11

Studies in western countries have examined the specific vulnerability hypothesis of Dykman's theory of goal-orientation predispositions to depression through two-time point designs. The purpose of this prospective longitudinal study was to investigate the moderating effects of intrinsic and extrinsic goals on stress and depressive symptoms in Chinese undergraduate students. A total of 462 undergraduate students [46% female; mean age, 19.06 (range, 17-22) years] completed self-reported measures assessing intrinsic and extrinsic goals, depressive symptoms, and the occurrence of social and academic hassles. Every 3 months over the subsequent 12 months, the undergraduate students completed measures assessing depressive symptoms and the occurrence of daily hassles. Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that undergraduate students with low levels of intrinsic goals reported greater depressive symptoms following the occurrence of social and academic hassles than did those with high levels of such goals. However, undergraduate students with high levels of extrinsic goals did not report greater depressive symptoms following the occurrence of social and academic hassles than did those possessing low levels. These findings suggest that intrinsic goals can protect undergraduate students experiencing high levels of social and academic hassles from depressive symptoms. The study findings provide new insight into the course of depressive symptoms among undergraduate students, and offer psychologist and psychiatrists ways to protect individuals from depressive symptoms by building up intrinsic goals.

Integrating Standard Operating Procedures and Industry Notebook Standards to Evaluate Students in Laboratory Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallert, Mark A.; Provost, Joseph J.

2014-01-01

To enhance the preparedness of graduates from the Biochemistry and Biotechnology (BCBT) Major at Minnesota State University Moorhead for employment in the bioscience industry we have developed a new Industry certificate program. The BCBT Industry Certificate was developed to address specific skill sets that local, regional, and national industry…

Identifying Alternative Conceptions of Chemical Kinetics among Secondary School and Undergraduate Students in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cakmakci, Gultekin

2010-01-01

This study identifies some alternative conceptions of chemical kinetics held by secondary school and undergraduate students (N = 191) in Turkey. Undergraduate students who participated are studying to become chemistry teachers when they graduate. Students' conceptions about chemical kinetics were elicited through a series of written tasks and…

Understanding Undergraduate Student Perceptions of Mental Health, Mental Well-Being and Help-Seeking Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laidlaw, Anita; McLellan, Julie; Ozakinci, Gozde

2016-01-01

Despite relatively high levels of psychological distress, many students in higher education do not seek help for difficulties. This study explored undergraduate student understanding of the concepts of mental health and mental well-being and where undergraduate students would seek help for mental well-being difficulties. Semi-structured interviews…

Who Goes to University in Kenya? A Study of Social Background of Kenyan Undergraduate Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eshiwani, George S.

The social and educational background and the educational and occupational aspirations of undergraduate students in Kenya were studied. The study sample consisted of 232 male and 210 female undergraduate students at Kenyatta University College. A questionnaire was administered to determine: students' characteristics, including sex, age, marital…

Increasing Research Productivity in Undergraduate Research Experiences: Exploring Predictors of Collaborative Faculty-Student Publications.

PubMed

Morales, Danielle X; Grineski, Sara E; Collins, Timothy W

2017-01-01

Little attention has been paid to understanding faculty-student productivity via undergraduate research from the faculty member's perspective. This study examines predictors of faculty-student publications resulting from mentored undergraduate research, including measures of faculty-student collaboration, faculty commitment to undergraduate students, and faculty characteristics. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze data from 468 faculty members across 13 research-intensive institutions, collected by a cross-sectional survey in 2013/2014. Results show that biomedical faculty mentors were more productive in publishing collaboratively with undergraduate students when they worked with students for more than 1 year on average, enjoyed teaching students about research, had mentored Black students, had received more funding from the National Institutes of Health, had a higher H-index scores, and had more years of experience working in higher education. This study suggests that college administrators and research program directors should strive to create incentives for faculty members to collaborate with undergraduate students and promote faculty awareness that undergraduates can contribute to their research. © 2017 D. X. Morales et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

First-Generation Undergraduate Students' Social Support, Depression, and Life Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins, Sharon Rae; Belanger, Aimee; Connally, Melissa Londono; Boals, Adriel; Duron, Kelly M.

2013-01-01

First-generation undergraduate students face challenging cross-socioeconomic cultural transitions into college life. The authors compared first- and non-first-generation undergraduate students' social support, posttraumatic stress, depression symptoms, and life satisfaction. First-generation participants reported less social support from family…

Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among the undergraduate physiotherapy students.

PubMed

Syed, Annosha; Ali, Syed Shazad; Khan, Muhammad

2018-01-01

To assess the frequency of Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DAS) among the undergraduate physiotherapy students. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in various Physiotherapy Institutes in Sindh, Pakistan among undergraduate physiotherapy students. The total duration of this study was 4 months from September, 2016 to January, 2017. Data was collected from 267 students with no physical and mental illness; more than half were female students 75.3%. They were selected through Non probability purposive sampling technique. A self-administered standardized DASS (depression, anxiety and stress scale) was used to collect data and result was analyzed using its severity rating index. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics including the frequency of depression, anxiety, stress and demographic characteristic of the participant was collected. The mean age of students was 19.3371±1.18839 years. The Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress found among undergraduates Physiotherapy students was 48.0%, 68.54% and 53.2%, respectively. It was observed that the frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among physiotherapy undergraduates students were high. It suggests the urgent need of carrying out evidence based Psychological health promotion for undergraduate Physiotherapy students to control this growing problem.

Saturday Morning Science programs: a model to increase diversity in the biosciences.

PubMed

Phillips, James L; Harris, Toi Blakley; Ihedigbo, Kara M Green; Hawkins, Jacqueline

2012-01-01

To examine a pathway program for middle and high school students from underrepresented backgrounds designed to foster career interest in the biomedical sciences. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine released a report entitled Unequal Treatment, which examined the racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care within the United States and encouraged the development of a diverse health care workforce as a means to reduce health care disparities. Saturday Morning Science (SMS) is a program model presented as a pipeline strategy that addresses this specific recommendation. SMS is a 10-week program that emphasized the importance of science and math. Post-SMS evaluations were conducted to assess biomedical career knowledge, attitudes regarding future career plans, and the effectiveness of the program. A total of 87.5% of middle and high school students who were enrolled in SMS completed the program (113 of 130). Seventy percent of SMS participants were underrepresented minorities. Snapshot program evaluation data exposed new ideas about science (strongly agree/agree, 98%; 64 of 65), exposed new ideas about medicine (strongly agree/agree, 97%; 63 of 65, and increased desire to enter science related field (strongly agree/agree 82% (53 of 65). SMS was designed to motivate students of underrepresented ethnic backgrounds from middle through high school to attend college and prepare for careers in the health sciences. SMS students had the opportunity to interact with scientists, physicians, medical and graduate students, and other academicians. They provided direction and guidance to ensure that students had meaningful experiences specifically designed to expose them to opportunities in the biosciences.

A New Cost-Effective Diode Laser Polarimeter Apparatus Constructed by Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lisboa, Pedro; Sotomayor, Joo; Ribeiro, Paulo

2010-01-01

The construction of a diode laser polarimeter apparatus by undergraduate students is described. The construction of the modular apparatus by undergraduate students gives them an insight into how it works and how the measurement of a physical or chemical property is conducted. The students use the polarimeter to obtain rotation angle values for the…

Social Class Dialogues and the Fostering of Class Consciousness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madden, Meredith

2015-01-01

How do critical pedagogies promote undergraduate students' awareness of social class, social class identity, and social class inequalities in education? How do undergraduate students experience class consciousness-raising in the intergroup dialogue classroom? This qualitative study explores undergraduate students' class consciousness-raising in an…

Undergraduate Research as Engaged Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolf, Lorraine W.

2018-01-01

This chapter discusses the impact of undergraduate research as a form of engaged student learning. It summarizes the gains reported in post-fellowship assessment essays acquired from students participating in the Auburn University Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. The chapter also discusses the program's efforts to increase opportunities…

Teaching About the Brain and Reaching the Community: Undergraduates in the Pipeline Neuroscience Program at the University of Pennsylvania

PubMed Central

Edlow, Brian L.; Hamilton, Karen; Hamilton, Roy H.

2007-01-01

This article provides an overview of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine’s Pipeline Neuroscience Program, a multi-tiered mentorship and education program for Philadelphia high school students in which University of Pennsylvania undergraduates are integrally involved. The Pipeline Neuroscience Program provides mentorship and education for students at all levels. High school students are taught by undergraduates, who learn from medical students who, in turn, are guided by neurology residents and fellows. Throughout a semester-long course, undergraduates receive instruction in neuroanatomy, neuroscience, and clinical neurology as part of the Pipeline’s case-based curriculum. During weekly classes, undergraduates make the transition from students to community educators by integrating their new knowledge into lesson plans that they teach to small groups of medically and academically underrepresented Philadelphia high school students. The Pipeline program thus achieves the dual goals of educating undergraduates about neuroscience and providing them with an opportunity to perform community service. PMID:23493190

The Role of Student-Advisor Interactions in Apprenticing Undergraduate Researchers into a Scientific Community of Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiry, Heather; Laursen, Sandra L.

2011-12-01

Among science educators, current interest in undergraduate research (UR) is influenced both by the traditional role of the research apprenticeship in scientists' preparation and by concerns about replacing the current scientific workforce. Recent research has begun to demonstrate the range of personal, professional, and intellectual benefits for STEM students from participating in UR, yet the processes by which student-advisor interactions contribute to these benefits are little understood. We employ situated learning theory (Lave and Wenger, Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge in 1991) to examine the role of student-advisor interactions in apprenticing undergraduate researchers, particularly in terms of acculturating students to the norms, values, and professional practice of science. This qualitative study examines interviews with a diverse sample of 73 undergraduate research students from two research-extensive institutions. From these interviews, we articulate a continuum of practices that research mentors employed in three domains to support undergraduate scientists-in-training: professional socialization, intellectual support, and personal/emotional support. The needs of novice students differed from those of experienced students in each of these areas. Novice students needed clear expectations, guidelines, and orientation to their specific research project, while experienced students needed broader socialization in adopting the traits, habits, and temperament of scientific researchers. Underrepresented minority students, and to a lesser extent, women, gained confidence from their interactions with their research mentors and broadened their future career and educational possibilities. Undergraduate research at research-extensive universities exemplifies a cycle of scientific learning and practice where undergraduate researchers are mentored by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, who are themselves apprentices to faculty members. As such, research mentors of undergraduate students should be aware of the dual scientific and educational aspects of their advising role and its significance in shaping students' identities and career trajectories.

The Health Frontiers in Tijuana Undergraduate Internship Program: A Novel Global Health Experience in Mexico for Pre-medical/Pre-health Undergraduates.

PubMed

Burgos, Jose L; Yee, Daniel C; Vargas-Ojeda, Adriana Carolina; Ojeda, Victoria D

2016-01-01

We describe the creation of the Health Frontiers in Tijuana (HFiT) Undergraduate Internship Program (UIP), a novel global health experience for U.S. and Mexican undergraduate students based at the binational HFiT student-run free clinic. The UIP introduces students to a diverse underserved patient population, and U.S.-Mexico border public health.

Undergraduate Students’ Initial Ability in Understanding Phylogenetic Tree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sa'adah, S.; Hidayat, T.; Sudargo, Fransisca

2017-04-01

The Phylogenetic tree is a visual representation depicts a hypothesis about the evolutionary relationship among taxa. Evolutionary experts use this representation to evaluate the evidence for evolution. The phylogenetic tree is currently growing for many disciplines in biology. Consequently, learning about the phylogenetic tree has become an important part of biological education and an interesting area of biology education research. Skill to understanding and reasoning of the phylogenetic tree, (called tree thinking) is an important skill for biology students. However, research showed many students have difficulty in interpreting, constructing, and comparing among the phylogenetic tree, as well as experiencing a misconception in the understanding of the phylogenetic tree. Students are often not taught how to reason about evolutionary relationship depicted in the diagram. Students are also not provided with information about the underlying theory and process of phylogenetic. This study aims to investigate the initial ability of undergraduate students in understanding and reasoning of the phylogenetic tree. The research method is the descriptive method. Students are given multiple choice questions and an essay that representative by tree thinking elements. Each correct answer made percentages. Each student is also given questionnaires. The results showed that the undergraduate students’ initial ability in understanding and reasoning phylogenetic tree is low. Many students are not able to answer questions about the phylogenetic tree. Only 19 % undergraduate student who answered correctly on indicator evaluate the evolutionary relationship among taxa, 25% undergraduate student who answered correctly on indicator applying concepts of the clade, 17% undergraduate student who answered correctly on indicator determines the character evolution, and only a few undergraduate student who can construct the phylogenetic tree.

Preferred Learning Styles of Professional Undergraduate and Graduate Athletic Training Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thon, Sarah; Hansen, Pamela

2015-01-01

Context: Recognizing the preferred learning style of professional undergraduate and graduate athletic training students will equip educators to more effectively improve their teaching methods and optimize student learning. Objective: To determine the preferred learning style of professional undergraduate and graduate athletic training students…

Developing Students, Developing Faculty: Incompatible or Compatible Goals?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ware, Mark E.; Davis, Stephen F.; Smith, Randolph A.

Grounding students in research methodology is at the core of the undergraduate curriculum. Students usually conduct individual projects in the experimental psychology or research methods courses, and most undergraduate courses in the psychology curriculum contain a strong research component. The opportunities and benefits for undergraduate student…

Perceived Academic Control and Academic Emotions Predict Undergraduate University Student Success: Examining Effects on Dropout Intention and Achievement.

PubMed

Respondek, Lisa; Seufert, Tina; Stupnisky, Robert; Nett, Ulrike E

2017-01-01

The present study addressed concerns over the high risk of university students' academic failure. It examined how perceived academic control and academic emotions predict undergraduate students' academic success, conceptualized as both low dropout intention and high achievement (indicated by GPA). A cross-sectional survey was administered to 883 undergraduate students across all disciplines of a German STEM orientated university. The study additionally compared freshman students ( N = 597) vs. second-year students ( N = 286). Using structural equation modeling, for the overall sample of undergraduate students we found that perceived academic control positively predicted enjoyment and achievement, as well as negatively predicted boredom and anxiety. The prediction of dropout intention by perceived academic control was fully mediated via anxiety. When taking perceived academic control into account, we found no specific impact of enjoyment or boredom on the intention to dropout and no specific impact of all three academic emotions on achievement. The multi-group analysis showed, however, that perceived academic control, enjoyment, and boredom among second-year students had a direct relationship with dropout intention. A major contribution of the present study was demonstrating the important roles of perceived academic control and anxiety in undergraduate students' academic success. Concerning corresponding institutional support and future research, the results suggested distinguishing incoming from advanced undergraduate students.

CRP: Collaborative Research Project (A Mathematical Research Experience for Undergraduates)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsley, Jason; Rusinko, Joseph

2017-01-01

The "Collaborative Research Project" ("CRP")--a mathematics research experience for undergraduates--offers a large-scale collaborative experience in research for undergraduate students. CRP seeks to widen the audience of students who participate in undergraduate research in mathematics. In 2015, the inaugural CRP had 100…

Learning styles of postgraduate and undergraduate medical students.

PubMed

Shukr, Irfan; Zainab, Roop; Rana, Mowadat H

2013-01-01

To compare learning styles of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students. Observational, comparative study. Department of Medical Education, Army Medical College, NUST, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, during February and March 2012. A total of 170 students were divided into two equal groups of undergraduate students of Army Medical College, and postgraduate students of Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute, Rawalpindi. Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ) was used to assess and categorize the participants into Honey and Mumford classification of learning styles. The responses of each student ranging from 'very strong,' 'strong', 'moderate', and 'low' preference towards activist, theorist, reflector and pragmatist learning styles were compiled. The two groups were compared using SPSS version 17, using Fisher's exact test and the chi-square test. A p-value of $lt; 0.05 was considered significant. Preferences for all four learning styles were present in both groups. The results reveal an overall statistically significant difference in the 'very strong' preference in learning styles between the two study groups (p=0.002). Among the undergraduate students, 45% had a very strong preference for being an activist, whereas in postgraduate students, 38% had very strong preference for reflector, and 35% for theorist. This was statistically significant for activist, and reflector, and attained a p-value of < 0.001, for activist, and of 0.018 for reflector. The most uncommon 'very strong', and 'strong preference' for learning style was pragmatist in both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Diversity of learning styles at undergraduate and postgraduate level of medical education calls for multiplicity of instructional and assessment modalities to match them. The learning styles amongst the undergraduate medical students are different from the postgraduates. The postgraduates commonly have the reflector learning style while the undergraduates are predominantly activists and theorists.

The Impact of an Academic Integrity Module and Turnitin® on Similarity Index Scores of Undergraduate Student Papers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballard, Iva B.

2013-01-01

In this quasi-experimental 2 x 2 factorial design study, the impact of an academic integrity module and Turnitin® on undergraduate student similarity index scores was investigated. Similarity index scores were used to measure suggested plagiarism rates of student papers. A purposive sample consisting of 96 undergraduate education students enrolled…

Exploring the "Learning Careers" of Irish Undergraduate Sociology Students through the Establishment of an Undergraduate Sociology Student Journal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neville, Patricia; Power, Martin J.; Barnes, Cliona; Haynes, Amanda

2012-01-01

In 2009, a faculty-reviewed student undergraduate journal titled "Socheolas: The Limerick Student Journal of Sociology" was officially launched. The journal, now in its fourth volume, is produced, edited, and managed by a small team from within the Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick in Ireland. The objective of this…

Oceanography and Geoscience Scholars at Texas A&M University Funded through the NSF S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, M. J.; Gardner, W. D.

2016-02-01

Over the last seven years we have led the creation and implementation of the Oceanography and Geoscience Scholars programs at Texas A&M University. Through these programs we have been able to provide scholarship support for 92 undergraduates in Geosciences and 29 graduate students in Oceanography. Fifty-seven undergraduate scholars have graduated in Geosciences: 30 undergraduate students in Meteorology, 7 in Geology, and 20 in Environmental Geosciences. Two students have graduated in other STEM disciplines. Twenty-four students are in the process of completing their undergraduate degrees in STEM disciplines. Twenty-three students have graduated with MS or PhD degrees in Oceanography and five PhD students are completing their dissertations. As specified in the program solicitation all of the scholars are academically talented students with demonstrated financial need as defined by the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). We have endeavored to recruit students from underrepresented groups. One-third of the undergraduate scholars were from underrepresented groups; 28% of the graduate students. We will present the challenges and successes of these programs.

Undergraduate Science Coursework: Teachers' Goal Statements and How Students Experience Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van der Rijst, Roeland M.; Visser-Wijnveen, Gerda J.; Verloop, Nico; Van Driel, Jan H.

2013-01-01

Understanding the relation between teachers' goal statements and students' experiences about the position of research in undergraduate coursework can give use insight into ways to integrate research and teaching and foster undergraduate research. In this study, we examined to what extent teachers' goal statements agreed with students' experiences…

Summer School Teaching and Learning: Some Thoughts from Undergraduate Business Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ho, Henry; Karagiannidis, Vanaja

2007-01-01

This paper analyses summer teaching and learning from an undergraduate business student's perception. The survey reported here was designed to investigate how undergraduate business students perceived a marketing subject--Introduction to Marketing-- during summer school. At the same time, this research investigates the duration of study, the…

Students' Perspective into the Apathy and Social Disconnectedness They Feel in Undergraduate Business Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sashittal, Hemant C.; Jassawalla, Avan R.; Markulis, Peter

2012-01-01

Apathy and social disconnectedness among undergraduate business students remain poorly understood and under-researched--despite evidence that they produce an adverse impact on learning-related outcomes. Qualitative research was initially conducted among a sample of undergraduate business students to identify the antecedents and learning-related…

Presence of Burnout in Undergraduate Athletic Training Students at One Western Us University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riter, Tamra S.; Kaiser, David A.; Hopkins, J. Ty; Pennington, Todd R.; Chamberlain, Ron; Eggett, Dennis

2008-01-01

Objective: Determine if undergraduate athletic training students enrolled in an accredited athletic training education program (ATEP) and participating in clinical assignments experience burnout. Design and Setting: Undergraduate athletic training students enrolled in a clinical education course were surveyed during the fourth and twelfth weeks of…

Profile of Undergraduate Students: 2011-12. Web Tables. NCES 2015-167

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skomsvold, Paul

2014-01-01

These Web Tables provide comprehensive information on undergraduates who were enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions during the 2011-12 academic year. Estimates for enrolled students are presented by attendance status, degree or certificate program, undergraduate major field of study, average grades, student demographic characteristics,…

Skill Development in the Psychology Major: What Do Undergraduate Students Expect?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaither, George A.; Butler, Darrell L.

2005-01-01

The present study examined undergraduate students' expectations for how well psychology majors develop 60 skills corresponding to five of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Undergraduate Psychology Major Competencies (APA, 2002) suggested learning goals. This study also examined where students expect psychology majors to get…

Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Moral Development in Undergraduate Business Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBride, Elizabeth A.

2010-01-01

This study examines relationships between emotional intelligence (EI) and cognitive moral development (CMD) in undergraduate business students. The ability model of emotional intelligence was used in this study, which evaluated possible relationships between EI and CMD in a sample of 82 undergraduate business students. The sample population was…

Evaluation of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program in ChE Indicates Benefit from a Collaborative Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Follmer, D. Jake; Gomez, Esther; Zappe, Sarah; Kumar, Manish

2017-01-01

This study examined how a collaborative research environment in a structured research experience impacts undergraduate student outcomes. Students demonstrated significant gains in research skills and provided positive appraisals of their collaborative experiences. Emphasis on collaboration among students in an undergraduate research program…

Lowering Barriers to Undergraduate Research through Collaboration with Local Craft Breweries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDermott, M. Luke

2016-01-01

Laboratory research experiences are highly impactful learning environments for undergraduate students. However, a surprising number of chemistry students do not research. These students often do not research because they lack the time, interest, opportunity, or awareness. Course-based undergraduate research experiences can reach out to these…

Pathways to Undergraduate Research Experiences: A Multi-Institutional Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahatmya, Duhita; Morrison, Janet; Jones, Rebecca M.; Garner, Pamela W.; Davis, Shannon N.; Manske, Jill; Berner, Nancy; Johnson, Ann; Ditty, Jayna

2017-01-01

The positive impact of undergraduate research experiences on students' post-secondary success is well-documented. However, these conclusions are drawn from undergraduate students who already participate; very little research has explored the pathways by which students enter these experiences. Using data from a multi-institutional survey, we…

Profile of Undergraduate Students: 2007-08. Web Tables. NCES 2010-205

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staklis, Sandra

2010-01-01

These tables provide comprehensive information on undergraduates who were enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions during the 2007-08 academic year. Estimates for enrolled students are presented by attendance status, degree program, undergraduate major, average grades, student characteristics, financial aid status and credit card debt, work,…

Undergraduate Nursing Students' Perceptions Regarding Factors That Affect Math Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pyo, Katrina A.

2011-01-01

A review of the nursing literature reveals many undergraduate nursing students lack proficiency with basic mathematical skills, those necessary for safe medication preparation and administration. Few studies exploring the phenomenon from the undergraduate nursing student perspective are reported in the nursing literature. The purpose of this study…

Undergraduate Admissions | NSU

Science.gov Websites

NSU has to offer undergraduate students. Student Life Learn why the years you spend at NSU will be , dentistry, law, and psychology. Certificate Receive a graduate level certificate to enhance your skills II teams. Living on Campus On campus housing options for undergraduate and graduate students. Clubs

NSU Undergraduate Academic Advising Center

Science.gov Websites

NSU has to offer undergraduate students. Student Life Learn why the years you spend at NSU will be , dentistry, law, and psychology. Certificate Receive a graduate level certificate to enhance your skills II teams. Living on Campus On campus housing options for undergraduate and graduate students. Clubs

Undergraduate Students' Science-Related Ideas as Embedded in Their Environmental Worldviews

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Shu-Chiu; Lin, Huann-shyang

2014-01-01

This study explored environmental worldviews of selected undergraduate students in Taiwan and located the associations of these worldviews with science. The "environment" is represented as nature or the natural world, as opposed to the social and spiritual world. The participants were undergraduate students (14 science and 15 nonscience…

Student and Faculty Outcomes of Undergraduate Science Research Projects by Geographically Dispersed Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Lawton; Kennepohl, Dietmar

2013-01-01

Senior undergraduate research projects are important components of most undergraduate science degrees. The delivery of such projects in a distance education format is challenging. Athabasca University (AU) science project courses allow distance education students to complete research project courses by working with research supervisors in their…

Showing the Love: Predictors of Student Loyalty to Undergraduate Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vianden, Jörg; Barlow, Patrick J.

2014-01-01

This article advances the notion that undergraduates may be considered student-customers whose relationship with and loyalty to their institutions can be managed by college educators. The Student University Loyalty Instrument administered to 1,207 undergraduates at three comprehensive Midwestern institutions assessed the predictors of student…

Investigation of Undergraduate Students' Environmental Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Köse, Sacit; Savran Gencer, Ayse; Gezer, Kudret; Erol, Gül Hanim; Bilen, Kadir

2011-01-01

Environmental education has been viewed as an important way to educate students about environmental issues beginning from pre-school to higher education. This study is a part of this field- namely, undergraduate environmental education. The purpose of the study is to explore undergraduate students' attitudes towards environment at the end of the…

Academic Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Undergraduate Mathematics Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turgut, Melih

2013-01-01

The present paper investigated academic self-efficacy beliefs of undergraduate mathematics education students with respect to gender, academic performance and grade level. The participants were a total of 244 undergraduate students (195 females and 49 males) enrolled to department of mathematics education (57 freshmen, 106 sophomores and 81…

Undergraduates' Personal Circumstances, Expectations and Reasons for Attending University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balloo, Kieran; Pauli, Regina; Worrell, Marcia

2017-01-01

Undergraduate students are likely to have a range of reasons for attending university and expectations about their education. The current study aimed to determine the most prevalent reasons and expectations among students, and how these differed based on their personal circumstances. First-year undergraduate psychology students completed a…

Undergraduate Research Experience for STEM Students: Efforts and Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Chuanlei; Swaid, Samar

2017-01-01

Undergraduate research for STEM students involves students who are attending college or universities pursuing a bachelor's degree, majoring in fields related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Research experience for STEM undergraduates has been viewed as a positive experience that has several benefits such as developing…

Hooked on Science: How an Ohio Teacher is Training Students to Be Linked in to Forensics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Technology & Learning, 2008

2008-01-01

This article features Ohio teacher Carol Fleck's use of videoconferencing in teaching Contemporary BioScience and Genetics. Fleck, who says her initial vision for the class was "science without classroom walls," covers such topics as emerging diseases, bioterrorism, and forensic science. Collaboration between schools is a key part of the…

The "Ethics Committee": A Practical Approach to Introducing Bioethics and Ethical Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Mark; Kramer, Cas; Cashmore, Annette

2012-01-01

Bioethics is an increasingly important part of the biosciences curriculum at school and in higher education, but few science teachers have much experience of teaching the subject in an engaging or interactive manner. This article sets out a session that allows students to practise the skills of ethical thinking and ethical debate in a relevant…

Using Capstones to Develop Research Skills and Graduate Capabilities: A Case Study from Physiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Julien, Brianna L.; Lexis, Louise; Schuijers, Johannes; Samiric, Tom; McDonald, Stuart

2012-01-01

In 2011, the Department of Human Biosciences introduced two physiology capstone subjects as part of the Design for Learning Project at La Trobe University. Consistent with the project, the aims of these subjects were to provide an effective culmination point for the Bachelor of Health Science course and to offer students orientation to…

Alive and aware: Undergraduate research as a mechanism for program vitalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohs, C.

2013-12-01

Undergraduate research is a vital component of many geoscience programs across the United States. It is especially critical at those institutions that do not have graduate students or graduate programs in the geosciences. This paper presents findings associated with undergraduate research in four specific areas: The success of students that pursue undergraduate research both in the workforce and in graduate studies; the connections that are generated through undergraduate research and publication; the application of undergraduate research data and materials in the classroom; and the development of lasting connections between faculty and students to construct a strong alumni base to support the corresponding programs. Students that complete undergraduate research have the opportunity to develop research proposals, construct budgets, become familiar with equipment or software, write and defend their results. This skill set translates directly to graduate studies; however, it is also extremely valuable for self-marketing when seeking employment as a geoscientist. When transitioning from higher education into the workforce, a network of professional connections facilitates and expedites the process. When completing undergraduate research, students have a direct link to the faculty member that they are working with, and potentially, the network of that faculty member. Even more important, the student begins to build their own professional network as they present their findings and receive feedback on their research. Another area that benefits from undergraduate research is the classroom. A cyclical model is developed where new data and information are brought into the classroom by the faculty member, current students see the impact of undergraduate research and have the desire to participate, and a few of those students elect to participate in a project of their own. It turns into a positive feedback loop that is beneficial for both the students and the faculty members. Finally, it is important to look at the long-range benefit of undergraduate research as an investment that pays off through alumni in the years to come. These alumni have the potential to become the pillars in support of the geoscience program. With their support, the program and associated department becomes strengthened and continues to develop in order to provide for the geoscience workforce needs of the future.

Getting the Most Out of Dual-Listed Courses: Involving Undergraduate Students in Discussion Through Active Learning Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tasich, C. M.; Duncan, L. L.; Duncan, B. R.; Burkhardt, B. L.; Benneyworth, L. M.

2015-12-01

Dual-listed courses will persist in higher education because of resource limitations. The pedagogical differences between undergraduate and graduate STEM student groups and the underlying distinction in intellectual development levels between the two student groups complicate the inclusion of undergraduates in these courses. Active learning techniques are a possible remedy to the hardships undergraduate students experience in graduate-level courses. Through an analysis of both undergraduate and graduate student experiences while enrolled in a dual-listed course, we implemented a variety of learning techniques used to complement the learning of both student groups and enhance deep discussion. Here, we provide details concerning the implementation of four active learning techniques - role play, game, debate, and small group - that were used to help undergraduate students critically discuss primary literature. Student perceptions were gauged through an anonymous, end-of-course evaluation that contained basic questions comparing the course to other courses at the university and other salient aspects of the course. These were given as a Likert scale on which students rated a variety of statements (1 = strongly disagree, 3 = no opinion, and 5 = strongly agree). Undergraduates found active learning techniques to be preferable to traditional techniques with small-group discussions being rated the highest in both enjoyment and enhanced learning. The graduate student discussion leaders also found active learning techniques to improve discussion. In hindsight, students of all cultures may be better able to take advantage of such approaches and to critically read and discuss primary literature when written assignments are used to guide their reading. Applications of active learning techniques can not only address the gap between differing levels of students, but also serve as a complement to student engagement in any science course design.

Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean/Marine Science (URE-OMS) with African Student Component

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

The Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean/Marine Science program supports active participation by underrepresented undergraduate students in remote sensing and Ocean/Marine Science research training activities. The program is based on a model for undergraduate research programs supported by the National Science Foundation . The

[Application of PBL combined with SP method in during-course practice of endodontics for undergraduate dental students].

PubMed

Shao, Li-Na; Qiu, Li-Hong; Zhan, Fu-Liang; Xue, Ming

2016-10-01

To apply problem-based learning (PBL) combined with standardized patients(SP) in during-course practice of endodontics for undergraduate dental students, in order to improve the teaching quality. One hundred and four undergraduate dental students of China Medical University School of Stomatology were randomly divided into 2 groups, 52 students in each group. One group were taught with PBL combined with SP while the other group with lecture-based learning (LBL) alone. The teaching effect was measured with examination and questionnaire survey. The data were analyzed by Student's t test using SPSS 11.5 software package. Students in PBL combined with SP group was better than LBL group in case analysis, didactic tests, practical tests and total scores, and there was significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). LBL group was better than PBL combined with SP group in basic theoretical knowledge scores, and there was significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). SP and PBL combined with SP method were welcomed by undergraduate dental students. The abilities of undergraduate dental students can be improved by PBL combined with SP in different aspects. PBL combined with SP achieves satisfactory teaching effect, and can be applied in during-course practice of endodontics to undergraduate dental students.

Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among the undergraduate physiotherapy students

PubMed Central

Syed, Annosha; Ali, Syed Shazad; Khan, Muhammad

2018-01-01

Objectives: To assess the frequency of Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DAS) among the undergraduate physiotherapy students. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in various Physiotherapy Institutes in Sindh, Pakistan among undergraduate physiotherapy students. The total duration of this study was 4 months from September, 2016 to January, 2017. Data was collected from 267 students with no physical and mental illness; more than half were female students 75.3%. They were selected through Non probability purposive sampling technique. A self-administered standardized DASS (depression, anxiety and stress scale) was used to collect data and result was analyzed using its severity rating index. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics including the frequency of depression, anxiety, stress and demographic characteristic of the participant was collected. Results: The mean age of students was 19.3371±1.18839 years. The Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress found among undergraduates Physiotherapy students was 48.0%, 68.54% and 53.2%, respectively. Conclusions: It was observed that the frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among physiotherapy undergraduates students were high. It suggests the urgent need of carrying out evidence based Psychological health promotion for undergraduate Physiotherapy students to control this growing problem. PMID:29805428

Profile of Undergraduate Students: Trends from Selected Years, 1995-96 to 2007-08. Web Tables. NCES 2010-220

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staklis, Sandra; Chen, Xianglei

2010-01-01

From 1995-96 to 2007-08, the number of students enrolled in undergraduate education in the United States grew from about 16.7 million to 21 million. These Web Tables provide information on undergraduates during the 1995-96, 1999-2000, 2003-04, and 2007-08 academic years. Estimates are presented for all undergraduates and for undergraduates who…

Prediction of Osteopathic Medical School Performance on the basis of MCAT score, GPA, sex, undergraduate major, and undergraduate institution.

PubMed

Dixon, Donna

2012-04-01

The relationships of students' preadmission academic variables, sex, undergraduate major, and undergraduate institution to academic performance in medical school have not been thoroughly examined. To determine the ability of students' preadmission academic variables to predict osteopathic medical school performance and whether students' sex, undergraduate major, or undergraduate institution influence osteopathic medical school performance. The study followed students who graduated from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine of New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury between 2003 and 2006. Student preadmission data were Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, undergraduate grade point averages (GPAs), sex, undergraduate major, and undergraduate institutional selectivity. Medical school performance variables were GPAs, clinical performance (ie, clinical subject examinations and clerkship evaluations), and scores on the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) Level 1 and Level 2-Clinical Evaluation (CE). Data were analyzed with Pearson product moment correlation coefficients and multivariate linear regression analyses. Differences between student groups were compared with the independent-samples, 2-tailed t test. A total of 737 students were included. All preadmission academic variables, except nonscience undergraduate GPA, were statistically significant predictors of performance on COMLEX-USA Level 1, and all preadmission academic variables were statistically significant predictors of performance on COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE. The MCAT score for biological sciences had the highest correlation among all variables with COMLEX-USA Level 1 performance (Pearson r=0.304; P<.001) and Level 2-CE performance (Pearson r=0.272; P<.001). All preadmission variables were moderately correlated with the mean clinical subject examination scores. The mean clerkship evaluation score was moderately correlated with mean clinical examination results (Pearson r=0.267; P<.001) and COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE performance (Pearson r=0.301; P<.001). Clinical subject examination scores were highly correlated with COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE scores (Pearson r=0.817; P<.001). No statistically significant difference in medical school performance was found between students with science and nonscience undergraduate majors, nor was undergraduate institutional selectivity a factor influencing performance. Students' preadmission academic variables were predictive of osteopathic medical school performance, including GPAs, clinical performance, and COMLEX-USA Level 1 and Level 2-CE results. Clinical performance was predictive of COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE performance.

Faculty Motivation to Mentor Students through Undergraduate Research Programs: A Study of Enabling and Constraining Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morales, Danielle X.; Grineski, Sara E.; Collins, Timothy W.

2017-01-01

Undergraduate research experiences are a "high impact" educational practice that confer benefits to students. However, little attention has been paid to understanding faculty motivation to mentor undergraduate students through research training programs, even as the number of programs has grown, requiring increasing numbers of faculty…

Engagement, Satisfaction, and Belonging of International Undergraduates at U.S. Research Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Horne, Sam; Lin, Shuhui; Anson, Matthew; Jacobson, Wayne

2018-01-01

International students face challenges that their U.S. classmates rarely encounter, but few studies examine specific ways in which undergraduate experiences of international students compare to those of their U.S. classmates. This study examines U.S. and international student responses to an undergraduate survey administered at nine U.S. research…

Comparison of Health Status and Health Behaviors between Female Graduate and Undergraduate College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bulmer, Sandra Minor; Irfan, Syed; Barton, Barbara; Vancour, Michele; Breny, Jean

2010-01-01

Objective: Graduate females represent a substantial and growing proportion of the college student population, yet health promotion research and programming has traditionally focused on undergraduates. This study compared health status and health behaviors of female graduate and undergraduate students at a public university in the northeastern U.S.…

Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 2007-08. Web Tables. NCES 2010-162

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wei, Christina Chang

2010-01-01

In 2007-08, approximately 21 million students were enrolled in undergraduate postsecondary education in the United States. These Web Tables provide a comprehensive source of information on financial aid that was awarded to undergraduate students during the 2007-08 academic year. Included are estimates of tuition, price of attendance, and financial…

Chilean Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers and Undergraduate Students' Understandings of Evolutionary Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cofré, Hernán; Jiménez, Juan; Santibáñez, David; Vergara, Claudia

2016-01-01

Despite the importance of the theory of evolution to scientific knowledge, a number of misconceptions continue to be found among teachers and undergraduate students. The aim of the present study was to describe and characterise knowledge about evolution among 120 freshman undergraduate students of two natural sciences programmes (environmental…

Evaluating Interactive Transect Area Assessments Hands-On Instruction for Natural Resource Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unger, Daniel; Schwab, Sarah; Jacques, Ryan; Zhang, Yanli; Hung, I-Kuai; Kulhavy, David

2016-01-01

Undergraduate students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Spatial Science degree at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) receive instruction in the spatial sciences with a focus on hands-on applications. All undergraduate students take the course Introduction to Spatial Science which includes a comprehensive overview of spatial science…

The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2010. Key Findings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Shannon D.; Caruso, Judith Borreson

2010-01-01

This document presents the key findings from "The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2010". Since 2004, the annual ECAR (EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research) study of undergraduate students and information technology has sought to shed light on how information technology affects the college experience. We…

Career Decision Self-Efficacy among Turkish Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isik, Erkan

2010-01-01

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the career decision-making self-efficacy in a sample of 356 Turkish undergraduate students. Method: With this purpose, 356 (138 females; 218 males) Turkish undergraduate students aged 17-24 completed a Turkish-translated version of Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (CDSE-SF) to…

A Biochemistry of Human Disease Course for Undergraduate and Graduate Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glew, Robert H.; VanderJagt, David L.

2001-01-01

Describes the experiences of a medical school faculty who have been offering for more than 10 years a two-course series in the biochemistry of human disease to undergraduate students majoring in biochemistry, biology, or chemistry. Recommends the teaching of specialized, advanced courses to undergraduate, pre-professional students. (DDR)

Principles of Peer Leadership: An Undergraduate Course for Students in Positions to Serve Fellow Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedel, Curtis R.; Kirland, Kelsey Church; Grimes, Matthew W.

2016-01-01

Principles of Peer Leadership is an undergraduate course developed through the collaboration of leadership educators with colleagues from residence life and fraternity/sorority life to provide instruction to undergraduate students serving in peer leadership positions across campus. The course comprises online and recitation components to connect…

Beyond Graduation: Motivations and Career Aspirations of Undergraduate Chemistry Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogunde, Jared C.; Overton, Tina L.; Thompson, Christopher D.; Mewis, Ruth; Boniface, Suzanne

2017-01-01

This study investigated undergraduate chemistry students' career aspirations and how these vary from one educational system to another in different geographic regions. The participants of this study were undergraduate chemistry students from various institutions located in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The study took place in the form of an…

Diversity in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Perspectives Held by Undergraduate Students at a Predominantly European American University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Littleford, Linh Nguyen

2013-01-01

Undergraduate students (N = 932, 83.8% European Americans, 69.6% women) completed an online survey and reported their definitions of diversity, their attitudes toward incorporating diversity into the curriculum, and their motivations for learning about diversity issues. Findings revealed that students conceptualized diversity primarily in terms of…

Voices Unheard: Using Intersectionality to Understand Identity among Sexually Marginalized Undergraduate College Students of Color

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Elizabeth Irene Ann Annie

2012-01-01

This study used intersectionality as a framework and methodology to understand identity among sexually marginalized undergraduate college students of color. The research questions were as follows: (1) What are the experiences of QLGBTSGL (Queer, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Same Gender Loving) undergraduate students of color on a college…

Changing Perceptions of Science in Undergraduate Students: A Mixed Methods Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson-Miller, Cindy S.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this bounded single-case study was to explore the understanding of the nature and process of science for undergraduate students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). The study investigated one professor's methodology to explicitly teach undergraduate students about the nature and process of science, and documented their…

Entrepreneurial Intentions of University Students: A Study of Design Undergraduates in Spain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ubierna, Francisco; Arranz, Nieves; Fdez de Arroyabe, J. C.

2014-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of the entrepreneurial intentions of university undergraduate students, with particular regard to those studying design. Attitudinal, social and capabilities variables are analysed in order to determine the profile of an entrepreneur. Using a sample of 521 undergraduate students, the findings show that design…

Effective Behavior of EFL Teachers as Perceived by Undergraduate Students in Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Said, Mashadi

2017-01-01

This study attempts to explore the effective behaviors of teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) as perceived by undergraduate students in Indonesia. For this purpose, a questionnaire was administered to 270 Indonesian undergraduate students. The questionnaire addressed seven dimensions of EFL teachers' behavior, which are the following:…

Student Experiences of High-Stakes Testing for Progression in One Undergraduate Nursing Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClenny, Tammy

2016-01-01

High-stakes testing in undergraduate nursing education are those assessments used to make critical decisions for student progression and graduation. The purpose of this study was to explore the different ways students experience multiple high-stakes tests for progression in one undergraduate BSN program. Research participants were prelicensure…

The Examination of the Social Integration Perceptions of Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Özgan, Habib

2018-01-01

This study was aimed to determine the social integration perceptions of undergraduate students and to examine them in terms of certain variables. It was a descriptive study with survey methodology. The data were obtained using the "Social Integration Scale." The study group consisted of 545 undergraduate students during the fall semester…

Undergraduate Student Construction and Interpretation of Graphs in Physics Lab Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nixon, Ryan S.; Godfrey, T. J.; Mayhew, Nicholas T.; Wiegert, Craig C.

2016-01-01

Lab activities are an important element of an undergraduate physics course. In these lab activities, students construct and interpret graphs in order to connect the procedures of the lab with an understanding of the related physics concepts. This study investigated undergraduate students' construction and interpretation of graphs with best-fit…

Introducing Ethics to Chemistry Students in a "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" (REU) Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Mark J.

2015-01-01

A three-day ethics seminar introduced ethics to undergraduate environmental chemistry students in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The seminar helped students become sensitive to and understand the ethical and values dimensions of their work as researchers. It utilized a variety of resources to supplement lectures and…

Effect of a "Look-Ahead" Problem on Undergraduate Engineering Students' Concept Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Kevin; Davis, Julian; McDonald, Thomas

2016-01-01

In an effort to motivate undergraduate engineering students to prepare for class by reviewing material before lectures, a "Look-Ahead" problem was utilized. Students from two undergraduate engineering courses; Statics and Electronic Circuits, were assigned problems from course material that had not yet been covered in class. These…

Undergraduate Students' Pro-Environmental Behavior in Daily Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewi, Widiaswati; Sawitri, Dian R.

2018-02-01

Pro-environmental behavior is an individual action as a manifestation of one's responsibility to create a sustainable environment. University students as one of the agent of change can adopt pro-environmental behaviors concept, even through simple things to do on daily activities such as ride a bicycle or walk for short distance, reuse the shopping bags, separate waste, learn about environmental issues etc. Many studies have examined pro-environmental behavior from various approaches. However, the study about university students' pro-environmental behavior is lacking. The aim of this paper is to examine the undergraduate students' pro-environmental behaviors level. We surveyed 364 first year undergraduate students from a state university in Semarang. The survey included six aspects of pro-environmental behavior in daily practice which include energy conservation, mobility and transportation, waste avoidance, recycling, consumerism, and vicarious behaviors toward conservation. Findings of this study showed the level of pro-environmental behavior of first year undergraduate students is medium. Recommendations for undergraduate students and future researchers are discussed.

Engineering success: Undergraduate Latina women's persistence in an undergradute engineering program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosbottom, Steven R.

The purpose and focus of this narrative inquiry case study were to explore the personal stories of four undergraduate Latina students who persist in their engineering programs. This study was guided by two overarching research questions: a) What are the lived experiences of undergraduate Latina engineering students? b) What are the contributing factors that influence undergraduate Latina students to persist in an undergraduate engineering program? Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth was used to the analyze data. Findings suggest through Yosso's (2005) aspirational capital, familial capital, social capital, navigational capital, and resistant capital the Latina student persisted in their engineering programs. These contributing factors brought to light five themes that emerged, the discovery of academic passions, guidance and support of family and teachers, preparation for and commitment to persistence, the power of community and collective engagement, and commitment to helping others. The themes supported their persistence in their engineering programs. Thus, this study informs policies, practices, and programs that support undergraduate Latina engineering student's persistence in engineering programs.

Satisfaction of undergraduate students at University of Jordan after root canal treatment of posterior teeth using rotary or hand preparation.

PubMed

Abu-Tahun, Ibrahim; El-Ma'aita, Ahmad; Khraisat, Ameen

2016-08-01

The aim of this study was to report the satisfaction of fifth year undergraduate students on the clinical use of rotary endodontic preparation compared with stainless steel standard technique and to evaluate the impact of rotary nickel-titanium instruments on undergraduate teaching. This study was carried out by the fifth year undergraduate students attending peer review sessions as a part of their training program using a questionnaire to assess their satisfaction with these two techniques. The overall results indicated a statistically significant satisfaction of the undergraduate students with the use of the nickel-titanium system (P < 0.001) compared to stainless steel standard technique. Under the conditions of this study, the results showed a positive acceptance and consensus among novice dental students regarding the use of ProTaper rotary files and the need for undergraduate teaching of rotary nickel-titanium systems in Jordan. © 2015 Australian Society of Endodontology Inc.

Undergraduate Research Possibilities with a 0.6m Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carini, M. T.; Barnaby, D.; Gelderman, R.; Marchenko, S.; McGruder, C. H., III; Strolger, L.

2005-12-01

We present a discussion of the research projects that are being carried out by undergraduate students with the 0.6m telescope at the Bell Observatory, operated by Western Kentucky University. As a primarily undergraduate institution, our goal is to provide a meaningful undergraduate educational experience through both quality instruction and engagement of students in mentored research activities. Such activities not only enhance the student's educational experience, but also prepare them to be competitive in graduate school and/or the workplace. Using our modernized 0.6m telescope, our students pursue research projects which investigate a variety of astrophysically interesting problems: variability of Blazars, eclipsing binary stars, Gamma-ray burst identifications and follow up, photometric searches for extra-solar planets, supernova monitoring and survey programs, the relationship between morphological disturbances and activity in Seyfert nuclei, and variability in Wolf Rayet stars. We discuss the instrumentation, projects and results obtained by our undergraduate students, and the impact this has had on their undergraduate experience.

Introducing Research Methods to Undergraduate Majors Through an On-Campus Observatory with The University of Toledo's Ritter Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, Noel; Hardegree-Ullman, Kevin; Bjorkman, Jon Eric; Bjorkman, Karen S.; Ritter Observing Team

2017-01-01

With a 1-m telescope on the University of Toledo (OH) main campus, we have initiated a grad student-undergraduate partnership to help teach the undergraduates observational methods and introduce them to research through peer mentorship. For the last 3 years, we have trained up to 21 undergraduates (primarily physics/astronomy majors) in a given academic semester, ranging from freshman to seniors. Various projects are currently being conducted by undergraduate students with guidance from graduate student mentors, including constructing three-color images, observations of transiting exoplanets, and determination of binary star orbits from echelle spectra. This academic year we initiated a large group research project to help students learn about the databases, journal repositories, and online observing tools astronomers use for day-to-day research. We discuss early inclusion in observational astronomy and research of these students and the impact it has on departmental retention, undergraduate involvement, and academic success.

Group-effort Applied Research: Expanding Opportunities for Undergraduate Research through Original, Class-Based Research Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Sean D.; Teter, Ken

2014-01-01

Undergraduate research clearly enriches the educational development of participating students, but these experiences are limited by the inherent inefficiency of the standard one student-one mentor model for undergraduate research. Group-effort applied research (GEAR) was developed as a strategy to provide substantial numbers of undergraduates with…

Intellectual Growth for Undergraduate Students: Evaluation Results from an Undergraduate Research Conference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potter, Sharyn J.; Abrams, Eleanor; Townson, Lisa; Wake, Cameron; Williams, Julie E.

2010-01-01

We describe the development and evaluation of the university-wide, weeklong undergraduate research conference at the University of New Hampshire. Despite increases nationally in the number of undergraduate research conferences (URC), there has been little research examining the social and educational impact of these events on student presenters.…

Framing the Undergraduate Research Experience: Discovery Involvement in Retailing Undergraduate Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sternquist, Brenda; Huddleston, Patricia; Fairhurst, Ann

2018-01-01

We provide an overview of ways to involve undergraduate business and retailing students in faculty research projects and discuss advantages of these student-faculty collaborations. We use Kolb's experiential learning cycle to provide a framework for creating an effective and engaging undergraduate research experience and use it to classify types…

A Community of Scientists and Educators: The Compass Project at UC Berkeley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roth, Nathaniel; Schwab, Josiah

2016-01-01

The Berkeley Compass Project is a self-formed group of graduate and undergraduate students in the physical sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. Its goals are to improve undergraduate physics education, provide opportunities for professional development, and increase retention of students from populations underrepresented in the physical sciences. For undergraduate students, the core Compass experience consists of a summer program and several seminar courses. These programs are designed to foster a diverse, collaborative student community in which students engage in authentic research practices and regular self-reflection. Graduate students, together with upper-level undergraduates, design and run all Compass programs. Compass strives to incorporate best practices from the science education literature. Experiences in Compass leave participants poised to be successful students researchers, teachers, and mentors.

Perceived Academic Control and Academic Emotions Predict Undergraduate University Student Success: Examining Effects on Dropout Intention and Achievement

PubMed Central

Respondek, Lisa; Seufert, Tina; Stupnisky, Robert; Nett, Ulrike E.

2017-01-01

The present study addressed concerns over the high risk of university students' academic failure. It examined how perceived academic control and academic emotions predict undergraduate students' academic success, conceptualized as both low dropout intention and high achievement (indicated by GPA). A cross-sectional survey was administered to 883 undergraduate students across all disciplines of a German STEM orientated university. The study additionally compared freshman students (N = 597) vs. second-year students (N = 286). Using structural equation modeling, for the overall sample of undergraduate students we found that perceived academic control positively predicted enjoyment and achievement, as well as negatively predicted boredom and anxiety. The prediction of dropout intention by perceived academic control was fully mediated via anxiety. When taking perceived academic control into account, we found no specific impact of enjoyment or boredom on the intention to dropout and no specific impact of all three academic emotions on achievement. The multi-group analysis showed, however, that perceived academic control, enjoyment, and boredom among second-year students had a direct relationship with dropout intention. A major contribution of the present study was demonstrating the important roles of perceived academic control and anxiety in undergraduate students' academic success. Concerning corresponding institutional support and future research, the results suggested distinguishing incoming from advanced undergraduate students. PMID:28326043

Teaching Epidemiology at the Undergraduate Level: Considerations and Approaches.

PubMed

Goldmann, Emily; Stark, James H; Kapadia, Farzana; McQueen, Matthew B

2018-06-01

The rapid growth in undergraduate public health education has offered training in epidemiology to an increasing number of undergraduate students. Epidemiology courses introduce undergraduate students to a population health perspective and provide opportunities for these students to build essential skills and competencies such as ethical reasoning, teamwork, comprehension of scientific methods, critical thinking, quantitative and information literacy, ability to analyze public health information, and effective writing and oral communication. Taking a varied approach and incorporating active learning and assessment strategies can help engage students in the material, improve comprehension of key concepts, and further develop key competencies. In this commentary, we present examples of how epidemiology may be taught in the undergraduate setting. Evaluation of these approaches and others would be a valuable next step.

Patterns of Individual and Organizational Adaptation: The Impact of Blacks in Predominantly White Organizations,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-07-01

3%) were full-time, undergraduate black students (the target population). They were concentrated in three major areas: 23% were in the biological...with their overtones of secrecy and exclusiveness, contributed to the highly differentiated undergraduate student body, Athletes, variously esteemed as... undergraduate student enrollment. And, the black students were thinly distributed across disciplines. Furthermore, one-third of them did not live on campus

Physics Problems Based on Up-to-Date Science and Technology.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Folan, Lorcan M.; Tsifrinovich, Vladimir I.

2007-03-01

We observe a huge chasm between up-to-date science and undergraduate education. The result of this chasm is that current student interest in undergraduate science is low. Consequently, students who are graduating from college are often unable to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by science and technology. Cutting edge science and technology frequently use the methods learned in undergraduate courses, but up-to-date applications are not normally used as examples or for problems in undergraduate courses. There are many physics problems which contain information about the latest achievements in science and technology. But typically, the level of these problems is too advanced for undergraduates. We created physics problems for undergraduate science and engineering students, which are based on the latest achievements in science and technology. These problems have been successfully used in our courses at the Polytechnic University in New York. We believe that university faculty may suggest such problems in order to provide information about the frontiers of science and technological, demonstrate the importance of undergraduate physics in solving contemporary problems and raise the interest of talented students in science. From the other side, our approach may be considered an indirect way for advertising advanced technologies, which undergraduate students and, even more important, future college graduates could use in their working lives.

A comparative study on undergraduate students' academic motivation and academic self-concept.

PubMed

Isiksal, Mine

2010-11-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish and American undergraduate students' academic motivation and academic self-concept scores regarding the years that they spent in university. The analysis was based on 566 (284 Turkish, 282 American) undergraduate students where, Academic Motivation Scale and Academic Self-Concept Scale were used as measuring instruments. The results showed that there was a statistical significant effect of nationality and number of years spent in university on undergraduate students' intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-concept scores. Turkish students had higher intrinsic scores whereas American students had higher extrinsic scores and more positive academic-self concept compared to Turkish partners. Regarding grade level, senior students from both cultures had higher intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept scores compared to other grade levels. In terms of extrinsic motivation, there is steady decline in American students' scores as grade level increases. On the other hand, Turkish undergraduates' extrinsic scores decrease in the second year but increase in the third and fourth year of university education. Results were discussed by taking into consideration the social and cultural differences between two nations.

Alcohol on campus: alcohol-related emergencies in undergraduate college students.

PubMed

Wright, S W; Norton, V C; Dake, A D; Pinkston, J R; Slovis, C M

1998-10-01

We reviewed demographic factors associated with alcohol-related disorders in undergraduates seen in the emergency department (ED) and determined the incidence of alcohol-related ED visits among undergraduates. This prospective, observational study was done in a university-affiliated emergency department. Demographic variables and incidence of students with alcohol-related disorders were analyzed. Of the 616 students seen in the ED during 1 academic year, 101 (16%) had an alcohol-related disorder. White students and freshmen were overrepresented. There were equal numbers of male and female students. The overall annual incidence for an alcohol-related visit among undergraduates was 1.7% per academic year. The incidence for freshmen was 2.9%. Four students were admitted; one died of a severe head injury. We estimate that 1 of every 15 undergraduates at our college comes to our ED with an alcohol-related problem during their 4-year college career. Younger and nonminority students were more commonly seen; there was no difference by sex. Serious outcomes included one death. This study probably underestimates the true incidence of alcohol-related disorders among students on campus.

Promoting Undergraduate Research at Grand Valley State University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riemersma, P.; Mekik, F. A.

2003-12-01

Grand Valley State University (GVSU) is a relatively young, rapidly growing, predominately undergraduate institution of about 20,000 students located in western Michigan in which undergraduate research plays a vital role in the education of our students. Student research is supported and actively promoted by 1) creating university funding opportunities and taking advantage of small outside funding sources 2) building a tradition of undergraduate research 3) incorporating small research activities into classes and 4) educating students explicitly in how to prepare a professional poster, give a professional talk and write a journal article. As the saying goes, if you have money, the students will come. At GVSU most students recognize the value of a research experience but need income to pay for college expenses. The internally funded Student Summer Scholars program at GVSU provides student salary and faculty stipend for a summer research project (\\6000 per grant). The geology department has also been successful at obtaining grants from the NASA Michigan Space Grant Consortium (\\5,000 plus a 100% GVSU match). We have been successful in using these easier to obtain smaller grants to fund undergraduate projects. In some cases small grants actually allow us to pursue "risky" or otherwise difficult to fund projects. Undergraduate research "counts" at GVSU and once a tradition and critical mass of undergraduate research has been established, it can become self-sustaining. To recognize the achievements of undergraduate research at GVSU, there is an annual Student Scholarship Day in which the students (580 university wide) present the results of their research. Also, by persuading students in our introductory classes (for extra credit) to attend Student Scholarship Day, the students, early in their college career, can see what fellow students can accomplish and student presenters can revel in their role of researcher and educator. Such an event helps to build a tradition of undergraduate research. Students are more likely to tackle larger research projects if they have gained confidence and experience by successfully completing smaller research projects. Many upper level geology courses require that students complete a research project. Research projects can range from investigating the grain size variability of river sediment in sedimentology to analyzing a Superfund site in hydrogeology. The geology department is also committed to instructing all our majors in how to organize and communicate the results of their research. Students are required to complete a course in geology Information Literacy and a geology seminar course. The information literacy course instructs the students in how to search for articles, introduces common graphing and computing software and demonstrates how to design and produce a research poster. In seminar, the entire geology faculty participate and instruct and mentor the students as they prepare a research paper and professional talk. In conclusion, we have created a supportive undergraduate research atmosphere at GVSU by acquiring funding for their research, by training our students in how to conduct and present their research, and, perhaps most importantly, by celebrating their accomplishments.

A community of scientists: cultivating scientific identity among undergraduates within the Berkeley Compass Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aceves, Ana V.; Berkeley Compass Project

2015-01-01

The Berkeley Compass Project is a self-formed group of graduate and undergraduate students in the physical sciences at UC Berkeley. Our goals are to improve undergraduate physics education, provide opportunities for professional development, and increase retention of students from populations typically underrepresented in the physical sciences. For students who enter as freshmen, the core Compass experience consists of a summer program and several seminar courses. These programs are designed to foster a diverse, collaborative student community in which students engage in authentic research practices and regular self-reflection. Compass encourages undergraduates to develop an identity as a scientist from the beginning of their university experience.

The Effect of Peer Teaching on Mathematics Academic Achievement of the Undergraduate Students in Oman

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdelkarim, Ra'ed; Abuiyada, Reem

2016-01-01

This study explored the effects of peer teaching on mathematics academic achievement of the undergraduate students in Oman. The sample of this study composed of (32) undergraduate female students enrolled in the course, "Mathematics for Social Sciences I" in Mathematics and Sciences Unit in Dhofar University in spring semester 2014-2015.…

Psychological Comparisons of Undergraduate and Graduate College of Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illovsky, Michael E.

2010-01-01

This is a study of 57 graduate students and 229 undergraduate students in classes preparing them to be teachers. The survey extended over a period of five years, involving 14 classes in a college of education. Using the Personality Research Form scales to compare the psychological aspects of undergraduate and graduate college of education…

Prevalence and Effects of Life Event Exposure among Undergraduate and Community College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anders, Samantha L.; Frazier, Patricia A.; Shallcross, Sandra L.

2012-01-01

The purposes of this study were to assess lifetime and recent exposure to various life events among undergraduate and community college students and to assess the relation between event exposure and a broad range of outcomes (i.e., mental and physical health, life satisfaction, grade point average). Undergraduate students from a midwestern…

The Role of High School Research Experiences in Shaping Students' Research Self-Efficacy and Preparation for Undergraduate Research Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swan, Amy K.; Inkelas, Karen Kurotsuchi; Jones, Jill N.; Pretlow, Joshua; Keller, Tierney F.

2018-01-01

The effects of undergraduate research participation are well documented, but less is known about students' pathways into undergraduate research participation. This mixed-methods study explored the role of an International Baccalaureate research project in students' development of research self-efficacy in high school, and how this development…

Business Faculty and Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Online Learning: A Comparative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanner, John R.; Noser, Thomas C.; Totaro, Michael W.

2009-01-01

In this paper, the authors compare business faculty and undergraduate students' perceptions of online learning. Specifically, a survey was given to a convenience sample of 893 undergraduate students (of which 890 were usable) at two regional universities in the southern United States; a modified version of the survey was mailed to a random sample…

Is Vacation Apprenticeship of Undergraduate Life Science Students a Model for Human Capacity Development in the Life Sciences?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Downs, Colleen Thelma

2010-01-01

A life sciences undergraduate apprenticeship initiative was run during the vacations at a South African university. In particular, the initiative aimed to increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Annually 12-18 undergraduate biology students were apprenticed to various institutions during the January and July vacations from…

An Analysis of the Sleep Quality of Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Briana; Chopak-Foss, Joanne; Punungwe, Fadzai B.

2016-01-01

Background and Aims: The purpose of this study was to measure the sleep quality of a sample of undergraduate students and compare it to the recommendations for young adults from the National Sleep Foundation. Methods: A sample of undergraduate students from a midsized public university in the Southeast were recruited for this study (N = 86). The…

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study of the Experiences of Female African American Undergraduate Engineering Students at a Predominantly White and an Historically Black Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frillman, Sharron Ann

2011-01-01

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of twelve female African Americans enrolled as fulltime undergraduate engineering students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an historically Black university, and seven female African Americans enrolled as undergraduate engineering students at Purdue University in…

Determining the Attitudes of Undergraduate Students Having Vocational Music Education towards Individual Instrument Course According to Different Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uluçay, Taner

2017-01-01

This study was carried out in order to determine attitudes of undergraduate students who studied music vocationally towards the individual instrument course according to the variables of grade, gender, individual instrument and graduated high school type. The research data were obtained from 102 undergraduate students studying in Erzincan…

The Teaching of Ethics in Undergraduate Accounting Programmes: The Students' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Alan

2012-01-01

This paper solicits the views of students in order to assess the goals and effectiveness of the teaching of ethics in undergraduate Accounting programmes. Using a survey and interviews, the opinions of second-year undergraduate students at a UK university were obtained. Their perception of the aims and importance of ethics and their preferred…

Cross-Cultural Difference in Academic Motivation, Academic Self-Esteem, and Upward Social Mobility within a Student Cohort

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mugabe, C.; Brug, P.; Catling, J. C.

2016-01-01

The relationship between academic motivation, support structures, self-esteem, and social mobility was assessed between three culturally distinct Higher Education student cohorts. Two-hundred-and-sixty-seven students took part in the study: 64 American undergraduates; 100 British undergraduates; and 103 Ugandan undergraduates. Using a number of…

Phonetic Transcription Training Improves Adults' Explicit Phonemic Awareness: Evidence from Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werfel, Krystal L.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of phonetic transcription training on the explicit phonemic awareness of adults. Fifty undergraduate students enrolled in a phonetic transcription course and 107 control undergraduate students completed a paper-and-pencil measure of explicit phonemic awareness on the first and last days of…

A New Model for Transitioning Students from the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory to the Research Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollenbeck, Jessica J.; Wixson, Emily N.; Geske, Grant D.; Dodge, Matthew W.; Tseng, T. Andrew; Clauss, Allen D.; Blackwell, Helen E.

2006-01-01

The transformation of 346 chemistry courses into a training experience that could provide undergraduate students with a skill set essential for a research-based chemistry career is presented. The course has an innovative structure that connects undergraduate students with graduate research labs at the semester midpoint and also includes new,…

Undergraduate Students' Attitudes toward Individuals with Disabilities: Integrating Psychology Disability Curriculum and Service-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Wendy; Witschey, Hannah

2018-01-01

This study examined whether combining classroom curriculum with direct experience with people with disabilities (PWDs) can influence change in undergraduate students' attitudes toward PWDs. Undergraduate students (N = 68) enrolled in a psychology course completed the Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale at the beginning and end of the semester.…

A Career Needs Comparison of Elementary School Teachers and Undergraduate Students in an Elementary School Teacher Preparation Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzgerald, Sheila M.

To determine if the career needs of undergraduate students entering a teacher preparation program would be similar to the needs expressed by experienced teachers on the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (MIP), the responses of 100 undergraduate elementary education students at Michigan State University were compared to those of 178 career…

The Effect of Online Dictionaries Usage on EFL Undergraduate Students' Autonomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tananuraksakul, Noparat

2015-01-01

Due to EFL undergraduate students' ineffective learning strategies, which mirror lack of autonomy, this paper is a pilot study into how use of Cambridge Dictionaries Online can affect undergraduate students' autonomy or self-reliance in a Thai EFL context. The link was selectively integrated in a writing classroom as a tool to improve their…

Contributions of Early Work-Based Learning: A Case Study of First Year Pharmacy Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ting, Kang Nee; Wong, Kok Thong; Thang, Siew Ming

2009-01-01

Generally work-based learning opportunities are only offered to students in their penultimate year of undergraduate study. Little is known about the benefits and shortcomings of such experiential learning for students in the early stages of their undergraduate education. This is a mixed method study investigating first year undergraduate pharmacy…

Sexual Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Female Undergraduate Students in Wuhan, China: The Only-Child versus Students with Siblings

PubMed Central

Li, Shiyue; Chen, Rucheng; Cao, Yue; Li, Jingjing; Zuo, Dan; Yan, Hong

2013-01-01

Objectives This study explored sexual knowledge, attitudes and practices of female only-child undergraduates and made a comparison with students with siblings. Methods Anonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the effects of only-child on sexual knowledge, attitudes and practices among female undergraduates. Results Of 4,769 female undergraduate students, 41.0% were only-child and 59.0% were students with siblings. Compared with students with siblings, only-child students scored higher on sex-related knowledge, were more inclined to agree with premarital sex, multiple sex partners, one-night stands, extramarital lovers and homosexuality, and were more likely to have a boyfriend and experience sexual intercourse (73.6% vs. 61.4%; 24.0% vs. 14.0%). Only-children were less likely to experience coercion at first sex and have first sexual intercourse with men not their “boyfriends” than children with siblings (3.3% vs. 6.4%; 20.7% vs. 28.8%). There were no significant differences on other risky sexual behaviors (e.g. multiple sex partners and inconsistent condom use) between the only-child students and students with siblings. Conclusions Sexual knowledge, attitudes and some practices of only-child female undergraduates were different from students with siblings. Intervention should be designed according to different requirements of only-children and non-only-children. PMID:24023905

Sexual knowledge, attitudes and practices of female undergraduate students in Wuhan, China: the only-child versus students with siblings.

PubMed

Li, Shiyue; Chen, Rucheng; Cao, Yue; Li, Jingjing; Zuo, Dan; Yan, Hong

2013-01-01

This study explored sexual knowledge, attitudes and practices of female only-child undergraduates and made a comparison with students with siblings. Anonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the effects of only-child on sexual knowledge, attitudes and practices among female undergraduates. Of 4,769 female undergraduate students, 41.0% were only-child and 59.0% were students with siblings. Compared with students with siblings, only-child students scored higher on sex-related knowledge, were more inclined to agree with premarital sex, multiple sex partners, one-night stands, extramarital lovers and homosexuality, and were more likely to have a boyfriend and experience sexual intercourse (73.6% vs. 61.4%; 24.0% vs. 14.0%). Only-children were less likely to experience coercion at first sex and have first sexual intercourse with men not their "boyfriends" than children with siblings (3.3% vs. 6.4%; 20.7% vs. 28.8%). There were no significant differences on other risky sexual behaviors (e.g. multiple sex partners and inconsistent condom use) between the only-child students and students with siblings. Sexual knowledge, attitudes and some practices of only-child female undergraduates were different from students with siblings. Intervention should be designed according to different requirements of only-children and non-only-children.

Death Anxiety and Education: A Comparison Among Undergraduate and Graduate Students.

PubMed

Nienaber, Kristie; Goedereis, Eric

2015-01-01

The present study investigated the association between level of education and self-reported levels of anxiety regarding death of self and others among undergraduate students (n = 149) and graduate students (n = 92). Participants completed the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale (MFODS) and the Revised Death Anxiety Scale (RDAS). Although undergraduate and graduate students did not differ on Fear of Being Destroyed, graduate students reported lower levels of death anxiety on all remaining measures. Suggestions for future research and implications are discussed.

Development of a structured undergraduate research experience: Framework and implications.

PubMed

Brown, Anne M; Lewis, Stephanie N; Bevan, David R

2016-09-10

Participating in undergraduate research can be a pivotal experience for students in life science disciplines. Development of critical thinking skills, in addition to conveying scientific ideas in oral and written formats, is essential to ensuring that students develop a greater understanding of basic scientific knowledge and the research process. Modernizing the current life sciences research environment to accommodate the growing demand by students for experiential learning is needed. By developing and implementing a structured, theory-based approach to undergraduate research in the life sciences, specifically biochemistry, it has been successfully shown that more students can be provided with a high-quality, high-impact research experience. The structure of this approach allowed students to develop novel, independent projects in a computational molecular modeling lab. Students engaged in an experience in which career goals, problem-solving skills, time management skills, and independence in a research lab were developed. After experiencing this approach to undergraduate research, students reported feeling challenged to think critically and prepared for future career paths. The approach allowed for a progressive learning environment where more undergraduate students could participate in publishable research. Future areas for development include implementation in a bench-top lab and extension to disciplines beyond biochemistry. In this study, it has been shown that utilizing the structured approach to undergraduate research could allow for more students to experience undergraduate research and develop into more confident, independent life scientists well prepared for graduate schools and professional research environments. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(5):463-474, 2016. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Student learning outcomes and attitudes when biotechnology lab partners are of different academic levels.

PubMed

Miller, Heather B; Witherow, D Scott; Carson, Susan

2012-01-01

The North Carolina State University Biotechnology Program offers laboratory-intensive courses to both undergraduate and graduate students. In "Manipulation and Expression of Recombinant DNA," students are separated into undergraduate and graduate sections for the laboratory, but not the lecture, component. Evidence has shown that students prefer pairing with someone of the same academic level. However, retention of main ideas in peer learning environments has been shown to be greater when partners have dissimilar abilities. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that there will be enhanced student learning when lab partners are of different academic levels. We found that learning outcomes were met by both levels of student, regardless of pairing. Average undergraduate grades on every assessment method increased when undergraduates were paired with graduate students. Many of the average graduate student grades also increased modestly when graduate students were paired with undergraduates. Attitudes toward working with partners dramatically shifted toward favoring working with students of different academic levels. This work suggests that offering dual-level courses in which different-level partnerships are created does not inhibit learning by students of different academic levels. This format is useful for institutions that wish to offer "boutique" courses in which student enrollment may be low, but specialized equipment and faculty expertise are needed.

Student Learning Outcomes and Attitudes When Biotechnology Lab Partners Are of Different Academic Levels

PubMed Central

Miller, Heather B.; Witherow, D. Scott; Carson, Susan

2012-01-01

The North Carolina State University Biotechnology Program offers laboratory-intensive courses to both undergraduate and graduate students. In “Manipulation and Expression of Recombinant DNA,” students are separated into undergraduate and graduate sections for the laboratory, but not the lecture, component. Evidence has shown that students prefer pairing with someone of the same academic level. However, retention of main ideas in peer learning environments has been shown to be greater when partners have dissimilar abilities. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that there will be enhanced student learning when lab partners are of different academic levels. We found that learning outcomes were met by both levels of student, regardless of pairing. Average undergraduate grades on every assessment method increased when undergraduates were paired with graduate students. Many of the average graduate student grades also increased modestly when graduate students were paired with undergraduates. Attitudes toward working with partners dramatically shifted toward favoring working with students of different academic levels. This work suggests that offering dual-level courses in which different-level partnerships are created does not inhibit learning by students of different academic levels. This format is useful for institutions that wish to offer “boutique” courses in which student enrollment may be low, but specialized equipment and faculty expertise are needed. PMID:22949428

What Knowledge of Responsible Conduct of Research Do Undergraduates Bring to Their Undergraduate Research Experiences?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mabrouk, Patricia Ann

2016-01-01

Over a three-year period, chemistry and engineering students participating in six Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs were surveyed before and after participating in a research ethics training workshop. The goal was to learn what undergraduate students already knew about key concepts in research ethics at the start of their…

Realizing Student, Faculty, and Institutional Outcomes at Scale: Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity within Systems and Consortia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malachowski, Mitchell; Osborn, Jeffrey M.; Karukstis, Kerry K.; Ambos, Elizabeth L.

2015-01-01

This chapter reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of undergraduate research as a student, faculty, and institutional success pathway, and provides the context for the Council on Undergraduate Research's support for developing and enhancing undergraduate research in systems and consortia. The chapter also provides brief introductions to each…

The Effects of Single Laban Effort Action Instruction on Undergraduate Conducting Students' Gestural Clarity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, John T., Jr.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Laban Effort Action (slash) instruction in an undergraduate conducting class on college wind ensemble member's ratings of conductors' gestural clarity. Participants--undergraduate and graduate wind ensemble members (N = 28)--rated 32 videos of eight undergraduate conducting students who had…

The Impact of Attaining the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma on Academic Performance in Bioscience Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yhnell, Emma; Wood, Heather; Baker, Mathew; Amici-Dargan, Sheila; Taylor, Chris; Randerson, Peter; Shore, Andrew

2016-01-01

Since the introduction of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma Qualification (WBQ) in 2003, an increasing number of students are applying to higher education institutions (HEIs) with this qualification. The advanced-level WBQ is regarded as equivalent to one General Certificate of Education A-Level (GCE A-Level). This study assesses the impact…

Improving the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Teaching Large Classes: Development and Evaluation of a Novel e-Resource in Cancer Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hejmadi, Momna V.

2007-01-01

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a blended learning resource in the biosciences, created by combining online learning with formal face-face lectures and supported by formative assessments. In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching large classes with mixed student cohorts, teaching was delivered through…

[Health education from the perspective of nursing undergraduate students].

PubMed

Colomé, Juliana Silveira; de Oliveira, Dora Lucia Leidens Corrêa

2008-09-01

In the field of health practices, there are different models of health education. The objective of this article was to identify undergraduates' concepts of health education. This descriptive exploratory study used a qualitative approach. It was developed in the Undergraduate Nursing Courses of the Federal University of Santa Maria and Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Subjects were undergraduate students of the last semester before graduation. Data were collected using a semistructured interview, and submitted to thematic content analysis. The results suggest that the undergraduate nursing students' training as health educators is permeated by concepts that are a mixture of traditional and modern assumptions on health education.

The hidden curriculum in undergraduate medical education: qualitative study of medical students' perceptions of teaching.

PubMed

Lempp, Heidi; Seale, Clive

2004-10-02

To study medical students' views about the quality of the teaching they receive during their undergraduate training, especially in terms of the hidden curriculum. Semistructured interviews with individual students. One medical school in the United Kingdom. 36 undergraduate medical students, across all stages of their training, selected by random and quota sampling, stratified by sex and ethnicity, with the whole medical school population as a sampling frame. Medical students' experiences and perceptions of the quality of teaching received during their undergraduate training. Students reported many examples of positive role models and effective, approachable teachers, with valued characteristics perceived according to traditional gendered stereotypes. They also described a hierarchical and competitive atmosphere in the medical school, in which haphazard instruction and teaching by humiliation occur, especially during the clinical training years. Following on from the recent reforms of the manifest curriculum, the hidden curriculum now needs attention to produce the necessary fundamental changes in the culture of undergraduate medical education.

A cultural heuristic approach to the study of Jamaican undergraduate students' achievement motivation.

PubMed

Clayton, Karen E; Zusho, Akane

2016-03-01

In recent years, there have been increasing calls to develop a more contextually based sociocultural perspective of achievement motivation. This mixed-methods study examined why Jamaican undergraduate students are motivated or unmotivated and how this relates to the extant literature on achievement motivation. This study was conducted in two phases and consisted of 175 and 189 Jamaican undergraduate students across phases one and two, respectively. First, a qualitative investigation using open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews explored Jamaican undergraduate students' conceptualization of motivation and the factors that positively or negatively impacted their motivation. The second phase consisted of using prototype theory to capture a hierarchical cognitive representation of Jamaican students' motivation using coded themes derived from phase one of the study. The overall results indicated that personal, cognitive, contextual, and sociocultural factors are important determinants of Jamaican undergraduate students' academic motivation and that sociocultural (e.g., familial, economic, religious) factors appear to play a more critical role in impacting their motivation. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Reflecting on Graphs: Attributes of Graph Choice and Construction Practices in Biology

PubMed Central

Angra, Aakanksha; Gardner, Stephanie M.

2017-01-01

Undergraduate biology education reform aims to engage students in scientific practices such as experimental design, experimentation, and data analysis and communication. Graphs are ubiquitous in the biological sciences, and creating effective graphical representations involves quantitative and disciplinary concepts and skills. Past studies document student difficulties with graphing within the contexts of classroom or national assessments without evaluating student reasoning. Operating under the metarepresentational competence framework, we conducted think-aloud interviews to reveal differences in reasoning and graph quality between undergraduate biology students, graduate students, and professors in a pen-and-paper graphing task. All professors planned and thought about data before graph construction. When reflecting on their graphs, professors and graduate students focused on the function of graphs and experimental design, while most undergraduate students relied on intuition and data provided in the task. Most undergraduate students meticulously plotted all data with scaled axes, while professors and some graduate students transformed the data, aligned the graph with the research question, and reflected on statistics and sample size. Differences in reasoning and approaches taken in graph choice and construction corroborate and extend previous findings and provide rich targets for undergraduate and graduate instruction. PMID:28821538

Undergraduate range management exam: 1999-2014

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Undergraduate Range Management Exam (URME) has been administered to undergraduate students at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management since 1983, with students demonstrating their higher order learning skills and synthesis knowledge of the art and science of rangeland management. ...

A Multiyear Approach to Student-Driven Investigations in Exercise Physiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FitzPatrick, Kathleen A.; Campisi, Jay

2009-01-01

Many undergraduate institutions offer individual research opportunities for upper-level students in independent study courses and summer undergraduate research programs. These are necessarily limited to a small number of students. Greater numbers of students can benefit from incorporating student-directed investigative experiences into…

Three Treatments for Reducing the Worry and Emotionality Components of Test Anxiety with Undergraduate and Graduate College Students: Cognitive-Behavioral Hypnosis, Relaxation Therapy, and Supportive Counseling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sapp, Marty

1996-01-01

Examines the effects of 3 different types of therapy in reducing the worry and emotional components associated with test anxiety among undergraduate (n=45) and graduate (n=45) students. Relaxation therapy was more effective with graduate students, while undergraduates responded more to supportive counseling. (JPS)

What Are the Learning Approaches Applied by Undergraduate Students in English Process Writing Based on Gender?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veloo, Arsaythamby; Krishnasamy, Hariharan N.; Harun, Hana Mulyani

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine gender differences and type of learning approaches among Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) undergraduate students in English writing performance. The study involved 241 (32.8% male & 67.2% female) undergraduate students of UUM who were taking the Process Writing course. This study uses a Two-Factor Study…

Good Practices in Undergraduate Education from the Students' and Faculty's View: Consensus or Disagreement. AIR 1996 Annual Forum Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Negron-Morales, Patricia; And Others

This study examined teaching practices in undergraduate education by surveying 180 undergraduate students and 29 faculty, most in the school of education, at the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. Factors investigated include: (1) degree of agreement between faculty and students on good teaching practices; (2) relationship…

The Conundrum of Social Class: Disparities in Publishing among STEM Students in Undergraduate Research Programs at a Hispanic Majority Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grineski, Sara; Daniels, Heather; Collins, Timothy; Morales, Danielle X.; Frederick, Angela; Garcia, Marilyn

2018-01-01

Research on the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) student development pipeline has largely ignored social class and instead examined inequalities based on gender and race. We investigate the role of social class in undergraduate student research publications. Data come from a sample of 213 undergraduate research participants…

Early Detection of At-Risk Undergraduate Students through Academic Performance Predictors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowtho, Vikash

2017-01-01

Undergraduate student dropout is gradually becoming a global problem and the 39 Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) are no exception to this trend. The purpose of this research was to develop a method that can be used for early detection of students who are at-risk of performing poorly in their undergraduate studies. A sample of 279 students…

A Quasi-Experimental Study of Religiosity of Undergraduate Students Enrolled in an Online Christian Worldview Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markette, Jo Ann Alicia Foley

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not a change in religiosity would occur in undergraduate students at a West Coast Christian university as a result of their participation in an online Christian worldview course. Twenty-six undergraduate students participated in this pretest posttest quasi-experimental study which employed the…

Effects of Screencasting on the Turkish Undergraduate Students' Achievement and Knowledge Acquisitions in Spreadsheet Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tekinarslan, Erkan

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of screencasts on the Turkish undergraduate students' achievement and knowledge acquisitions in spreadsheet applications. The methodology of the study is based on a pretest-posttest experimental design with a control group. A total of 66 undergraduate students in two groups (n = 33 in…

The Undergraduate Field-Research Experience in Global Health: Study Abroad, Service Learning, Professional Training or "None of the Above"?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Kearsley A.

2013-01-01

Interest in short-term international placements in global health training for U.S.-based medical students is growing; the trend is mirrored for global health undergraduate students. Best practices in field-based global health training can increase success for medical students, but we lack a critical framework for the undergraduate global health…

How Do Students' Accounts of Sociology Change over the Course of Their Undergraduate Degrees?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashwin, Paul; Abbas, Andrea; McLean, Monica

2014-01-01

In this article we examine how students' accounts of the discipline of sociology change over the course of their undergraduate degrees. Based on a phenomenographic analysis of 86 interviews with 32 sociology and criminology students over the course of their undergraduate degrees, we constituted five different ways of accounting for sociology.…

The Use of a Serious Game and Academic Performance of Undergraduate Accounting Students: An Empirical Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malaquias, Rodrigo Fernandes; Malaquias, Fernanda Francielle de Oliveira; Borges, Dermeval M., Jr.; Zambra, Pablo

2018-01-01

The literature on serious games (SGs) indicates that they are very useful tools to improve the teaching/learning process. In this paper, we analyze some potential benefits of a SG on academic performance of undergraduate accounting students. The database is comprised of scores obtained by students during an undergraduate discipline related with…

A Comparison of the Views of College of Business Graduate and Undergraduate Students on Qualities Needed in the Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

English, Donald; Manton, Edgar J.; Sami, Abdur Raquib; Dubey, Anvit

2012-01-01

In this study, we have attempted to determine and compare the views of graduate and undergraduate college of business students pertaining to the skills and competencies needed for employment. A questionnaire was administered to graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in the college of business at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Three…

Examination of the Relation between Academic Procrastination and Time Management Skills of Undergraduate Students in Terms of Some Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ocak, Gürbüz; Boyraz, Serkan

2016-01-01

Academic procrastination is seen to be quite common among undergraduates and time management is thought to be one of the possible reasons of it. Two surveys, academic procrastination and time management, were given to 332 undergraduate students in this correlational research. Students' academic procrastination is explained through frequencies and…

Precursors of Professionalism in Senior-Level Undergraduate Business Students and the Implications of These Precursors for Business Education and the Profession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nino, Lana Sami

2012-01-01

Understanding the professional identity of senior-level undergraduate business students may shed light on the rampant unethical acts of business managers in industry. Business education is the largest segment of undergraduate majors, constituting more than 20% of students in four-year institutions, year after year. To explain the professional…

An Exploratory Study of the Factors Influencing Undergraduate Student Choice: The Case of Higher Education in Scotland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briggs, Senga

2006-01-01

This article explores the factors influencing student choice at six contrasting universities in Scotland to establish if there is value in developing a model for predicting institutional choice for Scottish undergraduate entry. It is based on a survey of 651 students in two undergraduate disciplines, accountancy and engineering, across the six…

Analyzing the Attitude of Undergraduate Students toward Poverty and Impoverished Persons: Does Social Work Education Make a Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Robert D.; Yun, Sung Hyun

2011-01-01

This study evaluated the impact that undergraduate social work education had on students' attitude toward poverty as pretest and posttest data were collected from 166 university students enrolled in an undergraduate social work course that included a focus on poverty. At both stages of the study participants responded to a 37-item validated…

Evaluating an Instrument to Quantify Attitude to the Subject of Physiology in Undergraduate Health Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Stephen; White, Sue; Bowmar, Alex; Power, Nicola

2017-01-01

The attitude toward a subject contributes to both academic engagement and success at university, yet it is not routinely measured in undergraduate students. Therefore, in two consecutive introductory courses in Human anatomy and physiology (HAP 1, n = 239, and HAP 2, n = 329), an instrument to quantify undergraduate students' attitude to the…

An Examination of Undergraduates' Metacognitive Strategies in Pre-Class Asynchronous Activity in a Flipped Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yilmaz, Rabia M.; Baydas, Ozlem

2017-01-01

The aim of the study is to examine undergraduate students' awareness of metacognition, the metacognitive strategies they use in their learning and their learning performance in pre-class asynchronous activity in a flipped classroom. The sample consisted of 47 undergraduate students. Eleven students were not included in this study since they did…

Student Perceptions of Their Biology Teacher's Interpersonal Teaching Behaviors and Student Achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madike, Victor N.

Inadequate student-teacher interactions in undergraduate courses have been linked to poor student performance. Researchers have noted that students' perceptions of student-teacher relationships may be an important factor related to student performance. The administration of a Mid-Atlantic community college prioritized increasing undergraduate biology student performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between students' biology achievement and their perceptions of interpersonal teaching behaviors and student-teacher interactions in introductory biology courses. Leary's theory on interpersonal communication and the systems communication theory of Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson served as the theoretical foundation. The Wubbel's Likert-scale questionnaire on student-teacher interactions was administered to 318 undergraduate biology students. Non-parametric Spearman's rank correlations revealed a significant direct correlation between students' grades and their perceptions of teachers' interpersonal teaching behaviors. The relationship between student achievement and students' perceptions of student-teacher interactions prompted the recommendation for additional study on the importance of student-teacher interactions in undergraduate programs. A recommendation for local practice included faculty development on strategies for improving student-teacher interactions. The study's implications for positive social change include increased understanding for administrators and instructors on the importance of teacher-student interactions at the community college level.

Coping with stressful events: A pre-post-test of a psycho-educational intervention for undergraduate nursing and midwifery students.

PubMed

McCarthy, Bridie; Trace, Anna; O'Donovan, Moira; O'Regan, Patricia; Brady-Nevin, Caroline; O'Shea, Maria; Martin, Ann-Marie; Murphy, Margaret

2018-02-01

Knowledge of coping mechanisms is important for nursing and midwifery students to cope with stressful events during undergraduate education. To evaluate the impact of a psycho-educational intervention "Coping with Stressful Events" with first year undergraduate nursing and midwifery students. A quasi-experimental, one-group pre-post-test. One school of nursing/midwifery in one university in Ireland. A convenience sample of all first year undergraduate nursing and midwifery students (n=197). Of these 166 completed the pretest and 138 students completed the post test. Using the COPE Inventory questionnaire (Carver et al., 1989) data was collected pre and post-delivery of the psycho-educational intervention "Coping with Stressful Events" by two research assistants. Data were analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 (NY, USA). Results demonstrated improved coping skills by students. There were statistically significant differences between pre and post intervention for some coping subscales. For example, the mean subscale scores were lower post-intervention for restraint and mental disengagement, and higher for use of emotional and instrumental social support indicating improved coping strategies. This intervention has the potential to influence undergraduate nursing and midwifery students coping skills during their first year of an undergraduate programme. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Undergraduate basic science preparation for dental school.

PubMed

Humphrey, Sue P; Mathews, Robert E; Kaplan, Alan L; Beeman, Cynthia S

2002-11-01

In the Institute of Medicines report Dental Education at the Crossroads, it was suggested that dental schools across the country move toward integrated basic science education for dental and medical students in their curricula. To do so, dental school admission requirements and recommendations must be closely reviewed to ensure that students are adequately prepared for this coursework. The purpose of our study was twofold: 1) to identify student dentists' perceptions of their predental preparation as it relates to course content, and 2) to track student dentists' undergraduate basic science course preparation and relate that to DAT performance, basic science course performance in dental school, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. In the first part of the research, a total of ninety student dentists (forty-five from each class) from the entering classes of 1996 and 1997 were asked to respond to a survey. The survey instrument was distributed to each class of students after each completed the largest basic science class given in their second-year curriculum. The survey investigated the area of undergraduate major, a checklist of courses completed in their undergraduate preparation, the relevance of the undergraduate classes to the block basic science courses, and the strength of requiring or recommending the listed undergraduate courses as a part of admission to dental school. Results of the survey, using frequency analysis, indicate that students felt that the following classes should be required, not recommended, for admission to dental school: Microbiology 70 percent, Biochemistry 54.4 percent, Immunology 57.78 percent, Anatomy 50 percent, Physiology 58.89 percent, and Cell Biology 50 percent. The second part of the research involved anonymously tracking undergraduate basic science preparation of the same students with DAT scores, the grade received in a representative large basic science course, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. Using T-test analysis correlations, results indicate that having completed multiple undergraduate basic science courses (as reported by AADSAS BCP hours) did not significantly (p < .05) enhance student performance in any of these parameters. Based on these results, we conclude that student dentists with undergraduate preparation in science and nonscience majors can successfully negotiate the dental school curriculum, even though the students themselves would increase admission requirements to include more basic science courses than commonly required. Basically, the students' recommendations for required undergraduate basic science courses would replicate the standard basic science coursework found in most dental schools: anatomy, histology, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, and immunology plus the universal foundation course of biology.

New Americans in Postsecondary Education: A Profile of Immigrant and Second-Generation American Undergraduates. Stats in Brief. NCES 2012-213

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staklis, Sandra; Horn, Laura

2012-01-01

This Statistics in Brief describes the undergraduate experiences of students who immigrated to the United States or who had at least one immigrant parent (second-generation Americans). The analysis compares these two groups with all undergraduates (excluding foreign students) and with third-or higher generation American undergraduates whose…

SPIN-UP and Preparing Undergraduate Physics Majors for Careers in Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howes, Ruth

2011-03-01

Seven years ago, the Strategic Programs for Innovations in Undergraduate Physics (SPIN-UP) Report produced by the National Task Force on Undergraduate Physics identified several key characteristics of thriving undergraduate physics departments including steps these departments had taken to prepare students better for careers in industry. Today statistical data from AIP shows that almost 40% of students graduating with a degree in physics seek employment as soon as they graduate. Successful undergraduate physics programs have taken steps to adapt their rigorous physics programs to ensure that graduating seniors have the skills they need to enter the industrial workplace as well as to go on to graduate school in physics. Typical strategies noted during a series of SPIN-UP workshops funded by a grant from NSF to APS, AAPT, and AIP include flexible curricula, early introduction of undergraduates to research techniques, revised laboratory experiences that provide students with skills they need to move directly into jobs, and increased emphasis on ``soft'' skills such as communication and team work. Despite significant success, undergraduate programs face continuing challenges in preparing students to work in industry, most significantly the fact that there is no job called ``physicist'' at the undergraduate level. supported by grant NSF DUE-0741560.

Advancing Space Sciences through Undergraduate Research Experiences at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory - a novel approach to undergraduate internships for first generation community college students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raftery, C. L.; Davis, H. B.; Peticolas, L. M.; Paglierani, R.

2015-12-01

The Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley launched an NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in the summer of 2015. The "Advancing Space Sciences through Undergraduate Research Experiences" (ASSURE) program recruited heavily from local community colleges and universities, and provided a multi-tiered mentorship program for students in the fields of space science and engineering. The program was focussed on providing a supportive environment for 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates, many of whom were first generation and underrepresented students. This model provides three levels of mentorship support for the participating interns: 1) the primary research advisor provides academic and professional support. 2) The program coordinator, who meets with the interns multiple times per week, provides personal support and helps the interns to assimilate into the highly competitive environment of the research laboratory. 3) Returning undergraduate interns provided peer support and guidance to the new cohort of students. The impacts of this program on the first generation students and the research mentors, as well as the lessons learned will be discussed.

An international model for staffing maternal and child health research: the use of undergraduate students.

PubMed

Wallis, Anne Baber; Chereches, Răzvan; Oprescu, Florin; Brînzaniuc, Alexandra; Dungy, Claibourne I

2007-09-01

Constrained resources in Central and Eastern Europe limit the capacity of local and national health ministries to study breastfeeding practices or implement evidence-based breastfeeding support programs. This paper describes an innovative model for studying an important maternal and child health (MCH) problem by training undergraduate students to strengthen local capacity for research. An international team of researchers from Romania and the United States designed a study conducted at Babeş-Bolyai University and two academic maternity hospitals in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The objectives were to (1) spark interest in breastfeeding research among undergraduates, (2) develop empirical knowledge about breastfeeding, and (3) train a team of undergraduate students to collect, manage, and enter study data. A team of carefully selected undergraduate students was trained in survey design, data collection, data entry, and interviewing skills. Internet technology was used to facilitate communication and to transfer data. The project resulted in a trained cadre of undergraduate students able to conduct survey research on breastfeeding practices with skills ranging from questionnaire design and implementation to descriptive data analysis. Empirical data obtained from the study will be used for student projects, to stimulate new breastfeeding support policies and programs, and to apply for research grants. Undergraduate students in developing countries in Central and Eastern Europe are a valuable, untapped resource for expanding MCH capacity. We recommend adoption of this cost-effective approach to foster high-quality MCH research.

Undergraduate Women's Persistence in the Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George-Jackson, Casey E.

2014-01-01

This study uses longitudinal data of undergraduate students from five public land-grant universities to better understand undergraduate students' persistence in and switching of majors, with particular attention given to women's participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Specifically, the study examines…

Students' Perceptions of an Applied Research Experience in an Undergraduate Exercise Science Course.

PubMed

Pearson, Regis C; Crandall, K Jason; Dispennette, Kathryn; Maples, Jill M

2017-01-01

Applied research experiences can provide numerous benefits to undergraduate students, however few studies have assessed the perceptions of Exercise Science (EXS) students to an applied research experience. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to describe the rationale and implementation of an applied research experience into an EXS curriculum and 2) to evaluate EXS undergraduate students' perceptions of an applied research experience. An EXS measurement course was chosen for implementation of an applied research experience. The applied research experience required groups of students to design, implement, and evaluate a student-led research project. Fourteen questions were constructed, tailored to EXS undergraduate students, to assess students' perceptions of the experience. Qualitative analysis was used for all applicable data, with repeated trends noted; quantitative data were collapsed to determine frequencies. There was an overall positive student perception of the experience and 85.7% of students agreed an applied research experience should be continued. 84.7% of students perceived the experience as educationally enriching, while 92.8% reported the experience was academically challenging. This experience allowed students to develop comprehensive solutions to problems that arose throughout the semester; while facilitating communication, collaboration, and problem solving. Students believed research experiences were beneficial, but could be time consuming when paired with other responsibilities. Results suggest an applied research experience has the potential to help further the development of EXS undergraduate students. Understanding student perceptions of an applied research experience may prove useful to faculty interested in engaging students in the research process.

What do medical students understand by research and research skills? Identifying research opportunities within undergraduate projects.

PubMed

Murdoch-Eaton, Deborah; Drewery, Sarah; Elton, Sarah; Emmerson, Catherine; Marshall, Michelle; Smith, John A; Stark, Patsy; Whittle, Sue

2010-01-01

Undergraduate research exposure leads to increased recruitment into academic medicine, enhanced employability and improved postgraduate research productivity. Uptake of undergraduate research opportunities is reported to be disappointing, and little is known about how students perceive research. To investigate opportunities for undergraduate participation in research, recognition of such opportunities, and associated skills development. A mixed method approach, incorporating student focus and study groups, and documentary analysis at five UK medical schools. Undergraduates recognised the benefits of acquiring research skills, but identified practical difficulties and disadvantages of participating. Analysis of 905 projects in four main research skill areas - (1) research methods; (2) information gathering; (3) critical analysis and review; (4) data processing - indicated 52% of projects provided opportunities for students to develop one or more skills, only 13% offered development in all areas. In 17%, project descriptions provided insufficient information to determine opportunities. Supplied with information from a representative sample of projects (n = 80), there was little consensus in identifying skills among students or between students and researchers. Consensus improved dramatically following guidance on how to identify skills. Undergraduates recognise the benefits of research experience but need a realistic understanding of the research process. Opportunities for research skill development may not be obvious. Undergraduates require training to recognise the skills required for research and enhanced transparency in potential project outcomes.

Investigating Undergraduate Science Students' Conceptions and Misconceptions of Ocean Acidification.

PubMed

Danielson, Kathryn I; Tanner, Kimberly D

2015-01-01

Scientific research exploring ocean acidification has grown significantly in past decades. However, little science education research has investigated the extent to which undergraduate science students understand this topic. Of all undergraduate students, one might predict science students to be best able to understand ocean acidification. What conceptions and misconceptions of ocean acidification do these students hold? How does their awareness and knowledge compare across disciplines? Undergraduate biology, chemistry/biochemistry, and environmental studies students, and science faculty for comparison, were assessed on their awareness and understanding. Results revealed low awareness and understanding of ocean acidification among students compared with faculty. Compared with biology or chemistry/biochemistry students, more environmental studies students demonstrated awareness of ocean acidification and identified the key role of carbon dioxide. Novel misconceptions were also identified. These findings raise the question of whether undergraduate science students are prepared to navigate socioenvironmental issues such as ocean acidification. © 2015 K. I. Danielson and K. D. Tanner. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Valued experiences of graduate students in their role as educators in undergraduate training in Ugandan medical schools.

PubMed

Rukundo, Godfrey Zari; Kasozi, Jannat; Burani, Aluonzi; Byona, Wycliff; Kirimuhuzya, Claude; Kiguli, Sarah

2017-11-25

In most medical schools, graduate students, sometimes referred to as graduate teaching assistants, often participate in the training of undergraduate students. In developing countries like Uganda, are typically involved in undergraduate training. However, prior to this study there were no standard guidelines for this involvement. At the same time, the views and experiences of the graduate students in their role as educators had not been documented. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the views and experiences of graduate students about their involvement in undergraduate training in three Ugandan medical schools. The findings of this study will contribute to the development of policies for training in Ugandan medical schools. This was a qualitative study in which thirty in-depth-interviews were conducted among second and third year graduate students in three Ugandan medical schools in the MESAU consortium (Medical Education Services to all Ugandans) including Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Makerere College of Health Sciences and Kampala International University, Western Campus. All graduate students from all the three medical schools viewed their involvement in undergraduate training as important. The study also revealed that graduate students increase available human resources and often compensate for the teaching missed when senior educators were absent. The graduate students expressed important views that need to be considered in the design of educational programs where they are to be involved. The respondents also reported a number of challenges in this undertaking that included lack of motivation, lack of orientation and having heavy workloads. The presence and commitment of senior educators to guide and support the graduate students in teaching activities was viewed as one significant intervention that would increase the effectiveness of their educational contributions. Graduate students enjoy their involvement in the training of undergraduate students despite the various challenges they face. In some departments, the involvement of postgraduate trainees is critical to the viability of undergraduate medical training.

The attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards mental health nursing: a systematic review.

PubMed

Happell, Brenda; Gaskin, Cadeyrn J

2013-01-01

To present the findings of a systematic review on (1) the attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards mental health nursing and (2) the influence of undergraduate nursing education on the attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards mental health nursing. Recruitment and retention of mental health nurses is challenging. Undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards mental health nursing may influence whether they choose to practice in this specialty upon graduation. A systematic review. Searches of the CINAHL, MEDLINE and PsycINFO electronic databases returned 1400 records, of which 17 met the inclusion criteria for this review. A further four papers were obtained through scanning the reference lists of those articles included from the initial literature search. Research on the attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards mental health nursing has consistently shown that mental health is one of the least preferred areas of nursing for a potential career. With respect to the influence of undergraduate nursing education on the attitudes of students towards mental health nursing, quasi-experimental studies have generally demonstrated that students tended to have more favourable attitudes towards mental health nursing when they had received more hours of theoretical preparation and undertaken longer clinical placements. Many nursing students regard mental health nursing as the least preferred career option. Education, via classroom teaching and clinical placements, seems to engender more positive attitudes towards mental health nursing. There is no evidence, however, that changing student attitudes results in more graduates beginning careers in mental health nursing. REFERENCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The constancy of negative attitudes to mental health nursing over time suggests the focus of research should shift. Clinicians have the capacity to promote a more positive view of mental health nursing. This requires further exploration. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Undergraduate Research and Its Impact on Student Success for Underrepresented Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Donnell, Ken; Botelho, Judy; Brown, Jessica; González, Gerardo M.; Head, William

2015-01-01

This chapter captures the mission and spirit of the California State University in its efforts to institutionalize undergraduate research and support the success of students traditionally underrepresented in higher education.

Australian Undergraduate Biotechnology Student Attitudes towards the Teaching of Ethics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lysaght, Tamra; Rosenberger, Philip J., III; Kerridge, Ian

2006-08-01

In recent years, ethics has become part of most tertiary biotechnology curricula. There is, however, considerable variation in the extent and manner of ethics education provided to students in different institutions. In addition, the perceived need that students and employers have regarding ethics education, and the aims and expected outcomes of ethics education, are rarely made clear. This research reports the findings of a questionnaire administered to 375 undergraduate biotechnology students from 19 Australian universities to determine their attitudes towards the teaching of ethics. The results suggest that undergraduate biotechnology students generally regard ethics education to be important and that ethics should be included in undergraduate biotechnology curricula. Students tended, however, to emphasize the professional and industrial side of ethics and not to recognize the personal effects of morals and behaviour. We provide suggestions for rethinking how ethics should be taught.

Personal microbiome analysis improves student engagement and interest in Immunology, Molecular Biology, and Genomics undergraduate courses

PubMed Central

Bridgewater, Laura C.; Jensen, Jamie L.; Breakwell, Donald P.; Nielsen, Brent L.; Johnson, Steven M.

2018-01-01

A critical area of emphasis for science educators is the identification of effective means of teaching and engaging undergraduate students. Personal microbiome analysis is a means of identifying the microbial communities found on or in our body. We hypothesized the use of personal microbiome analysis in the classroom could improve science education by making courses more applied and engaging for undergraduate students. We determined to test this prediction in three Brigham Young University undergraduate courses: Immunology, Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory, and Genomics. These three courses have a two-week microbiome unit and students during the 2016 semester students could submit their own personal microbiome kit or use the demo data, whereas during the 2017 semester students were given access to microbiome data from an anonymous individual. The students were surveyed before, during, and after the human microbiome unit to determine whether analyzing their own personal microbiome data, compared to analyzing demo microbiome data, impacted student engagement and interest. We found that personal microbiome analysis significantly enhanced the engagement and interest of students while completing microbiome assignments, the self-reported time students spent researching the microbiome during the two week microbiome unit, and the attitudes of students regarding the course overall. Thus, we found that integrating personal microbiome analysis in the classroom was a powerful means of improving student engagement and interest in undergraduate science courses. PMID:29641525

Personal microbiome analysis improves student engagement and interest in Immunology, Molecular Biology, and Genomics undergraduate courses.

PubMed

Weber, K Scott; Bridgewater, Laura C; Jensen, Jamie L; Breakwell, Donald P; Nielsen, Brent L; Johnson, Steven M

2018-01-01

A critical area of emphasis for science educators is the identification of effective means of teaching and engaging undergraduate students. Personal microbiome analysis is a means of identifying the microbial communities found on or in our body. We hypothesized the use of personal microbiome analysis in the classroom could improve science education by making courses more applied and engaging for undergraduate students. We determined to test this prediction in three Brigham Young University undergraduate courses: Immunology, Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory, and Genomics. These three courses have a two-week microbiome unit and students during the 2016 semester students could submit their own personal microbiome kit or use the demo data, whereas during the 2017 semester students were given access to microbiome data from an anonymous individual. The students were surveyed before, during, and after the human microbiome unit to determine whether analyzing their own personal microbiome data, compared to analyzing demo microbiome data, impacted student engagement and interest. We found that personal microbiome analysis significantly enhanced the engagement and interest of students while completing microbiome assignments, the self-reported time students spent researching the microbiome during the two week microbiome unit, and the attitudes of students regarding the course overall. Thus, we found that integrating personal microbiome analysis in the classroom was a powerful means of improving student engagement and interest in undergraduate science courses.

Undergraduate Medical Students Using Facebook as a Peer-Mentoring Platform: A Mixed-Methods Study.

PubMed

Pinilla, Severin; Nicolai, Leo; Gradel, Maximilian; Pander, Tanja; Fischer, Martin R; von der Borch, Philip; Dimitriadis, Konstantinos

2015-10-27

Peer mentoring is a powerful pedagogical approach for supporting undergraduate medical students in their learning environment. However, it remains unclear what exactly peer mentoring is and whether and how undergraduate medical students use social media for peer-mentoring activities. We aimed at describing and exploring the Facebook use of undergraduate medical students during their first 2 years at a German medical school. The data should help medical educators to effectively integrate social media in formal mentoring programs for medical students. We developed a coding scheme for peer mentoring and conducted a mixed-methods study in order to explore Facebook groups of undergraduate medical students from a peer-mentoring perspective. All major peer-mentoring categories were identified in Facebook groups of medical students. The relevance of these Facebook groups was confirmed through triangulation with focus groups and descriptive statistics. Medical students made extensive use of Facebook and wrote a total of 11,853 posts and comments in the respective Facebook groups (n=2362 total group members). Posting peaks were identified at the beginning of semesters and before exam periods, reflecting the formal curriculum milestones. Peer mentoring is present in Facebook groups formed by undergraduate medical students who extensively use these groups to seek advice from peers on study-related issues and, in particular, exam preparation. These groups also seem to be effective in supporting responsive and large-scale peer-mentoring structures; formal mentoring programs might benefit from integrating social media into their activity portfolio.

Interactivity Communication and Trust: Further Studies of Leadership in the Electronic Age

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

composure, (h) favorable evaluation, and (i) decision-making effectiveness. Sample and Method. Participants (N = 146) were undergraduate students in...impairs decision quality when deceit and invalid information are introduced. Sample and Method. Participants (N = 126) were undergraduate students enrolled... undergraduate business students (N = 66) in two geographically distant U.S. universities participated in a four-week project using a web-based computer

The Impact of a Required Undergraduate Health and Wellness Course on Students' Awareness and Knowledge of Physical Activity and Chronic Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuruganti, Usha

2014-01-01

As part of the undergraduate curriculum, the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) requires all students to take an undergraduate course in physical activity, health and wellness in their third year of study. This capstone course allows students to integrate concepts from their program regarding physical activity,…

Student Engagement in a Large Classroom: Using Technology to Generate a Hybridized Problem- Based Learning Experience in a Large First Year Undergraduate Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fukuzawa, Sherry; Boyd, Cleo

2016-01-01

Large first year undergraduate courses have unique challenges in the promotion of student engagement and self-directed learning due to resource constraints that prohibit small group discussions with instructors. The Monthly Virtual Mystery was developed to increase student engagement in a large (N = 725) first year undergraduate class in…

Cultivating the scientific research ability of undergraduate students in teaching of genetics.

PubMed

Xing, Wan-jin; Morigen, Morigen

2016-11-20

The classroom is the main venue for undergraduate teaching. It is worth pondering how to cultivate undergraduate's research ability in classroom teaching. Here we introduce the practices and experiences in teaching reform in genetics for training the research quality of undergraduate students from six aspects: (1) constructing the framework for curriculum framework systematicaly, (2) using the teaching content to reflect research progress, (3) explaining knowledge points with research activities, (4) explaining the scientific principles and experiments with PPT animation, (5) improving English reading ability through bilingual teaching, and (6) testing students' analysing ability through examination. These reforms stimulate undergraduate students' enthusiasm for learning, cultivate their ability to find, analyze and solve scientific problems, and improve their English reading and literature reviewing capacity, which lay a foundation for them to enter the field of scientific research.

Nontraditional Student Withdrawal from Undergraduate Accounting Programmes: A Holistic Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fortin, Anne; Sauvé, Louise; Viger, Chantal; Landry, France

2016-01-01

A collaborative project of several Quebec universities, this study investigates nontraditional student withdrawal from undergraduate accounting programmes. A nontraditional student is older than 24, or is a commuter or a part-time student, or combines some of these characteristics. Univariate and multivariate analyses of student dropout factors…

Political Beliefs and the Academic Responsibilities of Undergraduate Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frueh, Jamie; Blaney, David L.; Dunn, Kevin; Goff, Patricia; Leonard, Eric K.; Sharoni, Simona

2008-01-01

This forum reconstructs a roundtable discussion about the academic responsibilities of International Relations professors with respect to their undergraduate students. Specifically, participants discuss the proper pedagogical role of professors' personal political beliefs and the best ways to encourage undergraduate students to engage political…

Predictors of Psychology Undergraduate Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catling, Jonathan; Mason, Victoria; Jones, Tim

2013-01-01

Undergraduate students may succeed or fail within their studies for a myriad of different reasons. Within this exploratory study we assess some of the academic, psychosocial and demographic predictors of student attainment. Using a questionnaire, first-year psychology undergraduates were assessed for a number of demographic, socioeconomic,…

Student Effort in and Perceived Benefits from Undergraduate Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salsman, Nicholas; Dulaney, Cynthia L.; Chinta, Ravi; Zascavage, Victoria; Joshi, Hem

2013-01-01

The benefits of student engagement in undergraduate research are well-recognized by many higher education institutions. Increased emphasis on undergraduate research in these institutions has taken many forms resulting in considerable differences across institutions ranging from "light touch" to "heavy duty" involvement of…

Cultivating and Nurturing Undergraduate IS Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tams, Stefan

2014-01-01

Assurance of student motivation and retention is a central challenge for Information Systems faculty. A promising means of stimulating interest in the Information Systems major and in subsequent graduate degree programs is undergraduate Information Systems research. Undergraduate Information Systems research allows students to engage more deeply…

Beliefs and Uses of Tagging among Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramer-Duffield, Jacob

2010-01-01

Context: This dissertation examines beliefs and uses regarding tagging among current undergraduate students, and examines the ecology of communications practice and implications for formation and maintenance of identity within the population. Currently enrolled undergraduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill formed the population for examination. …

The Potential to use Publication of Undergraduate Research as a Teaching Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brevik, Eric C.; Lindbo, David L.; Belcher, Christopher

2015-04-01

Several studies crossing numerous disciplinary boundaries have demonstrated that undergraduate students benefit from research experiences. These benefits include personal and intellectual development, more and closer contact with faculty, the use of active learning techniques, the creation of high expectations, the development of creative and problem-solving skills, and the development of greater independence and intrinsic motivation to learn. The discipline also gains in that studies show undergraduates who engage in research experiences are more likely to remain science majors and finish their degree program. Research experiences come as close as possible to allowing undergraduates to experience what it is like to be an academic or research member of their profession working to advance their discipline, therefore enhancing their professional socialization into their chosen field. If the goals achieved by undergraduate research include introducing these students to the advancement of their chosen field, it stands to reason the ultimate ending to this experience would be the publication of a peer-reviewed paper. While not all undergraduate projects will end with a product worthy of peer-reviewed publication, some definitely do, and the personal experience of the authors indicates that undergraduate students who achieve publication get great satisfaction and a sense of personal achievement from that publication. While a top-tier international journal probably isn't going to be the ultimate destination for many of these projects, there are several appropriate outlets. The SSSA journal Soil Horizons has published several undergraduate projects in recent years, and good undergraduate projects can often be published in state academy of science journals. Journals focused expressly on publishing undergraduate research include the Journal of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Excellence, Reinvention, and the American Journal of Undergraduate Research. Case studies of students who have published undergraduate research will be discussed.

Undergraduate Research as a Primary Pathway to STEM Careers: Perspectives from the Council on Undergraduate Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manley, P. L.; Ambos, E. L.

2012-12-01

Undergraduate research (UR) is one of the most authentic and effective ways to promote student learning, and is a high-impact educational practice that can lead to measurable gains in student retention and graduation rates, as well as career aspirations. In recent years, UR has expanded from intensive summer one-on-one faculty-student mentored experiences to application in a variety of educational settings, including large lower division courses. The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), founded in 1978, is a national organization of individual (8000) and institutional members (650) within a divisional structure that includes geosciences, as well as 10 other thematic areas. CUR's main mission is to support and promote high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship that develops learning through research. CUR fulfills this mission through extensive publication offerings, faculty and student-directed professional development events, and outreach and advocacy activities that share successful models and strategies for establishing, institutionalizing, and sustaining undergraduate research programs. Over the last decade, CUR has worked with hundreds of academic institutions, including two-year colleges, to develop practices to build undergraduate research into campus cultures and operations. As documented in CUR publications such as Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research (COEUR), strategies institutions may adopt to enhance and sustain UR often include: (1) the establishment of a central UR campus office, (2) extensive student and faculty participation in campus-based, as well as regional UR celebration events, (3) development of a consistent practice of assessment of UR's impact on student success, and, (4) establishment of clear policies for recognizing and rewarding faculty engagement in UR, particularly with respect to mentorship and publication with student scholars. Three areas of current focus within the international UR community are particularly important to considerations of broadening and strengthening the pipeline of students entering careers in geosciences and other STEM disciplines: (1) embedding UR more effectively and systematically throughout the undergraduate curriculum, (2) connecting UR experiences with student developmental arcs in content knowledge and skill integration, and, (3) growing the scholarship of study of impact of UR on student success and professional achievements. Case studies of institutions, particularly those that represent collaborations between two and four year colleges and universities, that are successfully addressing these focus areas will be presented, along with specific challenges to expanding the use of UR in lower division curricula.

Undergraduates achieve learning gains in plant genetics through peer teaching of secondary students.

PubMed

Chrispeels, H E; Klosterman, M L; Martin, J B; Lundy, S R; Watkins, J M; Gibson, C L; Muday, G K

2014-01-01

This study tests the hypothesis that undergraduates who peer teach genetics will have greater understanding of genetic and molecular biology concepts as a result of their teaching experiences. Undergraduates enrolled in a non-majors biology course participated in a service-learning program in which they led middle school (MS) or high school (HS) students through a case study curriculum to discover the cause of a green tomato variant. The curriculum explored plant reproduction and genetic principles, highlighting variation in heirloom tomato fruits to reinforce the concept of the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. HS students were taught additional activities related to mole-cular biology techniques not included in the MS curriculum. We measured undergraduates' learning outcomes using pre/postteaching content assessments and the course final exam. Undergraduates showed significant gains in understanding of topics related to the curriculum they taught, compared with other course content, on both types of assessments. Undergraduates who taught HS students scored higher on questions specific to the HS curriculum compared with undergraduates who taught MS students, despite identical lecture content, on both types of assessments. These results indicate the positive effect of service-learning peer-teaching experiences on undergraduates' content knowledge, even for non-science major students. © 2014 H. E. Chrispeels et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The Role Biomedical Science Laboratories Can Play in Improving Science Knowledge and Promoting First-Year Nursing Academic Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arneson, Pam

2011-01-01

The need for additional nursing and health care professionals is expected to increase dramatically over the next 20 years. With this in mind, students must have strong biomedical science knowledge to be competent in their field. Some studies have shown that participation in bioscience laboratories can enhance science knowledge. If this is true, an…

Simulation as a learning strategy: supporting undergraduate nursing students with disabilities.

PubMed

Azzopardi, Toni; Johnson, Amanda; Phillips, Kirrilee; Dickson, Cathy; Hengstberger-Sims, Cecily; Goldsmith, Mary; Allan, Trevor

2014-02-01

To promote simulation as a learning strategy to support undergraduate nursing students with disabilities. Supporting undergraduate nursing students with disabilities has gained further momentum because of amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act in 2009. Providers of higher education must now ensure proactive steps to prevent discrimination against students with a disability are implemented to assist in course progression. Simulation allows for the impact of a student's disability to be assessed and informs the determination of reasonable adjustments to be implemented. Further suitable adjustments can then be determined in a safe environment and evaluated prior to scheduled placement. Auditing in this manner, offers a risk management strategy for all while maintaining the academic integrity of the program. Discursive. Low, medium and high fidelity simulation activities critically analysed and their application to support undergraduate nursing students with disabilities assessed. With advancing technology and new pedagogical approaches simulation as a learning strategy can play a significant role. In this role, simulation supports undergraduate nursing students with disabilities to meet course requirements, while offering higher education providers an important risk management strategy. The discussion recommends simulation is used to inform the determination of reasonable adjustments for undergraduate nursing students with disabilities as an effective, contemporary curriculum practice. Adoption of simulation, in this way, will meet three imperatives: comply with current legislative requirements, embrace advances in learning technologies and embed one of the six principles of inclusive curriculum. Achieving these imperatives is likely to increase accessibility for all students and offer students with a disability a supportive learning experience. Provides capacity to systematically assess, monitor, evaluate and support students with a disability. The students' reasonable adjustments can be determined prior to attending clinical practice to minimise risks and ensure the safety of all. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Health care voluntourism: addressing ethical concerns of undergraduate student participation in global health volunteer work.

PubMed

McCall, Daniel; Iltis, Ana S

2014-12-01

The popularity and availability of global health experiences has increased, with organizations helping groups plan service trips and companies specializing in "voluntourism," health care professionals volunteering their services through different organizations, and medical students participating in global health electives. Much has been written about global health experiences in resource poor settings, but the literature focuses primarily on the work of health care professionals and medical students. This paper focuses on undergraduate student involvement in short term medical volunteer work in resource poor countries, a practice that has become popular among pre-health professions students. We argue that the participation of undergraduate students in global health experiences raises many of the ethical concerns associated with voluntourism and global health experiences for medical students. Some of these may be exacerbated by or emerge in unique ways when undergraduates volunteer. Guidelines and curricula for medical student engagement in global health experiences have been developed. Guidelines specific to undergraduate involvement in such trips and pre-departure curricula to prepare students should be developed and such training should be required of volunteers. We propose a framework for such guidelines and curricula, argue that universities should be the primary point of delivery even when universities are not organizing the trips, and recommend that curricula should be developed in light of additional data.

A Survey of Final-year Undergraduate Laboratory Projects in Biochemistry and Related Degrees in Great Britain.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Caroline A.

1997-01-01

Analyzes undergraduate research projects in biochemistry and related subjects at British universities. Discusses the trend toward students doing less research as part of their undergraduate study. Reasons cited for this trend include increased student numbers and costs. (DDR)

Imitation in Undergraduate Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Jiangyuan; Guo, Wei

2016-01-01

Research in developmental psychology and neuroscience has demonstrated the critical role of imitation in human learning. Self-report questionnaires collected from 456 undergraduate students in two U.S. institutions and one Chinese institution demonstrated that undergraduate students from both U.S. and Chinese cultures used various imitations in…

Absenteeism in Undergraduate Business Education: A Proposed Model and Exploratory Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Lisa A.

2010-01-01

One issue in undergraduate business education remaining underexamined is student absenteeism. In this article, the literature on undergraduate absenteeism is reviewed culminating in a proposed conceptual framework to guide future research, and an exploratory investigation of management students' attitudes about absenteeism is conducted.…

Portuguese as a Minority Language: Attitudes of Undergraduate Students Studying Portuguese Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reis, Sonia Maria Nunes

2011-01-01

The differences between European Portuguese (EP) and Brazilian Portuguese (BP) raise some interesting issues that are well worth considering through undergraduate university students' perceptions and attitudes. Instructors of undergraduate courses in Portuguese literature suggest that in terms of curriculum design, curriculum delivery, and…

Why Work with Undergraduate Researchers? Differences in Research Advisors’ Motivations and Outcomes by Career Stage

PubMed Central

Hayward, Charles N.; Laursen, Sandra L.; Thiry, Heather

2017-01-01

Undergraduate research is often hailed as a solution to increasing the number and quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduates needed to fill the high-tech jobs of the future. Student benefits of research are well documented but the emerging literature on advisors’ perspectives is incomplete: only a few studies have included the graduate students and postdocs who often serve as research advisors, and not much is known about why research advisors choose to work with undergraduate researchers. We report the motivations for advising undergraduate researchers, and the related costs and benefits of doing so, from 30 interviews with research advisors at various career stages. Many advisors stated intrinsic motivations, but a small group of early-career advisors expressed only instrumental motivations. We explore what this means for how advisors work with student researchers, the benefits students may or may not gain from the experience, and the implications for training and retaining research advisors who can provide high-quality research experiences for undergraduate students. PMID:28213583

Student Performance in Undergraduate Economics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mumford, Kevin J.; Ohland, Matthew W.

2011-01-01

Using undergraduate student records from six large public universities from 1990 to 2003, the authors analyze the characteristics and performance of students by major in two economics courses: Principles of Microeconomics and Intermediate Microeconomics. This article documents important differences across students by major in the principles course…

Academic Integrity Policy: The Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spain, Judith Winters; Robles, Marcel Marie

2011-01-01

An undergraduate student breaks into a professor's office and steals the answers to an exam; the university initiates only process available--discipline pursuant to regulations governing student behavior through judicial affairs. An undergraduate student fabricates lab data and is flunked for the course; the student initiates only process…

Undergraduate Nursing Students' Understandings of Mental Health: A Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Barry, Sinead; Ward, Louise

2017-02-01

The purpose of this literature review was to identify research and current literature surrounding nursing students' understandings of mental health. The aim is to share findings from an extensive international and national literature review exploring undergraduate nurse education specific to mental health content. Data were collected utilising a comprehensive search of electronic databases including CINAHL (EBSCO), MEDLINE, and PsycINFO 1987-(Ovid) from 2008 to 2016. The initial search terms were altered to include undergraduate, mental health, nursing, education, experience, and knowledge. Three content themes emerged which included: 1. Undergraduate nursing students' knowledge has been considered compromised due to concerns relating to the variation and inconsistencies within the comprehensive nursing curriculums representation of mental health, 2. Undergraduate nursing students knowledge of mental health is thought to be compromised due to the quality of mental health theoretical and experiential learning opportunities, and 3. Research indicates that nursing students' knowledge of mental health was influenced by their experience of undertaking mental health content. Based on these findings greater consideration of students' understandings of mental health is required.

Can a tablet device alter undergraduate science students' study behavior and use of technology?

PubMed

Morris, Neil P; Ramsay, Luke; Chauhan, Vikesh

2012-06-01

This article reports findings from a study investigating undergraduate biological sciences students' use of technology and computer devices for learning and the effect of providing students with a tablet device. A controlled study was conducted to collect quantitative and qualitative data on the impact of a tablet device on students' use of devices and technology for learning. Overall, we found that students made extensive use of the tablet device for learning, using it in preference to laptop computers to retrieve information, record lectures, and access learning resources. In line with other studies, we found that undergraduate students only use familiar Web 2.0 technologies and that the tablet device did not alter this behavior for the majority of tools. We conclude that undergraduate science students can make extensive use of a tablet device to enhance their learning opportunities without institutions changing their teaching methods or computer systems, but that institutional intervention may be needed to drive changes in student behavior toward the use of novel Web 2.0 technologies.

Assessing ageist behaviours in undergraduate nursing students using the Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) survey.

PubMed

Frost, Jane; Ranse, Kristen; Grealish, Laurie

2016-03-01

To describe the prevalence of ageist behaviours amongst first-year undergraduate nursing students. A cross-sectional survey design. The Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) survey was administered to first-year undergraduate nursing students in one Australian university. One hundred and eighty-five students responded (response rate (RR) 85.3%). Up to 97.8% of students reported engaging in some ageist behaviours, with positive ageist behaviours ranked highest. Up to 87.5% of the cohort reported engaging in negative behaviours, such as talking slow and loud to an older person. Most students (63.2%) indicated that they would work in aged care in the future. Nursing students report engaging in ageist behaviours that can have a negative effect on their future relationships with older patients. The ROPE survey can be used to make collective ageist behaviours explicit to students. Combining explicit collective information on ageist behaviours with educational strategies is proposed to address ageism in undergraduate nursing curricula. © 2015 AJA Inc.

Visitor or Inhabitant? Addressing the Needs of Undergraduate Transnational Medical Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindley, Jennifer; McCall, Louise; Abu-Arab, Adela

2013-01-01

This study was conducted to identify key issues for students in an undergraduate medical course with cross border delivery and the impact of these issues on the students' ability to learn. Data relating to the student experience and perceived student needs were collected from transnational students and teaching staff from Australia and Malaysia.…

Cutting-Edge: Integrating Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities into a 4-Year Liberal Arts College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hafner, Dedra; Moffatt, Courtney; Kisa, Nutullah

2011-01-01

Cutting-Edge provides inclusion in college for students with intellectual disabilities (SWID). Cutting-Edge students attended college by taking undergraduate courses, resided in student housing, and engaged in student-life events as well as pursued community service, internships and employment. Undergraduate students were the best means to teach…

Sense of Place and Student Engagement among Undergraduate Students at a Major Public Research University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okoli, Daniel T.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between sense of place and student engagement among undergraduate students, in order to influence how higher education institutions view the role of the physical environment in fostering student engagement, learning, and personal development. Student engagement, a very important predictor…

Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marbach-Ad, Gili; Rietschel, Carly; Thompson, Katerina V.

2016-01-01

We present a novel assessment tool for measuring biology students' values and experiences across their undergraduate degree program. Our Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U) assesses the extent to which students value skills needed for the workplace (e.g., ability to work in groups) and their experiences with…

Examining the Relationship between Stress and Time Perception

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-02-20

convenience in psychological research, undergraduate students . The next study used a second version o f the Perception of Time and the Senses Survey to...and the Senses Survey was administered to 412 undergraduate students (98 men and 314 women) at Pennsylvania State University from November, 1999...Survey II was administered to 939 undergraduate students (4 18 men and 521 women) at PClll1sylvania State University from March to April, 2000

The Influence of the September 11, 2001 Attacks and Related Events Years Later on the Expectations and Experiences of Saudi Undergraduate Students Studying in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghaleb, Sarah Mohammad

2013-01-01

This study was designed to determine whether or not undergraduate Saudi Arabian students currently studying in the United States still expect and experience negativity more than a decade after the events related to September 11, 2001. The study target population is all undergraduate Saudi students currently studying through the Saudi Arabian…

Undergraduates Achieve Learning Gains in Plant Genetics through Peer Teaching of Secondary Students

PubMed Central

Chrispeels, H. E.; Klosterman, M. L.; Martin, J. B.; Lundy, S. R.; Watkins, J. M.; Gibson, C. L.

2014-01-01

This study tests the hypothesis that undergraduates who peer teach genetics will have greater understanding of genetic and molecular biology concepts as a result of their teaching experiences. Undergraduates enrolled in a non–majors biology course participated in a service-learning program in which they led middle school (MS) or high school (HS) students through a case study curriculum to discover the cause of a green tomato variant. The curriculum explored plant reproduction and genetic principles, highlighting variation in heirloom tomato fruits to reinforce the concept of the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. HS students were taught additional activities related to mole­cular biology techniques not included in the MS curriculum. We measured undergraduates’ learning outcomes using pre/postteaching content assessments and the course final exam. Undergraduates showed significant gains in understanding of topics related to the curriculum they taught, compared with other course content, on both types of assessments. Undergraduates who taught HS students scored higher on questions specific to the HS curriculum compared with undergraduates who taught MS students, despite identical lecture content, on both types of assessments. These results indicate the positive effect of service-learning peer-teaching experiences on undergraduates’ content knowledge, even for non–science major students. PMID:25452487

The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team: Outcomes for Over 250 Undergraduate Participants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troischt, Parker; Koopmann, Rebecca A.; Haynes, Martha P.; ALFALFA Team

2016-01-01

The NSF-sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) Team (UAT) is a consortium of 19 institutions founded to promote undergraduate research and faculty development within the extragalactic ALFALFA HI blind survey project and follow-up programs. In this talk we present outcomes for the more than 250 undergraduate students who have who have participated in the program during the 8 years of funding. 40% of these students have been women and members of underrepresented groups. To date 148 undergraduate students have attended annual workshops at Arecibo Observatory, interacting with faculty, graduate students, their peers, and Arecibo staff in lectures, group activities, tours, and observing runs. Team faculty have supervised 159 summer research projects and 120 academic year (e.g., senior thesis) projects. 68 students have traveled to Arecibo Observatory for observing runs and 55 have presented their results at national meetings such as the AAS. Through participation in the UAT, students are made aware of career paths they may not have previously considered. More than 90% of alumni are attending graduate school and/or pursuing a career in STEM. 42% of those pursuing graduate degrees in Physics or Astronomy are women. This work has been supported by NSF grants AST-0724918/0902211, AST-075267/0903394, AST-0725380, and AST-1211005

Prevalence of and factors associated with musculoskeletal symptoms in the spine attributed to computer use in undergraduate students.

PubMed

Kanchanomai, Siriluck; Janwantanakul, Prawit; Pensri, Praneet; Jiamjarasrangsi, Wiroj

2012-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the 3-month prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms at the spine attributed to computer use and to identify biopsychosocial factors associated with the prevalence in undergraduate students. Undergraduate students who studied at a public university in Thailand. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire delivered to 3,545 students. A total of 2,511 students (73.7%) returned the questionnaires. Cervical symptoms (22.3%) were the most frequently reported, followed by thoracic (11%) and lumbar symptoms (10.7%). Females, daily computer use greater than three hours and too-high keyboard's position were significantly associated with a high prevalence of cervical symptoms. A significant association was found between higher undergraduate year of the study and too-high keyboard's position and a high prevalence of thoracic symptoms. Higher undergraduate year of the study and daily computer use greater than three hours were significantly related to a high prevalence of lumbar symptoms. Better-than-normal mental health status was associated with a low prevalence of lumbar symptoms. Spinal symptoms are common among undergraduate students. Various factors were identified to be associated with high prevalence of spinal symptoms. Further research investigating the causal relation between these factors and musculoskeletal symptoms should be conducted.

Comparisons Between Science Knowledge, Interest, and Information Literacy of Learners in Introductory Astronomy Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buxner, Sanlyn; Impey, Chris David; Formanek, Martin; Wenger, Matthew

2018-01-01

Introductory astronomy courses are exciting opportunities to engage non-major students in scientific issues, new discoveries, and scientific thinking. Many undergraduate students take these courses to complete their general education requirements. Many free-choice learners also take these courses, but for their own interest. We report on a study comparing the basic science knowledge, interest in science, and information literacy of undergraduate students and free choice learners enrolled in introductory astronomy courses run by the University of Arizona. Undergraduate students take both in-person and online courses for college credit. Free choice learners enroll in massive open online courses (MOOCs), through commercial platforms, that can earn them a certificate (although most do not take advantage of that opportunity). In general, we find that undergraduate students outperform the general public on basic science knowledge and that learners in our astronomy MOOCs outperform the undergraduate students in the study. Learners in the MOOC have higher interest in science in general. Overall, learners in both groups report getting information about science from online sources. Additionally, learners’ judgement of the reliability of different sources of information is weakly related to their basic science knowledge and more strongly related to how they describe what it means to study something scientifically. We discuss the implications of our findings for both undergraduate students and free-choice learners as well as instructors of these types of courses.

Field Research in the Teaching of Undergraduate Soil Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brevik, Eric C.; Senturklu, Songul; Landblom, Douglas

2015-04-01

Several studies have demonstrated that undergraduate students benefit from research experiences. Benefits of undergraduate research include 1) personal and intellectual development, 2) more and closer contact with faculty, 3) the use of active learning techniques, 4) creation of high expectations, 5) development of creative and problem-solving skills, 6) greater independence and intrinsic motivation to learn, and 7) exposure to practical skills. The scientific discipline also benefits, as studies have shown that undergraduates who engage in research experiences are more likely to remain science majors and finish their degree program (Lopatto, 2007). Research experiences come as close as possible to allowing undergraduates to experience what it is like to be an academic or research member of their profession working to advance their discipline. Soils form in the field, therefore, field experiences are very important in developing a complete and holistic understanding of soil science. Combining undergraduate research with field experiences can provide extremely beneficial outcomes to the undergraduate student, including increased understanding of and appreciation for detailed descriptions and data analysis as well as an enhanced ability to see how various parts of their undergraduate education come together to understand a complex problem. The experiences of the authors in working with undergraduate students on field-based research projects will be discussed, along with examples of some of the undergraduate research projects that have been undertaken. In addition, student impressions of their research experiences will be presented. Reference Lopatto, D. 2007. Undergraduate research experiences support science career decisions and active learning. CBE -- Life Sciences Education 6:297-306.

Special needs dentistry: perception, attitudes and educational experience of Malaysian dental students.

PubMed

Ahmad, M S; Razak, I A; Borromeo, G L

2015-02-01

A compromised oral health condition amongst patients with special health care needs (SHCN) has been associated with the reluctance and shortage of skills of dental professionals in managing such patients. Lack of training and experience at the undergraduate level are reported barriers to the provision of care for this patient cohort. Undergraduate education therefore, plays an important role in producing professionals with the knowledge, skills and positive attitude in treating patients with SHCN. This study aims to determine the level of knowledge, comfort and attitudes of Malaysian undergraduate dental students towards caring for patients with SHCN, as well as their perception on education in this field. A self-administered questionnaire was administered in the classroom style to final year undergraduate dental students in Malaysian public dental schools. Most students were aware of Special Needs Dentistry (SND) as a specialty after being informed by academic staff. The majority of the students demonstrated poor knowledge in defining SND and felt uncomfortable providing care for such patients. They perceived their undergraduate training in SND as inadequate with most students agreeing that they should receive didactic and clinical training at undergraduate level. A high percentage of students also expressed interest in pursuing postgraduate education in this area of dentistry despite the lack of educational exposure during undergraduate years. The study supports a need for educational reform to formulate a curriculum that is more patient-centred, with earlier clinical exposure in various clinical settings for students to treat patients with special health care needs, applying the concept of holistic care in a variable clinical condition. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Predicting Physical Activity and Healthy Nutrition Behaviors Using Social Cognitive Theory: Cross-Sectional Survey among Undergraduate Students in Chongqing, China.

PubMed

Xu, Xianglong; Pu, Yang; Sharma, Manoj; Rao, Yunshuang; Cai, Yilin; Zhao, Yong

2017-11-05

(1) Background: Generally suggested public health measures to reduce obesity were to limit television (TV) viewing, enhance daily physical activities, enable the consumption of fruit and vegetables, and reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake. This study analyzed the extent to which selected social cognitive theory constructs can predict these behaviors among Chinese undergraduate students. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1976 undergraduate students from six universities in Chongqing, China. A self-administered five-point Likert common physical activity and nutrition behavior scale based on social cognitive theory was utilized. (3) Results: This study included 687 (34.77%) males and 1289 (65.23%) females. A total of 60.14% of the students engaged in exercise for less than 30 min per day. Approximately 16.5%of the participants spent at least 4 h watching TV and sitting in front of a computer daily. Approximately 79% of the participants consumed less than five cups of fruit and vegetables daily. Undergraduate students who had high self-efficacy scores had more leisure time physical activities. Those who have high expectation scores had considerable time watching TV and sitting in front of a computer. Undergraduate students who had high expectation and self-efficacy scores had substantially low consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Those who had high self-efficacy scores consumed considerable amounts of fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, the type of university, BMI group, gender, age, lack of siblings, and grade level were associated with the aforementioned four behaviors. (4) Conclusion: Physical inactivity and unhealthy nutrition behaviors are common among undergraduate students. This study used social cognitive theory to provide several implications for limiting the TV viewing, enhancing daily physical activities, consuming fruit and vegetables, and reducing sugar-sweetened beverage intake among undergraduate students.

Predicting Physical Activity and Healthy Nutrition Behaviors Using Social Cognitive Theory: Cross-Sectional Survey among Undergraduate Students in Chongqing, China

PubMed Central

Pu, Yang; Sharma, Manoj; Rao, Yunshuang; Cai, Yilin; Zhao, Yong

2017-01-01

(1) Background: Generally suggested public health measures to reduce obesity were to limit television (TV) viewing, enhance daily physical activities, enable the consumption of fruit and vegetables, and reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake. This study analyzed the extent to which selected social cognitive theory constructs can predict these behaviors among Chinese undergraduate students. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1976 undergraduate students from six universities in Chongqing, China. A self-administered five-point Likert common physical activity and nutrition behavior scale based on social cognitive theory was utilized. (3) Results: This study included 687 (34.77%) males and 1289 (65.23%) females. A total of 60.14% of the students engaged in exercise for less than 30 min per day. Approximately 16.5% of the participants spent at least 4 h watching TV and sitting in front of a computer daily. Approximately 79% of the participants consumed less than five cups of fruit and vegetables daily. Undergraduate students who had high self-efficacy scores had more leisure time physical activities. Those who have high expectation scores had considerable time watching TV and sitting in front of a computer. Undergraduate students who had high expectation and self-efficacy scores had substantially low consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Those who had high self-efficacy scores consumed considerable amounts of fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, the type of university, BMI group, gender, age, lack of siblings, and grade level were associated with the aforementioned four behaviors. (4) Conclusion: Physical inactivity and unhealthy nutrition behaviors are common among undergraduate students. This study used social cognitive theory to provide several implications for limiting the TV viewing, enhancing daily physical activities, consuming fruit and vegetables, and reducing sugar-sweetened beverage intake among undergraduate students. PMID:29113089

Hypothetical Biotechnology Companies: A Role-Playing Student Centered Activity for Undergraduate Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chuck, Jo-Anne

2011-01-01

Science students leaving undergraduate programs are entering the biotechnology industry where they are presented with issues which require integration of science content. Students find this difficult as through-out their studies, most content is limited to a single subdiscipline (e.g., biochemistry, immunology). In addition, students need…

Student Engagement in a Compulsory Introductory Physiology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, S. J.; White, S.; Bowmar, A.; Power, N.

2017-01-01

Appropriate instruments are required to determine student engagement on an undergraduate course, and in this study we evaluated a 23 item Student Course Engagement Questionnaire (SCEQ) administered to undergraduate students studying a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation degree. These students were in the first semester of a 3 year degree, and were…

Faculty Mentoring Undergraduates: The Nature, Development, and Benefits of Mentoring Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinsey, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Educational research shows that close student-faculty interaction is a key factor in college student learning and success. Most literature on undergraduate mentoring, however, focuses on planned programs of mentoring for targeted groups of students by non-faculty professionals or student peers. Based on the research literature and student and…

Anxiety and Self-Efficacy's Relationship with Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of the Use of Metacognitive Writing Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Graeme; Seifert, Tricia Anne; Rolheiser, Carol

2015-01-01

There is growing interest in promoting metacognition among college and university students, as this has been linked with positive student learning outcomes. This study explores the relationship between student writing anxiety and self-efficacy on undergraduate students' self-reported use of metacognitive writing strategies. Using undergraduate…

Use of Web-Based Student Extension Publications to Improve Undergraduate Student Writing Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Motavalli, P. P.; Patton, M. D.; Miles, R. J.

2007-01-01

Increased opportunities for undergraduate students in agricultural and natural resource disciplines to write for diverse audiences besides their instructor may increase motivation to write and improve student writing skills. The objectives of this teaching research were to determine and compare the initial writing experience of students enrolled…

Black Boundary Lines: Race, Class and Gender among Black Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morales, Erica Marie

2012-01-01

Intra-group differences among Black undergraduate students remain understudied. To gain a more nuanced understanding of Black student life, we must examine how other social locations, like gender and class, connect to the racialized experiences of Black students. This dissertation argues that for Black students, class and gender, along with race,…

Graduate and Undergraduate Students' Teaching Practices in a Place-Based Outreach Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nilsen, Katherine Joy

2013-01-01

This study explores how university students (i.e., undergraduate and graduate students) participating in a place-based outreach program practiced teaching strategies on four field trips. The outreach program, Learning in Place-Based Environments (LPBE), provided opportunities for the university students to teach fifth grade students about place,…

An Empirical Investigation on Chinese High School Students' Choice of Pursuing Undergraduate Education Abroad

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Jiankun

2014-01-01

Globalization has greatly promoted student mobility around the world. Being a developing economy, China witnessed significant growth of students studying internationally, especially with the number of students study at undergraduate programs. However, empirical research on high school students' choice and the decision-making process of pursuing…

Characterizing Strong Geoscience Departments: Results of a National Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, R. M.

2005-12-01

In a follow up to a survey of geoscience departments drawn primarily from American Association of Universities (AAU) institutions, we have expanded the number and type of departments to include a much broader range of institutions and to address key issues about factors that department heads and chairs feel are indicative of strong departments. The previous survey, completed at a very high rate of return, indicated that the biggest opportunities at AAU institutions included large, community-wide initiatives, while the biggest threats included declining resources and associated issues such as faculty retention. The new survey follows on a workshop, Building Strong Geoscience Departments, held in February 2005 at which 25 participants discussed the state of geoscience departments and developed ideas for strengthening departments. The new survey addresses departmental demographics of a much broader range of departments and institutions, including two year, primarily undergraduate, and graduate degree-granting departments/institutions. In addition to perceived threats and opportunities, the survey includes aspects and characteristics of strong departments. For example, department heads and chairs respond to a variety of possible attributes of strong departments, including: 1) Defining the mission of the department in such a way that it is aligned with the institutional vision; 2) Taking a proactive stance in building modern and dynamic geoscience curricula and, as appropriate, research agendas; 3) Working effectively as a department team; 4) Acknowledging that recruitment, development, and retention of students, faculty, and staff are key elements of departmental success and working effectively in these areas; 5) Developing strong departmental leaders now and for the future; 6) Communicating success, using effective metrics, to colleagues, senior administrators, students, donors, and friends; and 7) Forging strategic partnerships within the university (e.g., with biosciences, engineering, environmental studies, or geography) and outside the university (e.g., employers or alumni).

Pre-service mathematics teachers’ ability in solving well-structured problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paradesa, R.

2018-01-01

This study aimed to describe the mathematical problem-solving ability of undergraduate students of mathematics education in solving the well-structured problem. The type of this study was qualitative descriptive. The subjects in this study were 100 undergraduate students of Mathematics Education at one of the private universities in Palembang city. The data in this study was collected through two test items with essay form. The results of this study showed that, from the first problem, only 8% students can solve it, but do not check back again to validate the process. Based on a scoring rubric that follows Polya strategy, their answer satisfied 2 4 2 0 patterns. But, from the second problem, 45% students satisfied it. This is because the second problem imitated from the example that was given in learning process. The average score of undergraduate students mathematical problem-solving ability in solving well-structured problems showed 56.00 with standard deviation was 13.22. It means that, from 0 - 100 scale, undergraduate students mathematical problem-solving ability can be categorized low. From this result, the conclusion was undergraduate students of mathematics education in Palembang still have a problem in solving mathematics well-structured problem.

Engaging Undergraduates in Social Science Research: The Taking the Pulse of Saskatchewan Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berdahl, Loleen

2014-01-01

Although student involvement in research and inquiry can advance undergraduate learning, there are limited opportunities for undergraduate students to be directly involved in social science research. Social science faculty members typically work outside of laboratory settings, with the limited research assistance work being completed by graduate…

An Investigation of Student Psychological Wellbeing: Honors versus Nonhonors Undergraduate Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plominski, Abigail P.; Burns, Lawrence R.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the current state of psychological wellbeing in gifted and nongifted undergraduate student sample populations and identify undergraduate populations experiencing heightened levels of distress within a large Midwestern public university. Study participants included 641 honors and 386 nonhonors undergraduate…

Undergraduate Students' Justifications for Source Selection in a Digital Academic Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

List, Alexandra; Grossnickle, Emily M.; Alexander, Patricia A.

2016-01-01

To complete any academic tasks using information from the Internet, undergraduate students first have to select the appropriate sources. However, the types of justifications that undergraduates provide for source selection and how these justifications may be impacted by task characteristics have been underexamined. This study explored…

Learning by Doing: The Challenge of Engaging Undergraduates in Economics Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brunnermeier, Smita

2017-01-01

This article describes strategies developed at Princeton University to foster and promote research by all undergraduate students majoring in economics. It describes core features of the undergraduate research program and provides tangible recommendations for addressing resource constraints, and for incentivizing faculty advisors and students to…

Ideas and Approaches for Teaching Undergraduate Research Methods in the Health Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peachey, Andrew A.; Baller, Stephanie L.

2015-01-01

Training in research methodology is becoming more commonly expected within undergraduate curricula designed to prepare students for entry into graduate allied health programs. Little information is currently available about pedagogical strategies to promote undergraduate students' learning of research methods, and less yet is available discussing…

Student Use of the Internet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malaney, Gary D.

2004-01-01

This article explores Internet use among undergraduates, especially at one public research university where researchers have studied students' self-reported Internet use for several years. Analysis of data from a survey administered to 490 undergraduates in Fall 2000 and a survey of 593 undergraduates in Fall 2003 revealed that Internet use is…

Self-Reported Sexual Functioning Concerns among Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tambling, Rachel B.; Reckert, Ashley

2014-01-01

Researchers who have studied sexual functioning concerns do not often focus their research on undergraduate populations, perhaps due to perceptions of universal sexual health among this population. The current study examined prevalence and type of sexual functioning concerns in a sample of 347 male and female undergraduate students. Sexual…

The Impact of Teaching Communication Strategies on English Speaking of Engineering Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kongsom, Tiwaporn

2016-01-01

This study investigates the impact of teaching communication strategies on Thai engineering undergraduate students' communication strategy use and strategic competence. Fifty-seven engineering undergraduate students were taught ten communication strategies for ten weeks and responded to a self-report communication strategy questionnaire before and…

Undergraduate Medical Academic Performance is Improved by Scientific Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Lili; Zhang, Wei; Wu, Chong; Liu, Zhongming; Cai, Yunfei; Cao, Xingguo; He, Yushan; Liu, Guoxiang; Miao, Hongming

2017-01-01

The effect of scientific training on course learning in undergraduates is still controversial. In this study, we investigated the academic performance of undergraduate students with and without scientific training. The results show that scientific training improves students' test scores in general medical courses, such as biochemistry and…

Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies: An Opportunity for Seamless Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guthrie, Kathy L.; Bovio, Becka

2014-01-01

In working to develop undergraduate student leadership capacity, Florida State University created the Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies. This program, grounded in leadership theory and framed by a seamless learning model, has been influential in development of student leadership perceptions and capacity. This article addresses the…

What Matters in College to Students: Critical Incidents in the Undergraduate Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vianden, Jörg

2015-01-01

This article advances that undergraduates are partners to higher education institutions in establishing the educational enterprise. Leaning on student relationship management as a theoretical construct and the critical incident technique as method, the study found 58 undergraduates' interpersonal interactions with faculty, staff, and peers…

Lessons Learned: The Evolution of an Undergraduate Research Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Gregory; Laker, Lauren; Tesch, Debbie

2013-01-01

Undergraduate research programs are commonplace at many universities. However, little research has been conducted to evaluate their ongoing and long-term effectiveness from the standpoint of the undergraduate student researcher. In an effort to gain perspective from the student researcher, including their thoughts on such a program, a survey was…

Research Experiences of Undergraduate Students at a Comprehensive University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Emily B.

2007-01-01

Narrative inquiry was utilized to allow undergraduate students involved in an undergraduate research course to narrate their experiences in their research undertakings under the guidance of their respective mentors. A total of four focus groups representing the Bachelor of Arts and Letters, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Secondary Education,…

Counseling Brazilian Undergraduate Students: 17 Years of a Campus Mental Health Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Oliveira, Maria Lilian Coelho; de Rosalmeida Dantas, Clarissa; de Azevedo, Renata Cruz Soares; Banzato, Claudio Eduardo Muller

2008-01-01

Objective: The authors reviewed demographic and clinical characteristics of undergraduates at a Brazilian public university (UNICAMP) who visited the campus mental health service (SAPPE) and compared their demographics with those from all undergraduate students enrolled in the university. Participants: The authors looked at data from all…

Undergraduate Nurse Variables that Predict Academic Achievement and Clinical Competence in Nursing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackman, Ian; Hall, Margaret; Darmawan, I Gusti Ngurah.

2007-01-01

A hypothetical model was formulated to explore factors that influenced academic and clinical achievement for undergraduate nursing students. Sixteen latent variables were considered including the students' background, gender, type of first language, age, their previous successes with their undergraduate nursing studies and status given for…

Social Support for Online Learning: Perspectives of Nursing Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munich, Kim

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify supports beyond the educator that contributed to undergraduate and graduate nursing students' ability and motivation to learn online. Case study methodology similar to Stake (2000) was bounded or contained by undergraduate and graduate online courses. Twenty-nine undergraduate and graduate nursing…

Teaching undergraduate mathematics in interactive groups: how does it fit with students' learning?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheryn, Louise; Ell, Fiona

2014-08-01

Debates about how undergraduate mathematics should be taught are informed by different views of what it is to learn and to do mathematics. In this qualitative study 10 students enrolled in an advanced undergraduate course in mathematics shared their views about how they best learn mathematics. After participating in a semester-long course in combinatorics, taught using a non-traditional, formal group work approach, the 10 students shared their views about how such an approach fitted in with their experience of learning mathematics. A descriptive thematic analysis of the students' responses revealed that despite being very comfortable with the traditional approach to learning new mathematics, most students were open to a formal group work approach and could see benefits from it after their participation. The students' prior conceptions of the goal of undergraduate mathematics learning and their view of themselves as 'mathematicians' framed their experience of learning mathematics in a non-traditional class.

Comparison of differences in performance evaluation of faculty by students with faculty's self-assessment.

PubMed

Azizi, Kourosh; Aghamolaei, Teamur; Parsa, Nader; Dabbaghmanesh, Tahereh

2014-07-01

The present study aimed to compare self-assessment forms of coursework taught in the school of public health at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels and students' evaluation of the performance of the faculty members at these levels. The subjects in this cross-sectional study were the faculty members and students of the School of Public Health and Nutrition, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. The data were collected using a socio-demographic information form and evaluation forms of professors prepared by the Educational Development Center (EDC). The faculty members were assessed by the students in undergraduate and graduate classes. Among the study subjects, 23 faculty members filled out the self-assessment forms which were then evaluated by 23 students. Then, the data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical 14. Paired t-test was used to compare the students' evaluation of the faculty members' performance and the professors' self-assessment. The mean score of self-assessment of the faculty members who taught undergraduate courses was 289.7±8.3, while that of the students' evaluation was 281.3±16.1; the difference was statistically significant (t=3.56, p=0.001). Besides, the mean score of the self-assessment of the faculty members who taught graduate courses was 269.0±9.7, while that of the students' evaluation was 265.7±14.6 but the difference was not statistically significant (t=1.09, p=0.28). Teaching performance perceptions of the faculty were similar to those of the graduate students as compared to the undergraduate ones. This may reflect better understanding of coursework at this level compared to the undergraduate students. Faculty members may need to adjust teaching methods to improve students' performance and understanding especially in the undergraduate level.

75 FR 64733 - Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.; Filing of Food Additive Petition (Animal Use); Safflower Seed Meal

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-20

...] Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.; Filing of Food Additive Petition (Animal Use); Safflower Seed Meal AGENCY: Food... announcing that Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., has filed a petition proposing that the food additive regulations..., Davis, CA 95618. The petition proposes to amend the food additive regulations in part 573 Food Additives...

A research experience for American Indian undergraduates: Utilizing an actor–partner interdependence model to examine the student–mentor dyad

PubMed Central

Griese, Emily R.; McMahon, Tracey R.; Kenyon, DenYelle Baete

2016-01-01

The majority of research examining Undergraduate Research Experiences focuses singularly on student-reported outcomes, often overlooking assessment of the mentor role in student learning and outcomes following these experiences. The goal of the current study was to examine the student-mentor dyad at the beginning and end of a 10-week summer research experience for American Indian undergraduates utilizing a series of actor-partner interdependence models within SEM. Participants included 26 undergraduate interns (50% American Indian; 50% American Indian and White; M age = 24) and 27 mentors (89% White; M age = 47). Findings indicated that in accounting for all potential paths between students and mentors, the partner path between mentor beliefs at the beginning of the program and students’ skills related to autonomy (β =.59, p = .01) and academic resilience (β =.44, p = .03) at the end of the program were significant. These findings suggest the important impact of mentor beliefs on student outcomes, a relationship that should be adequately assessed and continue to be important focus of undergraduate research experiences. Findings further indicate the important role of mentors for American Indian undergraduates. PMID:28289486

International Students on an American Campus: An Undergraduate Research Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Judith; Quattrocki, Carolyn

1981-01-01

Describes a seminar in which undergraduate students in home economics were provided with research training and the opportunity to work together on a research project which included housing, clothing, nutrition, consumer services, child development, and family relations. Students also explored difficulties international students encounter in…

34 CFR 607.4 - What are low educational and general expenditures?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... general expenditures per full-time equivalent undergraduate student in the base year must be less than the average educational and general expenditures per full-time equivalent undergraduate student of comparable... student for institutions with graduate students that do not differentiate between graduate and...

Undergraduate Nursing Student Experiences with Faculty Bullying

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mott, Jason D.

2013-01-01

Incivility and bullying in nursing education has become an area of increased interest. Incivility literature has focused primarily on student-to-faculty incivility. Less focus has been placed on faculty-to-student bullying. This study examined the lived experiences of undergraduate nursing students with faculty bullying. Using descriptive…

Active Learning via Student Karaoke Videos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grossman, Gary D.; Richards, Travis

2016-01-01

We evaluated students' perceptions and reactions to an active learning Karaoke Video project in both a large (104 student) undergraduate class in Natural History of Georgia and a small graduate seminar in Fish Ecology. Undergraduate responses were evaluated with both questionnaires and triangulation interviews and graduate student responses…

Explaining the Gender Gap: Comparing Undergraduate and Graduate/Faculty Beliefs about Talent Required for Success in Academic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, Kimberlyn; Nanthakumar, Ampalavanar; Preston, Scott; Ilie, Carolina C.

Recent research has proposed that the gender gap in academia is caused by differing perceptions of how much talent is needed to succeed in various fields. It was found that, across the STEM/non-STEM divide, the more that graduate students and faculty see success in their own field as requiring as requiring talent, the fewer women participate in that field. This research examines whether undergraduate students share these attitudes. If these attitudes trickle down to the undergraduate population to influence students to choose different fields of study, then undergraduate beliefs should reflect those of graduate students and faculty. Using a large survey of undergraduates across the country, this study aims to characterize undergraduate attitudes and to determine variables that explain the differences between the attitudes of these two populations. Our findings suggest that the two populations have similar beliefs, but that undergraduate beliefs are strongly influenced by information about the gender ratio in each field and that this strong influence greatly differs between STEM and non-STEM fields. These findings seek to help direct future research to ask the right questions and propose plausible hypotheses about gender the imbalance in academia.

Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? An authentic large-scale undergraduate research experience in mapping the human oral microbiome.

PubMed

Wang, Jack T H; Daly, Joshua N; Willner, Dana L; Patil, Jayee; Hall, Roy A; Schembri, Mark A; Tyson, Gene W; Hugenholtz, Philip

2015-05-01

Clinical microbiology testing is crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of community and hospital-acquired infections. Laboratory scientists need to utilize technical and problem-solving skills to select from a wide array of microbial identification techniques. The inquiry-driven laboratory training required to prepare microbiology graduates for this professional environment can be difficult to replicate within undergraduate curricula, especially in courses that accommodate large student cohorts. We aimed to improve undergraduate scientific training by engaging hundreds of introductory microbiology students in an Authentic Large-Scale Undergraduate Research Experience (ALURE). The ALURE aimed to characterize the microorganisms that reside in the healthy human oral cavity-the oral microbiome-by analyzing hundreds of samples obtained from student volunteers within the course. Students were able to choose from selective and differential culture media, Gram-staining, microscopy, as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing techniques, in order to collect, analyze, and interpret novel data to determine the collective oral microbiome of the student cohort. Pre- and postsurvey analysis of student learning gains across two iterations of the course (2012-2013) revealed significantly higher student confidence in laboratory skills following the completion of the ALURE (p < 0.05 using the Mann-Whitney U-test). Learning objectives on effective scientific communication were also met through effective student performance in laboratory reports describing the research outcomes of the project. The integration of undergraduate research in clinical microbiology has the capacity to deliver authentic research experiences and improve scientific training for large cohorts of undergraduate students.

Undergraduate Medical Students Using Facebook as a Peer-Mentoring Platform: A Mixed-Methods Study

PubMed Central

Gradel, Maximilian; Pander, Tanja; Fischer, Martin R; von der Borch, Philip; Dimitriadis, Konstantinos

2015-01-01

Background Peer mentoring is a powerful pedagogical approach for supporting undergraduate medical students in their learning environment. However, it remains unclear what exactly peer mentoring is and whether and how undergraduate medical students use social media for peer-mentoring activities. Objective We aimed at describing and exploring the Facebook use of undergraduate medical students during their first 2 years at a German medical school. The data should help medical educators to effectively integrate social media in formal mentoring programs for medical students. Methods We developed a coding scheme for peer mentoring and conducted a mixed-methods study in order to explore Facebook groups of undergraduate medical students from a peer-mentoring perspective. Results All major peer-mentoring categories were identified in Facebook groups of medical students. The relevance of these Facebook groups was confirmed through triangulation with focus groups and descriptive statistics. Medical students made extensive use of Facebook and wrote a total of 11,853 posts and comments in the respective Facebook groups (n=2362 total group members). Posting peaks were identified at the beginning of semesters and before exam periods, reflecting the formal curriculum milestones. Conclusions Peer mentoring is present in Facebook groups formed by undergraduate medical students who extensively use these groups to seek advice from peers on study-related issues and, in particular, exam preparation. These groups also seem to be effective in supporting responsive and large-scale peer-mentoring structures; formal mentoring programs might benefit from integrating social media into their activity portfolio. PMID:27731859

A New Approach to the Measurement of Educational Outcomes for Institutions of High Learning.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

Instructs on four levels of undergraduate education. At the end of that year, students have completed the freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year. Wen...conclusions for the aggregate model even though individual models are discussed. During any given academic year, the undergraduate university has students ... students quit at every step along the four year university ladder to an undergraduate degree. In other words, the more heterogeneous (as measured by

The Communications of Influence through Technology-Enabled Media

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

participants, a constituency of undergraduate and graduate students was solicited for participation in the focus group portion of the study. There was no...were undergraduates ; the rest were masters and Ph.D. students . Average age was just over 28 years. C. Focus GROUP PROCEDURES Each of the two focus groups...were male; average age was 25. Forty-two percent of the participants were undergraduates , 46 percent were graduate students , and 8 percent were

Perception of Personal Civic Responsibility among Undergraduate Students at the University of Kansas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Everhart, Clinton Dale

2017-01-01

This study identified predictors of student perceptions of personal civic responsibility (civic-mindedness) among undergraduate students at the University of Kansas (KU). Using KU-specific data from the 2015 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL), relationships between student interaction with specific components of the KU institutional…

The Ecology of Student Retention: Undergraduate Students and the Great Recession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mendoza, Pilar; Malcolm, Zaria; Parish, Nancy

2015-01-01

This study investigated qualitatively how undergraduate students experienced the Great Recession at a flagship university in the South Eastern of United States and how this experience relates to their retention. Results indicate that the Great Recession has significantly impacted students' engagement and commitments. We argue that student…

Understanding the Factors That Influence Student Satisfaction with the Undergraduate Business Major

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Melanie Beth; Haug, James C.; Huckabee, W. Allen

2016-01-01

A survey was administered to undergraduate business students to gain insight into 34 factors influencing satisfaction, divided into curriculum matters, interaction between faculty and students, and activities beyond coursework. Students expressed a desire for experienced faculty, degree customization, and career paths through internships, with…

Online Instructor's Use of Audio Feedback to Increase Social Presence and Student Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Portolese Dias, Laura; Trumpy, Robert

2014-01-01

This study investigates the impact of written group feedback, versus audio feedback, based upon four student satisfaction measures in the online classroom environment. Undergraduate students in the control group were provided both individual written feedback and group written feedback, while undergraduate students in the experimental treatment…

Wellness of Undergraduates: Comparisons of Traditional and Nontraditional Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Jane E.; Mobley, A. Keith

2004-01-01

Wellness scores of 1,249 traditional and 318 nontraditional undergraduate college students revealed low levels of wellness in multiple areas in comparison with non-student adults and within-group differences according to demographic variables. Profiles of wellness for traditional- and nontraditional-age students revealed significant differences on…

Students' Reflective Essays as Insights into Student Centred-Pedagogies within the Undergraduate Research Methods Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosein, Anesa; Rao, Namrata

2017-01-01

In higher education, despite the emphasis on student-centred pedagogical approaches, undergraduate research methods pedagogy remains surprisingly teacher-directed. Consequently, it may lead to research methods students assuming that becoming a researcher involves gathering information rather than it being a continuous developmental process. To…

Fostering Sustained Learning among Undergraduate Students: Emerging Research and Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chemosit, Caroline; Rugutt, John; Rugutt, Joseph K.

2017-01-01

Keeping students engaged and receptive to learning can, at times, be a challenge. However, by the implementation of new methods and pedagogies, instructors can strengthen the drive to learn among their students. "Fostering Sustained Learning Among Undergraduate Students: Emerging Research and Opportunities" is an essential publication…

Investigating Undergraduate Students' Ideas about the Curvature of the Universe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coble, Kim; Conlon, Mallory; Bailey, Janelle M.

2018-01-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] As part of a larger project studying undergraduate students' understanding of cosmology, we explored students' ideas about the curvature of the Universe. We investigated preinstruction ideas held by introductory astronomy (ASTRO 101) students at three participating…

Six Classroom Exercises to Teach Natural Selection to Undergraduate Biology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalinowski, Steven T.; Leonard, Mary J.; Andrews, Tessa M.; Litt, Andrea R.

2013-01-01

Students in introductory biology courses frequently have misconceptions regarding natural selection. In this paper, we describe six activities that biology instructors can use to teach undergraduate students in introductory biology courses how natural selection causes evolution. These activities begin with a lesson introducing students to natural…

An Assessment of Reading Compliance Decisions among Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Amit; Van Hoof, Bert; Pursel, Barton

2013-01-01

Research suggests that reading compliance among undergraduate students is low. This study assesses the factors that influence students' decisions to comply with their assigned course readings using two theoretical underpinnings: students' self-rationing ability of time and construal effects on their decision process. Data collected through focus…

Psychometric properties of the Peer Proficiency Assessment (PEPA): a tool for evaluation of undergraduate peer counselors' motivational interviewing fidelity.

PubMed

Mastroleo, Nadine R; Mallett, Kimberly A; Turrisi, Rob; Ray, Anne E

2009-09-01

Despite the expanding use of undergraduate student peer counseling interventions aimed at reducing college student drinking, few programs evaluate peer counselors' competency to conduct these interventions. The present research describes the development and psychometric assessments of the Peer Proficiency Assessment (PEPA), a new tool for examining Motivational Interviewing adherence in undergraduate student peer delivered interventions. Twenty peer delivered sessions were evaluated by master and undergraduate student coders using a cross-validation design to examine peer based alcohol intervention sessions. Assessments revealed high inter-rater reliability between student and master coders and good correlations between previously established fidelity tools. Findings lend support for the use of the PEPA to examine peer counselor competency. The PEPA, training for use, inter-rater reliability information, construct and predictive validity, and tool usefulness are described.

Depression in Asian-American and Caucasian undergraduate students.

PubMed

Young, Christina B; Fang, Daniel Z; Zisook, Sidney

2010-09-01

Depression is a serious and often under-diagnosed and undertreated mental health problem in college students which may have fatal consequences. Little is known about ethnic differences in prevalence of depression in US college campuses. This study compares depression severity in Asian-American and Caucasian undergraduate students at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Participants completed the nine item Patient Health Questionnaire and key demographic information via an anonymous online questionnaire. Compared to Caucasians, Asian-Americans exhibited significantly elevated levels of depression. Furthermore, Korean-American students were significantly more depressed than Chinese-American, other minority Asian-American, and Caucasian students. In general, females were significantly more depressed than males. Results were upheld when level of acculturation was considered. The demographic breakdown of the student population at UCSD is not representative to that of the nation. These findings suggest that outreach to female and Asian-American undergraduate students is important and attention to Korean-American undergraduates may be especially worthwhile. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Undergraduate students' development of social, cultural, and human capital in a networked research experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Jennifer Jo; Conaway, Evan; Dolan, Erin L.

2016-12-01

Recent calls for reform in undergraduate biology education have emphasized integrating research experiences into the learning experiences of all undergraduates. Contemporary science research increasingly demands collaboration across disciplines and institutions to investigate complex research questions, providing new contexts and models for involving undergraduates in research. In this study, we examined the experiences of undergraduates participating in a multi-institution and interdisciplinary biology research network. Unlike the traditional apprenticeship model of research, in which a student participates in research under the guidance of a single faculty member, students participating in networked research have the opportunity to develop relationships with additional faculty and students working in other areas of the project, at their own and at other institutions. We examined how students in this network develop social ties and to what extent a networked research experience affords opportunities for students to develop social, cultural, and human capital. Most studies of undergraduate involvement in science research have focused on documenting student outcomes rather than elucidating how students gain access to research experiences or how elements of research participation lead to desired student outcomes. By taking a qualitative approach framed by capital theories, we have identified ways that undergraduates utilize and further develop various forms of capital important for success in science research. In our study of the first 16 months of a biology research network, we found that undergraduates drew upon a combination of human, cultural, and social capital to gain access to the network. Within their immediate research groups, students built multidimensional social ties with faculty, peers, and others, yielding social capital that can be drawn upon for information, resources, and support. They reported developing cultural capital in the form of learning to think and work like a scientist—a scientific habitus. They reported developing human capital in the forms of technical, analytical, and communication skills in scientific research. Most of the students had little, direct interaction with network members in other research groups and thus developed little cross-institutional capital. The exception to this trend was at one institution that housed three research groups. Because proximity facilitated shared activities, students across research groups at this institution developed cross-lab ties with faculty and peers through which they developed social, cultural, and human capital. An important long-term concern is whether the capital students have developed will help them access opportunities in science beyond the network. At this point, many undergraduates have had limited opportunities to actually draw on capital beyond the network. Nevertheless, a number of students demonstrated awareness that they had developed resources that they could use in other scientific contexts.

Trends in basic mathematical competencies of beginning undergraduates in Ireland, 2003-2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Treacy, Páraic; Faulkner, Fiona

2015-11-01

Deficiencies in beginning undergraduate students' basic mathematical skills has been an issue of concern in higher education, particularly in the past 15 years. This issue has been tracked and analysed in a number of universities in Ireland and internationally through student scores recorded in mathematics diagnostic tests. Students beginning their science-based and technology-based undergraduate courses in the University of Limerick have had their basic mathematics skills tested without any prior warning through a 40 question diagnostic test during their initial service mathematics lecture since 1998. Data gathered through this diagnostic test have been recorded in a database kept at the university and explored to track trends in mathematical competency of these beginning undergraduates. This paper details findings surrounding an analysis of the database between 2003 and 2013, outlining changes in mathematical competencies of these beginning undergraduates in an attempt to determine reasons for such changes. The analysis found that the proportion of students tested through this diagnostic test that are predicted to be at risk of failing their service mathematics end-of-semester examinations has increased significantly between 2003 and 2013. Furthermore, when students' performance in secondary level mathematics was controlled, it was determined that the performance of beginning undergraduates in 2013 was statistically significantly below that of the performance of the beginning undergraduates recorded 10 years previously.

Nursing and midwifery students' stress and coping during their undergraduate education programmes: An integrative review.

PubMed

McCarthy, Bridie; Trace, Anna; O'Donovan, Moira; Brady-Nevin, Caroline; Murphy, Margaret; O'Shea, Maria; O'Regan, Patricia

2018-02-01

The aim of this review is to examine the literature related to the sources of stress, coping mechanisms and interventions to support undergraduate nursing and midwifery students to cope with stress during their undergraduate education. Integrative literature review. The databases CINAHL, PubMed and PsycINFO were searched for articles published between 2010 and 2016. Search terms in various combinations were used for example; student nurse, student midwife, undergraduate, stress, coping and interventions. An integrative review based on Whittemore and Knafl's approach was used to conduct the review. The search generated 25 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The key sources of stress emanated from clinical, academic and financial issues but predominantly from the clinical environment. Students used a variety of coping strategies, both adaptive and maladaptive. These appear to be influenced by their past and present circumstances such as, their needs, what was at stake and their options for coping. Interventions for student nurses/midwives to cope with stress were varied and in the early stages of development. Mindfulness showed some promising positive results. Interventions focussed on the individual level excluding the wider social context or organisation level. Stress is pervasive in all aspects of undergraduate nursing and midwifery education. Nursing and midwifery educators need to be aware of this impact and provide appropriate support to students in both the clinical and academic environments. Further research is needed to capture the experience of stress from the students' perspective as well as the barriers and facilitators to supporting students from the preceptors'/mentors' perspectives. Finally, more intervention studies are needed to identify and compare what interventions are effective in supporting students to cope with stress during their undergraduate education. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differences in Chemical Engineering Student-Faculty Interactions by Student Age and Experience at a Large, Public, Research University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciston, Shannon; Sehgal, Sanya; Mikel, Tressa; Carnasciali, Maria-Isabel

2018-01-01

Adult undergraduate students aged 25+ in engineering disciplines are an important demographic bringing a wealth of life experience to the classroom. This study uses qualitative data drawn from semi-structured interviews with two groups of undergraduate chemical engineering students at a large, public research university: adult students with…

The Wretched Refuse of a Teeming Shore? A Critical Examination of the Quality of Undergraduate Marketing Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aggarwal, Praveen; Vaidyanathan, Rajiv; Rochford, Linda

2007-01-01

What is the quality of students attracted to the marketing major relative to other business majors? Although some anecdotal evidence suggests that undergraduate marketing students are less quantitatively oriented, there has been no comprehensive assessment of the overall quality of marketing students relative to other business students. Using a…

Transport of Gas and Solutes in Permeable Estuarine Sediments

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

and determination of transport rates, dispersion and interfacial flux of solutes and colloidal material. Participating Scientists and students ...Scientists and students participating in this work are Dr. Markus Huettel (PI), Dr. Parthasarathi Chakraborty (Postdoc), Sucharita Chakraborty (graduate... student ), Veronica Cruz (undergraduate student ) and Allison Rau (undergraduate student ). WORK COMPLETED Two field campaigns were conducted, the

The Future of Bioscience Fieldwork in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mauchline, Alice L.; Peacock, Julie; Park, Julian R.

2013-01-01

Fieldwork is an important and often enjoyable part of learning in Bioscience degree courses, however it is unclear how the recent reforms to Higher Education (HE) may impact the future funding of outdoor learning. This paper reports on the findings from a recent survey of 30 HE Bioscience practitioners from across the UK. Their current level of…

Impact of Undergraduate Research on Academic Performance, Educational Planning, and Career Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinkel, Doreen H.; Henke, Scott E.

2006-01-01

An undergraduate research mentoring program (URMP), initiated at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, was developed (1) to aid undergraduate wildlife students in the design, conduct, and analysis of original research projects; and (2) to encourage students to become effective written and oral communicators by preparing a manuscript of their…

Embedding Responsible Conduct in Learning and Research into an Australian Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandes, Lynette B.

2017-01-01

Responsible conduct in learning and research (RCLR) was progressively introduced into the pharmacology curriculum for undergraduate science students at The University of Western Australia. In the second year of this undergraduate curriculum, a lecture introduces students to issues such as the use of animals in teaching and responsible conduct of…

Sexual Self-Disclosure and Gender Consciousness of Undergraduate Students of Obafemi Awolowo University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oluwatosin, S. A.; Adediwura, A. A.

2011-01-01

The study investigated gender consciousness and sexual self-disclosure of undergraduate students attending counseling sessions as well as gender difference in sexual self disclosure. Sixty (60) consenting undergraduates who had attended counseling session for sexual concerns in the last three months preceding this study period were used for the…

Testing Effect and Complex Comprehension in a Large Introductory Undergraduate Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pagliarulo, Christopher L.

2011-01-01

Traditional undergraduate biology courses are content intensive, requiring students to understand and remember large amounts of information in short periods of time. Yet most students maintain little of the material encountered during their education. Poor knowledge retention is a main cause of academic failure and high undergraduate attrition…

The Annotated Bibliography and Citation Behavior: Enhancing Student Scholarship in an Undergraduate Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flaspohler, Molly R.; Rux, Erika M.; Flaspohler, John A.

2007-01-01

Contemporary undergraduates in the biological sciences have unprecedented access to scientific information. Although many of these students may be savvy technologists, studies from the field of library and information science consistently show that undergraduates often struggle to locate, evaluate, and use high-quality, reputable sources of…

The Influence of Prices on the Persistence of Adult Undergraduates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. John, Edward P.; Starkey, Johnny B.

1995-01-01

A study investigated the influence of tuition charges and financial aid packaging to adult undergraduate students on within-year persistence. Results indicated that adult undergraduates are more likely to be from disadvantaged backgrounds and more responsive to tuition rate than traditional college-age students, and that adults enrolled in public…

Interdisciplinary Collaborative Learning: Using Decision Analysts to Enhance Undergraduate International Management Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palocsay, Susan W.; White, Marion M.; Zimmerman, D. Kent

2004-01-01

This article describes an experiential learning activity designed to promote the development of decision-making skills in international management students at the undergraduate level. Students from an undergraduate management science course in decision analysis served as consultants on a case assigned to teams in an international management class.…

A Series of Molecular Dynamics and Homology Modeling Computer Labs for an Undergraduate Molecular Modeling Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elmore, Donald E.; Guayasamin, Ryann C.; Kieffer, Madeleine E.

2010-01-01

As computational modeling plays an increasingly central role in biochemical research, it is important to provide students with exposure to common modeling methods in their undergraduate curriculum. This article describes a series of computer labs designed to introduce undergraduate students to energy minimization, molecular dynamics simulations,…

Assessing and Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Teaching in China: The Course Experience Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yin, Hongbiao; Wang, Wenlan

2015-01-01

Assessing and improving the quality of undergraduate teaching is an important issue in China. Using the Course Experience Questionnaire, this study examined the quality of undergraduate teaching by investigating the relationships between students' course experience, the learning outcomes demonstrated by the students and the learning environment.…

The Contribution of Qualitative Research Towards the Issues Affecting Female Undergraduate Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duggan, Louise Maria

2015-01-01

This article explores the use of qualitative research methods towards our understanding of the issues affecting female undergraduate engineers. As outlined in this article female engineering students face many challenges during their undergraduate studies. Qualitative research methods provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the…

Using Pinterest in Undergraduate Social Work Education: Assignment Development and Pilot Survey Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Lisa R.; Hitchcock, Laurel Iverson

2017-01-01

This article describes the development, implementation, and assessment of a social media assignment using Pinterest as a tool for student engagement and professional development in two undergraduate social work courses. Twenty-one undergraduate students enrolled in Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE) courses completed the assignment…

Undergraduate Students' Opinions with Regard to Ubiquitous MOOC for Enhancing Cross-Cultural Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plangsorn, Boonrat; Na-Songkhla, Jaitip; Luetkehans, Lara M.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to study undergraduate students' opinions with regard to the ubiquitous massive open online course (MOOC) for enhancing cross-cultural competence. This descriptive research applied a survey method. The survey data were collected by using survey questionnaires and online questionnaires from 410 undergraduate students…

Beta: An Experiment in Funded Undergraduate Start-Up

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Paul; Forbes-Simpson, Kellie; Maas, Gideon; Newbery, Robert

2015-01-01

This paper reports on an evaluation of a funded undergraduate project designed to enable student business start-up. The programme, entitled "Beta", provides undergraduate students with £1,500 of seed-corn funding. The key objective of the project is for the participants to exit it with a viable and legal business entity through which…

Ten Time-Saving Tips for Undergraduate Research Mentors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coker, Jeffrey Scott; Davies, Eric

2006-01-01

Undergraduate research experiences can be extremely valuable for students, but can also be very time-consuming for mentors. A series of surveys were administered to plant biologists during the last 4 years to understand the perspectives of mentors on training undergraduate and high school student researchers. The survey responses provided a wealth…

From Inquiry-Based Learning to Student Research in an Undergraduate Mathematics Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Das, Kumer

2013-01-01

As an extension to various sponsored summer undergraduate research programs, academic year research for undergraduate students is becoming popular. Mathematics faculty around the country are getting involved with this type of research and administrators are encouraging this effort. Since 2007, we have been conducting academic year research at…

Innovating for Student Success: The University Leadership Network (ULN) and Tiered Undergraduate Peer Mentor Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Jennifer L.

2017-01-01

This paper highlights the innovative approach the Student Success Initiative's unit at the University of Texas at Austin is taking to increase undergraduate persistence and four-year graduation rates. Specifically, this piece explores the large-scale University Leadership Network (ULN) program and examines the tiered undergraduate peer mentor…

Our Campus, Our Health: A Model for Undergraduate Health Education Research Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merten, Julie Williams; Johnson, Dana

2014-01-01

Research experience prepares undergraduate students for graduate school, a competitive job market, and their future as the next generation of leaders in public health education. This article describes a model, Our Campus, Our Health, to engage undergraduate students in the delivery of a college health behavior assessment. Through this project,…

Science Teaching Beliefs and Reported Approaches within a Research University: Perspectives from Faculty, Graduate Students, and Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marbach-Ad, Gili; Ziemer, Kathryn Schaefer; Orgler, Michal; Thompson, Katerina V.

2014-01-01

This study explores and compares the perspectives of three populations (faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduates) toward science teaching in the College of Chemical and Life Sciences at a research-intensive university. In particular, we investigate the role of faculty professional development in reforming undergraduate science…

A Combination Course and Lab-Based Approach to Teaching Research Skills to Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danowitz, Amy M.; Brown, Ronald C.; Jones, Clinton D.; Diegelman-Parente, Amy; Taylor, Christopher E.

2016-01-01

Undergraduate research is an important capstone experience that provides students with the conceptual and technical aptitude for graduate or industrial research. However, this experience is often compressed into a single term in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) or run by individual faculty members for select students on an…

Factors Influencing the Engagement of White Undergraduates Attending Public Historically Black Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Joelle Isabeth Davis

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence the engagement of White, undergraduate students attending public HBCUs. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have experienced an increase in White, undergraduate student enrollment since the early 1980s (American Association of University Professors, 2007; Libarkin,…

The Impact of Providing Web-Based PowerPoint Slides as Study Guides in Undergraduate Business Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frank, Jonathan; Shaw, Lewis; Wilson, Elizabeth

2009-01-01

This study examines undergraduate business students' use of PowerPoint slides provided as a supplement to class attendance, textbook reading, and other traditional course resources. We survey students in 4 diverse (accounting, marketing, management, and information systems) lower-level undergraduate courses in which the instructor provided…

Final-Year Education Projects for Undergraduate Chemistry Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

The Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme provides an opportunity for students in their final year of the chemistry degree course at the University of Reading to choose an educational project as an alternative to practical research. The undergraduates work in schools where they can be regarded as role models and offer one way of inspiring pupils to…

Beliefs and Knowledge about the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine among Undergraduate Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Theresa; Weinstein, Melissa

2016-01-01

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess male undergraduate students' human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge and intentions to receive the HPV vaccination. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Method: A sample of 116 male undergraduate students from a university in the Midwestern USA completed a survey questionnaire assessing various aspects…

Helping Undergraduates Think Like a CEO: The APPLE Analysis as a Teaching Tool for Strategic Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domke-Damonte, Darla J.; Keels, J. Kay; Black, Janice A.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a class assignment, entitled the APPLE Analysis, for developing pre-analysis comprehension about company conditions, resources and challenges as a part of the undergraduate strategic management capstone course. Because undergraduate students lack the causal maps of seasoned executives, this assignment helps students to develop…

Supporting Upper-Level Undergraduate Students in Building a Systems Perspective in a Botany Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zangori, Laura; Koontz, Jason A.

2017-01-01

Undergraduate biology majors require biological literacy about the critical and dynamic relationships between plants and ecosystems and the effect human-made processes have on these systems. To support students in understanding systems relationships, we redesigned an undergraduate botany course using an ecological framework and embedded systems…

A Successful Model of Collaborative Undergraduate Research: A Multi-Faculty, Multi-Project, Multi-Institution Team Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodzicka, Julie A.; Ford, Thomas E.; Caudill, Abbie; Ohanmamooreni, Alyna

2015-01-01

A collaborative research grant from the National Science Foundation allowed the first two authors to provide students at primarily undergraduate institutions with a multi-faculty, multi-institution team research experience. Teams of undergraduate students at Western Carolina University and Washington and Lee University collaborated with one…

The Demand for Undergraduate Course Provision in Information and Library Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcella, Rita; Baxter, Graeme

2001-01-01

Describes two studies that investigated factors affecting the demands for undergraduate courses in information and library studies: one a survey of students at The Robert Gordon University (Scotland) and one a survey of secondary school students in Scotland. Concludes that the profession should focus on undergraduate education and make career…

A Research Update on Correlates of Heavy Episodic Drinking among Undergraduate College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montauti, Sara Barrows; Bulmer, Sandra Minor

2014-01-01

Background: Despite prevention efforts of colleges and universities across the nation, there have been no substantial decreases in heavy episodic drinking among undergraduates over the past 2 decades. Purpose: This study provides an update on correlates of heavy episodic drinking for a recent cohort of undergraduate college students. Methods: A…

Cognitive diversity in undergraduate engineering: Dyslexia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitzpatrick, Velvet R.

In the United States, institutions have established multiple programs and initiatives aimed at increasing the diversity of both faculty and students in engineering as means to produce a workforce that will better serve society. However, there are two major problems in addressing engineering student diversity. First, the engineering education research community has paid little attention to date as to how engineering education research characterizes diversity in its broadest sense. Second, research on persons with disabilities in undergraduates engineering, a population of interests within diversity, is minimal. Available disability studies tend to be skewed toward physical disabilities, leading to a neglect of cognitive differences such as learning disabilities (LD). In addition, disability research questions and study designs are inherently steeped in ability bias. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the meaning of ability for students with dyslexia while in undergraduate engineering and establish the significance of cognitive diversity, focusing on LD and more specifically dyslexia, in undergraduate engineering education and answer the following research question: How do undergraduate engineering students with dyslexia experience ability while pursuing and persisting in engineering? The motivation was to lay the groundwork for future engineering education studies on undergraduate students with LD in general but dyslexia in specific. The first goal was to conduct a critical literature review pertaining to the academic strengths of undergraduate students with LD, specifically, dyslexia and the second goal was to describe how undergraduate engineering students with dyslexia experience ability. The intent was not to redefine dyslexia or disability. The intent is to provide an inclusive account of dyslexia, weakness and strengths, within the field of engineering education. This study was conducted from a qualitative inquiry approach, within the social constructivism paradigm, and utilized purposive sampling to identify appropriate participants. The thematic analysis methodological framework was used to portray a rich, complex description of experiences in which undergraduate engineering students with dyslexia constructed meaning around ability while pursuing and persisting in engineering. Eight students participated and semi-structured interviews were the data source. The findings are presented in three parts. First, significant findings that were also salient amongst the general undergraduate engineering student populations are presented. This is done to make a clear demarcation from those significant findings found to be unique to undergraduate engineering students with dyslexia presented in the themes: relationships, early exposure to engineering, and securing an internship or co-op position. Second, the four themes that developed from the analysis will were discussed: alignment, dissociation, ideal education environments, and time. Third, additional findings for further investigation were proposed: the role of remediation practices, the representation of dyslexia in media, gender differences in extracurricular activities that constructed different meanings of ability, the prevalence of co-occurring LD amongst the participants, and the visualization of science, engineering, mathematics concepts. The study is closed with a discussion; findings are discussed with respect to relevant research in the conclusion.

Transfer Student Success: Educationally Purposeful Activities Predictive of Undergraduate GPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fauria, Renee M.; Fuller, Matthew B.

2015-01-01

Researchers evaluated the effects of Educationally Purposeful Activities (EPAs) on transfer and nontransfer students' cumulative GPAs. Hierarchical, linear, and multiple regression models yielded seven statistically significant educationally purposeful items that influenced undergraduate student GPAs. Statistically significant positive EPAs for…

Undergraduate Students' Attitudes toward Biodiversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Hui-Ju; Lin, Yu-Teh Kirk

2014-01-01

The study investigated American and Taiwan undergraduate students' attitudes toward biodiversity. The survey questionnaire consisted of statements prompted by the question "To what extent do you agree with the following statements about problems with the biodiversity issues." Students indicated strongly disagree, disagree, agree,…

Evaluating an interdisciplinary undergraduate training program in health promotion research.

PubMed

Misra, Shalini; Harvey, Richard H; Stokols, Daniel; Pine, Kathleen H; Fuqua, Juliana; Shokair, Said M; Whiteley, John M

2009-04-01

The University of California at Irvine Interdisciplinary Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (ID-SURE) program had three objectives: (1) designing an interdisciplinary health promotion training curriculum for undergraduate research fellows; (2) developing measures for evaluating and assessing program-related educational processes and products; and (3) comparing these educational process and product measures between groups of students who did or did not receive the training. A total of 101 students participated in the ID-SURE program during 2005, 2006, and 2007. A longitudinal research design was employed whereby students' interdisciplinary attitudes and behaviors were assessed at the beginning and end of the training program. The interdisciplinary and intellectual qualities of students' academic and research products were assessed at the conclusion of the training activities. In addition, ID-SURE participants' interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors, and research products were compared to those of 70 participants in another fellowship program that did not have an interdisciplinary training component. Exposing undergraduate research fellows to the interdisciplinary curriculum led to increased participation in, and positive attitudes about, interdisciplinary classroom and laboratory activities. Products, such as the integrative and interdisciplinary quality of student research projects, showed no differences when compared to those of undergraduates who were not exposed to the interdisciplinary curriculum. However, undergraduates exposed to the training engaged in more interdisciplinary behaviors at the end of the program than students who were not trained in interdisciplinary research techniques. The findings from this study offer evidence for the efficacy of the ID-SURE program for training undergraduate students in transdisciplinary concepts, methods, and skills that are needed for effective scientific collaboration. Additionally, this study makes two important contributions to the development and evaluation of interdisciplinary health research training programs: (1) It presents and evaluates a novel curriculum for training undergraduate students in interdisciplinary theories, concepts, and methods of health promotion that can be replicated in other settings and contexts; (2) It provides and tests the reliability of new measures for evaluating interdisciplinary collaborative processes and develops objective criteria for rating the integrative and intellectual quality of students' research products.

Sixteen years of collaborative learning through active sense-making in physics (CLASP) at UC Davis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, Wendell; Webb, David; Paul, Cassandra; West, Emily; Bowen, Mark; Weiss, Brenda; Coleman, Lawrence; De Leone, Charles

2014-02-01

This paper describes our large reformed introductory physics course at UC Davis, which bioscience students have been taking since 1996. The central feature of this course is a focus on sense-making by the students during the 5 h per week discussion/labs in which the students take part in activities emphasizing peer-peer discussions, argumentation, and presentations of ideas. The course differs in many fundamental ways from traditionally taught introductory physics courses. After discussing the unique features of CLASP and its implementation at UC Davis, various student outcome measures are presented that show increased performance by students who took the CLASP course compared to students who took a traditionally taught introductory physics course. Measures we use include upper-division GPAs, MCAT scores, FCI gains, and MPEX-II scores.

Student nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards domestic violence: results of survey highlight need for continued attention to undergraduate curriculum.

PubMed

Doran, Frances; Hutchinson, Marie

2017-08-01

To gain a comprehensive understanding of undergraduate nursing student attitudes and views towards domestic violence, and employ the findings to inform undergraduate curriculum development. Nurses have an important role in identifying people who are victims of domestic violence through screening and facilitating their access to assistance and support. Undergraduate nursing education is key to shaping attitudes and facilitating the development of a comprehensive understanding of domestic violence. Little research has been undertaken exploring nursing students' attitudes towards domestic violence. A cross-sectional survey of undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a three-year Bachelor of Nursing programme across three campuses of a regional university in NSW, Australia. Students completed a pen and paper survey during class time and descriptive and comparative analysis was undertaken. The majority of respondents were female, first year students females aged 17-26 years. Many students understood the nature and consequences of domestic violence, yet others across the course of the programme demonstrate attitudes that reflect a lack of understanding and misconceptions of domestic violence. Stereotypical and gendered attitudes that normalise violence within intimate partner relationships and sustain victim-blaming attitudes were evident across the cohort. It is important for nurses to understand the relationship between exposure to violence and women's ill health, and be able to respond appropriately. Undergraduate programmes need to highlight the important role of nurses around domestic violence and address stereotypical conceptions about domestic violence. Continued effort is required to address domestic violence in undergraduate nursing education so that nursing graduates understand the association between violence exposure and poor health and are able to assess exposure and respond appropriately in the clinical environment. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Problematic Drinking Among Postgraduate Students: Binge Drinking, Prepartying, and Mixing Alcohol With Energy Drinks.

PubMed

Rutledge, Patricia C; Bestrashniy, Jessica R B M; Nelson, Toben F

2016-07-02

Although problematic alcohol use has been studied extensively in undergraduate students, little is known about problematic drinking among postgraduate students. This study examined binge drinking, prepartying, and mixing alcohol with energy drinks to determine: (1) the extent to which postgraduate students engage in these drinking behaviors, (2) how postgraduate students differ from undergraduate students in these behaviors, and (3) the demographic risk factors for these behaviors in postgraduate (and undergraduate) students. This study utilized data from n = 695 students (n = 298 postgraduate; n = 397 undergraduate) who participated in the Healthy Minds Study at a large, public university in the Midwestern US. Past-two-week binge drinking, past-year and past-30-day prepartying, and past-30-day mixing alcohol with energy drinks were reported by 26.2%, 28.6%, 14.9%, and 8.1% of postgraduate students, respectively. Multivariate analyses indicated that postgraduate status was a significant negative predictor of binge drinking and prepartying, and that status interacted with age in predicting prepartying such that the effect of age on prepartying was negative for postgraduate students and nonsignificant for undergraduates. Age was a significant negative predictor of mixing alcohol with energy drinks for all students. This study makes a unique contribution to the literature by providing information on problematic drinking in postgraduate students. Although there was evidence of "maturing out," a substantial number of postgraduate students were found to engage in binge drinking and prepartying, and a not insubstantial number of them were found to mix alcohol with energy drinks.

Students’ Perceptions of an Applied Research Experience in an Undergraduate Exercise Science Course

PubMed Central

PEARSON, REGIS C.; CRANDALL, K. JASON; DISPENNETTE, KATHRYN; MAPLES, JILL M.

2017-01-01

Applied research experiences can provide numerous benefits to undergraduate students, however few studies have assessed the perceptions of Exercise Science (EXS) students to an applied research experience. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to describe the rationale and implementation of an applied research experience into an EXS curriculum and 2) to evaluate EXS undergraduate students’ perceptions of an applied research experience. An EXS measurement course was chosen for implementation of an applied research experience. The applied research experience required groups of students to design, implement, and evaluate a student-led research project. Fourteen questions were constructed, tailored to EXS undergraduate students, to assess students’ perceptions of the experience. Qualitative analysis was used for all applicable data, with repeated trends noted; quantitative data were collapsed to determine frequencies. There was an overall positive student perception of the experience and 85.7% of students agreed an applied research experience should be continued. 84.7% of students perceived the experience as educationally enriching, while 92.8% reported the experience was academically challenging. This experience allowed students to develop comprehensive solutions to problems that arose throughout the semester; while facilitating communication, collaboration, and problem solving. Students believed research experiences were beneficial, but could be time consuming when paired with other responsibilities. Results suggest an applied research experience has the potential to help further the development of EXS undergraduate students. Understanding student perceptions of an applied research experience may prove useful to faculty interested in engaging students in the research process. PMID:29170695

Extracurricular scientific production among medical students has increased in the past decade.

PubMed

Andersen, Sofie Bech; Østergaard, Lauge; Fosbøl, Philip Loldrup; Fosbøl, Emil Loldrup

2015-09-01

Undergraduate research among medical students is essential in the education of future physicians and scientists. This study aimed to evaluate the scientific yield of extracurricular undergraduate research among medical students. Medical students at the University of Copenhagen who completed an extracurricular research year between January 2004 and June 2013 were evaluated through a manual search in PubMed MEDLINE. The primary focus was the number of peer-reviewed, published articles. Of the 363 included students, 3.1% did their research in 2004-2005 compared with 46.5% in 2012-2013. After three years, 70.4% of the students had published a peer-reviewed article, and of all the 363 students, 36.5%, had published as a first author. In total, 87.7% had a medical specialty as their research area versus a surgical specialty. Most students were involved in cardiology (14.1%). Cardiology was also associated with the greatest scientific yield with a median number of 0.8 publications per year after the students concluded their undergraduate research period. Three or more years after concluding their undergraduate research, 32.8% of the students had continued with research in the context of a PhD programme. Overall, the number of medical students who engaged in extracurricular research followed an increasing trend, and more than two-thirds of these students published a peer-reviewed paper within three years. Cardiology was the most popular specialty and also the specialty with the greatest scientific yield. A third of the undergraduate research students continued doing research in the context of a PhD programme.

Undergraduate students' perspectives on primary care.

PubMed

Gold, Jessica A; Barg, Frances K; Margo, Katherine

2014-10-01

Despite the need for more primary care physicians, the number of medical students choosing primary care careers remains lower than other specialties. While undergraduate premedical education is an essential component in the development of future physicians, little is known about undergraduate students' perspectives on becoming primary care physicians. To better understand the early factors in career selection, we asked premed and former premed students their perceptions of primary care. Open-ended, semistructured interviews were conducted with 58 undergraduate students who represented three different groups: those who were currently premed and science majors, those who were nonscience majors and were currently premed, and those who were formerly premed. Specifically, we asked, "Why do you think there is a shortage of people who go into primary care?" Undergraduates cited financial reasons, lack of "glamour," and the career being "uninteresting." Many believed that primary care lacked prestige, and others felt it had a negative stigma attached. Most had never even considered a career in primary care. A number of students also misunderstood what a career in primary care actually entailed. As early as freshman year in college, undergraduate students harbor misconceptions and negative opinions about primary care. Many of those who express interest in such a career seem to drop out of the premedical program. It is important to consider the early onset of these attitudes and a way to target this interested population when trying to address the shortage of primary care physicians. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Effects of Case-Based Instruction on Undergraduate Biology Students' Understanding of the Nature of Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burniston, Amy Lucinda

Undergraduate science education is currently seeing a dramatic pedagogical push towards teaching the philosophies underpinning science as well as an increase in strategies that employ active learning. Many active learning strategies stem from constructivist ideals and have been shown to affect a student's understanding of how science operates and its impact on society- commonly referred to as the nature of science (NOS). One particular constructivist teaching strategy, case-based instruction (CBI), has been recommended by researchers and science education reformists as an effective instructional strategy for teaching NOS. Furthermore, when coupled with explicit-reflective instruction, CBI has been found to significantly increasing understanding of NOS in elementary and secondary students. However, few studies aimed their research on CBI and NOS towards higher education. Thus, this study uses a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group design to study the effects of CBI on undergraduate science students understandings of NOS. Undergraduate biology student's understanding of NOS were assessed using the Views of Science Education (VOSE) instrument pre and post CBI intervention in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Human Anatomy and Physiology II. Data analysis indicated statistically significant differences between students NOS scores in experimental versus control sections for both courses, with experimental groups obtaining higher posttest scores. The results of this study indicate that undergraduate male and female students have similarly poor understandings of NOS and the use of historical case based instruction can be used as a means to increase undergraduate understanding of NOS.

Psychiatric specialization as an option for medical students in the Indian context.

PubMed

Praharaj, Samir Kumar; Behere, Rishikesh V; Deora, Sumit; Sharma, P S V N

2013-08-01

There is a shortage of psychiatrists in India and psychiatry as a subject of specialization is not a preferred option among medical undergraduates. There is inadequate exposure to psychiatry during the medical undergraduate training in India which might contribute towards it. There are attempts to overcome the negative attitudes towards psychiatry and mental illness among medical undergraduates by changes in the curriculum. In this paper we attempt to review studies on attitudes of undergraduate students towards psychiatry and compare the results with findings from our own survey done as a part of International Study of Student Career Choice in Psychiatry (ISoSCCiP) project.

Tsinghua-Johns Hopkins Joint Center for Biomedical Engineering Research: scientific and cultural exchange in undergraduate engineering.

PubMed

Wisneski, Andrew D; Huang, Lixia; Hong, Bo; Wang, Xiaoqin

2011-01-01

A model for an international undergraduate biomedical engineering research exchange program is outlined. In 2008, the Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with Tsinghua University in Beijing, China established the Tsinghua-Johns Hopkins Joint Center for Biomedical Engineering Research. Undergraduate biomedical engineering students from both universities are offered the opportunity to participate in research at the overseas institution. Programs such as these will not only provide research experiences for undergraduates but valuable cultural exchange and enrichment as well. Currently, strict course scheduling and rigorous curricula in most biomedical engineering programs may present obstacles for students to partake in study abroad opportunities. Universities are encouraged to harbor abroad opportunities for undergraduate engineering students, for which this particular program can serve as a model.

The Current Use of Social Media in Undergraduate Nursing Education: A Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Ross, Jennifer Gunberg; Myers, Shannon Marie

2017-07-01

Social media, including blogs, Twitter, wikis, Facebook, YouTube, and Ning, provides an opportunity for nurse educators to engage undergraduate nursing students who are members of the millennial generation in active learning while enhancing knowledge and fostering communication. Despite the rise of social media usage in undergraduate nursing education, there is a significant deficiency of empirical evidence supporting the efficacy and outcomes of these teaching strategies. This article provides an overview of social media use in undergraduate nursing education and a review of the existing research related to social media use in prelicensure nursing education. Overall, undergraduate nursing students respond positively to social media use in nursing education; however, no outcome measures are available to determine the effect of these teaching strategies on student learning.

Success Stories of Undergraduate Retention: A Pathways Study of Graduate Students in Solar and Space Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrow, C. A.; Stoll, W.; Moldwin, M.; Gross, N. A.

2012-12-01

This presentation describes results from an NSF-funded study of the pathways students in solar and space physics have taken to arrive in graduate school. Our Pathways study has documented results from structured interviews conducted with graduate students attending two, week-long, NSF-sponsored scientific workshops during the summer of 2011. Our research team interviewed 48 solar and space physics students (29 males and 19 females currently in graduate programs at US institutions,) in small group settings regarding what attracted and retained them along their pathways leading to grad school. This presentation addresses what these students revealed about the attributes and influences that supported completion of their undergraduate experience and focused their aspirations toward graduate school. In advance of the interview process, we collected 125 on-line survey responses from students at the two workshops. This 20-item survey included questions about high school and undergraduate education, as well as about research and graduate experience. A subset of the 125 students who completed this on-line survey volunteered to be interviewed. Two types of interview data were collected from the 48 interviewees: 1) written answers to a pre-interview questionnaire; and 2) detailed notes taken by researchers during group interviews. On the pre-interview questionnaire, we posed the question: "How did you come to be a graduate student in your field?" Our findings to date are based on an analysis of responses to this question, cross correlated with the corresponding on-line survey data. Our analysis reveals the importance of early research experiences. About 80% of the students participating in the Pathways study cited formative undergraduate research experiences. Moreover, about 50% of participants reported undergraduate research experiences that were in the field of their current graduate studies. Graduate students interviewed frequently cited a childhood interest in science that grew through high school and undergraduate science courses on into trying out research as an undergraduate. Reasons cited for finding space physics more attractive than, say astronomy or cosmology, included: 1) the domain of physical reality being studied (near-Earth space) can be accessed by humans; 2) the research content is easier to explain to family and friends; and 3) the research has more societal relevance. Our data also suggest the pivotal role of undergraduate professors and research advisors in supporting student persistence.

An assessment of student experiences and learning based on a novel undergraduate e-learning resource.

PubMed

Mehta, S; Clarke, F; Fleming, P S

2016-08-12

Purpose/objectives The aims of this study were to describe the development of a novel e-learning resource and to assess its impact on student learning experiences and orthodontic knowledge.Methods Thirty-two 4th year dental undergraduate students at Queen Mary University of London were randomly allocated to receive electronic access to e-learning material covering various undergraduate orthodontic topics over a 6-week period. Thirty-one control students were not given access during the study period. All students were asked to complete electronic quizzes both before (T0) and after (T1) the study period and a general questionnaire concerning familiarity with e-learning. The test group also completed a user satisfaction questionnaire at T1. Two focus groups were also undertaken to explore learners' experiences and suggestions in relation to the resource.Results The mean quiz result improved by 3.9% and 4.5% in the control and test groups, respectively. An independent t-test, however, demonstrated a lack of statistical significance in knowledge gain between control and test groups (P = 0.941). The qualitative feedback indicated that students believed that use of the resource enhanced knowledge and basic understanding with students expressing a wish to ingrain similar resources in other areas of undergraduate teaching.Conclusions Use of the novel orthodontic e-resource by 4th year undergraduate students over a 6-week period did not result in a significant improvement in subject knowledge. However, the e-learning has proven popular among undergraduates and the resources will continue to be refined.

Where are the women? Campus climate and the degree aspirations of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulz, Phyllis

Women remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at all levels of higher education, which has become a concern in the competitive global marketplace. Using both quantitative and qualitative analysis, this dissertation sought to learn more about how the campus climate and self-concept influence the degree aspirations of female undergraduate students majoring in STEM programs. Using the Beginning Post-Secondary dataset, regression analyses showed that a student's initial degree aspirations, SAT scores, and interactions with faculty were all positively related to their degree aspirations three years later. Interviews with seven current STEM undergraduates confirmed the importance of interaction with faculty and suggested undergraduate research and classroom experiences also play a role in the degree aspirations of STEM students. Three of the seven students interviewed began their undergraduate educations as non-STEM majors, suggesting that the traditional STEM pipeline may no longer be the norm. These findings suggest that both future research and current practitioners should focus on undergraduate STEM classroom and research experiences. Additionally, the characteristics of students who switch into STEM majors should be explored so that we may continue to expand the number of students pursuing STEM degrees.

"iM Ready to Learn": Undergraduate Nursing Students Knowledge, Preferences, and Practice of Mobile Technology and Social Media.

PubMed

Hay, Benjamin; Carr, Peter J; Dawe, Lydia; Clark-Burg, Karen

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify in what way social media and mobile technology assist with learning and education of the undergraduate nurse. The study involved undergraduate nursing students across three campuses from the University of Notre Dame Australia. Participants were invited to complete an online questionnaire that related to their current knowledge, preferences, and practice with mobile technology and social media within their undergraduate nursing degree. A quantitative descriptive survey design was adapted from an initial pilot survey by the authors. A total of 386 nursing students (23.47% of the total enrolment) completed the online survey. Overall, results suggested that students are more supportive of social media and mobile technology in principle than in practice. Students who frequently use mobile technologies prefer to print out, highlight, and annotate the lecture material. Findings suggest that nursing students currently use mobile technology and social media and are keen to engage in ongoing learning and collaboration using these resources. Therefore, nursing academia should encourage the appropriate use of mobile technology and social media within the undergraduate curriculum so that responsible use of such technologies positively affects the future nursing workforce.

Improving undergraduate biology education in a large research university.

PubMed Central

Bender, C; Ward, S; Wells, M A

1994-01-01

The campus-wide Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) at the University of Arizona improves undergraduate science education by expanding student opportunities for independent research in faculty laboratories. Within the supportive community of a research laboratory, underclassmen, nonscience majors, and those aspiring to scientific careers all learn to appreciate the process of science. The Program impacts more than the students, promoting departmental cooperation, interdisciplinary collaborations, and improvements in undergraduate science education throughout a Research I University. PMID:8018999

Self-Medication with Antibiotics, Attitude and Knowledge of Antibiotic Resistance among Community Residents and Undergraduate Students in Northwest Nigeria.

PubMed

Ajibola, Olumide; Omisakin, Olusola Akintoye; Eze, Anthonius Anayochukwu; Omoleke, Semeeh Akinwale

2018-04-27

This study set out to evaluate self-medicated antibiotics and knowledge of antibiotic resistance among undergraduate students and community members in northern Nigeria. Antibiotic consumption pattern, source of prescription, illnesses commonly treated, attitude towards antibiotics, and knowledge of antibiotic resistance were explored using a structured questionnaire. Responses were analyzed and summarized using descriptive statistics. Of the 1230 respondents from undergraduate students and community members, prescription of antibiotics by a physician was 33% and 57%, respectively, amongst undergraduate students and community members. We tested the respondents’ knowledge of antibiotic resistance (ABR) and found that undergraduate students displayed less knowledge that self-medication could lead to ABR (32.6% and 42.2% respectively). Self-medication with antibiotics is highly prevalent in Northwest Nigeria, with most medicines being purchased from un-licensed stores without prescription from a physician. We also observed a significant gap in respondents’ knowledge of ABR. There is an urgent need for public health authorities in Nigeria to enforce existing laws on antibiotics sales and enlighten the people on the dangers of ABR.

Undergraduate medical academic performance is improved by scientific training.

PubMed

Zhang, Lili; Zhang, Wei; Wu, Chong; Liu, Zhongming; Cai, Yunfei; Cao, Xingguo; He, Yushan; Liu, Guoxiang; Miao, Hongming

2017-09-01

The effect of scientific training on course learning in undergraduates is still controversial. In this study, we investigated the academic performance of undergraduate students with and without scientific training. The results show that scientific training improves students' test scores in general medical courses, such as biochemistry and molecular biology, cell biology, physiology, and even English. We classified scientific training into four levels. We found that literature reading could significantly improve students' test scores in general courses. Students who received scientific training carried out experiments more effectively and published articles performed better than their untrained counterparts in biochemistry and molecular biology examinations. The questionnaire survey demonstrated that the trained students were more confident of their course learning, and displayed more interest, motivation and capability in course learning. In summary, undergraduate academic performance is improved by scientific training. Our findings shed light on the novel strategies in the management of undergraduate education in the medical school. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(5):379-384, 2017. © 2017 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Training mechanical engineering students to utilize biological inspiration during product development.

PubMed

Bruck, Hugh A; Gershon, Alan L; Golden, Ira; Gupta, Satyandra K; Gyger, Lawrence S; Magrab, Edward B; Spranklin, Brent W

2007-12-01

The use of bio-inspiration for the development of new products and devices requires new educational tools for students consisting of appropriate design and manufacturing technologies, as well as curriculum. At the University of Maryland, new educational tools have been developed that introduce bio-inspired product realization to undergraduate mechanical engineering students. These tools include the development of a bio-inspired design repository, a concurrent fabrication and assembly manufacturing technology, a series of undergraduate curriculum modules and a new senior elective in the bio-inspired robotics area. This paper first presents an overview of the two new design and manufacturing technologies that enable students to realize bio-inspired products, and describes how these technologies are integrated into the undergraduate educational experience. Then, the undergraduate curriculum modules are presented, which provide students with the fundamental design and manufacturing principles needed to support bio-inspired product and device development. Finally, an elective bio-inspired robotics project course is present, which provides undergraduates with the opportunity to demonstrate the application of the knowledge acquired through the curriculum modules in their senior year using the new design and manufacturing technologies.

Beliefs and perceptions of mentorship among nursing faculty and traditional and accelerated undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Navarra, Ann-Margaret; Stimpfel, Amy Witkoski; Rodriguez, Karla; Lim, Fidelindo; Nelson, Noreen; Slater, Larry Z

2018-02-01

In order to meet the demands of a dynamic and complex health care landscape, nursing education must develop and implement programming to produce a highly educated nursing workforce. Interprofessional honors education in nursing with targeted mentorship is one such model. To describe undergraduate nursing student and faculty perceptions and beliefs of mentorship in the context of interprofessional honors education, and compare and contrast the perceptions and beliefs about mentorship in interprofessional honors education between undergraduate nursing students and faculty. The study used a cross-sectional, descriptive design. Data were collected at an urban university in the northeast US, using a researcher-developed electronic survey. The sample included 24 full-time nursing faculty, and 142 undergraduate nursing students. Perceptions and beliefs regarding mentorship in the context of interprofessional honors education were similar for faculty and students, with both ranking mentorship among the most important components of a successful honors program. Honors education with a dedicated mentorship component may be implemented to improve the undergraduate education experience, facilitate advanced degree attainment, and develop future nursing leaders. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Endometase in Androgen-Repressed Human Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

Mark Dru Roycik, Graduate Student Assistant Megan E. Moruski, Undergraduate Student Assistant Jennifer Walker, Undergraduate Student Assistant Kevin... Craik , C. S.; Ellman, J. A. Design and Synthesis of Novel Inhibitors of Gelatinase B. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2002, 12, 2201-2204. [225] Brown, S

Students' Perceptions of Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iannone, Paola; Simpson, Adrian

2013-01-01

A consistent message emerges from research on undergraduate students' perceptions of assessment which describes traditional assessment as detrimental to learning. However this literature has not included students in the pure sciences. Mathematics education literature advocates the introduction of innovative assessment at university. In this…

Collaborative Online Teamwork: Exploring Students' Satisfaction and Attitudes with Google Hangouts as a Supplementary Communication Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

He, Jinxia; Huang, Xiaoxia

2017-01-01

This study examined differences in student satisfaction and perceptions of online teamwork in two cohorts of an undergraduate educational technology course: one delivered fully asynchronously and the other incorporating synchronous Google Hangouts sessions in student online teamwork. Participants included 50 undergraduate students at a large…

The Complexities of Engagement: Chinese Undergraduate Students Encountering U.S. Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yajing

2017-01-01

This dissertation investigates Chinese undergraduate student engagement at U.S. universities. Over the past decade, the number of Chinese students studying in the United States has increased dramatically, but scholars have yet to concentrate on these student experiences or on the dynamics of their interaction with host institutions. Dominant media…

"Water and Environmental Systems": Achieving Student-Centered Learning Objectives with an Undergraduate Journal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charlesworth, Susanne M.; Foster, Ian D. L.

1996-01-01

Describes and evaluates an unusual and innovative assessment procedure used in an undergraduate hydrology and oceanography class. Working in teams, English students produce research articles published by an in-house, though refereed, academic journal. Professors and students agree that the process stimulates students to perform at their highest…

Undergraduate Mathematics Students' Emotional Experiences in Linear Algebra Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martínez-Sierra, Gustavo; García-González, María del Socorro

2016-01-01

Little is known about students' emotions in the field of Mathematics Education that go beyond students' emotions in problem solving. To start filling this gap this qualitative research has the aim to identify emotional experiences of undergraduate mathematics students in Linear Algebra courses. In order to obtain data, retrospective focus group…

Audio and Written Comments in an Online Undergraduate Composition Class: Student and Instructor Approaches and Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavanaugh, Andrew; Song, Liyan

2015-01-01

This study investigated students' and instructors' approaches and preferences to audio and written comments in an online undergraduate composition class. A mixed-method design was employed utilizing both a survey instrument and interviews for data collection. Forty-nine students and five instructors participated. Students gave more positive…

Learning Strategies of Successful and Unsuccessful University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simsek, Ali; Balaban, Jale

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the most commonly used learning strategies of undergraduate students and how these strategies were related to their academic performance. Toward this purpose, a 60 item Likert scale was administered to a sample of 278 undergraduate students. The students were selected based on their cumulative…

Student Engagement Profile: A Comparison of Traditional and Nontraditional Undergraduate College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonnetaud, Cricket

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine if there were differences between traditional and nontraditional undergraduate students level of engagement on a traditional campus. In addition, the engagement profile of nontraditional students was examined to determine whether there were differences when considering moderator variables: such as gender,…

Assessing the Motivators and Barriers Influencing Undergraduate Students' Choices to Participate in International Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunch, J.C.; Lamm, Alexa J.; Israel, Glenn D.; Edwards, M. Craig

2013-01-01

International experiences (IEs) are becoming one of the most critical elements of an undergraduate student's education to address the knowledge needed to become globally competent. However, student enrollment in IEs has been limited. Agricultural educators can more easily influence students' decisions regarding participation in IEs if they…

Drivers of Engagement in Professional Development Activity: A Study of Undergraduate Business Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snell, Corinne M.

2012-01-01

Since college and university students typically vary in their utilization of student services and resources, the variance in undergraduate business student engagement levels in professional development activity was explored by this quantitative study. Professional development is defined as career-related preparation of students for entry into the…

University Students' Conceptions of Bonding in Melting and Dissolving Phenomena

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, K. Christopher; Nakhleh, Mary B.

2011-01-01

Undergraduate and graduate students' predictions and submicroscopic level explanations for the melting of four materials (salt, chalk, sugar, and butter), and for the mixing of these solutes in two solvents (water and cooking oil) were collected. Twenty-three undergraduate students and seven graduate students participated in the study, and data…

Reaching Students: What Research Says about Effective Instruction in Undergraduate Science and Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kober, Nancy

2015-01-01

The undergraduate years are a turning point in producing scientifically literate citizens and future scientists and engineers. Evidence from research about how students learn science and engineering shows that teaching strategies that motivate and engage students will improve their learning. So how do students best learn science and engineering?…

The Experiences of Marine Student Veterans in Undergraduate Composition Courses: A Phenomenological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinton, Corrine E.

2012-01-01

Student veterans represent one of the fastest growing undergraduate student populations in higher education, thanks largely to the expanded federal benefits provided by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Understanding the transitional and academic experiences of student veterans is critical to creating military-friendly institutions. Existing research in…

Online Collaborative Learning in a Project-Based Learning Environment in Taiwan: A Case Study on Undergraduate Students' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Ke; Peng, Shiang Wuu; Hung, Jui-long

2009-01-01

This case study investigated undergraduate students' first experience in online collaborative learning in a project-based learning (PBL) environment in Taiwan. Data were collected through interviews of 48 students, instructor's field notes, researchers' online observations, students' online discourse, and group artifacts. The findings revealed…

Undergraduate ESL Students' Difficulties in Writing the Introduction for Research Reports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maznun, Mirrah Diyana Binti; Monsefi, Roya; Nimehchisalem, Vahid

2017-01-01

This study was conducted to investigate the difficulties encountered by undergraduate ESL students in writing the introduction section of their project reports. Five introduction sections of bachelor of arts students, majoring in English language, were analyzed and a lecturer was interviewed regarding the areas of the students' weaknesses. Swales'…

Urban and Rural College Students' Family Background and Their Participation in Student Organization: A Study in Guangzhou University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hui, Liu; Min, Yang

2017-01-01

Based on the survey of "undergraduate family and educational background and freshman learning experience," a statistical analysis of Guangzhou University first-year undergraduate students' family backgrounds and participation in student organizational activities found a significant correlation between family background and the degree of…

An Exploratory Study of Undergraduate Students' Referral Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badura Brack, Amy; Runco, Daniel V.; Cadwallader, Leesa Anne; Kelley, Michael

2012-01-01

We surveyed undergraduate college students from the psychology subject pool (N = 73) about where they would refer a depressed friend for help. Students from this sample were most likely to refer friends to the counseling center followed by social support options. Students were comparatively least likely to refer to other professionals, indicating…

"The Most Defining Experience": Undergraduate University Students' Experiences Mentoring Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Susan M.; Nauheimer, Jeanne M.; George, Cassandra L.; Dague, E. Bryan

2017-01-01

In this three-year qualitative study we investigated the experiences and perspectives of university undergraduate students who were peer mentors for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) in a postsecondary education certificate program at a public university in the northeastern United States. The findings were…

Variation in Student Selection within the Australian Unified National System: A Case Study in Undergraduate Business Studies from Western Australia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanley, Gordon; Oliver, Jeff

1994-01-01

Data on admission criteria for four undergraduate business administration programs in Western Australian universities were used to investigate variation in student characteristics across schools. Results indicated large differences in student characteristics among schools, which could affect student progress and outcomes. Implications for such…

The Importance of Directly Asking Students Their Reasons for Attending Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennett, Deborah J.; Reed, Maureen J.; Lam, Dianne

2011-01-01

Few studies have directly asked undergraduate students their reasons for coming to institutions for higher learning and, instead, have been developed based on theoretical rationale. We asked undergraduate students to list all of their reasons for attending university and to indicate those most important. Overall, students reported more than five…

Student Learning Outcomes from a Pilot Medical Innovations Course with Nursing, Engineering, and Biology Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludwig, Patrice M.; Nagel, Jacquelyn K.; Lewis, Erica J.

2017-01-01

Background: Preparing today's undergraduate students from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and related health professions to solve wide-sweeping healthcare challenges is critical. Moreover, it is imperative that educators help students develop the capabilities needed to meet those challenges, including problem solving,…

Student Perceptions of Communication Skills in Undergraduate Science at an Australian Research-Intensive University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercer-Mapstone, Lucy D.; Matthews, Kelly E.

2017-01-01

Higher education institutions globally are acknowledging the need to teach communication skills. This study used the Science Student Skills Inventory to gain insight into how science students perceive the development of communication skills across the degree programme. Responses were obtained from 635 undergraduate students enrolled in a Bachelor…

Factors Affecting Performance of Undergraduate Students in Construction Related Disciplines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olatunji, Samuel Olusola; Aghimien, Douglas Omoregie; Oke, Ayodeji Emmanuel; Olushola, Emmanuel

2016-01-01

Academic performance of students in Nigerian institutions has been of much concern to all and sundry hence the need to assess the factors affecting performance of undergraduate students in construction related discipline in Nigeria. A survey design was employed with questionnaires administered on students in the department of Quantity Surveying,…

Experiences from Cross-Institutional Exchanges of Undergraduate Business Student Written Cases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Douglas N.; Zufan, Pavel; Rosenbloom, Al

2008-01-01

This article describes an undergraduate course assignment that required 134 students in 52 student teams from three universities, two in the United States and one in the Czech Republic, to write, exchange, and give constructive feedback on a student-written strategic management or international business case and its accompanying teaching note. The…

Making Microscopy Motivating, Memorable, & Manageable for Undergraduate Students with Digital Imaging Laboratories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weeks, Andrea; Bachman. Beverly; Josway, Sarah; North, Brittany; Tsuchiya, Mirian T.N.

2013-01-01

Microscopy and precise observation are essential skills that are challenging to teach effectively to large numbers of undergraduate biology students. We implemented student-driven digital imaging assignments for microscopy in a large enrollment laboratory for organismal biology. We detail how we promoted student engagement with the material and…

Examination of a therapeutic-recreation based clinical placement for undergraduate nursing students: A self-determined perspective.

PubMed

Perlman, Dana; Taylor, Ellie; Moxham, Lorna; Sumskis, Susan; Patterson, Christopher; Brighton, Renee; Heffernan, Tim

2018-03-01

Nursing students across the globe are expected to undertake clinical placements. To date, there have been no studies that have examined the potential educational benefits for undergraduate nursing students engaged in a mental health clinical placement grounded in self-determination theory. The present study examined the experiences of undergraduate students engaged in a mental health clinical placement termed Recovery Camp. An ethnographic methodology within a case study approach was used. The researchers were immersed in the clinical placement, which took place at a YMCA camp facility. Participants were 20 3rd year undergraduate nursing students. To gain insight and understanding, the researchers used interviews, observations, and reflective journals. The constant-comparative method was used to analyse the data. Emergent themes identified from systematic analysis were: (a) social connection and (b) experiential learning. Recovery Camp facilitated a sense of inclusion and positive/supportive behaviour. It also enhanced student learning and understanding of symptoms of mental illness. Findings from this study support and extend findings for the use of therapeutic-recreation based work placement experiences in the clinical education of future nurses. Findings demonstrated a link between this type of placement and undergraduate student's development of deeper knowledge of symptoms and experiences associated with mental illness. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Development of an advanced undergraduate course in acoustics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gee, Kent L.; Neilsen, Tracianne B.; Sommerfeldt, Scott D.

2016-03-01

Within many physics undergraduate programs, acoustics is given only a cursory treatment, usually within an introductory course. Because acoustics is a natural vehicle for students to develop intuition about wave phenomena, an advanced undergraduate acoustics course has been developed at Brigham Young University. Although it remains an elective course, enrollment has increased steadily since its inception. The course has been taken by students in physics, applied physics, physics teaching, and mechanical and electrical engineering. In addition to providing training for students motivated by interest in undergraduate research, internship, employment, and graduate schooling opportunities in acoustics, the course facilitates connections between various areas of physics. Explicit connections are made to mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, optics, quantum mechanics, and experimental and computational laboratory courses. Active learning is emphasized through Just-in-Time-Teaching and course structure. Homework exercises are both theoretical and practical and often require making and interpreting of graphs. For example, students may model traffic noise as a series of uncorrelated monopoles or examine highway barrier effectiveness using Fresnel diffraction techniques. Additionally, students participate in resumé-building measurements and learn to report their results in the form of technical memoranda. Course evaluations and post-graduation student surveys rate it among the most valuable undergraduate student courses offered.

Head and Neck Anatomy: Effect of Focussed Near-Peer Teaching on Anatomical Confidence in Undergraduate Medical Students.

PubMed

Morris, Simon; Osborne, Max Sallis; Bowyer, Duncan

2018-05-11

To assess the effect of near-peer head and neck anatomy teaching on undergraduates and to quantify the benefit from a focussed teaching course. Near-peer teaching involves colleagues within close seniority and age proximity teaching one another on a specified topic. Small group teaching sessions were delivered to medical students on 3 key areas of ENT anatomy. Participants were given a precourse and postcourse questionnaire to determine the benefit attained from the course. An undergraduate anatomy course taking place at the University of Birmingham Medical School. A total of 30 medical students: 15 preclinical (years 1-2) and 15 clinical (years 3-5) medical students participated from a single institution. A total of 71% of students expressed inadequate teaching of head and neck anatomy in undergraduate curriculum. All students (n = 30) expressed benefit from the course, however the patterns of learning differed: preclinical students showed a significant improvement in both their ability to name anatomical structures and their application (p < 0.05). Near-peer learning provides benefit to all medical undergraduates in the context of teaching anatomy which may make it a valuable teaching tool for the future of medical education. Copyright © 2018 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.