Development and Initial Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess the Reading Beliefs of Undergraduate Students: The "Cuestionario de Creencias Sobre la Lectura"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lordán, Eva; Solé, Isabel; Beltran, Francesc S.

2017-01-01

The aim of this research was to develop a new questionnaire for exploring the reading beliefs of undergraduate students, because the only currently available instrument has conceptual and methodological limitations. The paper describes the process of developing the instrument and presents a range of psychometric data obtained from a sample of 558…

Prosody as a Tool for Assessing Reading Fluency of Adult ESL Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinambela, Seftirina Evina

2017-01-01

The prosodic features in reading aloud assignment has been associated with the students' decoding skill. The goal of the present study is to determine the reliability of prosody for assessing reading fluency of adult ESL students in Indonesia context. The participants were all Indonesian natives, undergraduate students, adult females and males who…

Reflective Journaling as a Flipped Classroom Technique to Increase Reading and Participation with Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sage, Melanie; Sele, Patti

2015-01-01

Students in undergraduate social work practice courses come to class with varying levels of educational, life, and practice experience. Students require an introduction to the material through textbook reading before they are able to engage in critical discussions, yet reading adherence varies widely among students. This research explores the use…

The Effects of Large-Group Instruction, Modeling, or See the Sound/Visual Phonics on Undergraduate Students Learning to Read Italian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cihon, Traci M.; Morford, Zachary, Stephens, Christopher J.; Morrison, Dorothy; Shrontz, Rachael; Kelly, Kimberly L.

2013-01-01

Reading in the second language (L2) allows learners access to new vocabulary and opportunities to translate from the L2 to the first language (L1) and vice versa. In this paper, we describe three studies that explored strategies for developing L2 Italian decoding repertoires. Participants were undergraduate students preparing for a short-term…

Reading across Mediums: Effects of Reading Digital and Print Texts on Comprehension and Calibration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singer, Lauren M.; Alexander, Patricia A.

2017-01-01

This study explored differences that might exist in comprehension when students read digital and print texts. Ninety undergraduates read both digital and print versions of newspaper articles and book excerpts on topics of childhood ailments. Prior to reading texts in counterbalanced order, topic knowledge was assessed and students were asked to…

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…

The Cognitive Neuroscience of Sign Language: Engaging Undergraduate Students' Critical Thinking Skills Using the Primary Literature.

PubMed

Stevens, Courtney

2015-01-01

This article presents a modular activity on the neurobiology of sign language that engages undergraduate students in reading and analyzing the primary functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) literature. Drawing on a seed empirical article and subsequently published critique and rebuttal, students are introduced to a scientific debate concerning the functional significance of right-hemisphere recruitment observed in some fMRI studies of sign language processing. The activity requires minimal background knowledge and is not designed to provide students with a specific conclusion regarding the debate. Instead, the activity and set of articles allow students to consider key issues in experimental design and analysis of the primary literature, including critical thinking regarding the cognitive subtractions used in blocked-design fMRI studies, as well as possible confounds in comparing results across different experimental tasks. By presenting articles representing different perspectives, each cogently argued by leading scientists, the readings and activity also model the type of debate and dialogue critical to science, but often invisible to undergraduate science students. Student self-report data indicate that undergraduates find the readings interesting and that the activity enhances their ability to read and interpret primary fMRI articles, including evaluating research design and considering alternate explanations of study results. As a stand-alone activity completed primarily in one 60-minute class block, the activity can be easily incorporated into existing courses, providing students with an introduction both to the analysis of empirical fMRI articles and to the role of debate and critique in the field of neuroscience.

Developing Academic and Content Area Literacy: The Thai EFL Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charubusp, Sasima; Chinwonno, Apasara

2014-01-01

This study investigated the effects of Academic Literacy-Based Intervention (ALI) on 30 undergraduate Thai university students' English reading proficiency. Based on the English reading proficiency test, these students were sub-classified into 2 groups, 15 in the high English reading proficiency group and 15 in the low English reading proficiency…

English as Second Language: Students' Awareness of Learning Strategies Used in Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hussain, Irshad; Javed, Muhammad; Munshi, Parveen

2015-01-01

This study investigated the reading strategies used by adult learners' to read materials in English language for their studies. The population of the study consisted of students of Universiti Sains Malaysia. A sample of 80 (40 Postgraduates and 40 Undergraduates) TESOL students enrolled in the University were selected randomly. The data were…

Introduction of a Journal Excerpt Activity Improves Undergraduate Students' Performance in Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rabin, Laura A.; Nutter-Upham, Katherine E.

2010-01-01

We describe an active learning exercise intended to improve undergraduate students' understanding of statistics by grounding complex concepts within a meaningful, applied context. Students in a journal excerpt activity class read brief excerpts of statistical reporting from published research articles, answered factual and interpretive questions,…

The interplay between motivation, self-efficacy, and approaches to studying.

PubMed

Prat-Sala, Mercè; Redford, Paul

2010-06-01

The strategies students adopt in their study are influenced by a number of social-cognitive factors and impact upon their academic performance. The present study examined the interrelationships between motivation orientation (intrinsic and extrinsic), self-efficacy (in reading academic texts and essay writing), and approaches to studying (deep, strategic, and surface). The study also examined changes in approaches to studying over time. A total of 163 first-year undergraduate students in psychology at a UK university took part in the study. Participants completed the Work Preference Inventory motivation questionnaire, self-efficacy in reading and writing questionnaires and the short version of the Revised Approaches to Study Inventory. The results showed that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation orientations were correlated with approaches to studying. The results also showed that students classified as high in self-efficacy (reading and writing) were more likely to adopt a deep or strategic approach to studying, while students classified as low in self-efficacy (reading and writing) were more likely to adopt a surface approach. More importantly, changes in students' approaches to studying over time were related to their self-efficacy beliefs, where students with low levels of self-efficacy decreased in their deep approach and increased their surface approach across time. Students with high levels of self-efficacy (both reading and writing) demonstrated no such change in approaches to studying. Our results demonstrate the important role of self-efficacy in understanding both motivation and learning approaches in undergraduate students. Furthermore, given that reading academic text and writing essays are essential aspects of many undergraduate degrees, our results provide some indication that focusing on self-efficacy beliefs amongst students may be beneficial to improving their approaches to study.

The Cognitive Neuroscience of Sign Language: Engaging Undergraduate Students’ Critical Thinking Skills Using the Primary Literature

PubMed Central

Stevens, Courtney

2015-01-01

This article presents a modular activity on the neurobiology of sign language that engages undergraduate students in reading and analyzing the primary functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) literature. Drawing on a seed empirical article and subsequently published critique and rebuttal, students are introduced to a scientific debate concerning the functional significance of right-hemisphere recruitment observed in some fMRI studies of sign language processing. The activity requires minimal background knowledge and is not designed to provide students with a specific conclusion regarding the debate. Instead, the activity and set of articles allow students to consider key issues in experimental design and analysis of the primary literature, including critical thinking regarding the cognitive subtractions used in blocked-design fMRI studies, as well as possible confounds in comparing results across different experimental tasks. By presenting articles representing different perspectives, each cogently argued by leading scientists, the readings and activity also model the type of debate and dialogue critical to science, but often invisible to undergraduate science students. Student self-report data indicate that undergraduates find the readings interesting and that the activity enhances their ability to read and interpret primary fMRI articles, including evaluating research design and considering alternate explanations of study results. As a stand-alone activity completed primarily in one 60-minute class block, the activity can be easily incorporated into existing courses, providing students with an introduction both to the analysis of empirical fMRI articles and to the role of debate and critique in the field of neuroscience. PMID:26557797

The Tips, Tricks, and Challenges of Teaching Undergraduate Kinesiology Students Research Methodology through a Programmatic Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beller, Jennifer M.

2013-01-01

This article describes a programmatic approach to undergraduate research (UGR) at Washington State University. In a programmatic approach, UGR is woven throughout the curriculum, with the expressed intent of producing undergraduate students who have at least a moderate ability to read, use, conduct, and present research. Washington State…

How to Read Scientific Research Articles: A Hands-On Classroom Exercise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bogucka, Roxanne; Wood, Emily

2009-01-01

Undergraduate students are generally unfamiliar with scientific literature. Further, students experience frustration when they read research articles the way they read textbooks, from beginning to end. Using a team-based active learning exercise, an instruction librarian and colleagues at University of Texas at Austin introduce nutritional…

Figure facts: encouraging undergraduates to take a data-centered approach to reading primary literature.

PubMed

Round, Jennifer E; Campbell, A Malcolm

2013-01-01

The ability to interpret experimental data is essential to understanding and participating in the process of scientific discovery. Reading primary research articles can be a frustrating experience for undergraduate biology students because they have very little experience interpreting data. To enhance their data interpretation skills, students used a template called "Figure Facts" to assist them with primary literature-based reading assignments in an advanced cellular neuroscience course. The Figure Facts template encourages students to adopt a data-centric approach, rather than a text-based approach, to understand research articles. Specifically, Figure Facts requires students to focus on the experimental data presented in each figure and identify specific conclusions that may be drawn from those results. Students who used Figure Facts for one semester increased the amount of time they spent examining figures in a primary research article, and regular exposure to primary literature was associated with improved student performance on a data interpretation skills test. Students reported decreased frustration associated with interpreting data figures, and their opinions of the Figure Facts template were overwhelmingly positive. In this paper, we present Figure Facts for others to adopt and adapt, with reflection on its implementation and effectiveness in improving undergraduate science education.

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.

The Prevalence of Speech Disorders among University Students in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alaraifi, Jehad Ahmad; Amayreh, Mousa Mohammad; Saleh, Mohammad Yusef

2014-01-01

Problem: There are no available studies on the prevalence, and distribution of speech disorders among Arabic speaking undergraduate students in Jordan. Method: A convenience sample of 400 undergraduate students at the University of Jordan was screened for speech disorders. Two spontaneous speech samples and an oral reading of a passage were…

Student Attitude towards and Use of Powerpoint[R] Slides as Study Guides in Undergraduate Introductory Financial Accounting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kozub, Robert M.

2010-01-01

This study examines undergraduate business students' attitude towards and use of Powerpoint[R] slides provided as a supplement to class attendance, textbook reading, and other traditional course resources. A survey of students with six majors (accounting, finance, marketing, management, international business and management information systems)…

Effect of Contemplative Pedagogy on the Ecoliteracy of Undergraduate Public State University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lees, Michael

2017-01-01

Undergraduate students lack the opportunity and environment to contemplate and develop ecoliteracy skills that serve to integrate subject matter into their everyday experiences. Ecoliteracy is grounded in Capra's web of life theoretical framework and represents students' capacities to read world systems objectively with their head, heart, hands,…

Figure Facts: Encouraging Undergraduates to Take a Data-Centered Approach to Reading Primary Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Round, Jennifer E.; Campbell, A. Malcolm

2013-01-01

The ability to interpret experimental data is essential to understanding and participating in the process of scientific discovery. Reading primary research articles can be a frustrating experience for undergraduate biology students because they have very little experience interpreting data. To enhance their data interpretation skills, students…

Student Attitudes towards Portfolios To Encourage Journal Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferris, Alan R.

Student attitudes towards the use of portfolios to encourage journal reading are investigated in lower division psychology classes. Portfolios can be designed in various ways to meet different educational goals. It is also useful for undergraduates to read original research articles, but difficult to motivate them to do so. The intention of this…

Predictors of Nursing Students' Performance in a One-Semester Organic and Biochemistry Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Lanen, Robert J.; Lockie, Nancy M.; McGannon, Thomas

2000-06-01

In an effort to empower nursing students to successfully persist in chemistry, predictors of success for undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a one-semester organic and biochemistry course were identified. The sample consisted of 308 undergraduate nursing students enrolled in Chemistry 108 (Principles of Organic and Biochemistry) during a period of seven semesters. In this study, Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a nonremedial academic support program offered for Chemistry 108 students. Placement tests in Mathematics, Reading, and English are required of all entering students. The English Placement Test assesses proficiency in analytical reading and writing; the Nelson Denny Reading Test (Form E) assesses the student's understanding of written vocabulary and the mastery of reading comprehension, and the Mathematics Placement Test measures the student's mastery of arithmetic and algebraic calculations. Both demographic and academic variables were examined. For the entire sample, five predictor variables were identified: Mathematics Placement Test score, Chemistry 107 grade (a prerequisite), total number of SI sessions attended, Nelson Denny Reading Test (Form E) score, and age. Predictors for various subpopulations of the sample were also identified. Predictors for students of traditional age were Mathematics Placement Test score, total number of SI sessions attended, and Chemistry 107 grade. The best predictors for continuing education students were Chemistry 107 grade and Nelson Denny Test score.

Learning Through Reading Scientific Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valderrama, Jose O.

1986-01-01

Describes an activity in which undergraduate students read an international publication to help them have a broader vision of the subject being studied, encourage constructive criticism, promote discussion, and stimulate efforts toward better oral and written communication in the students' native language. (JN)

University Undergraduate Science Students' Validation and Comprehension of Written Proof in the Context of Infinite Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moru, Eunice Kolitsoe; Nchejane, John; Ramollo, Motlatsi; Rammea, Lisema

2017-01-01

The reported study explored undergraduate science students' validation and comprehension of written proofs, reasons given either to accept or reject mathematical procedures employed in the proofs, and the difficulties students encountered in reading the proofs. The proofs were constructed using both the Comparison and the Integral tests in the…

An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Teacher Attractiveness on Undergraduates' Perceptions of Teacher-Student Sexual Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fromuth, Mary Ellen; Kelly, David B.; Wilson, Amy K.; Finch, Lanjericha V.; Scruggs, Lindsey

2013-01-01

This study explored whether the attractiveness of a teacher affected perceptions of teacher sexual misconduct. Respondents (120 female and 108 male undergraduates) read scenarios depicting teacher sexual misconduct varied by gender dyad (male teacher-female student and female teacher-male student) and two levels of attractiveness (very attractive…

A flexible e-learning resource promoting the critical reading of scientific papers for science undergraduates.

PubMed

Letchford, Julie; Corradi, Hazel; Day, Trevor

2017-11-01

An important aim of undergraduate science education is to develop student skills in reading and evaluating research papers. We have designed, developed, and implemented an on-line interactive resource entitled "Evaluating Scientific Research literature" (ESRL) aimed at students from the first 2 years of the undergraduate program. In this article, we describe the resource, then use student data collected from questionnaire surveys to evaluate the resource within 2 years of its launch. Our results add to those reported previously and indicate that ESRL can enable students to start evaluating research articles when used during their undergraduate program. We conclude maximal learning is likely to occur when the resource can be embedded in the curriculum such that students have a clearly articulated context for the resource's activities, can see their relevance in relation to assessed assignments and can be encouraged to think deeply about the activities in conversation with one another and/or with staff. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(6):483-490, 2017. © 2017 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Reading Habits of University ESL Students at Different Levels of English Proficiency and Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mokhtari, Kouider; Sheorey, Ravi

1994-01-01

Examines the degree to which the levels of English proficiency (high vs. low) and education (graduate vs. undergraduate) of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students were associated with differences in their reading behaviors. Finds that the subjects' level of education and English proficiency were associated with their reading behavior…

Teaching Students to Read the Primary Literature Using POGIL Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Tracey Arnold

2014-01-01

The ability to read, interpret, and evaluate articles in the primary literature are important skills that science majors will use in graduate school and professional life. Because of this, it is important that students are not only exposed to the primary literature in undergraduate education, but also taught how to read and interpret these…

First Experiences with Reading Primary Literature by Undergraduate Life Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Lacum, Edwin; Ossevoort, Miriam; Buikema, Hendrik; Goedhart, Martin

2012-01-01

Learning to read and understand research articles (primary literature) is an important step in the enculturation of higher education students into the scientific community. We presume, based on ideas from the field of genre analysis, that it is important for the development of reading skills to become conscious of the rhetorical structures in…

Reflective Journaling as a Flipped Classroom Technique to Increase Reading and Participation With Social Work Students

PubMed Central

Sage, Melanie; Sele, Patti

2016-01-01

Students in undergraduate social work practice courses come to the class with varying levels of educational, life, and practice experience. Students require an introduction to the material through textbook reading before they are able to engage in critical discussions, yet reading adherence varies widely among students. This research explores the use of reflective journals as a Flipped Classroom technique to increase reflective thinking and reading adherence. This study surveys 27 students in two practice courses about the use of weekly reflective journaling as a flipped classroom assignment. Findings support that reflective reading journals increase student preparation and engagement, but require more work for students and instructors. Implications are discussed. PMID:27672301

Sensitizing Undergraduates to Potential Inaccuracies in Projective Test Interpretation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barret, Robert L.; Wachowiak, Dale G.

This paper describes a methodology developed to provide undergraduate students with direct experience in the process of impressionistic test interpretation. In the experiential exercise, students were shown Thematic Apperception Test cards and then read the responses given by an anonymous client. A discussion of the process by which the students…

Project-Based Learning in Education through an Undergraduate Lab Exercise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joye, Donald D.; Hoffman, Adam; Christie, Jacqueline; Brown, Mayo; Niemczyk, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Three undergraduate students functioned as teaching assistants in unit ops lab for their senior project, which included developing a purchased size exclusion chromatography experiment, supervising the running of this experiment, and assisting the junior students with their calculations. They also read the reports, graded them, and commented on…

Figure Facts: Encouraging Undergraduates to Take a Data-Centered Approach to Reading Primary Literature

PubMed Central

Round, Jennifer E.; Campbell, A. Malcolm

2013-01-01

The ability to interpret experimental data is essential to understanding and participating in the process of scientific discovery. Reading primary research articles can be a frustrating experience for undergraduate biology students because they have very little experience interpreting data. To enhance their data interpretation skills, students used a template called “Figure Facts” to assist them with primary literature–based reading assignments in an advanced cellular neuroscience course. The Figure Facts template encourages students to adopt a data-centric approach, rather than a text-based approach, to understand research articles. Specifically, Figure Facts requires students to focus on the experimental data presented in each figure and identify specific conclusions that may be drawn from those results. Students who used Figure Facts for one semester increased the amount of time they spent examining figures in a primary research article, and regular exposure to primary literature was associated with improved student performance on a data interpretation skills test. Students reported decreased frustration associated with interpreting data figures, and their opinions of the Figure Facts template were overwhelmingly positive. In this paper, we present Figure Facts for others to adopt and adapt, with reflection on its implementation and effectiveness in improving undergraduate science education. PMID:23463227

A Teaching Strategy with a Focus on Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Students’ Ability to Read Research Articles

PubMed Central

Lacum, Edwin B. Van; Goedhart, Martin J.

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate a teaching strategy designed to teach first-year undergraduate life sciences students at a research university how to learn to read authentic research articles. Our approach—based on the work done in the field of genre analysis and argumentation theory—means that we teach students to read research articles by teaching them which rhetorical moves occur in research articles and how they can identify these. Because research articles are persuasive by their very nature, we focused on the rhetorical moves that play an important role in authors’ arguments. We designed a teaching strategy using cognitive apprenticeship as the pedagogical approach. It was implemented in a first-year compulsory course in the life sciences undergraduate program. Comparison of the results of a pretest with those of the posttest showed that students’ ability to identify these moves had improved. Moreover, students themselves had also perceived that their ability to read and understand a research article had increased. The students’ evaluations demonstrated that they appreciated the pedagogical approach used and experienced the assignments as useful. On the basis of our results, we concluded that students had taken a first step toward becoming expert readers. PMID:26086657

Effective Utilization of ICT in English Language Learning--The Case of University of Botswana Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Umunnakwe, Ngozi; Sello, Queen

2016-01-01

The study investigates the effective utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by first year undergraduates of the University of Botswana (UB) in their reading and writing skills. The first year students are not first language (L1) learners of English. They have not utilized computers for learning reading and writing in their…

Rapid Automatized Naming, Verbal Working Memory, and Rhythm Discrimination as Predictors of Reading in Italian Undergraduate Students with and without Dyslexia.

PubMed

Cancer, Alice; Antonietti, Alessandro

2018-05-13

Whereas the clinical manifestations and the neuropsychological predictors of Developmental Dyslexia (DD) are already well documented in Italian-speaking children, empirical evidence on DD in Italian adults is in contrast rather scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of a subset of neuropsychological skills, which have been identified by previous literature to be related to reading, in the decoding abilities of a group of Italian undergraduates with and without DD. For this purpose, 39 university students aged between 19 and 27 years, 19 of whom with a diagnosis of DD, underwent an assessment battery including standardized reading tests, rapid automatized naming (RAN), verbal working memory, and rhythmic pattern discrimination tests. Cross-group differences confirmed significantly lower performances of undergraduates with DD in all measures but rhythm discrimination, compared to typical readers, thus showing a non-compensated neuropsychological profile. Regression analyses showed that, while reading speed was strongly and uniquely predicted by RAN speed, reading accuracy was concurrently predicted by RAN and rhythmic abilities. Finally, RAN speed emerged as a strong predictor of reading performance and risk of receiving a diagnosis of DD.

What Undergraduates Choose to Think and Write about when Reading Science News Articles on the Internet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghent, Cindy

2010-01-01

Students are scientifically literate when they can read material about science and intelligently communicate their viewpoints, comments, and critiques, using scientific vocabulary and applying the ideas of the process and nature of science. As part of their normal class, 80 students were asked to find an article on the internet, read it, and then…

Flexible Strategy Use by Students Who Learn Much versus Little from Text: Transitions within Think-Aloud Protocols

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cromley, Jennifer G.; Wills, Theodore W.

2016-01-01

Van den Broek's landscape model explicitly posits sequences of moves during reading in real time. Two other models that implicitly describe sequences of processes during reading are tested in the present research. Coded think-aloud data from 24 undergraduate students reading scientific text were analysed with lag-sequential techniques to compare…

Maximizing Completion and Comprehension of Reading Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Leanne R.

2017-01-01

The author presents self-report data from students in three upper-level undergraduate courses to illustrate the comparative effectiveness of different out-of-class assessment approaches in promoting completion and comprehension of reading assignments. Students reported agreeing or strongly agreeing that all three assignments motivated them to…

Students' Consideration of Source Information during the Reading of Multiple Texts and Its Effect on Intertextual Conflict Resolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobayashi, Keiichi

2014-01-01

This study investigated students' spontaneous use of source information for the resolution of conflicts between texts. One-hundred fifty-four undergraduate students read two conflicting explanations concerning the relationship between blood type and personality under two conditions: either one explanation with a higher credibility source and…

Feeding the pipeline: academic skills training for predental students.

PubMed

Markel, Geraldine; Woolfolk, Marilyn; Inglehart, Marita Rohr

2008-06-01

This article reports the outcomes of an evaluation conducted to determine if an academic skills training program for undergraduate predental students from underrepresented minority backgrounds increased the students' standardized academic skills test scores for vocabulary, reading comprehension, reading rates, spelling, and math as well as subject-specific test results in biology, chemistry, and physics. Data from standardized academic skill tests and subject-specific tests were collected at the beginning and end of the 1998 to 2006 Pipeline Programs, six-week summer enrichment programs for undergraduate predental students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In total, 179 students (75.4 percent African American, 7.3 percent Hispanic, 5.6 percent Asian American, 5 percent white) attended the programs during these nine summers. Scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test showed that the students improved their vocabulary scores (percentile ranks before/after: 46.80 percent/59.56 percent; p<.001), reading comprehension scores (47.21 percent/62.67 percent; p<.001), and reading rates (34.01 percent/78.31 percent; p<.001) from the beginning to the end of the summer programs. Results on the Wide Range Achievement Test III showed increases in spelling (73.58 percent/86.22 percent; p<.001) and math scores (56.98 percent/81.28 percent; p<.001). The students also improved their subject-specific scores in biology (39.07 percent/63.42 percent; p<.001), chemistry (20.54 percent/51.01 percent; p<.001), and physics (35.12 percent/61.14 percent; p<.001). To increase the number of underrepresented minority students in the dental school admissions pool, efforts are needed to prepare students from disadvantaged backgrounds for this process. These data demonstrate that a six-week enrichment program significantly improved the academic skills and basic science knowledge scores of undergraduate predental students. These improvements have the potential to enhance the performance of these students in college courses and thus increase their level of competitiveness in the dental school admissions process.

College and Adult Reading XIV: The Fourteenth Yearbook of the North Central Reading Association.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Kay E., Ed.; Fisher, Joseph A., Ed.

Containing selections from the 1987 and 1988 annual meetings of the North Central Reading Association, this yearbook includes sections on research; reviews of research; professional issues; and program descriptions. Papers include: "The Effects of a Secondary Reading Methods Course on Undergraduate Students' Awareness of Reading Skills"…

Reading Trends and Perceptions Towards Islamic English Websites as Teaching Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khairuddin, Zurina; Shukry, Azimah Shurfa Mohammed; Sani, Nurshafawati Ahmad

2014-01-01

This paper is a study of the reading trends and perceptions of Muslim Malaysian undergraduate students towards Islamic English websites as pedagogical materials in English language classrooms. Data was collected through a set of questionnaires to 180 students from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and Universiti Sultan…

Assessing Reading Strategies of Engineering Students: Think Aloud Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nalliveettil, George Mathew

2014-01-01

Literacy in reading and understanding printed words is significant for all undergraduate students to succeed in their academic career. Developments in digital technology improved the quality of academic texts in terms of design, format and layout. Further, availability of academic related English language resources in electronic versions gave…

Spontaneous Sourcing among Students Reading Multiple Documents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stromso, Helge I.; Braten, Ivar; Britt, M. Anne; Ferguson, Leila E.

2013-01-01

This study used think-aloud methodology to explore undergraduates' spontaneous attention to and use of source information while reading six documents that presented conflicting views on a controversial social scientific issue in a Google-like environment. Results showed that students explicitly and implicitly paid attention to sources of documents…

Connected yet Distracted: Multitasking among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mokhtari, Kouider; Delello, Julie; Reichard, Carla

2015-01-01

In this study, 935 undergraduate college students from a regional four-year university responded to an online time-diary survey asking them to report their multitasking habits and practices while engaged in four main activities: reading voluntarily for fun, reading for academic purposes, watching television (TV), and using the Internet. Results…

Not Just Story Collecting: Towards a Critical Ethnography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Richard E.

The struggle in the composition community regarding the place of personal narrative in academic writing became particularly acute for a class of undergraduate Critical Writing students undertaking ethnographic work. By mid-semester, students had read and produced a series of texts about culture and found themselves reading and writing about…

A Theory of Reading: From Eye Fixations to Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Just, Marcel Adam; Carpenter, Patricia A.

1980-01-01

A model of reading comprehension focuses on eye fixations, which are related to the level of reading processes--words, clauses, and text units. Longer pauses are associated with greater processing difficulty. This model is illustrated for a group of undergraduate students reading scientific articles from "Newsweek" and "Time" magazines. (GDC)

Magazine reading and involvement and young adults' sexual health knowledge, efficacy, and behaviors.

PubMed

Walsh, Jennifer L; Ward, L Monique

2010-07-01

These studies investigate connections between magazine reading and involvement and young people's sexual health knowledge, self-efficacy, intentions, and contraception use. Study 1 assessed sexual health behaviors and magazine reading among 579 undergraduate students (69% were female; 68% were White; M(age) = 19.73). As expected, more frequent reading of mainstream magazines was associated with greater sexual health knowledge, safe-sex self-efficacy, and consistency of using contraception, although results varied across sex and magazine genre. Study 2 replicated and expanded on these findings with a survey of 422 undergraduate students (51% were female; 71% were White; 49% were age 18 or younger), incorporating a more extensive knowledge scale, questions about safe-sex intentions, and measures of magazine involvement. Results suggest that magazine use is associated with positive sexual health outcomes among young people.

Assessing the Impact of Computer-Based Formative Evaluations in a Course of English as a Foreign Language for Undergraduate Kinesiology Students in Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazzeri, Santos; Cabezas, Ximena; Ojeda, Luis; Leiva, Francisca

2015-01-01

This study assesses the impact of computer-based formative evaluations in an undergraduate English course for second semester kinesiology students at the Universidad Austral de Chile-Valdivia (UACh). The target of the course is to improve the students' online reading comprehension skills in their field. A preliminary study was carried out in order…

Strategic Use of Multiple Texts for the Evaluation of Arguments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobayashi, Keiichi

2010-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to examine whether students use arguments with refutation in one text for evaluating the opposite arguments without refutation in another text. Undergraduate students read two conflicting texts in either of the two orders: pro arguments text first and con arguments text first. After reading each text, they evaluated…

Engaging David in the Reading Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nierstheimer, Susan L.

2002-01-01

Describes the experiences of an undergraduate student in a reading methods course during her practicum of tutoring a young child with reading difficulties. Discusses how she finally found a motivational tool that repeatedly engaged the child--tape recording the child as he read a predictable book and playing the tape back for the child to listen…

The Affects of Not Reading: Hating Characters, Being Bored, Feeling Stupid

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poletti, Anna; Seaboyer, Judith; Kennedy, Rosanne; Barnett, Tully; Douglas, Kate

2016-01-01

This article brings recent debates in literary studies regarding the practice of close reading into conversation with Derek Attridge's idea of "readerly hospitality" (2004) to diagnose the problem of students in undergraduate literary studies programme not completing set reading. We argue that the method of close reading depends on…

Writing Essays: Does Self-Efficacy Matter? The Relationship between Self-Efficacy in Reading and in Writing and Undergraduate Students' Performance in Essay Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prat-Sala, Merce; Redford, Paul

2012-01-01

Self-efficacy beliefs have been identified as associated with students' academic performance. The present research assessed the relationship between two new self-efficacy scales (self-efficacy in reading [SER] and self-efficacy in writing [SEW]) and students' writing performance on a piece of assessed written coursework. Using data from first and…

Venturing into Unknown Territory: Using Aesthetic Representations to Understand Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuero, Kimberley K.; Bonner, Jennifer; Smith, Brittaney; Schwartz, Michelle; Touchstone, Rose; Vela, Yvonne

2008-01-01

Based on Elliot Eisner's notions of multiple forms of representation and Rosenblatt's aesthetic/efferent responses to reading, a teacher educator/researcher had her undergraduate students explore their connections, using aesthetic representations, to a course entitled "Reading Comprehension". Each aesthetic representation revealed the complexities…

E-Book Usability in Educational Technology Classes: Teachers and Teacher Candidates' Perception toward E-Book for Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shin, Sunghee

2014-01-01

This study was designed to enrich the learning experiences of in-service and pre-service teachers in two educational technology classes by adopting e-books as the course material. Graduate students were more positive about their e-book reading experience than undergraduate students, but, surprisingly, more undergraduates (63.6%) became interested…

A Teaching Strategy with a Focus on Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Students' Ability to Read Research Articles.

PubMed

Van Lacum, Edwin B; Ossevoort, Miriam A; Goedhart, Martin J

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate a teaching strategy designed to teach first-year undergraduate life sciences students at a research university how to learn to read authentic research articles. Our approach-based on the work done in the field of genre analysis and argumentation theory-means that we teach students to read research articles by teaching them which rhetorical moves occur in research articles and how they can identify these. Because research articles are persuasive by their very nature, we focused on the rhetorical moves that play an important role in authors' arguments. We designed a teaching strategy using cognitive apprenticeship as the pedagogical approach. It was implemented in a first-year compulsory course in the life sciences undergraduate program. Comparison of the results of a pretest with those of the posttest showed that students' ability to identify these moves had improved. Moreover, students themselves had also perceived that their ability to read and understand a research article had increased. The students' evaluations demonstrated that they appreciated the pedagogical approach used and experienced the assignments as useful. On the basis of our results, we concluded that students had taken a first step toward becoming expert readers. © 2014 E. B. Van Lacum 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).

Undergraduate ESL Students' Engagement in Academic Reading and Writing in Learning to Write a Synthesis Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Ruilan; Hirvela, Alan

2015-01-01

As an important and a challenging source-based writing task, synthesizing offers rich opportunities to explore the connections between reading and writing. In this article, we report findings from a qualitative study of two Chinese students' learning experiences with academic synthesis writing in a university ESL composition course. Specifically,…

Reading, Learning, and Growing: An Examination of the Benefits of Common Book Programs for First-Year Students' Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soria, Krista M.

2015-01-01

Despite the continued growth of common book reading programs on college and university campuses, little is known about the benefits of such programs on first-year students' development. Using a multi-institutional survey of undergraduates attending six large, public universities (n = 1,237), the present study examined relationships between…

A Vocabulary Learning Tool for L2 Undergraduates Reading Science and Technology Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Chihcheng; Ou Yang, Fang-Chuan

2013-01-01

Students of English as a second language who major in science and technology use English-language textbooks to ensure that they can read English materials upon graduation. Research indicates that teachers spend little time helping these students on the linguistic complexity of such textbooks. Vocabulary, grammar, and article structure are elements…

"Do You Understand What You Are Reading?"--Rhetoric, Ethics and Aesthetics in the Undergraduate Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, Deborah C

2016-01-01

Universities have a perhaps unique opportunity to provide training in the art of deep reading through attention to the interrelation of rhetoric, ethics, and aesthetics. While rhetorically sensitive reading will help students to become more sophisticated readers of voice and worldview, and ethically charitable reading will help them to become more…

Undergraduate Students’ Difficulties in Reading and Constructing Phylogenetic Tree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sa'adah, S.; Tapilouw, F. S.; Hidayat, T.

2017-02-01

Representation is a very important communication tool to communicate scientific concepts. Biologists produce phylogenetic representation to express their understanding of evolutionary relationships. The phylogenetic tree is visual representation depict a hypothesis about the evolutionary relationship and widely used in the biological sciences. Phylogenetic tree currently growing for many disciplines in biology. Consequently, learning about phylogenetic tree become an important part of biological education and an interesting area for biology education research. However, research showed many students often struggle with interpreting the information that phylogenetic trees depict. The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate students’ difficulties in reading and constructing a phylogenetic tree. The method of this study is a descriptive method. In this study, we used questionnaires, interviews, multiple choice and open-ended questions, reflective journals and observations. The findings showed students experiencing difficulties, especially in constructing a phylogenetic tree. The students’ responds indicated that main reasons for difficulties in constructing a phylogenetic tree are difficult to placing taxa in a phylogenetic tree based on the data provided so that the phylogenetic tree constructed does not describe the actual evolutionary relationship (incorrect relatedness). Students also have difficulties in determining the sister group, character synapomorphy, autapomorphy from data provided (character table) and comparing among phylogenetic tree. According to them building the phylogenetic tree is more difficult than reading the phylogenetic tree. Finding this studies provide information to undergraduate instructor and students to overcome learning difficulties of reading and constructing phylogenetic tree.

EST: Evading Scientific Text.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Jeremy

2001-01-01

Examines chemical engineering students' attitudes to text and other parts of English language textbooks. A questionnaire was administered to a group of undergraduates. Results reveal one way students get around the problem of textbook reading. (Author/VWL)

Developing the Self-Directed Learning Instructional Model to Enhance English Reading Ability and Self-Directed Learning of Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wichadee, Saovapa

2011-01-01

The purposes of this study were to develop the instructional model for enhancing self-directed learning skills of Bangkok University students, study the impacts of the model on their English reading comprehension and self-directed learning ability as well as explore their opinion towards self-directed learning. The model development process…

Learning from Our Mistakes: Improvements in Spelling Lead to Gains in Reading Speed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ouellette, Gene; Martin-Chang, Sandra; Rossi, Maya

2017-01-01

The present study tested the hypothesis that underlying orthographic representations vary in completeness within the individual, which is manifested in both spelling accuracy and reading speed. Undergraduate students were trained to improve their spelling of difficult words. Word reading speed was then measured for these same words, allowing for a…

Effect of Student Vulnerability on Perceptions of Teacher-Student Sexual Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fromuth, Mary Ellen; Mackey, Amber L.; Wilson, Amy

2010-01-01

This study explored whether the vulnerability of an adolescent student affected perceptions of teacher sexual misconduct. Respondents (150 male and 150 female undergraduates) read scenarios depicting teacher sexual misconduct varied by respondent gender, gender dyad (male teacher-female student and female teacher-male student), and three levels of…

Active Learning in a Neuroethics Course Positively Impacts Moral Judgment Development in Undergraduates

PubMed Central

Abu-Odeh, Desiree; Dziobek, Derek; Jimenez, Nathalia Torres; Barbey, Christopher; Dubinsky, Janet M

2015-01-01

The growing neuroscientific understanding of the biological basis of behaviors has profound social and ethical implications. To address the need for public awareness of the consequences of these advances, we developed an undergraduate neuroethics course, Neuroscience and Society, at the University of Minnesota. Course evolution, objectives, content, and impact are described here. To engage all students and facilitate undergraduate ethics education, this course employed daily reading, writing, and student discussion, case analysis, and team presentations with goals of fostering development of moral reasoning and judgment and introducing application of bioethical frameworks to topics raised by neuroscience. Pre- and post-course Defining Issues Test (DIT) scores and student end-of-course reflections demonstrated that course objectives for student application of bioethical frameworks to neuroethical issues were met. The active-learning, student-centered pedagogical approaches used to achieve these goals serve as a model for how to effectively teach neuroethics at the undergraduate level. PMID:25838802

Investigations of protein structure and function using the scientific literature: an assignment for an undergraduate cell physiology course.

PubMed

Mulnix, Amy B

2003-01-01

Undergraduate biology curricula are being modified to model and teach the activities of scientists better. The assignment described here, one that investigates protein structure and function, was designed for use in a sophomore-level cell physiology course at Earlham College. Students work in small groups to read and present in poster format on the content of a single research article reporting on the structure and/or function of a protein. Goals of the assignment include highlighting the interdependence of protein structure and function; asking students to review, integrate, and apply previously acquired knowledge; and helping students see protein structure/function in a context larger than cell physiology. The assignment also is designed to build skills in reading scientific literature, oral and written communication, and collaboration among peers. Assessment of student perceptions of the assignment in two separate offerings indicates that the project successfully achieves these goals. Data specifically show that students relied heavily on their peers to understand their article. The assignment was also shown to require students to read articles more carefully than previously. In addition, the data suggest that the assignment could be modified and used successfully in other courses and at other institutions.

A Writing-Intensive, Methods-Based Laboratory Course for Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colabroy, Keri L.

2011-01-01

Engaging undergraduate students in designing and executing original research should not only be accompanied by technique training but also intentional instruction in the critical analysis and writing of scientific literature. The course described here takes a rigorous approach to scientific reading and writing using primary literature as the model…

Bringing a novel to practice: An interpretive study of reading a novel in an undergraduate nursing practicum course.

PubMed

McCaffrey, Graham; Venturato, Lorraine; Patterson, J David; Langille, Jennifer; Jackson, Roberta; Rosenal, Tom

2017-05-01

Novels are one humanities resource available to educators in health disciplines to support student reflection on their own professional practice and therapeutic relationships with patients. An interdisciplinary team, including nurses, a physician, and an English instructor, carried out an interpretive study of the use of a novel by clinical nursing instructors in an undergraduate practicum course. Students placed in assisted living or long term care facilities for the elderly were expected to read a contemporary work, Exit Lines, by Joan Barfoot, which is set in a comparable facility. The objective was to increase understanding of the meanings that participants ascribed to the novel reading exercise in relation to their development as student nurses. By using a hermeneutic approach, we used dialogue throughout the study to elicit perspectives among participants and the interdisciplinary research team. Major themes that emerged included the students' tacit awareness of epistemological plurality in nursing, and the consequent importance of cultivating a capacity to move thoughtfully between different points of view and ways of knowing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proficiency as a Variable in Gulf EFL Students' Employment of Reading Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Endley, Martin J.

2016-01-01

This paper reports a study of the reading strategies used by twelve Arabic-speaking undergraduates at a major Gulf university when reading texts in English. The procedure employed was a think-aloud protocol followed by a semi-structured interview. Three research questions were addressed: (a) What are the primary comprehension problems encountered…

Do the Low Levels of Reading Course Material Continue? An Examination in a Forensic Psychology Graduate Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clump, Michael A.; Doll, Jason

2007-01-01

Clump, Bauer, and Bradley (2004) and Burchfield and Sappington (2000) previously found extremely low levels of reading in undergraduate psychology courses. The current study investigated whether these low levels of reading are also found with graduate students, or if this value is altered by only investigating individuals who show continued…

Development of research paper writing skills of poultry science undergraduate students studying food microbiology.

PubMed

Howard, Z R; Donalson, L M; Kim, W K; Li, X; Zabala Díaz, I; Landers, K L; Maciorowski, K G; Ricke, S C

2006-02-01

Because food and poultry industries are demanding an improvement in written communication skills among graduates, research paper writing should be an integral part of a senior undergraduate class. However, scientific writing assignments are often treated as secondary to developing the technical skills of the students. Scientific research paper writing has been emphasized in an undergraduate course on advanced food microbiology taught in the Poultry Science Department at Texas A& M University (College Station, TX). Students' opinions suggest that research paper writing as part of a senior course in Poultry Science provides students with scientific communication skills and useful training for their career, but more emphasis on reading and understanding scientific literature may be required.

[Nursing students' point of view on biosecurity and patient safety].

PubMed

Cararro, Telma Elisa; Gelbcke, Francine Lima; Sebold, Luciara Fabiane; Kempfer, Silvana Silveira; Zapelini, Maria Christina; Waterkemper, Roberta

2012-09-01

This study is aimed at identifying the knowledge of nursing students about the subject area of patient safety and its relationship with the teaching of biosecurity. Exploratory qualitative study conducted at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Federal University of Santa Catarina), with 17 students in the third phase of the Undergraduate Nursing Program. Three categories emerged after an exhaustive reading of the responses caring for self and others; biosecurity and care for the environment; biosecurity: health education and continuing education in health services. The following issues were identified, students' concern about risk prevention, care and self care as prerogatives for patient's safety; and education as a proposal for the minimization of risks. The study of biosecurity is considered important in undergraduate studies, minimizing losses and mistakes in the undergraduate students' conduct.

Effects of Information on College Students' Perceptions of Antidepressant Medication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frankenberger, Kristi A.; Frankenberger, William R.; Peden, Blaine F.; Hunt, Heather L.; Raschick, Christopher M.; Steller, Emily G.; Peterson, Jaclyn A.

2004-01-01

The authors examined the impact of pharmaceutical companies' advertisements on college students' perceptions of depression and concomitant treatment with antidepressants among 13 male and 31 female undergraduates from a midwestern university. The students were randomly assigned to groups that read either pharmaceutical company advertisements or…

Reading habits and attitude toward medical humanities of basic science students in a medical college in Western Nepal.

PubMed

Shankar, P Ravi; Dubey, Arun K; Mishra, P; Upadhyay, Dinesh K

2008-01-01

The Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal, admits students from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and other countries to the undergraduate medical course. The present study sought to describe and explore reading habits of medical students during the first three semesters and obtain their views regarding inclusion of medical humanities in the course. The authors introduced a voluntary module in medical humanities to the fifth- and sixth-semester students. Gender, semester, and nationality of respondents were noted. Commonly read noncourse books (fiction and nonfiction) were noted. Student attitudes toward medical humanities were studied using a set of nine statements. A total of 165 of the 220 students (75%) participated. Indians followed by Nepalese were the most common nationalities. Romantic fiction and biography were most commonly read. The Alchemist and The Da Vinci Code were commonly read books. Students were in favor of inclusion of medical humanities in the curriculum. The median total score was 30 (maximum possible score = 45). Students read widely beyond their course. The possibility of introducing medical humanities in the curriculum should be explored.

Relationships between Spontaneous Note-Taking, Self-Reported Strategies and Comprehension When Reading Multiple Texts in Different Task Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagen, Åste M.; Braasch, Jason L. G.; Bråten, Ivar

2014-01-01

This study investigated note-taking during multiple-text reading across two different task conditions in relation to comprehension performance and self-reports of strategy use. Forty-four undergraduates read multiple texts about climate change to write an argument or a summary. Analysis of students' spontaneous note-taking during reading…

At a Mirror, Darkly: The Imagined Undergraduate Writers of Ten Novice Composition Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dryer, Dylan B.

2012-01-01

While reading a series of undergraduate essay drafts, ten newly appointed graduate teaching assistants consistently projected their own anxieties about academic writing onto the authors of the papers, with two exceptions: the students were imagined neither to have the teachers' compositional agency nor to feel their ambivalence about the academic…

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.

The hidden impact of conspiracy theories: perceived and actual influence of theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana.

PubMed

Douglas, Karen M; Sutton, Robbie M

2008-04-01

The authors examined the perceived and actual impact of exposure to conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. One group of undergraduate students rated their agreement and their classmates' perceived agreement with several statements about Diana's death. A second group of students from the same undergraduate population read material containing popular conspiracy theories about Diana's death before rating their own and others' agreement with the same statements and perceived retrospective attitudes (i.e., what they thought their own and others' attitudes were before reading the material). Results revealed that whereas participants in the second group accurately estimated others' attitude changes, they underestimated the extent to which their own attitudes were influenced.

The C.R.E.A.T.E. approach to primary literature shifts undergraduates' self-assessed ability to read and analyze journal articles, attitudes about science, and epistemological beliefs.

PubMed

Hoskins, Sally G; Lopatto, David; Stevens, Leslie M

2011-01-01

The C.R.E.A.T.E. (Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment) method uses intensive analysis of primary literature in the undergraduate classroom to demystify and humanize science. We have reported previously that the method improves students' critical thinking and content integration abilities, while at the same time enhancing their self-reported understanding of "who does science, and why." We report here the results of an assessment that addressed C.R.E.A.T.E. students' attitudes about the nature of science, beliefs about learning, and confidence in their ability to read, analyze, and explain research articles. Using a Likert-style survey administered pre- and postcourse, we found significant changes in students' confidence in their ability to read and analyze primary literature, self-assessed understanding of the nature of science, and epistemological beliefs (e.g., their sense of whether knowledge is certain and scientific talent innate). Thus, within a single semester, the inexpensive C.R.E.A.T.E. method can shift not just students' analytical abilities and understanding of scientists as people, but can also positively affect students' confidence with analysis of primary literature, their insight into the processes of science, and their beliefs about learning.

The Oral History Curriculum Issue: A Step toward Quality Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Jerry

Sixty-five students in an undergraduate reading class wrote narratives on literacy life experiences from oral history tapes collected from interviews. Students interviewed middle and high school-level reluctant readers. In classroom workshops, the college students brainstormed about how to conduct the interviews and write the narratives. In later…

Student Perceptions of College Faculty Who Use OER

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vojtech, Gabrielle; Grissett, Judy

2017-01-01

Research indicates that students find open educational resources (OER) favorable, but there is no research regarding students' perceptions of faculty who use open textbooks. In the present study we examined this topic experimentally with two undergraduate psychology courses at a small public university. Participants read two passages--one about an…

An Attributional Analysis of Personal and Interpersonal Motivation for Collaborative Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Sarah E.; Schreiber, James B.

2006-01-01

Attribution theory provides a framework for examining personal and interpersonal motivation for collaborative projects. Undergraduates were asked to read vignettes concerning student dyads engaged in collaborative projects. The vignettes systematically varied on outcome of the project, student self-ability, student self-effort, partner ability,…

Searching for Synthetic Antimicrobial Peptides: An Experiment for Organic Chemistry Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasquez, Thomas E., Jr.; Saldan~a, Cristina; Muzikar, Katy A.; Mashek, Debra; Liu, Jane M.

2016-01-01

This laboratory experiment provides undergraduate students enrolled in organic chemistry the opportunity to design and synthesize their own peptide, which is then tested for antimicrobial activity. After reading a primary scientific paper on antimicrobial peptides, students design and synthesize their own hexapeptide that they hypothesize will…

Measuring Strategic Processing when Students Read Multiple Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braten, Ivar; Stromso, Helge I.

2011-01-01

This study explored the dimensionality of multiple-text comprehension strategies in a sample of 216 Norwegian education undergraduates who read seven separate texts on a science topic and immediately afterwards responded to a self-report inventory focusing on strategic multiple-text processing in that specific task context. Two dimensions were…

Promoting Transformative Learning through Reading Fiction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoggan, Chad; Cranton, Patricia

2015-01-01

This article is a report on research into the role of fiction in promoting transformative learning in higher education settings. Participants were 131 undergraduate and graduate students from two universities in the United States. To determine the type of learning promoted by reading fiction, we performed qualitative analyses on participants'…

Investigations of Protein Structure and Function Using the Scientific Literature: An Assignment for an Undergraduate Cell Physiology Course

PubMed Central

Mulnix, Amy B.

2003-01-01

Undergraduate biology curricula are being modified to model and teach the activities of scientists better. The assignment described here, one that investigates protein structure and function, was designed for use in a sophomore-level cell physiology course at Earlham College. Students work in small groups to read and present in poster format on the content of a single research article reporting on the structure and/or function of a protein. Goals of the assignment include highlighting the interdependence of protein structure and function; asking students to review, integrate, and apply previously acquired knowledge; and helping students see protein structure/function in a context larger than cell physiology. The assignment also is designed to build skills in reading scientific literature, oral and written communication, and collaboration among peers. Assessment of student perceptions of the assignment in two separate offerings indicates that the project successfully achieves these goals. Data specifically show that students relied heavily on their peers to understand their article. The assignment was also shown to require students to read articles more carefully than previously. In addition, the data suggest that the assignment could be modified and used successfully in other courses and at other institutions. PMID:14673490

Undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students' perceptions of plagiarism and academic honesty.

PubMed

Ryan, Greg; Bonanno, Helen; Krass, Ines; Scouller, Karen; Smith, Lorraine

2009-10-01

To assess undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students' perceptions of plagiarism and academic honesty. A questionnaire was administered to undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students to determine their levels of awareness of university policy concerning academic honesty; attitudes to plagiarism by rating the acceptability of a range of plagiarizing and cheating practices; and choice of appropriate penalties for a first and second occurrence. The choice of behaviors in response to a scenario about the preparation of a reading-based written assignment and the strategies that students would be prepared to use in order to submit the assignment on time were also assessed. Findings indicated widespread deficiencies in student knowledge of, and attitudes towards, plagiarism. Students did not perceive plagiarism as a serious issue and the use of inappropriate strategies for sourcing and acknowledging material was common. The study highlights the importance of achieving a balance among the 3 dimensions of plagiarism management: prevention, detection and penalty.

Effects of training students to identify the semantic base of prose materials

PubMed Central

Glover, John A.; Zimmer, John W.; Filbeck, Robert W.; Plake, Barbara S.

1980-01-01

Feedback and feedback plus points toward a course grade were applied to the attentional behaviors (defined as the ability to identify the semantic base of text passages) of 30 undergraduate students participating in a reading comprehension development program. Correct underlining was increased, extraneous underlining was decreased, and postreading comprehension test scores improved as a result of the procedures. Scores on a standardized test of reading comprehension also increased significantly. PMID:16795637

SAGE as a Source for Undergraduate Research Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutz, Benjamin

2017-01-01

This article examines the use of the computer algebra system SAGE for undergraduate student research projects. After reading this article, the reader should understand the benefits of using SAGE as a source of research projects and how to commence working with SAGE. The author proposes a tiered working group model to allow maximum benefit to the…

Using Blogging to Promote Clinical Reasoning and Metacognition in Undergraduate Physiotherapy Fieldwork Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Shuyan Melissa; Ladyshewsky, Richard K.; Gardner, Peter

2010-01-01

This qualitative study investigated the impact of using blogs on the clinical reasoning and meta-cognitive skills of undergraduate physiotherapy students in a fieldwork education program. A blog is a web based document that enables individuals to enter comments and read each others' comments in a dynamic and interactive manner. In this study,…

Information Fluency for Undergraduate Biology Majors: Applications of Inquiry-based Learning in a Developmental Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gehring, Kathleen M.; Eastman, Deborah A.

2008-01-01

Many initiatives for the improvement of undergraduate science education call for inquiry-based learning that emphasizes investigative projects and reading of the primary literature. These approaches give students an understanding of science as a process and help them integrate content presented in courses. At the same time, general initiatives to…

Fostering Pre-Service Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge through Collaborative Coaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Joy; Gray, Erika

2017-01-01

This study uses activity theory to examine collaboration between graduate students (in-service teachers) serving as literacy coaches and undergraduate students (pre-service teachers) functioning as tutors in a university reading clinic. The participants tutored students in grades first through sixth for seven weeks. The purpose of the study was to…

A Case Study of University Honors Students in Humanities through a Disciplinary Literacy Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cisco, Jonathan

2016-01-01

Students face challenging texts in higher education, whether they are discipline-specific journal articles or great works of literature. Building on research in content area reading and disciplinary literacy, this case study explores the various stances undergraduate honors students take when coping with challenging texts while enrolled in a…

Alumni Association | Nova Southeastern University

Science.gov Websites

toward a better future for our students, faculty and staff members, alumni, and community. Read The ! Apply Now / Request Info Giving Alumni Select A College Nova Southeastern University Abraham S. Fischler NSU has to offer undergraduate students. Student Life Learn why the years you spend at NSU will be

Undergraduate Students Searching and Reading Web Sources for Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Yongyan

2012-01-01

With the Internet-evoked paradigm shift in the academy, there has been a growing interest in students' Web-based information-seeking and source-use practices. Nevertheless, little is known as to how individual students go about searching for sources online and selecting source material for writing particular assignments. This exploratory study…

The Tension between Professors' and Students' Perceptions Regarding the Academic Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hativa, Nira

This study was initiated in response to perceived behavior problems of undergraduate law school students at a research university in Israel. It was found that increasing numbers of students stopped attending classes on a regular basis, were not reading assigned materials, avoided participating in discussions, studied only superficially for exams,…

Spies Like Us: Gamifying the Composition Classroom and Breaking the Academic Code

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slentz, Jessica E.; Kondrlik, Kristin E.; Lyons-McFarland, Michelle

2017-01-01

English 150: Expository Writing is an undergraduate course in expository and research writing offered by special partnership to both the students of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the students of the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). The course provides student writers experience in the critical reading and writing practices required…

Textbook Use in the Sciences and Its Relation to Course Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French, Michelle; Taverna, Franco; Neumann, Melody; Paulo Kushnir, Lena; Harlow, Jason; Harrison, David; Serbanescu, Ruxandra

2015-01-01

There are limited studies with conflicting results examining textbook use and student performance at the university level. To learn more, we surveyed instructors and over one thousand students in 12 undergraduate introductory science courses. The majority (77%) of the students reported reading the textbook either "often" (>75% of the…

Effects of Lexical Cohesion and Macrorules on EFL Students' Main Idea Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilawan, Sujunya

2011-01-01

This study investigated the effects of an instructional procedure which incorporated lexical cohesion and macrorules to promote main idea comprehension of Thai EFL students. One hundred and six undergraduate students taking a reading module were randomly assigned to one of three teaching conditions: the combined use of lexical cohesion and…

Messages Are Everywhere: Reading Perceptions, Habits, and Preferences of Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nadelson, Louis S.; Villagómez, Amanda; Konkol, Danielle; Haskell, Chris; McCulley, Meleah; Campbell, Denise

2013-01-01

As society continues to evolve, so do the methods that are used for text-based communication. Electronic books, mobile phone text messaging, and an array of internet-based texts are now combined with traditional print forms of text, broadly expanding text-based communication. However, student perceptions of reading may still be limited to…

A Deeper Understanding of Metacomprehension in Reading: Development of a New Multidimensional Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soto, Christian; Gutierrez de Blume, Antonio P.; Asún, Rodrigo; Jacovina, Matthew; Vásquez, Claudio

2018-01-01

The purpose of this research endeavor was to develop and validate a new measurement tool predicated on previous research to assess learners' metacomprehension during reading. In two separate studies with Chilean undergraduate students (N = 923), we demonstrate the versatility and utility of our proposed Metacomprehension Inventory (MI). In Study…

College Textbook Reading Assignments and Class Time Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aagaard, Lola; Conner, Timothy W., II.; Skidmore, Ronald L.

2014-01-01

A convenient cluster sample of 105 undergraduate students at a regional university in the midsouth completed a survey regarding their use of college textbooks, what strategies might increase the likelihood of their reading textbook assignments, and their preference for how class time was used. Descriptive analysis was conducted on the results and…

Desktop Publishing: The Effects of Computerized Formats on Reading Speed and Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knupfer, Nancy Nelson; McIsaac, Marina Stock

1989-01-01

Describes study that was conducted to determine the effects of two electronic text variables used in desktop publishing on undergraduate students' reading speed and comprehension. Research on text variables, graphic design, instructional text design, and computer screen design is discussed, and further studies are suggested. (22 references) (LRW)

Minding the Gap: Annotation as Preparation for Discussion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feito, Jose Alfonso; Donahue, Patricia

2008-01-01

This research project examines classroom discussion in its relationship to reading as made visible through the practice of textual annotation. In order to develop a rich description of student reading/discussion processes, we targeted multiple undergraduate seminars at a liberal arts college as they encountered the first two Acts of Shakespeare's…

Multimedia Use in Higher Education in the UAE: A Cognitive Load Theory Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moussa-Inaty, Jase; Atallah, Fida

2012-01-01

The study investigates the use of different multimedia instructional design formats on learning. Undergraduate students from the College of Education at a public university in the United Arab Emirates were randomly assigned to groups corresponding to six instructional design formats, namely; Listen Only, Read Only, Read+ Listen, Listen + Graphics,…

College Students' Reasons for Depression Nondisclosure in Primary Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, William J.; Morrison, Patrick; Lombardero, Anayansi; Swingle, Kelsey; Campbell, Duncan G.

2016-01-01

Unwillingness to share depression experiences with primary care physicians contributes to the undertreatment of depression. This project examined college students' reasons for depression nondisclosure to primary care providers (PCPs). Undergraduate participants read a vignette describing someone with depression and completed measures of disclosure…

Teaching undergraduates the process of peer review: learning by doing.

PubMed

Rangachari, P K

2010-09-01

An active approach allowed undergraduates in Health Sciences to learn the dynamics of peer review at first hand. A four-stage process was used. In stage 1, students formed self-selected groups to explore specific issues. In stage 2, each group posted their interim reports online on a specific date. Each student read all the other reports and prepared detailed critiques. In stage 3, each report was discussed at sessions where the lead discussant was selected at random. All students participated in the peer review process. The written critiques were collated and returned to each group, who were asked to resubmit their revised reports within 2 wk. In stage 4, final submissions accompanied by rebuttals were graded. Student responses to a questionnaire were highly positive. They recognized the individual steps in the standard peer review, appreciated the complexities involved, and got a first-hand experience of some of the inherent variabilities involved. The absence of formal presentations and the opportunity to read each other's reports permitted them to study issues in greater depth.

Teaching students to read the primary literature using POGIL activities.

PubMed

Murray, Tracey Arnold

2014-01-01

The ability to read, interpret, and evaluate articles in the primary literature are important skills that science majors will use in graduate school and professional life. Because of this, it is important that students are not only exposed to the primary literature in undergraduate education, but also taught how to read and interpret these articles. To achieve this objective, POGIL activities were designed to use the primary literature in a majors biochemistry sequence. Data show that students were able to learn content from the literature without separate activities or lecture. Students also reported an increase in comfort and confidence in approaching the literature as a result of the activities. Copyright © 2013 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Reading through ESP in an Undergraduate Law Program (Lectura a través de inglés con propósitos específicos en un programa de derecho de pregrado)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arias Rodríguez, Gladis Leonor

2014-01-01

This article presents the results of a study conducted among a group of law students in fift h-level English at a Colombian private university, which analyzed the effects of applying reading through English for Specific Purposes under the criteria of the communicative approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, the students'…

Using a Learning Activity Sequence in Large-Enrollment Physical Geology Classes: Supporting the Needs of Underserved Students While Motivating Interest, Learning, and Success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pun, A.; Smith, G. A.

2011-12-01

The learning activity sequence (LAS) strategy is a student-focused pedagogy that emphasizes active classroom learning to promote learning among all students, and in particular, those with diverse backgrounds. Online assessments both set the stage for active learning and help students synthesize material during their learning. UNM is one of only two Carnegie Research University Very High institutions also designated as Hispanic-serving and the only state flagship university that is also a majority-minority undergraduate institution. In 2010 Hispanics comprised 40% of 20,655 undergraduates (and 49% of freshmen), 37% of undergraduates were Pell Grant recipients (the largest proportion of any public flagship research university; J. Blacks Higher Ed., 2009) and 44% of incoming freshmen were first-generation students. To maximize student learning in this environment rich in traditionally underserved students, we designed a LAS for nonmajor physical geology (enrollments 100-160) that integrates in-class instruction with structured out-of-class learning. The LAS has 3 essential parts: Students read before class to acquire knowledge used during in-class collaborative, active-learning activities that build conceptual understanding. Lastly, students review notes and synthesize what they've learned before moving on to the next topic. The model combines online and in-class learning and assessment: Online reading assessments before class; active-learning experiences during class; online learning assessments after class. Class sessions include short lectures, peer instruction "clickers", and small-group problem solving (lecture tutorials). Undergraduate Peer-Learning Facilitators are available during class time to help students with problem solving. Effectiveness of the LAS approach is reflected in three types of measurements. (1) Using the LAS strategy, the overall rate of students earning a grade of C or higher is higher than compared to the average for all large-enrollment department sections taught during the same period. (2) Anonymous student surveys show that: 97% of students do at least some of the assigned reading before class while 58% indicate they would not do the reading if online reading assessments were not assigned; 72% indicate post-lecture online assessments prepare them for exams; greater than 80% of students feel that they learn more in the LAS approach than with traditional instruction; 90% favor active learning in the classroom to only lecture; learning opportunities motivate 82% to attend class to participate in peer instruction and in-class exercises, even if these assignments did not contribute at all to their grade. Notably, first-generation students show disproportionately greater preference for active in-class learning. (3) Learning gains were assessed with the geoscience concept inventory (GCI) of Libarkin and Anderson (2005, J Geo Ed 53(4):395-401). Paired pre- and post-test scores (n=404) in 5 classes show an improvement from 46% to 52% (11% normalized gain), within the target goal that McConnell et al. (2008, GSA Abst Prog 41(1):49) propose for introductory geology courses that produce improved conceptual geoscience learning.

Kittens! Inspired by Kittens! Undergraduate Theorists Inspired by YouTube

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Diane Downer; Lewis, Mark; Peterson, Sarah; Griggs, Samantha; Grubb, Gina; Singer, Nicole; Fried, Simone; Krone, Elizabeth; Elko, Leigh; Narang, Jasmine

2010-01-01

A professor and students in an undergraduate honors research seminar were inspired to playfully link old and contemporary literacy theories to a 2.0 media artifact, the popular YouTube video Kittens! Inspired by Kittens! (KIbK) starring 6 year-old Maddie. In this article KIbK is theorized drawing on frames of school-based reading instruction,…

Problem-Based Approach to Teaching Advanced Chemistry Laboratories and Developing Students' Critical Thinking Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quattrucci, Joseph G.

2018-01-01

A new method for teaching advanced laboratories at the undergraduate level is presented. The intent of this approach is to get students more engaged in the lab experience and apply critical thinking skills to solve problems. The structure of the lab is problem-based and provides students with a research-like experience. Students read the current…

Using Nonfiction Scientific Literature for Conservation Biology Education: The "Tigerland" Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neff, Paula Kleintjes; Weiss, Nicole M.; Middlesworth, Laura; Wierich, Joseph; Beilke, Elizabeth; Lee, Jacqueline; Rohlinger, Spencer; Pletzer, Joshua

2017-01-01

Despite the volume of research published and pedagogy practiced in conservation biology, there is little assessment of the effectiveness of pedagogical techniques for improving undergraduate conservation literacy and student engagement. We evaluated student responses (2009-2011) to reading "Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations" by…

When Figured Worlds Collide: Improvisation in an Inquiry Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rush, Leslie S.; Fecho, Bob

2008-01-01

Students and teachers inevitably enter classrooms with differing expectations and experiences; those differences provide opportunities for both conflict and growth. This article examines this phenomenon in an undergraduate teacher education course on reading instruction at the middle-school level, presents case studies of students' improvisations…

Understanding of Graphs in Social Science Undergraduate Students: Selection and Interpretation of Graphs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pérez-Echeverría, Ma. del Puy; Postigo, Yolanda; Marín, Cristina

2018-01-01

How do university students understand the graphs that they read in their textbooks? How does their knowledge regarding the content and their statistical training influence this understanding? Does the kind of task demand also influence this understanding? To answer these questions, we asked a group of psychology students and a group of economics…

Effects of Type of Coping Response, Setting, and Social Context on Reactions to Sexual Harassment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sigal, Janet; Braden-Maguire, Jane; Patt, Ivy; Goodrich, Carl; Perrino, Carrol S.

2003-01-01

Undergraduates at a multicultural university (MU) and a historically black university (HBU) read scenarios in which a student was sexually harassed by a professor or workplace supervisor. Participants rated the victim's behavior. HBU students considered the harasser not guilty significantly more often than MU students, but considered the harasser…

Generating Students' Information Seeking Questions in the Scholar Lab: What Benefits Can We Expect from Inquiry Teaching Approaches?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres, Tarcilo; Milicic, Beatriz; Soto, Carlos; Sanjose, Vicente

2013-01-01

Physics teachers use experimental devices to show students how scientific concepts, principles, and laws are applied to understand the real world. This paper studies question generation of secondary and under-graduate university students when they are confronted with experimental devices in different but usual teaching situations: reading about…

Exposure to Metacognitive Skills Improves Academic Performance: An Experimental Study of College Students' Academic Performance and Self-Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Pamela

2016-01-01

This study examined undergraduate students in four randomly assigned groups, Generative Reading, SQ3R (Robinson, (1946, 1970), and no intervention, and general examinations as the control, to identify which strategy was most beneficial for improving exam scores and academic self-efficacy. Findings suggest students participating in reading…

One Week, Many Ripples: Measuring the Impacts of the Fall Reading Week on Student Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poole, Heather; Khan, Ayesha; Agnew, Michael

2017-01-01

More and more Canadian post-secondary institutions are introducing a fall break into their term calendars. In 2015, a full week fall break was introduced at our university in order to enhance academic performance and improve mental health amongst students. Our interdisciplinary team surveyed undergraduate students at our university about their…

An Investigation of Placement and Type of Seductive Details: The Primacy Effect of Seductive Details on Text Recall

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowland, Emily; Skinner, Christopher H.; Davis-Richards, Kai; Saudargas, Richard; Robinson, Daniel H.

2008-01-01

Seductive details are interesting, but sometimes irrelevant to the target material present in texts and lectures. In the current study, 388 undergraduate students read six paragraphs describing Sigmund Freud's psychosexual stages (i.e., target material). Participants in four groups also read one of two biographical paragraphs. The biographical…

Investigating the Interaction of Graphic Organizers and Seductive Details: Can a Graphic Organizer Mitigate the Seductive-Details Effect?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowland-Bryant, Emily; Skinner, Christopher H.; Skinner, Amy L.; Saudargas, Richard; Robinson, Daniel H.; Kirk, Emily R.

2009-01-01

The interaction between seductive details (SD) and a graphic organizer (GO) was investigated. Undergraduate students (n = 207) read a target-material passage about Freud's psychosexual stages. Depending on condition, the participants also read a biographical paragraph (SD-only), viewed a graphic organizer that linked the seductive details to the…

Employing Cognitive Chunking Techniques to Enhance Sight-Reading Performance of Undergraduate Group-Piano Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pike, Pamela D.; Carter, Rebecca

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of cognitive chunking techniques among first-semester group-piano music majors. The ability to group discrete pieces of information into larger, more meaningful chunks is essential for efficient cognitive processing. Since reading keyboard music and playing the piano is a cognitively complex…

Glogsters and Other Motivating Technology: A Multiple Case Study of English Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez-Alba, Gilda; Cruzado-Guerrero, Judith; Pitcher, Sharon

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate how undergraduate Latino English learner (EL) students were motivated to read using technology by their teachers throughout their education. To examine this, they were interviewed, asked to perform a task that involved reading online, required to make a Glogster (an online interactive poster) about…

Professing and Postmodernity: Social Constructions of Teaching Selves.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, James R.

A study examined the interaction of teacher and student in a methods preparation course for undergraduate special education majors. The course was structured around several projects, two types of writing logs, and readings. Fieldnotes from an observer participant, records of a debriefing meeting, students' weekly entries on content learning logs…

Learning about Posterior Probability: Do Diagrams and Elaborative Interrogation Help?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clinton, Virginia; Alibali, Martha Wagner; Nathan, Mitchel J.

2016-01-01

To learn from a text, students must make meaningful connections among related ideas in that text. This study examined the effectiveness of two methods of improving connections--elaborative interrogation and diagrams--in written lessons about posterior probability. Undergraduate students (N = 198) read a lesson in one of three questioning…

Instructional Note: Engaging with Shakespeare through Translation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleypas, Kathryn L.

2004-01-01

Teaching Shakespeare to undergraduates can be difficult under the best of circumstances. The densely figurative language can be very difficult to sift through for students unfamiliar with anything but naturalistic speech. When this is further compounded by the students' resistance to reading anything longer than several paragraphs, teachers find…

An Empirical Analysis of Negotiation Teaching Methodologies Using a Negotiation Support System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Beth H.; Jones, Gary H.; Banerjee, Debasish

2005-01-01

This article describes an experiment that compared different methods of teaching undergraduates the fundamentals of negotiation analysis. Using student subjects, we compared three conditions: reading, lecture-only, and lecture accompanied by student use of a computerized negotiation support system (NSS). The authors examined two facets of…

Seeing through Film: Cinema as Inquiry and Pedagogy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tillman, Lisa M.; Bochner, Arthur P.

An undergraduate course at the University of South Florida called "Relationships on Film" treats movies as relationship texts to be "read" by active viewers. Through the semester, students engage film in two ways. First, they interpret films as response papers. Each week, students watch the assigned film outside of class. Then…

Intelligibility Is Equity: Can International Students Read Undergraduate Admissions Materials?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Zachary W.

2018-01-01

Fewer international students have applied to and enrolled in US institutions, as 40 per cent of US institutions reported a drop in international applications since 2016. Subsequently, US institutions must ensure that their international admissions materials are as equitable and transparent as possible. Expanding previous work, this study examines…

The Mathematics Education Debates: Preparing Students to Become Professionally Active Mathematics Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munakata, Mika

2010-01-01

The Mathematics Education Debate is an assignment designed for and implemented in an undergraduate mathematics methods course for prospective secondary school mathematics teachers. For the assignment, students read and analyze current research and policy reports related to mathematics education, prepare and present their positions, offer…

Undergraduate and Postgraduate Pharmacy Students' Perceptions of Plagiarism and Academic Honesty

PubMed Central

Bonanno, Helen; Krass, Ines; Scouller, Karen; Smith, Lorraine

2009-01-01

Objectives To assess undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students' perceptions of plagiarism and academic honesty. Methods A questionnaire was administered to undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students to determine their levels of awareness of university policy concerning academic honesty; attitudes to plagiarism by rating the acceptability of a range of plagiarizing and cheating practices; and choice of appropriate penalties for a first and second occurrence. The choice of behaviors in response to a scenario about the preparation of a reading-based written assignment and the strategies that students would be prepared to use in order to submit the assignment on time were also assessed. Results Findings indicated widespread deficiencies in student knowledge of, and attitudes towards, plagiarism. Students did not perceive plagiarism as a serious issue and the use of inappropriate strategies for sourcing and acknowledging material was common. Conclusions The study highlights the importance of achieving a balance among the 3 dimensions of plagiarism management: prevention, detection and penalty. PMID:19885074

A writing-intensive course improves biology undergraduates' perception and confidence of their abilities to read scientific literature and communicate science.

PubMed

Brownell, Sara E; Price, Jordan V; Steinman, Lawrence

2013-03-01

Most scientists agree that comprehension of primary scientific papers and communication of scientific concepts are two of the most important skills that we can teach, but few undergraduate biology courses make these explicit course goals. We designed an undergraduate neuroimmunology course that uses a writing-intensive format. Using a mixture of primary literature, writing assignments directed toward a layperson and scientist audience, and in-class discussions, we aimed to improve the ability of students to 1) comprehend primary scientific papers, 2) communicate science to a scientific audience, and 3) communicate science to a layperson audience. We offered the course for three consecutive years and evaluated its impact on student perception and confidence using a combination of pre- and postcourse survey questions and coded open-ended responses. Students showed gains in both the perception of their understanding of primary scientific papers and of their abilities to communicate science to scientific and layperson audiences. These results indicate that this unique format can teach both communication skills and basic science to undergraduate biology students. We urge others to adopt a similar format for undergraduate biology courses to teach process skills in addition to content, thus broadening and strengthening the impact of undergraduate courses.

Viewing Teaching Techniques in Enhancing Viewing Comprehension Skills of Undergraduate Students in Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

S. Guieb, Maria Diana; Ortega-Dela Cruz, Ruth A.

2017-01-01

In today's generation of digital natives, students find it unexciting to sit down and read literary texts in its entirety. Thus, students nowadays hardly understand and appreciate literature as a subject. This calls for additional challenge to teachers who had been used to deliver their lessons or any subject matter in traditional ways. This study…

The Troublesome Triplets: Issues in Teaching Reliability, Validity and Generalisation to Business Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quinton, Sarah; Smallbone, Teresa

2005-01-01

This discussion paper focuses on the problem of how to approach teaching abstract concepts to business and management students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Students are faced with the problem of how to identify and assess the rigour of what they read, how to generalise from the results of their research and how to judge the extent…

The Effects of CBI Lesson Sequence Type and Field Dependence on Learning from Computer-Based Cooperative Instruction in Web

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ipek, Ismail

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of CBI lesson sequence type and cognitive style of field dependence on learning from Computer-Based Cooperative Instruction (CBCI) in WEB on the dependent measures, achievement, reading comprehension and reading rate. Eighty-seven college undergraduate students were randomly assigned to…

The Effects of Text Density Levels and the Cognitive Style of Field Dependence on Learning from a CBI Tutorial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ipek, Ismail

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of variations in text density levels and the cognitive style of field dependence on learning from a CBI tutorial, based on the dependent measures of achievement, reading comprehension, and reading rate, and of lesson completion time. Eighty college undergraduate students were randomly…

Developing critical thinking, creativity and innovation skills of undergraduate students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shoop, Barry L.

2014-07-01

A desirable goal of engineering education is to teach students how to be creative and innovative. However, the speed of technological innovation and the continual expansion of disciplinary knowledge leave little time in the curriculum for students to formally study innovation. At West Point we have developed a novel upper-division undergraduate course that develops the critical thinking, creativity and innovation of undergraduate science and engineering students. This course is structured as a deliberate interactive engagement between students and faculty that employs the Socratic method to develop an understanding of disruptive and innovative technologies and a historical context of how social, cultural, and religious factors impact the acceptance or rejection of technological innovation. The course begins by developing the background understanding of what disruptive technology is and a historical context about successes and failures of social, cultural, and religious acceptance of technological innovation. To develop this framework, students read The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn, The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin, and The Two Cultures by C.P. Snow. For each class meeting, students survey current scientific and technical literature and come prepared to discuss current events related to technological innovation. Each student researches potential disruptive technologies and prepares a compelling argument of why the specific technologies are disruptive so they can defend their choice and rationale. During course meetings students discuss the readings and specific technologies found during their independent research. As part of this research, each student has the opportunity to interview forward thinking technology leaders in their respective fields of interest. In this paper we will describe the course and highlight the results from teaching this course over the past five years.

Interaction of a Vocabulary Quiz with Cognitive Instructional Strategies in First Language Learning among Japanese Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomita, Kei

2016-01-01

In response to concerns regarding effects of hyperlinked annotation on reading comprehension, this study was undertaken to compare hyperlinked annotation with student highlighting of unknown/difficult words. An online highlighting tool was used to help students reflect their prior vocabulary in a hyperlink-based annotated passage. Highlighting…

Intelligence: A Factor in the Understanding and Appreciation of Editorial Satire.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gruner, Charles R.

A study involving 59 undergraduate speech communication students investigated relationships between intelligence, understanding of editorial satire, and appreciation of satire. The students were asked to read three satirical essays and then to pick one of five statements that best described the thesis as intended by the author. Then each satire…

Epistemic Cognition when Students Read Multiple Documents Containing Conflicting Scientific Evidence: A Think-Aloud Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Leila E.; Braten, Ivar; Stromso, Helge I.

2012-01-01

This study used think-aloud methodology to investigate 51 Norwegian undergraduates' topic-specific epistemic cognition while working with six documents presenting conflicting views on the issue of cell phones and potential health risks. Results showed that students' epistemic cognition was represented by one dimension concerning the certainty and…

College Students' Hypothetical Responses to Suicidal Individuals Who Are HIV Positive, Substance Abusing, Depressed, or Anxious.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neal, Steven E.; Range, Lillian M.

1993-01-01

Undergraduates (n=141) read vignette about suicidal person with either Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, depression, drug abuse, anxiety, or adjustment problems. Found that suicidal person who was human immunodeficiency virus-positive engendered significantly less helpful responses from students than did suicidal person who had panic attacks.…

Reading Bilingual Books: Students Learn English While Acquiring Knowledge about American Cultural Traditions and Places

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ceprano, Maria A.; Shea, Mary E.; Gandt, Ashley N.

2018-01-01

This article describes a pilot study conducted in an elementary school in Torremaggiore, Italy. Pre-service teachers (PSTs) (i.e., undergraduate college students) wrote bilingual English/Italian informational texts and used them in conjunction with a variety of translanguaging strategies to support Italian children's acquisition of English and…

Implementing Control Theory: One Point of Light.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Jerry

A collaborative, oral-history, writer's workshop was held in an undergraduate college reading class. Sixty-five students each taped an interview on literacy life-experiences with a self-described reluctant reader at the middle or high school level, and wrote a narrative based on the interview. Students worked together in groups on their…

An Effective Intervention in Research Methods That Reduces Psychology Majors' Sexist Prejudices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoder, Janice D.; Mills, Aeriel S.; Raffa, Emily R.

2016-01-01

We tested the effectiveness of a course-long intervention in an undergraduate Research Methods course aimed toward reducing students' endorsement of hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS). Reading assignments illustrating diverse research methodologies, lecture examples, and a hands-on research project designed by student teams focused on…

College Students' Willingness To Seek Help for Their Learning Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman-Hall, Heather M.; Haaga, David A. F.

2002-01-01

Eighty-six undergraduates with learning disabilities rated their willingness to seek help from academic services in response to vignettes and advertisements. Participants reported the most willingness to seek help after reading about a positive reaction from a professor. Students who felt more stigmatized were less likely to seek help. (Contains…

Student performance in and perceptions of a high structure undergraduate human anatomy course.

PubMed

Shaffer, Justin F

2016-11-01

Human anatomy has usually been taught in a didactic fashion in colleges and universities. However, recent calls from United States governmental agencies have called for the transformation of undergraduate life sciences education to include active learning in the classroom. In addition, high structure courses have been shown to increase student engagement both in and out of the classroom and to improve student performance. Due to these reform efforts and the evidence on the benefits of these student-centered pedagogies, the goal of this study was to develop and assess a high structure college undergraduate human anatomy course with a lecture and laboratory component. The course was taught using a systems anatomy approach that required students to read the textbook and complete assignments before class, actively participate in class, and complete review quizzes after class. Results showed that teaching with high structure methods did not negatively affect any student groups (based on gender, ethnicity, or major) as measured by performance on lecture examinations and laboratory practical examinations. Students reported that reading the textbook and working with anatomical models were the most important towards helping them learn the course material and students' confidence in achieving the course goals significantly increased at the end of the course. The successful development and implementation of this course suggests that it is possible to teach human anatomy using active learning and high structure. Future studies can now be conducted to determine the contributions of specific course components to student success in high structure human anatomy courses. Anat Sci Educ 9: 516-528. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Assessment of Learning Styles of Undergraduate Medical Students Using the VARK Questionnaire and the Influence of Sex and Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urval, Rathnakar P.; Kamath, Ashwin; Ullal, Sheetal; Shenoy, Ashok K.; Shenoy, Nandita; Udupa, Laxminarayana A.

2014-01-01

While there are several tools to study learning styles of students, the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire is a simple, freely available, easy to administer tool that encourages students to describe their behavior in a manner they can identify with and accept. The aim is to understand the preferred sensory modality (or…

Exploring the Effect of Background Knowledge and Text Cohesion on Learning from Texts in Computer Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gasparinatou, Alexandra; Grigoriadou, Maria

2013-01-01

In this study, we examine the effect of background knowledge and local cohesion on learning from texts. The study is based on construction-integration model. Participants were 176 undergraduate students who read a Computer Science text. Half of the participants read a text of maximum local cohesion and the other a text of minimum local cohesion.…

Effects of Strategy Instruction in an EFL Reading Comprehension Course: A Case Study (Efectos de la instrucción de estrategias en un curso de comprensión de lectura en inglés como lengua extranjera: un estudio de caso)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopera Medina, Sergio

2012-01-01

Strategy instruction is useful in teaching contexts. This paper examines the effects of strategy instruction in an EFL reading comprehension course carried out with 26 undergraduate students at a Colombian university. As a research method, a case study was implemented. There were three instruments with which to collect data: reading comprehension…

Reading Scientific Papers for Understanding: Revisiting Watson and Crick (1953)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinchin, Ian M.

2005-01-01

The ability to use the research literature within a given field is a basic skill that students should acquire as part of their higher education studies. However, undergraduates need support in developing this skill. The use of concept maps as an aid to interrogating the literature is described here. This may help students to highlight key issues…

Exploring Embedded Remediation for Community College Career Technical Education Pathways: Promising Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Donna Walters

2014-01-01

Public community colleges enroll nearly half of all undergraduate students in the United States and many of these students are enrolled in 1- and 2-year Career and Technical Education programs. Employers have indicated that colleges should place more emphasis on reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Career Technical Education can address…

What Are Confidence Judgments Made of? Students' Explanations for Their Confidence Ratings and What that Means for Calibration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinsmore, Daniel L.; Parkinson, Meghan M.

2013-01-01

Although calibration has been widely studied, questions remain about how best to capture confidence ratings, how to calculate continuous variable calibration indices, and on what exactly students base their reported confidence ratings. Undergraduates in a research methods class completed a prior knowledge assessment, two sets of readings and…

Alternative Approaches to the Baccalaureate Psychology Thesis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terry, Roger L.

1983-01-01

Undergraduate theses are an excellent method of providing paraprofessional research experience for psychology students. Describes some of the problems (and their remedies) in conducting and advising baccalaureate psychology theses, many of which were published or read at professional meetings. (CS)

Reading "The Fountainhead": The Missing Self in Ayn Rand's Ethical Individualism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fand, Roxanne J.

2009-01-01

Ayn Rand's novel "The Fountainhead" can be a useful text in an undergraduate English class, helping students think through issues of individualism. Rand's own concept of the self, however, ignores its social dimensions. (Contains 7 notes.)

Minority Undergraduate Research in Prostate Cancer: Bridging Opportunities for Postbaccalaureate Education

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

students  were  assigned  to  read  both  popular  and   scientific  literature  regarding  the   genetic ,  socio...Biochemistry, Soma Jobbagy, BS Biochemistry, and Erica Boetefuer, Biological Sciences Judging Rubrics for the ASBMB Undergraduate Poster Competition 2007...Bruce Boman, Biological Sciences Role of miRNAs in Regulating Colon Cancer Stem Cells 37) Carrie Barnum and Jennifer Sabatino, Genetics Zohra Ali-Khan

Undergraduate medical research: the student perspective

PubMed Central

Burgoyne, Louise N.; O'Flynn, Siun; Boylan, Geraldine B.

2010-01-01

Background Research training is essential in a modern undergraduate medical curriculum. Our evaluation aimed to (a) gauge students' awareness of research activities, (b) compare students' perceptions of their transferable and research-specific skills competencies, (c) determine students' motivation for research and (d) obtain students' personal views on doing research. Methods Undergraduate medical students (N=317) completed a research skills questionnaire developed by the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Applied Undergraduate Research Skills (CETL-AURS) at Reading University. The questionnaire assessed students' transferable skills, research-specific skills (e.g., study design, data collection and data analysis), research experience and attitude and motivation towards doing research. Results The majority of students are motivated to pursue research. Graduate entrants and male students appear to be the most confident regarding their research skills competencies. Although all students recognise the role of research in medical practice, many are unaware of the medical research activities or successes within their university. Of those who report no interest in a career incorporating research, a common perception was that researchers are isolated from patients and clinical practice. Discussion Students have a narrow definition of research and what it entails. An explanation for why research competence does not align more closely with research motivation is derived from students' lack of understanding of the concept of translational research, as well as a lack of awareness of the research activity being undertaken by their teachers and mentors. We plan to address this with specific research awareness initiatives. PMID:20844608

Information literacy of U.S. and Indian engineering undergraduates.

PubMed

Taraban, Roman; Suar, Damodar; Oliver, Kristin

2013-12-01

To be competitive, contemporary engineers must be capable of both processing and communicating information effectively. Available research suggests that Indian students would be disadvantaged in information literacy in their language of instruction (English) compared to U.S. students because English is not Indian students' native language. Compared to U.S. students, Indian students (a) were predicted to apply practical text processing strategies to a greater extent than analytic strategies and (b) endorse the direct transmission of information over critical, interpretive analysis of information. Two validated scales measuring self-reported use of reading strategies and beliefs about interpreting and critiquing written information were administered to engineering students at an Indian Institute of Technology in their freshman to senior years. Neither prediction was supported: Indian students reported applying analytic strategies over pragmatic strategies and were more disposed to critically analyze information rather than accept it passively. Further, Indian students reported being more analytic and more reflective in their reading behaviors than U.S. engineering students. Additional data indicated that U.S. and Indian students' text-processing strategies and beliefs are associated with the texts that they read and their academic behaviors.

Affordable hands-on DNA sequencing and genotyping: an exercise for teaching DNA analysis to undergraduates.

PubMed

Shah, Kushani; Thomas, Shelby; Stein, Arnold

2013-01-01

In this report, we describe a 5-week laboratory exercise for undergraduate biology and biochemistry students in which students learn to sequence DNA and to genotype their DNA for selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Students use miniaturized DNA sequencing gels that require approximately 8 min to run. The students perform G, A, T, C Sanger sequencing reactions. They prepare and run the gels, perform Southern blots (which require only 10 min), and detect sequencing ladders using a colorimetric detection system. Students enlarge their sequencing ladders from digital images of their small nylon membranes, and read the sequence manually. They compare their reads with the actual DNA sequence using BLAST2. After mastering the DNA sequencing system, students prepare their own DNA from a cheek swab, polymerase chain reaction-amplify a region of their DNA that encompasses a SNP of interest, and perform sequencing to determine their genotype at the SNP position. A family pedigree can also be constructed. The SNP chosen by the instructor was rs17822931, which is in the ABCC11 gene and is the determinant of human earwax type. Genotypes at the rs178229931 site vary in different ethnic populations. © 2013 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Study of the undergraduate student's innovation and entrepreneurship training strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sui, Guorong; Liang, Binming; Jia, Hongzhi

2017-08-01

With the development of science and technology, all teachers in the college will face how to stimulate the undergraduate student's ability and make them to be an excellent engineer. For solving these questions, a new scheme with three steps has been designed. First, students will participate in the class teaching activity not only teacher. It will encourage them to read many extracurricular books and articles. Second, they will be required to think and design more new experiments after complete all experiment about the textbook and join more competition of the innovation and entrepreneurship. Third, some students who have more time and ability can early enter into his advisor professor's lab to join various science and technology project. By this scheme, it will be realized to improve student's innovation ability and be a brilliant engineer.

The effects of safer-sex stories on college students' attitudes toward condoms.

PubMed

Wright, S S; Kyes, K B

1996-01-01

Social learning theory predicts that reading non-erotic stories involving condom use will be as effective as reading erotic stories with condom use in producing positive attitudes toward condoms. Werner's orthogenetic principle, however, predicts that reading erotic condom stories will be most effective because of the link created between sexual arousal and cognitive information about condoms. 168 male and 149 female undergraduates enrolled in Introductory Psychology at a small, private, southern university participated in a study to test the validity of these two theories. The students read one of the following types of stories: erotic with condom placement described, erotic without condom use, or non-erotic with a model for discussing condoms. The men and women who read the non-erotic stories were most positive about condoms and reported the strongest intentions to use condoms in the future. These findings suggest that erotica is not necessary to produce positive attitudes toward condoms.

Just a Harmless Website?: An Experimental Examination of RateMyProfessors.com's Effect on Student Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewandowski, Gary W., Jr.; Higgins, Emma; Nardone, Natalie N.

2012-01-01

This set of experiments assessed the influence of RateMyProfessors.com profiles, and the perceived credibility of those profiles, on students' evaluations of professors and retention of material. In Study 1, 302 undergraduates were randomly assigned to read positive or negative RateMyProfessors.com profiles with comments that focused on…

Taking the Mystery Out of Research in Computing Information Systems: A New Approach to Teaching Research Paradigm Architecture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heslin, J. Alexander, Jr.

In senior-level undergraduate research courses in Computer Information Systems (CIS), students are required to read and assimilate a large volume of current research literature. One course objective is to demonstrate to the student that there are patterns or models or paradigms of research. A new approach in identifying research paradigms is…

Building on Windows and Mirrors: Encouraging the Disruption of "Single Stories" through Children's Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tschida, Christina M.; Ryan, Caitlin L.; Ticknor, Anne Swenson

2014-01-01

When mostly white, middle class, female undergraduate preservice students enter social studies, reading, and language arts methods courses, they usually have not yet been asked to think critically about the curriculum they will be responsible for teaching. One of the primary conduits for sending messages to students about themselves and the world…

Peer Effects, Gender, and Intellectual Performance among Students at a Highly Selective College: A Social Comparison of Abilities Analysis. Discussion Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goethals, George R.

A study was conducted to examine peer effects among 138 undergraduates at Williams College, a highly selective four-year liberal arts school. The study explored whether students would perform better writing about newspaper articles they read and discussed in academically homogeneous or heterogeneous groups of three. In homogeneous groups, all…

The Effectiveness of Interactive Computer Assisted Modeling in Teaching Study Strategies and Concept Mapping of College Textbook Material.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mikulecky, Larry

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a series of print materials and interactive computer-guided study programs designed to lead undergraduate students to apply basic textbook reading and concept mapping strategies to the study of science and social science textbooks. Following field testing with 25 learning skills students, 50 freshman biology…

Educating Young Educators: A Pedagogical Internship for Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

PubMed Central

Romm, Iyah; Gordon-Messer, Susannah

2010-01-01

Although undergraduates have long held a role as teaching assistants for introductory science courses at liberal arts colleges and universities, educational institutions often do not provide these students with opportunities to explore science teaching and pedagogy. At Brandeis University, we designed an internship course to help increase the motivation, understanding, and knowledge of teaching pedagogy for undergraduate teaching assistants that is offered concurrently with their teaching responsibilities. Weekly sessions with faculty mentors are guided by readings in current science education literature, and throughout the semester students are asked to develop new course material based on the pedagogical frameworks discussed. To evaluate the effectiveness of this course, we surveyed students at the close of the semester. We found an overall increase in student confidence levels with regard to teaching and better awareness of the difficulties faced in science education. All students who participated in the course expressed interest in participating in future educational internships. We believe that the Educating Young Educators internship has the potential to be a catalyst for personal and professional growth from a novice into an informed young educator. PMID:20516353

Reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in an undergraduate, US healthcare course.

PubMed

Metcalf, James

2006-01-01

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a modern classic in American literature by Ken Kesey, was used to complement conventional assignments in Healthcare USA, an undergraduate survey of the American healthcare system at George Mason University. The book contrasts perceptions of reality between a group of psychiatric patients and the institutional staff. It also depicts a power struggle between patients and staff and illustrates how patients can be enslaved by the healthcare system itself. The purpose of the assignment was to prompt student reflection upon both the contrasting realities and the power conflicts between patients and staff. Several examples of student responses are presented.

Thinking Out Loud while Studying Text: Rehearsing Key Ideas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muth, K. Denise; And Others

1988-01-01

A study involving 32 undergraduate students was conducted to identify mechanisms by which instructional objectives affect learning. Protocols for thinking out loud were examined for evidence of rehearsal activity. Results suggest that instructional objectives enhanced real-time rehearsal activity, recall, and reading time. (TJH)

Vocabulary Levels and Size of Malaysian Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harji, Madhubala Bava; Balakrishnan, Kavitha; Bhar, Sareen Kaur; Letchumanan, Krishnaveni

2015-01-01

Vocabulary is a fundamental requirement of language acquisition, and its competence enables independent reading and effective language acquisition. Effective language use requires adequate level of vocabulary knowledge; therefore, efforts must be made to identify students' vocabulary base for greater efficiency and competency in the language.…

Do Polish Higher School Students Prefer Speaking in Person, Listening, Reading or Writing during EFL classes? A Brief Commentary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Norman L.; Davidson, Barry S.; Mroz, Liliana; Brown, Veda E.; Griffith, Kimberly Grantham; Kritsonis, Willam Allen

2007-01-01

The purpose of this brief commentary is to determine which language skill Polish higher school learners think ought to be practiced most frequently during EFL classes. Twenty-seven male and female undergraduate students who study at AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland were surveyed, and the authors found that most learners (70%)…

Using a Classic Paper by I. E. Lawton and N. B. Schwartz to Consider the Array of Factors that Control Luteinizing Hormone Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauer-Dantoin, Angela C.; Hanke, Craig J.

2007-01-01

Two significant benefits derived from reading and discussing classic scientific papers in undergraduate biology courses are 1) providing students with the realistic perspective that science is an ongoing process (rather than a set of inarguable facts) and 2) deepening the students' understanding of physiological processes. A classic paper that is…

The effect of education type on common misconceptions of traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

De Iorio, Monica L; Nolan, Susan A; Teague, Susan

2017-11-01

In the current study, we investigated the effects of existing education materials-either a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) factsheet or personal stories of people with TBI-on undergraduate students' misconceptions and attributions about the causes of TBI-related behavior. Undergraduate students (N = 164) were recruited through the university participant pool. The participants were randomly assigned to receive either a factsheet about TBI, personal stories of people with TBI, or a control reading. Groups were compared on the number of TBI misconceptions endorsed, scores on an attribution measure, and their willingness to interact with people who have TBIs. Both the TBI factsheet group and the personal stories group endorsed fewer misconceptions, on average, than the control group (p = .02). Additionally, those who read either the personal stories or the factsheet had significantly lower attribution scores, on average, than the control group (p = .001; p = .03). That is, those who read either of the educational materials were more likely to endorse a TBI explanation over an adolescent explanation, compared to those who read a control reading. The groups did not significantly differ on their willingness for social interaction. Results suggest that, on average, factsheets and personal stories are effective for increasing knowledge about moderate-to-severe TBI as compared to a control group. Personal stories and factsheets may also be useful, on average, for addressing tendencies to discount TBIs as explanations for behavioral change, as compared to a control group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of audience awareness on procedural text writing.

PubMed

Sato, Koichi; Matsushima, Kazutoshi

2006-08-01

Effects of audience awareness were examined. Some participants acted as writers and the others acted as readers. Writers wrote a text describing a geometrical figure. Readers read the text and tried to draw the figure according to the description. In Exp. 1, audience awareness was manipulated among undergraduate students, 11 men and 34 women. Writers in the high audience-awareness condition spent more time planning and writing texts than writers in the low audience-awareness condition. Texts in the high audience-awareness condition consisted of more letters and sentences with descriptions elaborating the texts. In Exp. 2, prototype texts were constructed based on the results of Exp. 1. Undergraduate students, 11 men and 47 women, who read the prototype text in the high audience-awareness condition could draw the figure more accurately. In Exp. 3, effects of feedback from readers were examined. Ninth-grade students, 22 boys and 34 girls, participated as writers and 7th-grade students, 22 boys and 34 girls, participated as readers. Merely being told to attend to an audience did not improve the quality of texts written by 9th-grade students. However, feedback from the readers who were 7th-grade students was effective. Writers could revise the texts appropriately according to feedback and improve the quality of texts. In addition, the experience of revising the text according to feedback transferred to later writing. Educational implications of the results are discussed.

L2 Word Recognition Research: A Critical Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koda, Keiko

1996-01-01

Explores conceptual syntheses advancing second language (L2) word recognition research and uncovers agendas relating to cross-linguistic examinations of L2 processing in a cohort of undergraduate students in France. Describes connections between word recognition and reading, overviews the connectionist construct, and illustrates cross-linguistic…

German for Engineers and Scientists: Initiatives in International Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinmann, Sigrid

The Michigan Technological University program in German area studies is described. The program is designed for science and engineering students at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Its components include: a 1-year scientific German sequence, stressing specialized vocabulary, reading skills, use of reference materials, translation into…

Evaluating the Efficacy of Elaborative Strategies for Remembering Expository Text.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boudreau, Rhonda L.; Wood, Eileen; Willoughby, Teena; Specht, Jacqueline

1999-01-01

One hundred Canadian undergraduates read a lengthy expository text, used one of five study strategies for 50 minutes, and completed recall and multiple-choice tests. Students using self-study, repetition, or unsupported elaborative interrogation had difficulty recognizing the passage's main ideas. Elaborative interrogation's effectiveness was…

Learning to Become a More Effective Research or Inquiry-based Project Mentor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hooper, E. J.; Pfund, C.; Mathieu, R.; Branchaw, J.

2010-08-01

How effective of a mentor are you? Have you thought much about this question? Have you participated in training to become a better mentor? For many academics, the typical three answers are "pretty good, I think ... why wouldn't I be?!"; "I am right now while reading this;" "Uh, no." The University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a program called Research Mentor Training to help train scientists in myriad STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines, including astronomy, for their crucial role of mentoring the next generation. Most of the field testing to date has focused on graduate students, post-docs, academic staff, and faculty mentoring undergraduate students who are participating in summer research experiences. The materials have proven quite effective in other areas as well, with only modest modifications. For example, several faculty cohorts concentrating on mentoring graduate students and post-docs have completed the training. In addition, the materials are used to prepare graduate students and undergraduates to mentor high school students. The preferred venue for the mentor training program is a seminar meeting one hour per week for 8 to 9 weeks, plus readings and outside activities, including mentoring a student. However, the structure is flexible, and some meaningful learning can occur in a single 90-minute interactive workshop like the one presented at the 2009 ASP annual meeting, "Science Education and Outreach: Forging a Path to the Future." All of the materials, including case studies, facilitator notes and guidelines, plus reading lists, are available online for no charge (http://researchmentortraining.org). Users can select pre-built curricula, or they can customize a package using a "shopping cart" interface.

How well do final year undergraduate medical students master practical clinical skills?

PubMed Central

Störmann, Sylvère; Stankiewicz, Melanie; Raes, Patricia; Berchtold, Christina; Kosanke, Yvonne; Illes, Gabrielle; Loose, Peter; Angstwurm, Matthias W.

2016-01-01

Introduction: The clinical examination and other practical clinical skills are fundamental to guide diagnosis and therapy. The teaching of such practical skills has gained significance through legislative changes and adjustments of the curricula of medical schools in Germany. We sought to find out how well final year undergraduate medical students master practical clinical skills. Methods: We conducted a formative 4-station objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) focused on practical clinical skills during the final year of undergraduate medical education. Participation was voluntary. Besides the examination of heart, lungs, abdomen, vascular system, lymphatic system as well as the neurological, endocrinological or orthopaedic examination we assessed other basic clinical skills (e.g. interpretation of an ECG, reading a chest X-ray). Participants filled-out a questionnaire prior to the exam, inter alia to give an estimate of their performance. Results: 214 final year students participated in our study and achieved a mean score of 72.8% of the total score obtainable. 9.3% of participants (n=20) scored insufficiently (<60%). We found no influence of sex, prior training in healthcare or place of study on performance. Only one third of the students correctly estimated their performance (35.3%), whereas 30.0% and 18.8% over-estimated their performance by 10% and 20% respectively. Discussion: Final year undergraduate medical students demonstrate considerable deficits performing practical clinical skills in the context of a formative assessment. Half of the students over-estimate their own performance. We recommend an institutionalised and frequent assessment of practical clinical skills during undergraduate medical education, especially in the final year. PMID:27579358

Building ESP Content-Based Materials to Promote Strategic Reading (Diseño de materiales basados en contenidos para fomentar estrategias de lectura en un curso de inglés con propósitos específicos)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bautista Barón, Myriam Judith

2013-01-01

This article reports on an action research project that proposes to improve the reading comprehension and vocabulary of undergraduate students of English for Specific Purposes--explosives majors, at a police training institute in Colombia. I used the qualitative research method to explore and reflect upon the teaching-learning processes during…

Strategies for teaching pathology to graduate students and allied health professionals.

PubMed

Fenderson, Bruce A

2005-02-01

Pathology is an essential course for many students in the biomedical sciences and allied health professions. These students learn the language of pathology and medicine, develop an appreciation for mechanisms of disease, and understand the close relationship between basic research and clinical medicine. We have developed 3 pathology courses to meet the needs of our undergraduates, graduate students, and allied health professionals. Through experience, we have settled on an approach to teaching pathology that takes into account the diverse educational backgrounds of these students. Educational resources such as assigned reading, online homework, lectures, and review sessions are carefully balanced to adjust course difficulty. Common features of our pathology curricula include a web-based computer laboratory and review sessions on the basis of selected pathology images and open-ended study questions. Lectures, computer-guided homework, and review sessions provide the core educational content for undergraduates. Graduate students, using the same computer program and review material, rely more heavily on assigned reading for core educational content. Our experience adapting a pathology curriculum to the needs of divergent groups of students suggests a general strategy for monitoring course difficulty. We hypothesize that course difficulty is proportional to the information density of specific learning resources (eg, lecture or textbook) multiplied by the weight of those learning resources placed on examinations. This formula allows educators to match the difficulty of a course with the educational needs of students, and provides a useful tool for longitudinal studies of curriculum reform.

Physics in Literature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manos, Harry

2014-01-01

Physics offers a cross-discipline perspective to understanding other subjects. The purpose of this paper is to provide examples of physics in literature that physics and astronomy teachers can use to give students an indication of the relevance of science as depicted in the humanities. It is not possible to cite the thousands of examples available. I have tried to select authors whom students would be reading in high school and in college undergraduate English classes: in particular Joseph Conrad, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Shakespeare, H. G. Wells, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Norman Mailer, and an author currently in vogue, Dan Brown. I am sure many reading this article will come up with their own examples.

An intensive primary-literature-based teaching program directly benefits undergraduate science majors and facilitates their transition to doctoral programs.

PubMed

Kozeracki, Carol A; Carey, Michael F; Colicelli, John; Levis-Fitzgerald, Marc; Grossel, Martha

2006-01-01

UCLA's Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Program (HHURP), a collaboration between the College of Letters and Science and the School of Medicine, trains a group of highly motivated undergraduates through mentored research enhanced by a rigorous seminar course. The course is centered on the presentation and critical analysis of scientific journal articles as well as the students' own research. This article describes the components and objectives of the HHURP and discusses the results of three program assessments: annual student evaluations, interviews with UCLA professors who served as research advisors for HHURP scholars, and a survey of program alumni. Students indicate that the program increased their ability to read and present primary scientific research and to present their own research and enhanced their research experience at UCLA. After graduating, they find their involvement in the HHURP helped them in securing admission to the graduate program of their choice and provided them with an advantage over their peers in the interactive seminars that are the foundation of graduate education. On the basis of the assessment of the program from 1998-1999 to 2004-2005, we conclude that an intensive literature-based training program increases student confidence and scientific literacy during their undergraduate years and facilitates their transition to postgraduate study.

Consumption of Energy Drinks among Undergraduate Students in Taiwan: Related Factors and Associations with Substance Use.

PubMed

Chang, Yen-Jung; Peng, Ching-Yi; Lan, Yu-Ching

2017-08-24

Background : This study aimed to investigate the consumption of energy drinks and associated factors among undergraduate students in Taiwan. Methods : Data came from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2015. Eligible participants completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing use and perceptions of energy drinks, tobacco, alcohol, and betel nut. Results : Among 606 surveyed undergraduate students, 24.8% reported consuming energy drinks in the past 30 days. The major reasons for use included keeping alert at work (48.7%), being curious about the products (32.0%), enjoying the flavor (31.3%), or preparing for school exams (26.7%). Among energy drink users, half have never read the nutrition label, and 15.3% reported that they had ever mixed energy drinks with alcohol. Most participants showed negative attitudes toward using tobacco, alcohol, or betel nut, while 54.1% reported positive attitudes toward consuming energy drinks. Being male, living away from parents' home, tobacco use, alcohol use, and positive perceptions of energy drink's effects significantly predicted energy drink consumption. Conclusions : In addition to exploring motivations of energy drink consumption in undergraduate students in Taiwan, the study findings indicated that energy drink consumption might relate to the use of tobacco and alcohol, which should be taken into account in substance use prevention programs.

Teaching the process of science: faculty perceptions and an effective methodology.

PubMed

Coil, David; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Cunningham, Matthew; Dirks, Clarissa

2010-01-01

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately, most college science departments lack a formalized curriculum for teaching undergraduates science process skills. However, evidence strongly suggests that explicitly teaching undergraduates skills early in their education may enhance their understanding of science content. Our research reveals that faculty overwhelming support teaching undergraduates science process skills but typically do not spend enough time teaching skills due to the perceived need to cover content. To encourage faculty to address this issue, we provide our pedagogical philosophies, methods, and materials for teaching science process skills to freshman pursuing life science majors. We build upon previous work, showing student learning gains in both reading primary literature and scientific writing, and share student perspectives about a course where teaching the process of science, not content, was the focus. We recommend a wider implementation of courses that teach undergraduates science process skills early in their studies with the goals of improving student success and retention in the sciences and enhancing general science literacy.

Teaching the Process of Science: Faculty Perceptions and an Effective Methodology

PubMed Central

Coil, David; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Cunningham, Matthew

2010-01-01

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately, most college science departments lack a formalized curriculum for teaching undergraduates science process skills. However, evidence strongly suggests that explicitly teaching undergraduates skills early in their education may enhance their understanding of science content. Our research reveals that faculty overwhelming support teaching undergraduates science process skills but typically do not spend enough time teaching skills due to the perceived need to cover content. To encourage faculty to address this issue, we provide our pedagogical philosophies, methods, and materials for teaching science process skills to freshman pursuing life science majors. We build upon previous work, showing student learning gains in both reading primary literature and scientific writing, and share student perspectives about a course where teaching the process of science, not content, was the focus. We recommend a wider implementation of courses that teach undergraduates science process skills early in their studies with the goals of improving student success and retention in the sciences and enhancing general science literacy. PMID:21123699

Comprehension of University Texts: Effects of Domain-Knowledge and Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pascual, Gema; Goikoetxea, Edurne

2014-01-01

Our aim is to evaluate reading comprehension strategies based on empirical evidence and applicable to undergraduate students. Our hypotheses were that domain-knowledge or summary would have more influence on local, global, and inferential questions than rereading-question-answering instruction. Results of Experiment 1 were mixed in terms of…

Glosses, Comprehension, and Strategy Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ko, Myong Hee

2005-01-01

This study, using both qualitative and quantitative measures, investigates how different types of gloss conditions affect Korean college students' reading comprehension. One hundred and six undergraduates at a university in Korea participated in the study. Twelve were assigned to think aloud, and the rest (ninety-four) took part in the main study…

Effects of Text Structure, Reading Goals and Epistemic Beliefs on Conceptual Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trevors, Gregory; Muis, Krista R.

2015-01-01

We investigated the online and offline effects of learner and instructional characteristics on conceptual change of a robust misconception in science. Fifty-nine undergraduate university students with misconceptions about evolution were identified as espousing evaluativist or non-evaluativist epistemic beliefs in science. Participants were…

Reading Phylogenetic Trees: The Effects of Tree Orientation and Text Processing on Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Novick, Laura R.; Stull, Andrew T.; Catley, Kefyn M.

2012-01-01

Although differently formatted cladograms (hierarchical diagrams depicting evolutionary relationships among taxa) depict the same information, they may not be equally easy to comprehend. Undergraduate biology students attempted to translate cladograms from the diagonal to the rectangular format. The "backbone" line of each diagonal…

Border Crossing in the Classroom through Performed Ethnography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldstein, Tara

2016-01-01

In this essay I share the ways I have used performed ethnography to explore the notion of border crossing in an undergraduate course called "Equity and Activism in Education." Performed ethnography involves turning the findings of ethnographic research into a play script. My students read two performed ethnographies, "Harriet's…

Expert and Novice Approaches to Reading Mathematical Proofs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inglis, Matthew; Alcock, Lara

2012-01-01

A comparison of the proof validation behavior of beginning undergraduate students and research-active mathematicians is explored. Participants' eye movements were recorded as they validated purported proofs. The main findings are that (a) contrary to previous suggestions, mathematicians sometimes appear to disagree about the validity of even short…

Engaging Students with Engaging Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Ed

2009-01-01

This article discusses the author's experiences in teaching a new course at Dickinson College, a four-year liberal arts college in Pennsylvania serving around 2,300 undergraduates. The course emphasized newer and emerging media and technologies such as satellite television, the Internet, and mobile telephony. To better understand the read-write…

Design and Development of the Aircraft Instrument Comprehension Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Norman C.

The Aircraft Instrument Comprehension (AIC) Program is a self-instructional program designed to teach undergraduate student pilots to read instruments that indicate the position of the aircraft in flight, based on sequential instructional stages of information, prompted practice, and unprompted practice. The program includes a 36-item multiple…

Comprehension and Learning from Refutation and Expository Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diakidoy, Irene-Anna N.; Mouskounti, Thalia; Ioannides, Christos

2011-01-01

The study compared the effects of a refutation text on comprehension and learning outcomes to those of a standard expository text. Undergraduate students with varying amounts of accurate and inaccurate prior knowledge read and recalled a refutation or an expository text about energy. Comprehension measures included the amount of text information…

[Awareness and education regarding sexually transmitted diseases among undergraduate students].

PubMed

Castro, Eneida Lazzarini de; Caldas, Tânia Alencar de; Morcillo, André Moreno; Pereira, Elisabete Monteiro de Aguiar; Velho, Paulo Eduardo Neves Ferreira

2016-06-01

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are the main global cause of acute illness and death and represent a high socioeconomic cost. Undergraduate students are highly exposed to STDs. The research developed at UNICAMP sought to quantify and generate self-perception of knowledge(or lack thereof) about STDs, as well as evaluate the interest of the students in a course on the topic. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire sent electronically to students about to graduate at the end of 2011 and to freshmen in 2012. The questionnaire was answered by 1,448 seniors and 371 freshmen. Twenty percent of seniors and 38% of freshmen had no sexual activity. Among sexually active students, 26.9% had no regular partner and 28.2% more than two partners per year. The condom was used by 99% of students, but less than 20% used them appropriately. About 80% were unaware that condoms do not provide protection outside the barrier area; they intended to read more about STDs and learnt something about the subject. Nearly half of the students considered that a course should be offered to all undergraduates. These findings will be of use in defining strategies for prevention and the teaching tool could be used in other learning environments.

Joint Task Force on Undergraduate Physics Programs: Implications for physics programs and why you should care

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodapp, Theodore

2016-03-01

The content of undergraduate physics programs has not changed appreciably in 50 years, however, the jobs our students take have changed dramatically. Preparing students for careers they are likely to encounter requires physics programs to rethink and in some cases retool to provide an education that will not only educate an individual in the habits of mind and keen sense of how to solve complex technical problems, but also what related skills they will need to be effective in those careers. Do you teach your student how to read or create a budget? How about dealing with a low-performing member of an R&D team? This talk will explore driving forces behind this report, potential implications for physics departments, and practical steps faculty members can take to continue to consider improvements in experiences for our students. This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF-1540570).

Pharmacy students' anxiety towards research during their undergraduate degree; How to reduce it?

PubMed Central

Tam, Ai May; Chaw, Siew Ling; Ang, May Jing; Yong, Mei Wan

2017-01-01

Objective To measure pharmacy students' anxiety towards research and how academic support, academic effort, attitude and self-efficacy influence their research anxiety. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with undergraduate final year students of pharmacy using a convenient sampling method. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used. Results Response rate for this study was 85.9% (128 students from a population of 149). The participants agreed that they read literature to understand research, but did not attend research-related coursework. Most participants (91.4%) felt that they were under stress while doing research. Almost all participants (97.6%) felt that they were doing very badly during their data analysis or they may fail their research projects. The majority of participants agreed that help from the lecturers' and friends in research give emotional support for their research activities. Conclusion Academic support for pharmacy students, along with their additional academic effort will improve the students' self-efficacy and reduce research anxiety. PMID:28419167

Pharmacy students' anxiety towards research during their undergraduate degree; How to reduce it?

PubMed

Maharajan, Mari Kannan; Rajiah, Kingston; Tam, Ai May; Chaw, Siew Ling; Ang, May Jing; Yong, Mei Wan

2017-01-01

To measure pharmacy students' anxiety towards research and how academic support, academic effort, attitude and self-efficacy influence their research anxiety. A cross-sectional study was conducted with undergraduate final year students of pharmacy using a convenient sampling method. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used. Response rate for this study was 85.9% (128 students from a population of 149). The participants agreed that they read literature to understand research, but did not attend research-related coursework. Most participants (91.4%) felt that they were under stress while doing research. Almost all participants (97.6%) felt that they were doing very badly during their data analysis or they may fail their research projects. The majority of participants agreed that help from the lecturers' and friends in research give emotional support for their research activities. Academic support for pharmacy students, along with their additional academic effort will improve the students' self-efficacy and reduce research anxiety.

The relationship between learning preferences (styles and approaches) and learning outcomes among pre-clinical undergraduate medical students.

PubMed

Liew, Siaw-Cheok; Sidhu, Jagmohni; Barua, Ankur

2015-03-11

Learning styles and approaches of individual undergraduate medical students vary considerably and as a consequence, their learning needs also differ from one student to another. This study was conducted to identify different learning styles and approaches of pre-clinical, undergraduate medical students and also to determine the relationships of learning preferences with performances in the summative examinations. A cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 419 pre-clinical, undergraduate medical students of the International Medical University (IMU) in Kuala Lumpur. The number of students from Year 2 was 217 while that from Year 3 was 202. The Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) and the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) questionnaires were used for data collection. This study revealed that 343 students (81.9%) had unimodal learning style, while the remaining 76 (18.1%) used a multimodal learning style. Among the unimodal learners, a majority (30.1%) were of Kinesthetic (K) type. Among the middle and high achievers in summative examinations, a majority had unimodal (Kinaesthetic) learning style (30.5%) and were also strategic/deep learners (79.4%). However, the learning styles and approaches did not contribute significantly towards the learning outcomes in summative examinations. A majority of the students in this study had Unimodal (Kinesthetic) learning style. The learning preferences (styles and approaches) did not contribute significantly to the learning outcomes. Future work to re-assess the viability of these learning preferences (styles and approaches) after the incorporation of teaching-learning instructions tailored specifically to the students will be beneficial to help medical teachers in facilitating students to become more capable learners.

Using HeLa cell stress response to introduce first year students to the scientific method, laboratory techniques, primary literature, and scientific writing.

PubMed

Resendes, Karen K

2015-01-01

Incorporating scientific literacy into inquiry driven research is one of the most effective mechanisms for developing an undergraduate student's strength in writing. Additionally, discovery-based laboratories help develop students who approach science as critical thinkers. Thus, a three-week laboratory module for an introductory cell and molecular biology course that couples inquiry-based experimental design with extensive scientific writing was designed at Westminster College to expose first year students to these concepts early in their undergraduate career. In the module students used scientific literature to design and then implement an experiment on the effect of cellular stress on protein expression in HeLa cells. In parallel the students developed a research paper in the style of the undergraduate journal BIOS to report their results. HeLa cells were used to integrate the research experience with the Westminster College "Next Chapter" first year program, in which the students explored the historical relevance of HeLa cells from a sociological perspective through reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. In this report I detail the design, delivery, student learning outcomes, and assessment of this module, and while this exercise was designed for an introductory course at a small primarily undergraduate institution, suggestions for modifications at larger universities or for upper division courses are included. Finally, based on student outcomes suggestions are provided for improving the module to enhance the link between teaching students skills in experimental design and execution with developing student skills in information literacy and writing. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The importance of academic literacy for undergraduate nursing students and its relationship to future professional clinical practice: A systematic review.

PubMed

Jefferies, Diana; McNally, Stephen; Roberts, Katriona; Wallace, Anna; Stunden, Annette; D'Souza, Suzanne; Glew, Paul

2018-01-01

This systematic review was designed to assess the importance of academic literacy for undergraduate nursing students and its relationship to future professional clinical practice. It aimed to explore the link between academic literacy and writing in an undergraduate nursing degree and the development of critical thinking skills for their future professional clinical practice. A systematic review of qualitative studies and expert opinion publications. A systematic literature search was undertaken of the following databases: ERIC, PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE and Scopus. All papers reviewed were from 2000 to 2016 and were written in English. We identified 981 studies and expert opinion papers from the selected databases. After reviewing key words and abstracts for the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 48 papers were selected for review. These were read and reread, with 22 papers, including one thesis, selected for quality appraisal. One paper was discarded due to the exclusion criteria. Three major themes were evident from this study. First, students need assistance to develop tertiary level academic literacy skills when they commence their undergraduate nursing degree. Second, that teaching practices need to be consistent in both designing assessments and in giving feedback to students, in order to assist improvement of academic literacy skills. And finally, academic literacy can facilitate critical thinking when students are assessed using discipline specific genres that relate to their future professional nursing practice. This review highlights the importance of critical thinking in clinical nursing practice and its strong relationship with academic writing skills. It has shown critical thinking is discipline specific and nursing students need to be taught discipline specific literacy genres in undergraduate nursing degrees. Nursing has a diverse educational and cultural mix of students, and educators should not assume academic literacy skills upon commencement of an undergraduate nursing programme. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in learning style preferences among undergraduate physiology students.

PubMed

Wehrwein, Erica A; Lujan, Heidi L; DiCarlo, Stephen E

2007-06-01

Students have individual learning style preferences including visual (V; learning from graphs, charts, and flow diagrams), auditory (A; learning from speech), read-write (R; learning from reading and writing), and kinesthetic (K; learning from touch, hearing, smell, taste, and sight). These preferences can be assessed using the VARK questionnaire. We administered the VARK questionnaire to undergraduate physiology majors enrolled in a capstone physiology laboratory at Michigan State University; 48 of the 86 students (55.8%) who returned the completed questionnaire voluntarily offered gender information. The responses were tallied and assessed for gender difference in learning style preference; 54.2% of females and only 12.5% of males preferred a single mode of information presentation. Among the female students, 4.2% of the students preferred V, 0% of the students preferred A, 16.7% of the students preferred printed words (R), and 33.3% of the students preferred using all their senses (K). In contrast, male students were evenly distributed in preference, with 4.2% of the students preferring A, R, or K, respectively, while 0% of the students preferred V. Furthermore, 45.8% of female and 87.5% of male respondents preferred multiple modes [female: 2 modes (12.5%), 3 modes (12.5%), and 4 modes (20.8%); males: 2 modes (16.7%), 3 modes (12.5%), and 4 modes (58.3%)] of presentation. In summary, a majority of male students preferred multimodal instruction, specifically, four modes (VARK), whereas a majority of female students preferred single-mode instruction with a preference toward K. Thus, male and female students have significantly different learning styles. It is the responsibility of the instructor to address this diversity of learning styles and develop appropriate learning approaches.

A course treating ethical issues in physics.

PubMed

Thomsen, Marshall

2007-03-01

A course focusing on ethical issues in physics has been taught to undergraduate students at Eastern Michigan University since 1988. The course covers both responsible conduct of research and ethical issues associated with how physicists interact with the rest of society. Since most undergraduate physics majors will not have a career in academia, it is important that a course such as this address issues that will be relevant to physicists in a wide range of job situations. There is a wealth of published work that can be drawn on for reading assignments.

The CREATE Method Does Not Result in Greater Gains in Critical Thinking than a More Traditional Method of Analyzing the Primary Literature †

PubMed Central

Segura-Totten, Miriam; Dalman, Nancy E.

2013-01-01

Analysis of the primary literature in the undergraduate curriculum is associated with gains in student learning. In particular, the CREATE (Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment) method is associated with an increase in student critical thinking skills. We adapted the CREATE method within a required cell biology class and compared the learning gains of students using CREATE to those of students involved in less structured literature discussions. We found that while both sets of students had gains in critical thinking, students who used the CREATE method did not show significant improvement over students engaged in a more traditional method for dissecting the literature. Students also reported similar learning gains for both literature discussion methods. Our study suggests that, at least in our educational context, the CREATE method does not lead to higher learning gains than a less structured way of reading primary literature. PMID:24358379

Learning styles and approaches to learning among medical undergraduates and postgraduates

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The challenge of imparting a large amount of knowledge within a limited time period in a way it is retained, remembered and effectively interpreted by a student is considerable. This has resulted in crucial changes in the field of medical education, with a shift from didactic teacher centered and subject based teaching to the use of interactive, problem based, student centered learning. This study tested the hypothesis that learning styles (visual, auditory, read/write and kinesthetic) and approaches to learning (deep, strategic and superficial) differ among first and final year undergraduate medical students, and postgraduates medical trainees. Methods We used self administered VARK and ASSIST questionnaires to assess the differences in learning styles and approaches to learning among medical undergraduates of the University of Colombo and postgraduate trainees of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, Colombo. Results A total of 147 participated: 73 (49.7%) first year students, 40 (27.2%) final year students and 34(23.1%) postgraduate students. The majority (69.9%) of first year students had multimodal learning styles. Among final year students, the majority (67.5%) had multimodal learning styles, and among postgraduates, the majority were unimodal (52.9%) learners. Among all three groups, the predominant approach to learning was strategic. Postgraduates had significant higher mean scores for deep and strategic approaches than first years or final years (p < 0.05). Mean scores for the superficial approach did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusions The learning approaches suggest a positive shift towards deep and strategic learning in postgraduate students. However a similar difference was not observed in undergraduate students from first year to final year, suggesting that their curriculum may not have influenced learning methodology over a five year period. PMID:23521845

Learning styles and approaches to learning among medical undergraduates and postgraduates.

PubMed

Samarakoon, Lasitha; Fernando, Tharanga; Rodrigo, Chaturaka

2013-03-25

The challenge of imparting a large amount of knowledge within a limited time period in a way it is retained, remembered and effectively interpreted by a student is considerable. This has resulted in crucial changes in the field of medical education, with a shift from didactic teacher centered and subject based teaching to the use of interactive, problem based, student centered learning. This study tested the hypothesis that learning styles (visual, auditory, read/write and kinesthetic) and approaches to learning (deep, strategic and superficial) differ among first and final year undergraduate medical students, and postgraduates medical trainees. We used self administered VARK and ASSIST questionnaires to assess the differences in learning styles and approaches to learning among medical undergraduates of the University of Colombo and postgraduate trainees of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, Colombo. A total of 147 participated: 73 (49.7%) first year students, 40 (27.2%) final year students and 34(23.1%) postgraduate students. The majority (69.9%) of first year students had multimodal learning styles. Among final year students, the majority (67.5%) had multimodal learning styles, and among postgraduates, the majority were unimodal (52.9%) learners.Among all three groups, the predominant approach to learning was strategic. Postgraduates had significant higher mean scores for deep and strategic approaches than first years or final years (p < 0.05). Mean scores for the superficial approach did not differ significantly between groups. The learning approaches suggest a positive shift towards deep and strategic learning in postgraduate students. However a similar difference was not observed in undergraduate students from first year to final year, suggesting that their curriculum may not have influenced learning methodology over a five year period.

The SUPER Program: A Research-based Undergraduate Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ernakovich, J. G.; Boone, R. B.; Boot, C. M.; Denef, K.; Lavallee, J. M.; Moore, J. C.; Wallenstein, M. D.

2014-12-01

Producing undergraduates capable of broad, independent thinking is one of the grand challenges in science education. Experience-based learning, specifically hands-on research, is one mechanism for increasing students' ability to think critically. With this in mind, we created a two-semester long research program called SUPER (Skills for Undergraduate Participation in Ecological Research) aimed at teaching students to think like scientists and enhancing the student research experience through instruction and active-learning about the scientific method. Our aim was for students to gain knowledge, skills, and experience, and to conduct their own research. In the first semester, we hosted active-learning workshops on "Forming Hypotheses", "Experimental Design", "Collecting and Managing Data", "Analysis of Data", "Communicating to a Scientific Audience", "Reading Literature Effectively", and "Ethical Approaches". Each lesson was taught by different scientists from one of many ecological disciplines so that students were exposed to the variation in approach that scientists have. In the second semester, students paired with a scientific mentor and began doing research. To ensure the continued growth of the undergraduate researcher, we continued the active-learning workshops and the students attended meetings with their mentors. Thus, the students gained technical and cognitive skills in parallel, enabling them to understand both "the how" and "the why" of what they were doing in their research. The program culminated with a research poster session presented by the students. The interest in the program has grown beyond our expectations, and we have now run the program successfully for two years. Many of the students have gone on to campus research jobs, internships and graduate school, and have attributed part of their success in obtaining their positions to their experience with the SUPER program. Although common in other sciences, undergraduate research experiences are rare in ecology. We feel that development and implementation of these types of active-learning, research based programs can help universities to produce undergraduate researchers capable of contributing meaningfully to research, and to greater societal issues by enhancing their problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Effectiveness of false correction strategy on science reading comprehension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghent, Cynthia Anne

False-correction reading strategy theoretically prompted college students to activate their prior knowledge when provided false statements linked to a portion of their biology textbook. This strategy is based in elaborative interrogation theory, which suggests that prompting readers to answer interrogatives about text students are reading increases their comprehension of that text. These interrogatives always asked "why" statements pulled from a text, one sentence in length, were "true." True statements in this study based on a text were converted by the experimenter into false statements, one sentence in length. Students were requested to rewrite each statement (n=12) on average every 200 words in a text as they were reading, converting each false statement into a true statement. These students outperformed other students requested to reread the same biology text twice (an established placebo-control strategy). These students, in turn, outperformed still other students reading an unrelated control text taken from the same textbook used only to establish a prior knowledge baseline for all students included in this study. Students participating in this study were enrolled students in an undergraduate introductory general biology course designed for non-majors. A three-group, posttest-only, randomized experimental control-group design was used to prevent pretest activation of students' prior knowledge thus increasing chances of producing evidence of false-correction effectiveness and to begin augmenting potential generalizability to science classrooms. Students' (n=357) general biology knowledge, verbal ability, and attempts to use the false correction strategy were collected and analyzed. Eight of the participants were interviewed by the researcher in a first attempt in this domain to collect data on participants' points of view about the strategy. The results of this study are not yet recommended for use in authentic school settings as further research is indicated.

Teaching the Cultural Biases of Social Psychology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, David L.

This paper describes how the author has used children's stories, published in the People's Republic of China, to explore the ethnocentrism in American academic social psychology. The stories are read to students in the author's undergraduate classes in social psychology, who then discuss the themes of the stories. Comparisons are made with stories…

Principles of Water Quality Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tebbutt, T. H. Y.

This book is designed as a text for undergraduate civil engineering courses and as preliminary reading for postgraduate courses in public health engineering and water resources technology. It is also intended to be of value to workers already in the field and to students preparing for the examinations of the Institute of Water Pollution Control…

The Effect of Learner-Generated Drawing and Imagination in Comprehending a Science Text

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Lijia; Lee, Chee Ha; Kalyuga, Slava; Wang, Ying; Guan, Shuchen; Wu, Hao

2017-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of imagination and learner-generated drawing on comprehension, reading time, cognitive load, and eye movements, and whether prior knowledge moderated the effects of these two strategies. Sixty-three undergraduate students participated in a pretest-posttest between-subjects study with the…

Counselor Self-Disclosure: Does Sexual Orientation Matter to Straight Clients?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carroll, Lynne; Gauler, Andy A.; Relph, Jason; Hutchinson, Kimberly S.

2011-01-01

The present investigation explores the impact of counselor self-disclosure of sexual orientation on self-identified heterosexuals. Two hundred and thirty-eight psychology undergraduate students read a short description of a counselor and one of eight versions of a counseling transcript. Transcripts were identical with the exception of the gender…

The Influence of Negative Advertising Frames on Political Cynicism and Politician Accountability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schenck-Hamlin, William J.; Procter, David E.; Rumsey, Deborah J.

2000-01-01

Examines the influence of negative political advertising frames on the thoughts and feelings undergraduate students generate in response to campaign advertising. Finds that participants were more likely to generate cynical comments and hold politicians accountable for the country's ills when reading candidate theme advertisements than ad hoc issue…

The Role of the Updating Function in Solving Arithmetic Word Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mori, Kanetaka; Okamoto, Masahiko

2017-01-01

We investigated how the updating function supports the integration process in solving arithmetic word problems. In Experiment 1, we measured reading time, that is, translation and integration times, when undergraduate and graduate students (n = 78) were asked to solve 2 types of problems: those containing only necessary information and those…

Helping Crisis Managers Protect Reputational Assets: Initial Tests of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coombs, W. Timothy; Holladay, Sherry J.

2002-01-01

Explains a comprehensive, prescriptive, situational approach for responding to crises and protecting organizational reputation: the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). Notes undergraduate students read two crisis case studies from a set of 13 cases and responded to questions following the case. Validates a key assumption in SCCT and…

Reading for Reliability: Preservice Teachers Evaluate Web Sources about Climate Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Damico, James S.; Panos, Alexandra

2016-01-01

This study examined what happened when 65 undergraduate prospective secondary level teachers across content areas evaluated the reliability of four online sources about climate change: an oil company webpage, a news report, and two climate change organizations with competing views on climate change. The students evaluated the sources at three time…

The Immortal Ant and the Expanding Balloon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffiths, Martin

2009-01-01

In this article we consider, via a specific modelling example, the educational benefits to be gained from running mathematical activities with our sixth-form and undergraduate students that, in modern parlance, might be termed "rich tasks". The idea for this modelling activity arose while the author was reading a popular-science book on cosmology…

An Aptitude-Strategy Interaction in Linear Syllogistic Reading. Technical Report No. 15.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sternberg, Robert J.; Weil, Evelyn M.

An aptitude-strategy interaction in linear syllogistic reasoning was tested on 144 undergraduate and graduate students of both sexes. It was hypothesized that the efficiency of each of four alternative strategies--control, visual, algorithmic, and mixed--would depend upon the subjects' pattern of verbal and spatial abilities. Two tests of verbal…

The Sexual Stereotype of the Black Male.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Gary L.; Cross, Herbert J.

This paper presents the results of a study to examine the existence of sexual stereotyping of black males by white college students. Subjects were 180 male and 180 female white undergraduates; they were tested in sexually segregated groups. Each read one of three types of pornographic stories (hard-core, erotic realism, or sexual fantasy). The…

The Sensory Modality Used for Learning Affects Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramirez, Beatriz U.

2011-01-01

Second-year undergraduate students from 2008, 2009, and 2010 cohorts were asked to respond a questionnaire to determine their learning style preferences, the VARK questionnaire (where V is visual, A is aural, R is reading-writing, and K is kinesthetic), which was translated into Spanish by the author. The translated questionnaire was tested for…

The Lower Manhattan Project: A New Approach to Computer-Assisted Learning in History Classrooms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crozier, William; Gaffield, Chad

1990-01-01

The Lower Manhattan Project, a computer-assisted undergraduate course in U.S. history, enhances student appreciation of the historical process through research and writing. Focuses on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries emphasizing massive immigration, rapid industrialization, and the growth of cities. Includes a reading list and…

Attitudes toward, and Use of, Textbooks among Marketing Undergraduates: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vafeas, Mario

2013-01-01

While textbooks remain a key part of the teaching and learning process, evidence suggests that student completion of reading assignments is lower than teacher expectations. Although there is a small body of literature examining textbook use, studies relating specifically to marketing textbooks are sparse. This article seeks to explore how…

Processing and Learning of Enhanced English Collocations: An Eye Movement Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Sungmook

2017-01-01

Research to date suggests that textual enhancement may positively affect the learning of multiword combinations known as collocations, but may impair recall of unenhanced text. However, the attentional mechanisms underlying such effects remain unclear. In this study, 38 undergraduate students were divided into two groups: one read a text…

Effect of Quality and Quantity of Study on Student Grades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickinson, Donald J.; O'Connell, Debra Q.

1990-01-01

Findings from a study which examined the relationship between study time and test scores indicate that time spent organizing had a stronger relationship with course test scores than did total study time or time spent reading and reviewing. Subjects were 113 undergraduates who kept daily self-monitoring logs of study activities. (IAH)

Correlation, necessity, and sufficiency: Common errors in the scientific reasoning of undergraduate students for interpreting experiments.

PubMed

Coleman, Aaron B; Lam, Diane P; Soowal, Lara N

2015-01-01

Gaining an understanding of how science works is central to an undergraduate education in biology and biochemistry. The reasoning required to design or interpret experiments that ask specific questions does not come naturally, and is an essential part of the science process skills that must be learned for an understanding of how scientists conduct research. Gaps in these reasoning skills make it difficult for students to become proficient in reading primary scientific literature. In this study, we assessed the ability of students in an upper-division biochemistry laboratory class to use the concepts of correlation, necessity, and sufficiency in interpreting experiments presented in a format and context that is similar to what they would encounter when reading a journal article. The students were assessed before and after completion of a laboratory module where necessary vs. sufficient reasoning was used to design and interpret experiments. The assessment identified two types of errors that were commonly committed by students when interpreting experimental data. When presented with an experiment that only establishes a correlation between a potential intermediate and a known effect, students frequently interpreted the intermediate as being sufficient (causative) for the effect. Also, when presented with an experiment that tests only necessity for an intermediate, they frequently made unsupported conclusions about sufficiency, and vice versa. Completion of the laboratory module and instruction in necessary vs. sufficient reasoning showed some promise for addressing these common errors. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Does learning style preferences influence academic performance among dental students in Isfahan, Iran?

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Purpose The present study aimed to identify the learning preferences of dental students and to characterize their relationship with academic performance at a dental school in Isfahan, Iran. Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study included 200 undergraduate dental students from October to November 2016. Data were collected using a 2-part questionnaire. The first part included demographic data, and the second part was a Persian-language version of the visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted with the chi-square test, 1-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression. Results The response rate was 86.6%. Approximately half of the students (51.5%) had multimodal learning preferences. Among the unimodal group (48.5%), the most common mode was aural (24.0%), followed by kinesthetic (15.5%), reading-writing (8.0%), and visual (1.0%). There was a significant association between academic performance and the reading/writing learning style preference (P< 0.01). Conclusion Multimodal learning styles were the most preferred. Among single-mode learning styles, the aural style was most common, followed by the kinesthetic style. Students with a reading/writing preference had better academic performance. The results of this study provide useful information for preparing a more problem-based curriculum with active learning strategies. PMID:29575848

An Exploration of Academic Reading Proficiency at the University Level: A Cross-Sectional Study of 848 Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gorzycki, Meg; Howard, Pamela; Allen, Diane; Desa, Geoffrey; Rosegard, Erik

2016-01-01

Academic reading proficiently is characterized by the ability to perform cognitive tasks associated with interpreting text. Researchers developed an externally validated Informal Academic Reading Proficiency Test to gauge undergraduates' academic reading proficiency. A cross-sectional study of 23 classes completed the reading test in 2014. This…

The influence of celebrity exemplars on college students' smoking.

PubMed

Yoo, Woohyun

2016-01-01

This study examined the effect of celebrity smoking exemplars in health news on college students' perceptions of smoking-related health risks and smoking intentions. The data were collected using a Web-based survey of 219 undergraduate students at a large midwestern university in March 2011. Separate analyses of covariance were conducted. The influence of negative exemplars of celebrity smoking on perceptions of smoking-related health risks and smoking intentions varied according to smoking status. Ever-smokers who read smoking news with negative exemplars of celebrity smoking were more likely than ever-smokers who read the same news absent any exemplar to report higher levels of perceptions of smoking-related health risks and lower levels of smoking intentions. However, these patterns were not found in never-smokers. Exemplification theory enhanced by the celebrity element may be effectively applied as a strategy to change health behavior in college students.

Information fluency for undergraduate biology majors: applications of inquiry-based learning in a developmental biology course.

PubMed

Gehring, Kathleen M; Eastman, Deborah A

2008-01-01

Many initiatives for the improvement of undergraduate science education call for inquiry-based learning that emphasizes investigative projects and reading of the primary literature. These approaches give students an understanding of science as a process and help them integrate content presented in courses. At the same time, general initiatives to promote information fluency are being promoted on many college and university campuses. Information fluency refers to discipline-specific processing of information, and it involves integration of gathered information with specific ideas to form logical conclusions. We have implemented the use of inquiry-based learning to enhance and study discipline-specific information fluency skills in an upper-level undergraduate Developmental Biology course. In this study, an information literacy tutorial and a set of linked assignments using primary literature analysis were integrated with two inquiry-based laboratory research projects. Quantitative analysis of student responses suggests that the abilities of students to identify and apply valid sources of information were enhanced. Qualitative assessment revealed a set of patterns by which students gather and apply information. Self-assessment responses indicated that students recognized the impact of the assignments on their abilities to gather and apply information and that they were more confident about these abilities for future biology courses and beyond.

Information Fluency for Undergraduate Biology Majors: Applications of Inquiry-based Learning in a Developmental Biology Course

PubMed Central

Gehring, Kathleen M.

2008-01-01

Many initiatives for the improvement of undergraduate science education call for inquiry-based learning that emphasizes investigative projects and reading of the primary literature. These approaches give students an understanding of science as a process and help them integrate content presented in courses. At the same time, general initiatives to promote information fluency are being promoted on many college and university campuses. Information fluency refers to discipline-specific processing of information, and it involves integration of gathered information with specific ideas to form logical conclusions. We have implemented the use of inquiry-based learning to enhance and study discipline-specific information fluency skills in an upper-level undergraduate Developmental Biology course. In this study, an information literacy tutorial and a set of linked assignments using primary literature analysis were integrated with two inquiry-based laboratory research projects. Quantitaitve analysis of student responses suggests that the abilities of students to identify and apply valid sources of information were enhanced. Qualitative assessment revealed a set of patterns by which students gather and apply information. Self-assessment responses indicated that students recognized the impact of the assignments on their abilities to gather and apply information and that they were more confident about these abilities for future biology courses and beyond. PMID:18316808

Undergraduate Research in Geoscience with Students from Two-year Colleges: SAGE 2YC Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDaris, J. R.; Hodder, J.; Macdonald, H.; Baer, E. M.; Blodgett, R. H.

2014-12-01

Undergraduate research experiences are important for the development of expertise in geoscience disciplines. These experiences have been shown to help students learn content and skills, promote students' cognitive and affective development, and develop students' sense of self. Early exposure to research experiences has shown to be effective in the recruitment of students, improved retention and persistence in degree programs, motivation for students to learn and increase self-efficacy, improved attitudes and values about science, and overall increased student success. Just as departments at four-year institutions (4YCs) are increasingly integrating research into their introductory courses, two-year college (2YC) geoscience faculty have a great opportunity to ground their students in authentic research. The Undergraduate Research with Two-year College Students website developed by SAGE 2YC: Supporting and Advancing Geoscience Education at Two-year Colleges provides ideas and advice for 2YC and 4YC faculty who want to get more 2YC students involved in research. The continuum of possibilities for faculty to explore includes things that can be done at 2YCs (eg. doing research as part of a regular course, developing a course specifically around research on a particular topic, or independent study), done in collaboration with other local institutions (eg. using their facilities, conducting joint class research, or using research to support transfer programs), and by involving students in the kind of organized Undergraduate Research programs run by a number of institutions and organizations. The website includes profiles illustrating how 2YC geoscience faculty have tackled these various models of research and addressed potential challenges such as lack of time, space, and funding as part of supporting the wide diversity of students that attend 2YCs, most of whom have less experience than that of rising seniors who are the traditional REU participant. The website also provides resources on effective strategies for developing REU programs for community college students, examples of successful multi-year programs, links to other projects working on undergraduate research in the first two years, and references for further reading. serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/studentsuccess/ug-research/

How Do Students Perceive the Enhancement of their Own Learning? A Comparison of Two Education Faculties' Experiences in Building an Online Learning Community for Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowley, Jennifer; O'Dea, Jennifer

2009-01-01

Enhancing learning and teaching in blended learning environments is a strategic goal of The University of Sydney as eLearning continues to grow. Blackboard (WebCT) was integrated into the undergraduate Bachelor of Education program curricula through e-readings, discussion boards, lectures and online assessment tasks. The study was undertaken among…

Nursing students' reflections on racism.

PubMed

Schaefer, Karen Moore

2008-01-01

Racism is the systematic oppression of people of color at personal/interpersonal, institutional, and/or cultural levels. Discussions about racism often become emotional and personal. A discussion related to the accurate labeling of students on the basis of their heritage in an undergraduate professional issues class became emotionally charged. To prevent any further escalation of emotions, the author brought closure by asking students to read and write a reflective response to the Black Prayer. This article is a summary of urban nursing students' reflections and how giving voice to such reflections is a way of opening the door to frank discussions of racism and its effects.

A Prototype Two-tier Mentoring Program for Undergraduate Summer Interns from Minority-Serving Institutions at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gens, R.; Prakash, A.; Ozbay, G.; Sriharan, S.; Balazs, M. S.; Chittambakkam, A.; Starkenburg, D. P.; Waigl, C.; Cook, S.; Ferguson, A.; Foster, K.; Jones, E.; Kluge, A.; Stilson, K.

2013-12-01

The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is partnering with Delaware State University, Virginia State University, Elizabeth City State University, Bethune-Cookman University, and Morgan State University on a U.S. Department of Agriculture - National Institute for Food and Agriculture funded grant for ';Enhancing Geographic Information System Education and Delivery through Collaboration: Curricula Design, Faculty, Staff, and Student Training and Development, and Extension Services'. As a part of this grant, in summer 2013, UAF hosted a week long workshop followed by an intense two week undergraduate internship program. Six undergraduate students from partnering Universities worked with UAF graduate students as their direct mentors. This cohort of undergraduate mentees and graduate student mentors were in-turn counseled by the two UAF principal investigators who served as ';super-mentors'. The role of each person in the two-tier mentoring system was well defined. The super-mentors ensured that there was consistency in the way the internship was setup and resources were allocated. They also ensured that there were no technical glitches in the research projects and that there was healthy communication and interaction among participants. Mentors worked with the mentees ahead of time in outlining a project that aligned with the mentees research interest, provided basic reading material to the interns to get oriented, prepared the datasets required to start the project, and guided the undergraduates throughout the internship. Undergraduates gained hands-on experience in geospatial data collection and application of tools in their projects related to mapping geomorphology, landcover, geothermal sites, fires, and meteorological conditions. Further, they shared their research results and experiences with a broad university-wide audience at the end of the internship period. All participants met at lunch-time for a daily science talk from external speakers. The program offered a rich and gratifying experience for all participants. Undergraduate students got a sneak-peek into a career in higher academia before stepping into graduate school. Graduate students gained mentoring experience, and also learned the importance of good time management and setting clear expectations.

The Impact of Philosophy and Theology Service-Learning Experiences upon the Public Service Motivation of Participating College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seider, Scott C.; Rabinowicz, Samantha A.; Gillmor, Susan C.

2011-01-01

This mixed-methods study demonstrates that the SERVE Program at Ignatius University strengthened the public service motivation of participating undergraduates by combining weekly community service with readings in philosophy and theology. These findings offer insights about the role that philosophy and theology service-learning experiences can…

Voice vs. Text-Based Discussion Forums: An Implementation of Wimba Voice Boards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marriott, Philip; Hiscock, Jane

This paper reports on a two-year exploratory study to determine the viability of voice-based threaded discussions forums as a means of stimulating discussion and understanding of weekly readings as part of a large undergraduate communications course. From March to June 2001, 600 students participating in a large introduction to communication…

Reading the Urban Landscape: The Case of a Campus Tour at York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bardekjian, Adrina; Classens, Michael; Sandberg, L. Anders

2012-01-01

This paper presents a campus tour assignment in a first-year undergraduate environmental studies course at York University, Toronto, Canada. As a pedagogical tool, the assignment enables students to interrogate the dominant narratives of a university's immediate physical spaces and to apply broader theoretical and practical concepts to their…

Science and Non-Science Undergraduate Students' Critical Thinking and Argumentation Performance in Reading a Science News Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Shu-Sheng

2014-01-01

A scientifically literate person should be able to engage and critique science news reports about socioscientific issues from a variety of information sources. Such engagement involves critical thinking and argumentation skills to determine if claims made are justified by evidence and explained by reasonable explanations. This study explored…

The Effect of Hypertext Annotation Presentation Formats on Perceived Cognitive Load and Learner Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yao, Yuanming; Gill, Michele

2009-01-01

The impact of hypertext presentation formats on learner control and cognitive load was examined in this study using Campbell and Stanley's (1963) Posttest Only Control Group design. One hundred eighty-six undergraduate students were randomly assigned to read a web-based text with no annotations, online glossary annotations, embedded annotations,…

An Intelligent Agent Approach for Teaching Neural Networks Using LEGO[R] Handy Board Robots

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Imberman, Susan P.

2004-01-01

In this article we describe a project for an undergraduate artificial intelligence class. The project teaches neural networks using LEGO[R] handy board robots. Students construct robots with two motors and two photosensors. Photosensors provide readings that act as inputs for the neural network. Output values power the motors and maintain the…

Current Perceptions of Marital Rape: Some Good and Not-So-Good News

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferro, Christine; Cermele, Jill; Saltzman, Ann

2008-01-01

The current study extends previous research on marital rape and acceptance of general rape myths by comparing the perceptions of undergraduate college students (n = 85) to those of college alumni/ae (n = 44) who graduated from the same university three decades earlier. Participants read a hypothetical rape scenario that depicted the perpetrator as…

Using LANDSAT imagery as a basis for the understanding of the physiographic regions of the United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blair, R. W., Jr.

1981-01-01

An undergraduate level course in regional geology is described in which map exercises using LANDSAT composite images are required. From these exercises, students lean to appreciate LANDSAT imagery, learn elementary skills in imagery reading and interpretation, in addition to making the association of geography, geology, maps, and imagery.

Learning Strategies Model to Enhance Thai Undergraduate Students' Self-Efficacy Beliefs in EIL Textual Reading Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kakew, Jiraporn; Damnet, Anamai

2017-01-01

This classroom based research of a learning strategies model was designed to investigate its application in a mixed-ability classroom. The study built on Oxford's language learning strategies model (1990, 2001) and fulfilled it with rhetorical strategies to accommodate challenges encountered in the paradigm of English as an international language…

Practice Makes Pretty Good: Assessment of Primary Literature Reading Abilities across Multiple Large-Enrollment Biology Laboratory Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Brian K.; Kadandale, Pavan; He, Wenliang; Murata, Paige M. N.; Latif, Yama; Warschauer, Mark

2014-01-01

Primary literature is essential for scientific communication and is commonly utilized in undergraduate biology education. Despite this, there is often little time spent "training" our students how to critically analyze a paper. To address this, we introduced a primary literature module in multiple upper-division laboratory courses. In…

Energy: The Ultimate Resource? Resource Papers for College Geography, No. 77-4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Earl

This paper, intended for instructors and students in undergraduate courses in geography and environmental studies, discusses the significance of energy to our life and our life-styles. The document is designed to be used in a variety of ways--as background reading for a mini-conference on energy legislation and the geographic problems that are…

Two Wrongs Make a Right: Using Pseudoscience and Reasoning Fallacies to Complement Primary Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stover, Shawn

2016-01-01

Undergraduate science students benefit greatly by learning to read and interpret primary research articles. However, once they obtain a level of competence in analyzing primary literature and develop a better understanding of the nature of science, they may become frustrated by the lack of scientific literacy and objectivity demonstrated by the…

Contemporary undergraduate implant dentistry education: a systematic review.

PubMed

Koole, S; De Bruyn, H

2014-03-01

Consensus reports recommend that students upon graduation should possess a significant level of knowledge and competence in implant dentistry, including basic competences in diagnostics, treatment planning, restorative, straightforward surgical and maintenance procedures. In response, undergraduate curricula need to integrate implant dentistry. This narrative review explores educational programmes in terms of competences, related research and barriers or reflections, regarding implementation in undergraduate curricula. Publications (2008-2013) were searched systematically in WoS, PubMed and ERIC and screened independently by two authors in four stages: removal of duplicates, title screening, abstract screening and full-text reading. Inclusion criteria encompassed implant dentistry in undergraduate education. Finally, 37 of 420 papers were included. Detailed information regarding programme content, number of participants, staff input, logistics/funding issues is scattered. Theoretical education is predominant, and pre-clinical/clinical training is offered minimally, often carried out in elective programmes. However, selected straightforward cases treated by undergraduates yield positive outcomes with low failure rates, few complications, high patient satisfaction and student appreciation. Barriers to implementing implant dentistry in the undergraduate curriculum include funding issues, limitations in time or staff availability/competence and lack of suitable patients. Overcoming these barriers is worthwhile as experience-based implant education affects future practice as well-informed students propose more restorative alternatives to their patients. Although implant dentistry is increasingly integrated in undergraduate curricula, challenges remain in developing strategies to implement existing competence profiles and the extent of experience-based education. To support further advancement, universities should report comprehensively on their implant programmes to allow comparison and reproduction in other environments. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Engaging Students in Authentic Microbiology Research in an Introductory Biology Laboratory Course is Correlated with Gains in Student Understanding of the Nature of Authentic Research and Critical Thinking†

PubMed Central

Gasper, Brittany J.; Gardner, Stephanie M.

2013-01-01

Recent recommendations for biology education highlight the role of authentic research experiences early in undergraduate education as a means of increasing the number and quality of biology majors. These experiences will inform students on the nature of science, increase their confidence in doing science, as well as foster critical thinking skills, an area that has been lacking despite it being one of the desired outcomes at undergraduate institutions and with future employers. With these things in mind, we have developed an introductory biology laboratory course where students design and execute an authentic microbiology research project. Students in this course are assimilated into the community of researchers by engaging in scholarly activities such as participating in inquiry, reading scientific literature, and communicating findings in written and oral formats. After three iterations of a semester-long laboratory course, we found that students who took the course showed a significant increase in their understanding of the nature of authentic research and their level of critical thinking skills. PMID:23858351

General and professional values of student nurses and nurse educators.

PubMed

Riklikiene, Olga; Karosas, Laima; Kaseliene, Snieguole

2018-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore and compare the self-reported general and professional values in undergraduate student nurses and nurse educators in Lithuania. Contemporary nursing requires strong moral motivation and clear values as nurses confront many ethical dilemas in their practice. Students acquire essential values of the nursing profession through the appropriate role modelling of their educators. Nursing students seek to become capable in providing ethical and professional patient care while their educators attempt to model desired behaviours. A national cross-sectional comparative study was carried out in March 2011. Four-hundred eight respondents participated: 316 undergraduate nursing students and 92 nurse educators. A 57-item questionnaire was delivered to nursing programs at three universities and six colleges. Permission to conduct the study was granted by The Center on Bioethics. Student nurses and their educators rated the general value of altruism equally. Educators, in comparison with students, ranked honesty and intellectualism significantly higher and more often admired truth-telling in any circumstance. Students were more likely to avoid intellectual challenges in reading and placed lower importance on academic qualifications for career advancement. The professional nursing values of honesty, intellectualism and authority were ranked significantly higher by nurse educators than student nurses. The study revealed differences in self-reported general and professional values in undergraduate student nurses and nurse educators. The values of nurse educators were not always stronger than those of students. Positive relationships between particular general and professional values in both students and educators confirmed the link between professional and personal values. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using Primary Literature for Teaching Undergraduate Planetary Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levine, J.

2013-05-01

Articles from the primary scientific literature can be a valuable teaching tool in undergraduate classrooms. At Colgate University, I emphasize selected research articles in an upper-level undergraduate course in planetary sciences. In addition to their value for conveying specific scientific content, I find that they also impart larger lessons which are especially apt in planetary sciences and allied fields. First, because of the interdisciplinary nature of planetary sciences, students discover that contributions to outstanding problems may arrive from unexpected directions, so they need to be aware of the multi-faceted nature of scientific problems. For instance, after millennia of astrometric attempts, the scale of the Solar System was determined with extraordinary precision with emerging radar technology in the 1960's. Second, students learn the importance of careful work, with due attention to detail. After all, the timescales of planetary formation are encoded in systematic isotopic variations of a few parts in 10,000; in students' own experiences with laboratory data they might well overlook such a small effect. Third, students identify the often-tortuous connections between measured and inferred quantities, which corrects a common student misconception that all quantities of interest (e.g., the age of a meteorite) can be measured directly. Fourth, research articles provide opportunities for students to practice the interpretation of graphical data, since figures often represent a large volume of data in succinct form. Fifth, and perhaps of greatest importance, by considering the uncertainties inherent in reported data, students come to recognize the limits of scientific understanding, the extent to which scientific conclusions are justified (or not), and the lengths to which working scientists go to mitigate their uncertainties. These larger lessons are best mediated by students' own encounters with the articles they read, but require instructors to make careful choices of articles. Although research articles from any field can be challenging for students because they are usually written for a specialist audience, planetary science literature is especially difficult because students seldom have background in all of the disciplines represented in the field. An additional pedagogical challenge is demonstrating to the students the transferability of the skills they are learning from reading and analyzing the articles. My presentation will include examples of how I use research articles in class, homework assignments I have crafted to reinforce the five points above, and indicators of student achievement.

A Vocabulary Learning Tool for L2 Undergraduates Reading Science and Technology Textbooks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Chihcheng; Yang, Fang-Chuan Ou

2013-05-01

Students of English as a second language who major in science and technology use English-language textbooks to ensure that they can read English materials upon graduation. Research indicates that teachers spend little time helping these students on the linguistic complexity of such textbooks. Vocabulary, grammar, and article structure are elements of this complexity, but to many students, these elements can be akin to locked doors. This study presents MyVLS-Reader, which focuses on unlocking the first of these doors-vocabulary-while assisting in reading. With explicit vocabulary learning, students learn and memorize individual vocabulary, but the context is lost if the depth of learning discards context. In implicit vocabulary learning, students acquire vocabulary through repeated exposure to contexts, but repeated encounters with new words are required. Few e-learning systems combine both vocabulary-learning approaches. MyVLS-Reader achieves such synergy by (1) using a keyword setting to provide context-matched vocabulary explanation while reading and (2) embedding multiple learning choices, such as keyword setting, the review and memorization of explicit vocabulary, and the option to ask instructors. This study includes two rounds of evaluations: (1) an evaluation of the learning achievements of control and treatment groups and (2) a quantitative and qualitative investigation of perceptions regarding the use of MyVLS-Reader. The evaluation results indicate that the treatment group developed a better vocabulary than the control group in significantly less time. The use of MyVLS-Reader also slightly improved higher-order thinking skills. This result suggests that MyVLS-Reader can effective assist students in building their vocabulary while reading.

Assessment of learning styles of undergraduate medical students using the VARK questionnaire and the influence of sex and academic performance.

PubMed

Urval, Rathnakar P; Kamath, Ashwin; Ullal, Sheetal; Shenoy, Ashok K; Shenoy, Nandita; Udupa, Laxminarayana A

2014-09-01

While there are several tools to study learning styles of students, the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire is a simple, freely available, easy to administer tool that encourages students to describe their behavior in a manner they can identify with and accept. The aim is to understand the preferred sensory modality (or modalities) of students for learning. Teachers can use this knowledge to facilitate student learning. Moreover, students themselves can use this knowledge to change their learning habits. Five hundred undergraduate students belonging to two consecutive batches in their second year of undergraduate medical training were invited to participate in the exercise. Consenting students (415 students, 83%) were administered a printed form of version 7.0 of the VARK questionnaire. Besides the questionnaire, we also collected demographic data, academic performance data (marks obtained in 10th and 12th grades and last university examination), and self-perceived learning style preferences. The majority of students in our study had multiple learning preferences (68.7%). The predominant sensory modality of learning was aural (45.5%) and kinesthetic (33.1%). The learning style preference was not influenced by either sex or previous academic performance. Although we use a combination of teaching methods, there has not been an active effort to determine whether these adequately address the different types of learners. We hope these data will help us better our course contents and make learning a more fruitful experience. Copyright © 2014 The American Physiological Society.

A Comparison of a Traditional Lecture-Based and Online Supplemental Video and Lecture-Based Approach in an Engineering Statics Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halupa, Colleen M.; Caldwell, Benjamin W.

2015-01-01

This quasi-experimental research study evaluated two intact undergraduate engineering statics classes at a private university in Texas. Students in the control group received traditional lecture, readings and homework assignments. Those in the experimental group also were given access to a complete set of online video lectures and videos…

The Effects of Imaginal and Verbal Strategies on Prose Comprehension in Adults. Technical Report No. 110.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tirre, William C.; And Others

A study involving 80 undergraduate students was undertaken to test the use of imaginal and verbal strategies to remember and comprehend concrete and abstract prose passages. Sets of three to five words were selected from each passage. After reading a passage, the subjects were instructed to process the words either verbally or imaginally by…

Effects of Diagnostic Label and Disease Information on Emotions, Beliefs, and Willingness to Help Older Parents with Osteoarthritis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Kali S.; McIlvane, Jessica M.; Haley, William E.

2012-01-01

We studied the impact of the diagnostic label of osteoarthritis and educational information on family members' attributions, perceptions, and willingness to help older parents with pain. Undergraduate students (N = 636) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions where they read vignettes about an older mother with chronic pain, which varied…

The Use of Formative Online Quizzes to Enhance Class Preparation and Scores on Summative Exams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dobson, John L.

2008-01-01

Online quizzes were introduced into an undergraduate Exercise Physiology course to encourage students to read ahead and think critically about the course material before coming to class. The purpose of the study was to determine if the use of the online quizzes was associated with improvements in summative exam scores and if the online quizzes…

Communication skills course in an Indian undergraduate dental curriculum: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Sangappa, Sunila B; Tekian, Ara

2013-08-01

This study assessed the impact of a course on communication skills for third-year undergraduate dental students at a dental institute in India. A randomized pretest, posttest controlled trial was conducted with all the students from four cohorts of third-year dental undergraduate students, divided into an intervention group (n=30) and a control group (n=30). The course was developed using Kern's six-step approach to curriculum development. Needs assessment was ascertained, and readings, lectures, and role-plays with real and simulated patients were implemented. Encounters of students during two patient interviews (simulated and real) were rated by two raters using a twenty-seven-item dental consultation communication checklist with a rating scale 0 to 3. Students completed a questionnaire regarding their acceptance of the course. A 2×2 (group × time) ANOVA with group as a between-subjects factor (control vs. experimental) and time as a within-subjects factor (pre vs. post) was performed. The two groups did not differ at pretest but differed significantly at posttest. This study showed that simply attending to patients during a clinical course did not improve professional communication skills. In contrast, the implementation of a course on communication skills did improve the students' dentist-patient interactions. Integrating the teaching and development of a relevant, outcome-based course on communication skills provided clear evidence of communication skills acquisition among these dental students. The course could be introduced in other Indian dental schools.

Earth System Science Online: An Innovative Course for Non-traditional Students, Offered by Hampton University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, D. Q.; Kozusko, F.; Maggi, B. H.

2003-12-01

Hampton University (HU), a historically black university, is currently offering an innovative online course, Earth System Science Online, for teachers, future teachers, non-science undergraduate majors, and mature non-traditional students continuing their education. Supported by NASA and offered by the Interdisciplinary Science Center at HU, this course targets students interested in an asynchronous web-based learning environment. Often these students are working adults, such as those in the HU religious studies program, or undergraduate athletes who need the flexibility of taking their courses online in the evenings. Participants of this course earn three hours of science credit either graduate or undergraduate through their online explorations of the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The incorporation of specific problem-based case studies, allows students to investigate weather phenomena, deforestation, and the various instruments and satellite data systems that are used to collect and analyze this data. This web-based course utilizes the unique capabilities of the web allowing students to work at a self-regulated pace and at times most convenient to their schedules. The course delivers all lectures, text readings, and course assignments online. Assignments are given on a weekly basis, and participants are expected to conduct independent research that will enrich their online experience. The nature of the web allows the students to easily integrate text and graphics into their assignments and have access to their classmate's work. Participants meet online weekly and interact as a team.

The Influence of Learning Style on English Learning Achievement Among Undergraduates in Mainland China.

PubMed

Huang, Fang; Hoi, Cathy Ka Weng; Teo, Timothy

2018-03-26

Learning style is one of the main factors that determines how students learn English and has a significant influence on students' learning strategy selection, which further affects their learning outcomes (Ehrman and Oxford in Mod Lang J 74(3):311-327, 1990; Oxford in Language learning styles and strategies: an overview, 2003. http://web.ntpu.edu.tw/~language/workshop/read2.pdf ). This study examines the learning style preferences of Chinese university students and whether those preferences influence their English achievements. Four hundred undergraduates from one university in eastern mainland China participated in this study. Data from 329 valid questionnaires were analysed. The results revealed that the Chinese university students preferred the visual learning style the most, followed by the auditory and kinaesthetic styles. However, no learning style preference was found to influence the students' English proficiency. Cultural reasons are discussed to explain the findings, which contradict those of previous studies of learning style theories and practices. This study recommends that Chinese scholars consider issues of English teaching and learning in China and to adopt appropriate teaching methods to effectively improve English teaching.

Environmental Change Science Literacy Through Writing: Successes in an Undergraduate Writing and Composition Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Small, J. D.

2007-12-01

Basic science literacy, especially with regards to environmental change science, is often lacking in traditional K- 12 and undergraduate education. This generally leads to broad misconceptions based on distorted presentations of science in the media. Current educational research suggests that the teaching and learning of science can happen in many ways, whether it is through lectures, labs, research, inquiry or informal learning activities. This study was motivated by the desire to investigate the ability to teach environmental change science content in the non-traditional mode of an undergraduate composition and writing course. This technique offers educators another option for the integration of climate and environmental change material into their curriculum. The study incorporates the assessment and evaluation of student writing, in-class participation and student self- evaluations from "Writing about Change: Global Environmental Change and Society" a writing course that fulfils a requirement to graduate from the University of California - Santa Cruz. The course was taught Winter Quarter 2007 with a total of 28 days of instruction and the participation of 20 undergraduate students. The overarching goals of this study can be broadly classified as attitudinal, skills development and content retention. This study was designed to address three broad questions related to the above broad goals: i) Did students leave the class more comfortable and confident with environmental change issues and content? ii) Did students develop skills that are useful for reading and writing about scientific material? iii) What did students learn (retain): more general concepts or specific facts regarding climate and environmental change? Preliminary analysis and coding of student work clearly show that students were successful in developing skills for understanding and utilizing scientific information via writing and making thoughtful judgments regarding the reliability of environmental change science in various media. More detailed analysis of student work and responses are necessary in order to fully evaluate the depth and breadth of student understanding and retention of scientific content and concepts.

Undergraduate Consent Form Reading in Relation to Conscientiousness, Procrastination, and the Point-of-Time Effect.

PubMed

Theiss, Justin D; Hobbs, William B; Giordano, Peter J; Brunson, Olivia M

2014-07-01

Informed consent is central to conducting ethical research with human participants. The present study investigated differences in consent form reading in relation to conscientiousness, procrastination, and the point-of-time (PT) effect among undergraduate participants at a U.S. university. As hypothesized, conscientious participants and those who signed up to participate in a research study more days in advance and for earlier sessions (PT effect) read the consent form more thoroughly. However, procrastination was not related to consent form reading. Most importantly, consent form reading in general was poor, with 80% of participants demonstrating that they had not read the consent form. Conscientious participants were more likely to self-report reading the consent form, irrespective of their measured consent form reading. The article closes with suggestions to improve the process of obtaining informed consent with undergraduate participants. © The Author(s) 2014.

Need assessment of enhancing the weightage of applied biochemistry in the undergraduate curriculum at MGIMS, sevagram.

PubMed

Kumar, Satish; Jena, Lingaraja; Vagha, Jayant

2016-05-06

In order to review the need assessment of enhancing the weightage of Applied Biochemistry in the undergraduate curriculum at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), Sevagram, a validated questionnaire was sent to 453 participants which include 387 undergraduate students, 11 interns, 23 postgraduate students, and 32 faculty members. A web-based data collection and analysis tool was designed for online questionnaire distribution, data collection, and analysis. Response rate was 100%. Most of the respondents agreed that the subject Biochemistry has relevance in clinical practice (81.24%) and applied based learning of Biochemistry by medical undergraduates would help in overall improvement in the health standards/patients care (83.44%). According to 65.12% respondents, most of the medical undergraduates read Biochemistry just for examination purpose only. Nearly half of the respondents agreed that minute details of biochemical reactions were not much useful in clinical practice (53.86%) and the vast majority of diagrammatic cycles memorized by the medical undergraduates had no relevance in clinical practice (51.21%), the decreased interest in learning the Applied Biochemistry was due to more amount of clinically irrelevant information taught to medical undergraduates (73.51%), there was a need to rethink for removing the diagrammatic biochemical cycles from curriculum for medical undergraduates (48.12%), the less learning of Applied Biochemistry or competencies would affect the clinical skills and knowledge of medical undergraduates (70.42%). The result of this study suggests that there is need for restructuring the Biochemistry curriculum with more clinical relevance. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44:230-240, 2016. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Using the American Board of Internal Medicine's "Elements of Professionalism" for undergraduate ethics education.

PubMed

Robins, Lynne S; Braddock, Clarence H; Fryer-Edwards, Kelly A

2002-06-01

To examine the feasibility of using the taxonomy of professional and unprofessional behaviors presented in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM's) Project Professionalism to categorize ethical issues that undergraduate medical students perceive to be salient. Beginning second-year medical students at the University of Washington School of Medicine (n = 120) were asked to respond to three open-ended questions about professional standards of conduct and peer evaluation. Two of the authors read and coded the students' responses according to the ABIM's elements of professionalism (altruism, accountability, excellence, duty, honor and integrity, and respect for others) and the challenges to those elements (abuse of power, arrogance, greed, misrepresentation, impairment, lack of conscientiousness, and conflict of interest). Coding disagreements were solved using review and revision of the category definitions. New categories were created for students' responses that described behaviors or issues that were not captured in the ABIM's categories. A total of 114 students responded. The ABIM's professional code was adapted for students and teachers, making it context- and learning-stage-specific. One new category of challenges, conflicts of conscience, was added, and one category (abuse of power) was expanded to include abuse of power/negotiating power asymmetries. Using the ABIM's taxonomy to name professional and unprofessional behaviors was particularly useful for examining undergraduate medical students' perceptions of the ethical climate for learning during the first year of medical school, and it holds promise for research into changes in students' perceptions as they move into clinical experiences. Using the framework, students can build a unified professional knowledge-and-skills base.

A North American perspective of content and quality of websites in the English language on childhood-onset lupus erythematosus.

PubMed

Cutler, C; Peng, T; Stinson, J; Tucker, L; Boneparth, A; Klein Gitelman, M; Moorthy, L Nandini

2018-04-01

Objective The objective of this article is to examine the quality, content, and readability of information and resources in the English language and accessible on the internet by pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their families in North America. Methods Keywords relevant to SLE were generated by an undergraduate student, a first-year medical student, and a third-year pediatric resident, and a search was conducted across five commonly used search engines. Quality of information found was evaluated independently by an undergraduate student, a graduate student, a first-year medical student, and a third-year pediatric resident using the DISCERN tool. Two pediatric rheumatologists assessed website accuracy and completeness. Readability of websites was determined using the Flesch-Kincaid grade level and Reading Ease score. Results Out of 2000 websites generated in the search, only 34 unique websites met inclusion criteria. Only 16 of these websites had DISCERN scores above 50% (fair quality). Overall quality of website information was fair with mean ±standard deviation (SD) DISCERN quality score of 44 ± 7 (range: 30-56). Only nine websites of 34 had DISCERN scores above 50 (>66%, indicating greater quality) and were further assessed for completeness. Flesch-Kincaid grade level was 11 ± 1 (mean±SD) and reading ease score was 39 ± 10 (mean±SD, range of 11-61). Conclusion Our study highlights the need for more complete, readable information regarding the unique needs of pediatric patients with childhood-onset SLE and their families.

Challenges in Translation: Lessons from Using Business Pedagogy to Teach Leadership in Undergraduate Medicine.

PubMed

Cadieux, Dani C; Lingard, Lorelei; Kwiatkowski, Daniela; Van Deven, Teresa; Bryant, Murray; Tithecott, Gary

2017-01-01

Leadership is increasingly recognized as a core physician competency required for quality patient care, continual system improvement, and optimal healthcare team performance. Consequently, integration of leadership into medical school curriculum is becoming a priority. This raises the question of the appropriate context, timing, and pedagogy for conveying this competency to medical students. Our program introduced a 1-week leadership course grounded in business pedagogy to Year 1 medical students. The curriculum centred on four themes: (a) Understanding Change, (b) Effective Teamwork, (c) Leading in Patient Safety, and (d) Leadership in Action. Post-curriculum qualitative student feedback was analyzed for insight into student satisfaction and attitude towards the leadership course content. The Undergraduate Medical Education program of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, is delivered over 4 years across 2 campuses in London and Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Course structure moved from traditional passive lectures to established business pedagogy, which involves active engagement in modules, case-based discussions, insights from guest speakers, and personal reflection. A student-led survey evaluated student opinion regarding the leadership course content. Students valued career development reading materials and insights from guest speakers working in healthcare teams. Students did not relate to messages from speakers in senior healthcare leadership positions. Course scheduling late in the second semester was viewed negatively. Overall student opinion suggested that the 1-week course was suboptimal for establishing leadership principles and translated business pedagogy was ineffective in this context. Leadership curriculum in Undergraduate Medical Education should be grounded in a healthcare context relevant to the student's stage of training. Student engagement may be better supported if leadership is framed as a competency throughout their career. Schools considering such innovations could draw lessons from other professional schools and utilize material and faculty that resonate with students.

Biochemistry in an undergraduate writing-intensive first-year program: Seminar courses in drugs and bioethics.

PubMed

Mills, Kenneth V

2015-01-01

The College of the Holy Cross offers a universal first-year program called Montserrat, in which first-year students participate in a living-learning experience anchored by a yearlong seminar course. The seminar courses are part of a thematic cluster of four to eight courses; students in the cluster live together in a common dormitory and participate in shared co-curricular events designed to engage the entire cluster in intellectual discourse related to the theme. A two-semester seminar within the "Natural World" cluster was offered using biochemical principles as the underlying content. In the first semester, students were introduced to drug design, activity and abuse via student presentations and guided readings on ethnobotany, drug laws, drug use in religion, and prescription drug costs. In the second semester, students discussed primary readings in ethics followed by case study analyses of assisted reproduction technologies, informed consent, genetic privacy, performance enhancing drugs and genetically modified organisms. Student learning outcomes were evaluated via rubrics and a College-facilitated survey. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Impact of a Graduate Entry Programme on a medical school library service.

PubMed

Martin, Sam

2003-03-01

The aim of this study was to compare the use of library facilities by first year undergraduate medical students and Graduate Entry Programme students (GEP). More specifically it tried to determine which library services (if any) were more frequently used by GEP so that this could be taken into account in future Information Services planning. A questionnaire on the use of Library and Information Services was posted to all first year GEP students and undergraduates on the 5-year course. In addition, user statistics of library entry and borrowing were collated from gate readings and the library Unicorn management system. Overall, GEP students were found to make a greater daily/weekly use of library facilities than undergraduates on the 5-year course. The facilities most used by both sets of students were essential texts, e-mail, PCs and study facilities. Computer Aided Learning packages, journals and video facilities were least used. However, on a daily/weekly basis GEP students made 74% more use of journals (P < 0.01), 59% more use of e-journals (P < 0.05), 36% more use photocopiers (P < 0.05), 42% more use of printers (P < 0.05), 56% more use of the library catalogue (P < 0.05) and 50% more use of databases (P < 0.05). This difference in use should be taken into account by LIS providers as there is expected to be an increase in fast-track graduate courses offered by medical schools throughout the UK.

The attitudes of the undergraduate nursing students towards lesbian women and gay men.

PubMed

Unlu, Hayriye; Beduk, Tülin; Duyan, Veli

2016-12-01

This study was conducted to determine the attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards lesbian women and gay men. Nursing education in Turkey is conducted holistically; in other words, it is an integration of the physical, spiritual, mental and social realms. Students are therefore expected to not express any discrimination due to factors such as religion, language, race and gender. However, some serious problems still exist in terms of the practical applications of that philosophy. This study was descriptive. This study included 964 students. The Attitudes towards Lesbian Women and Gay Men scale and a questionnaire were used to learn about the attitudes of undergraduate nursing students regarding gay men and lesbian women. Results of this study have indicated that the attitudes of religiously educated and/or conservative students towards lesbian women and gay men were negative. Female students from families with high incomes and highly educated families attended social activities and read more than other female students. The students with free life choice options expressed very positive attitudes towards gay men. The nursing education curriculum should cover information about patients with diverse sexual orientations and their absolute rights for equally optimal healthcare. Strategies to discourage traditional gender role stereotypes and educational and media experiences for better acceptance of sexual minorities need to be developed by educational policy makers. Antidiscrimination policies protecting lesbian women and gay men should be developed by the legislative authorities and then taught to students during their nursing education. Getting familiar with diverse sexual orientations might create awareness among nursing students and reduce their attitudinal and behavioural prejudices and biases. To provide equal healthcare services for all patients, nurses must have accurate information about lesbian women, gay men and modify their attitude and behaviour accordingly. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mapping Ecology of Literacies in Educational Setting: The Case of Local Mother Tongues Vis-a-Vis Urdu and English Languages in Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manan, Syed Abdul; David, Maya Khemlani

2014-01-01

This study critically examines the literacy levels of undergraduate students in Pakistan to compare and contrast the proficiency levels, particularly reading and writing of their mother tongues versus Urdu and English, and to study real and perceived vitality of local/regional mother tongues vis-à-vis Urdu and English. The research investigated…

Reading Subtitles and Taking Enotes While Learning Scientific Materials in a Multimedia Environment: Cognitive Load Perspectives on EFL Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, John J. H.; Lee, Yuan-Husan; Wang, Dai-Yi; Lin, Sunny S. J.

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the effects of providing subtitles and taking enotes on cognitive load and performance. A total of 73 English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) undergraduates learned brain anatomy and cognitive functions through multimedia programs. We used a 2 (subtitle/no) x 2 (taking enotes/no) factorial design to test the following:…

Didn't You Run the Spell Checker? Effects of Type of Spelling Error and Use of a Spell Checker on Perceptions of the Author

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Figueredo, Lauren; Varnhagen, Connie K.

2005-01-01

We investigated expectations regarding a writer's responsibility to proofread text for spelling errors when using a word processor. Undergraduate students read an essay and completed a questionnaire regarding their perceptions of the author and the quality of the essay. They then manipulated type of spelling error (no error, homophone error,…

Canadian Mock Juror Attitudes and Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases Involving Asian and White Interracial and Intraracial Couples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maeder, Evelyn M.; Mossiere, Annik; Cheung, Liann

2013-01-01

This study manipulated the race of the defendant and the victim (White/White, White/Asian, Asian/Asian, and Asian/White) in a domestic violence case to examine the potential prejudicial impact of race on juror decision making. A total of 181undergraduate students read a trial transcript involving an allegation of spousal abuse in which defendant…

Fostering the Development of Critical Thinking Skills, and Reading Comprehension of Undergraduates Using a Web 2.0 Tool Coupled with a Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mendenhall, Anne; Johnson, Tristan E.

2010-01-01

A social annotation model learning system (SAM-LS) was created using multiple instructional strategies thereby supporting the student in improving in critical thinking, critical writing and related literacy. There are four mechanisms in which the SAM-LS methodology is believed to improve learning and performance. These mechanisms include providing…

Career Alternatives for English and Social Science Majors: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. Occasional Paper Number 77-3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagnall, Robert D.

This handbook is designed to help undergraduates in English and social sciences discover possible jobs and career alternatives available to them in the currently limited job market. Entering freshmen, as well as students who have declared majors, are encouraged to read the handbook in order to decide if they want to pursue academic study in the…

What We Talk around when We Talk about "The Dick"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savage, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Some years ago, the author had her first opportunity to teach an undergraduate American Romanticism course, which meant she had a chance to teach "Moby-Dick" the way she thought it should be taught. Meeting two days a week, her course was set up so that students read about thirty pages of "Moby-Dick" for one class meeting a week paired with…

Using support vector machines to identify literacy skills: Evidence from eye movements.

PubMed

Lou, Ya; Liu, Yanping; Kaakinen, Johanna K; Li, Xingshan

2017-06-01

Is inferring readers' literacy skills possible by analyzing their eye movements during text reading? This study used Support Vector Machines (SVM) to analyze eye movement data from 61 undergraduate students who read a multiple-paragraph, multiple-topic expository text. Forward fixation time, first-pass rereading time, second-pass fixation time, and regression path reading time on different regions of the text were provided as features. The SVM classification algorithm assisted in distinguishing high-literacy-skilled readers from low-literacy-skilled readers with 80.3 % accuracy. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of combining eye tracking and machine learning techniques to detect readers with low literacy skills, and suggest that such approaches can be potentially used in predicting other cognitive abilities.

Teaching Map Concepts in Social Science Education; an Evaluation with Undergraduate Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bugdayci, Ilkay; Zahit Selvi, H.

2017-12-01

One of the most important aim of the geography and social science courses is to gain the ability of reading, analysing and understanding maps. There are a lot of themes related with maps and map concepts in social studies education. Geographical location is one of the most important theme. Geographical location is specified by geographical coordinates called latitude and longitude. The geographical coordinate system is the primary spatial reference system of the earth. It is always used in cartography, in geography, in basic location calculations such as navigation and surveying. It’s important to support teacher candidates, to teach maps and related concepts. Cartographers also have important missions and responsibilities in this context. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the knowledge of undergraduate students, about the geographical location. For this purpose, a research has been carried out on questions and activities related to geographical location and related concepts. The details and results of the research conducted by the students in the study are explained.

Using Literature Study Groups to Construct Meaning in an Undergraduate Reading Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Sherron Killingsworth

1998-01-01

Examines the effectiveness of adding a literature-study-group component to an undergraduate reading diagnosis and remediation course for preservice teachers. Group members read nonfiction works related to literacy, periodically meet to discuss the book and their responses, and share with their classmates. The paper explains how to conduct such…

The effects of an intervention to increase liberal arts mathematics and science majors' knowledge of and attitudinal favorability toward the teaching profession

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klemballa, Carolyn

In light of the persistent shortage of qualified mathematics and science teachers and the new teacher qualification provisions of the recently passed No Child Left Behind Act, This study tested the impact of an educational intervention designed to enhance interest in public school teaching careers among undergraduate students who were declared/intended majors in mathematics and/or natural science. Besides salary, research reveals content fear as the biggest roadblock to attracting mathematics and science teachers. Because of this, liberal arts majors in mathematics and science are a target pool of individuals to recruit into teaching. The researcher hypothesized that knowledge and attitudinal favorability would both increase after an intervention about teaching careers and that an increase in one variable would be associated with the other. Also, knowledge and attitudinal favorability would have a greater increase after a more intensive intervention than a less intensive intervention or no intervention. The researcher also hypothesized that if undergraduates were less decided in their career, lower classmen, and female, their attitudes toward the teaching profession would increase the most. One hundred eighty-nine college students, 73 males and 116 females, including 85 freshmen, 67 sophomores, 18 juniors and 19 seniors, at University A and University B were randomly assigned to a workshop, reading, or control group. The workshop group attended a workshop about the teaching profession. The reading group read articles with the same information presented in the workshop. The control group read unrelated articles. The findings from this study indicate that an intervention about teaching does significantly increase both knowledge and attitudinal favorability toward teaching (p < .01). A low significant correlation was found between knowledge and attitudinal favorability (p < .05). Findings also suggested that a more intensive intervention yields a higher increase in both knowledge and attitudinal favorability than a less intensive intervention (p < .01). Lastly, the level of career indecision, undergraduate class, and gender did not have a significant relationship with attitudinal favorability towards teaching. Based on these findings, the researcher made recommendations for future research and policy, in particular urging more communication between schools of education and liberal arts.

Encouraging the learning of hydraulic engineering subjects in agricultural engineering schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez Sinobas, Leonor; Sánchez Calvo, Raúl

2014-09-01

Several methodological approaches to improve the understanding and motivation of students in Hydraulic Engineering courses have been adopted in the Agricultural Engineering School at Technical University of Madrid. During three years student's progress and satisfaction have been assessed by continuous monitoring and the use of 'online' and web tools in two undergraduate courses. Results from their application to encourage learning and communication skills in Hydraulic Engineering subjects are analysed and compared to the initial situation. Student's academic performance has improved since their application, but surveys made among students showed that not all the methodological proposals were perceived as beneficial. Their participation in the 'online', classroom and reading activities was low although they were well assessed.

Undergraduates talk about their choice to study physics at university: what was key to their participation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodd, Melissa; Reiss, Michael; Mujtaba, Tamjid

2013-07-01

Background . The research on which this article is based was commissioned because of concerns about perceived shortages of willing and able young people choosing to study physics at university. Purpose This article reports on first year physics undergraduates' narratives of why they are studying physics and uses these narratives to identify reasons for their choice. Design and method Narrative-style interviewing with a purposive sample of first year undergraduates yielded data that revealed complexities around decision making, including choice of university course. Analysis of the texts was informed by psychoanalytical notions rooted in the work of Sigmund Freud. These psychoanalytical notions were used both in generating the interview data - the undergraduate volunteer interviewees were conceptualised as 'defended subjects' - and in analysing these interviews in order to conjecture how unconscious forces might figure in young people's decision making. Results After analysing the interviews with physics undergraduates, with respect to the question 'why are they reading physics?', the claim is that identification with a key adult is an important element in an individual's participation. On the other hand, we discerned no evidence that experience of the sorts of innovation typically designed to increase physics uptake - for example 'fun projects' or competitions - had been key with respect to a desire to read physics. Conclusion Attempts to recruit more students to university to study physics should note that a young person who identifies with a significant adult associated with physics, typically a teacher or family member, is in a good position to believe that physics is a subject that is worth studying.

Involving postgraduate's students in undergraduate small group teaching promotes active learning in both

PubMed Central

Kalra, Ruchi; Modi, Jyoti Nath; Vyas, Rashmi

2015-01-01

Background: Lecture is a common traditional method for teaching, but it may not stimulate higher order thinking and students may also be hesitant to express and interact. The postgraduate (PG) students are less involved with undergraduate (UG) teaching. Team based small group active learning method can contribute to better learning experience. Aim: To-promote active learning skills among the UG students using small group teaching methods involving PG students as facilitators to impart hands-on supervised training in teaching and managerial skills. Methodology: After Institutional approval under faculty supervision 92 UGs and 8 PGs participated in 6 small group sessions utilizing the jigsaw technique. Feedback was collected from both. Observations: Undergraduate Feedback (Percentage of Students Agreed): Learning in small groups was a good experience as it helped in better understanding of the subject (72%), students explored multiple reading resources (79%), they were actively involved in self-learning (88%), students reported initial apprehension of performance (71%), identified their learning gaps (86%), team enhanced their learning process (71%), informal learning in place of lecture was a welcome change (86%), it improved their communication skills (82%), small group learning can be useful for future self-learning (75%). Postgraduate Feedback: Majority performed facilitation for first time, perceived their performance as good (75%), it was helpful in self-learning (100%), felt confident of managing students in small groups (100%), as facilitator they improved their teaching skills, found it more useful and better identified own learning gaps (87.5%). Conclusions: Learning in small groups adopting team based approach involving both UGs and PGs promoted active learning in both and enhanced the teaching skills of the PGs. PMID:26380201

Communication, Ethics and Values: The Effect of Attitude toward Capital Punishment on the Evaluation of Evidence and the Determination of Guilt.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, K. Phillip; Buchanan, Raymond W.

A study examined the effect of attitude toward capital punishment on the evaluation of evidence and the determination of guilt. Subjects were 224 undergraduate students who read a description of a murder. They then received two, four, or six items of evidence relevant to the defendant's guilt. Subjects were asked to determine a verdict and…

Flipped classroom instructional approach in undergraduate medical education

PubMed Central

Fatima, Syeda Sadia; Arain, Fazal Manzoor; Enam, Syed Ather

2017-01-01

Objective: In this study we implemented the “flipped classroom” model to enhance active learning in medical students taking neurosciences module at Aga Khan University, Karachi. Methods: Ninety eight undergraduate medical students participated in this study. The study was conducted from January till March 2017. Study material was provided to students in form of video lecture and reading material for the non-face to face sitting, while face to face time was spent on activities such as case solving, group discussions, and quizzes to consolidate learning under the supervision of faculty. To ensure deeper learning, we used pre- and post-class quizzes, work sheets and blog posts for each session. Student feedback was recorded via a likert scale survey. Results: Eighty four percent students gave positive responses towards utility of flipped classroom in terms of being highly interactive, thought provoking and activity lead learning. Seventy five percent of the class completed the pre-session preparation. Students reported that their queries and misconceptions were cleared in a much better way in the face-to-face session as compared to the traditional setting (4.09 ±1.04). Conclusion: Flipped classroom(FCR) teaching and learning pedagogy is an effective way of enhancing student engagement and active learning. Thus, this pedagogy can be used as an effective tool in medical schools. PMID:29492071

Flipped classroom instructional approach in undergraduate medical education.

PubMed

Fatima, Syeda Sadia; Arain, Fazal Manzoor; Enam, Syed Ather

2017-01-01

In this study we implemented the "flipped classroom" model to enhance active learning in medical students taking neurosciences module at Aga Khan University, Karachi. Ninety eight undergraduate medical students participated in this study. The study was conducted from January till March 2017. Study material was provided to students in form of video lecture and reading material for the non-face to face sitting, while face to face time was spent on activities such as case solving, group discussions, and quizzes to consolidate learning under the supervision of faculty. To ensure deeper learning, we used pre- and post-class quizzes, work sheets and blog posts for each session. Student feedback was recorded via a likert scale survey. Eighty four percent students gave positive responses towards utility of flipped classroom in terms of being highly interactive, thought provoking and activity lead learning. Seventy five percent of the class completed the pre-session preparation. Students reported that their queries and misconceptions were cleared in a much better way in the face-to-face session as compared to the traditional setting (4.09 ±1.04). Flipped classroom(FCR) teaching and learning pedagogy is an effective way of enhancing student engagement and active learning. Thus, this pedagogy can be used as an effective tool in medical schools.

Does mood influence text processing and comprehension? Evidence from an eye-movement study.

PubMed

Scrimin, Sara; Mason, Lucia

2015-09-01

Previous research has indicated that mood influences cognitive processes. However, there is scarce data regarding the link between everyday emotional states and readers' text processing and comprehension. We aim to extend current research on the effects of mood induction on science text processing and comprehension, using eye-tracking methodology. We investigated whether a positive-, negative-, and neutral-induced mood influences online processing, as revealed by indices of visual behaviour during reading, and offline text comprehension, as revealed by post-test questions. We were also interested in the link between text processing and comprehension. Seventy-eight undergraduate students randomly assigned to three mood-induction conditions. Students were mood-induced by watching a video clip. They were then asked to read a scientific text while eye movements were registered. Pre- and post-reading knowledge was assessed through open-ended questions. Experimentally induced moods lead readers to process an expository text differently. Overall, students in a positive mood spent significantly longer on the text processing than students in the negative and neutral moods. Eye-movement patterns indicated more effective processing related to longer proportion of look-back fixation times in positive-induced compared with negative-induced readers. Students in a positive mood also comprehended the text better, learning more factual knowledge, compared with students in the negative group. Only for the positive-induced readers did the more purposeful second-pass reading positively predict text comprehension. New insights are given on the effects of normal mood variations and students' text processing and comprehension by the use of eye-tracking methodology. Important implications for the role of emotional states in educational settings are highlighted. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Prevalence and Persistence of Misconceptions in Tree Thinking.

PubMed

Kummer, Tyler A; Whipple, Clinton J; Jensen, Jamie L

2016-12-01

Darwin described evolution as "descent with modification." Descent, however, is not an explicit focus of most evolution instruction and often leaves deeply held misconceptions to dominate student understanding of common ancestry and species relatedness. Evolutionary trees are ways of visually depicting descent by illustrating the relationships between species and groups of species. The ability to properly interpret and use evolutionary trees has become known as "tree thinking." We used a 20-question assessment to measure misconceptions in tree thinking and compare the proportion of students who hold these misconceptions in an introductory biology course with students in two higher-level courses including a senior level biology course. We found that misconceptions related to reading the graphic ( reading the tips and node counting ) were variably influenced across time with reading the tips decreasing and node counting increasing in prevalence. On the other hand, misconceptions related to the fundamental underpinnings of evolutionary theory ( ladder thinking and similarity equals relatedness ) proved resistant to change during a typical undergraduate study of biology. A possible new misconception relating to the length of the branches in an evolutionary tree is described. Understanding the prevalence and persistence of misconceptions informs educators as to which misconceptions should be targeted in their courses.

Delivery style moderates study habits in an online nutrition class.

PubMed

Connors, Priscilla

2013-03-01

To report how the design of an online class affected student ability to stay on task, find critical resources, and communicate with the instructor via e-mail. Audiorecorded focus group meetings at a United States university featured a structured approach to discussions among undergraduate students enrolled in an Internet nutrition class. Meeting transcripts were read and reread by a trained investigator, who coded concepts until themes coalesced, which were authenticated by college students taking online classes. Three themes emerged that described factors moderating study habits in an Internet nutrition course: keeping up, e-mail fatigue, and wayfinding. A well-designed online course plans for productive study habits by posting a schedule of events and maintaining a predictable pattern, supporting navigation that stimulates exploration and return visits to critical information, and constructing e-mail messages that convey a concise message and maximize "open and read." Copyright © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

“A memorable consultation”: Writing reflective accounts articulates students’ learning in general practice

PubMed Central

Svenberg, Kristian; Wahlqvist, Mats; Mattsson, Bengt

2007-01-01

Objectives To explore and analyse students’ learning experiences of a memorable consultation during a final-year attachment in general practice. Setting After a two-week primary care attachment in the undergraduate curriculum, students were invited to write a reflective account of a memorable consultation. Design A total of 52 reflective accounts were read and processed according to qualitative content analysis. Credibility of the analysis was validated by two co-authors reading the descriptions separately and trustworthiness was tested at local seminars. Results Three main themes emerged. In “The person beyond symptoms” the students recognize the individual properties of a consultation. “Facing complexity” mirrors awareness of changing tracks in problem-solving and strategies of handling unclear conditions. “In search of a professional role” reflects the interest in role modelling and the relation to the supervisor. Conclusion Involving students in writing reflective accounts appears to stimulate them to articulate practice experiences of the consultation. PMID:17497483

The art of scientific writing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gad-El-Hak, Mohamed

2015-11-01

The humanities teach students how to learn and communicate. Science teaches why everything works. Engineering teaches how to make things work. But scientists and engineers need to communicate their ideas amongst themselves as well as to everyone else. A newly developed technical writing course is outlined. In the class, offered to senior undergraduate and beginning graduate students, we read numerous short novels, essays, and op-eds. Some of the reading materials are technical but many are not. The students also have weekly writing assignments. When the first assignment is returned to the students with a grade of 20-30%, their first reaction is, ``how come I did not receive my usual 80-90%?'' I retort, ``you reach that level only when your essay is ready to be published in The New York Times.'' What is emphasized in the class is the process of creating something to write about, researching that something, expressing ideas coherently and comprehensibly, then endlessly editing the essay. The elective class has been offered three times thus far, all of its available seats are always filled, the students' evaluations have been outstanding, and the improvements in the students' ability to write by the end of the semester is quite impressive.

Linguistic Knowledge Aspects in Academic Reading: Challenges and Deployed Strategies by English-Major Undergraduates at a Jordanian Institution of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albashtawi, Abeer H.; Jaganathan, Paramaswari; Singh, Manjet

2016-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the linguistic knowledge aspect in academic reading, the challenges and the deployed strategies by English major undergraduates at a Jordanian institution of higher education. The importance of the study is attributed to the importance of the academic reading at university which is closely related to the academic…

Undergraduate Research From Start to Finish in a SEA Semester

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavender, K.; Joyce, P.; Graziano, L.; Harris, S.; Jaroslow, G.; Lea, C.; Schell, J.; Witting, J.

2005-12-01

Undergraduates in the 12-week SEA Semester program at the Sea Education Association (SEA) carry out the entire scientific research process, from conception of a testable scientific question to final presentation of results from data they collect on a six-week research cruise. SEA is uniquely positioned to direct undergraduates in oceanography research projects as diverse as the students that propose them, from the curious non-science major to the student wishing to continue their research at their home institution (i.e. for a senior thesis project). Upon arrival at SEA''s campus in Woods Hole, MA, students are challenged to design a research project they will carry out at sea. They are guided by faculty in reading and discussing primary scientific literature, formulating a research question, and describing a specific data collection and analysis plan to be carried out at sea, culminating in a written research proposal that is defended orally. In developing their project students have access not only to the SEA faculty, but also to the many resources of the larger scientific community of Woods Hole. During the six-week sea component students participate in all aspects of data collection, analysis, and interpretation aboard one of SEA's state-of-the-art oceanographic research vessels. Before the end of the program each student presents their final results in both an oral presentation and a written research paper. The SEA Semester model gives students the opportunity to take complete ownership of a research project, and provides access to cutting-edge research capabilities both onshore and at sea. Examples of recent student research projects will be presented. SEA has been simultaneously developing its undergraduate research program and collecting an extensive historical oceanographic database since 1971. Students are encouraged to incorporate these data in long time series analysis projects, and data are also available to outside researchers. Collaborations with research scientists enhance the educational program, and provide opportunities for ship-of-opportunity sampling in remote locations. There are currently more than 7000 alumni of SEA Semester, and SEA alums are associated with all major centers of oceanographic research in the United States.

A course designed for undergraduate biochemistry students to learn about cultural diversity issues.

PubMed

Benore-Parsons, Marilee

2006-09-01

Biology, biochemistry, and other science students are well trained in science and familiar with how to conduct and evaluate scientific experiments. They are less aware of cultural issues or how these will impact their careers in research, education, or as professional health care workers. A course was developed for advanced undergraduate science majors to learn about diversity issues in a context that would be relevant to them, entitled "Diversity Issues in Health Care: Treatment and Research." Learning objectives included: developing awareness of current topics concerning diversity issues in health care; learning how research is carried out in health care, including pharmaceutical research, clinical trials, and social research; and learning about health care practices. Lectures and projects included readings on laboratory and clinical research, as well as literature on legal, race, gender, language, age, and income issues in health care research and clinical practice. Exams, papers, and a service learning project were used to determine the final course grade. Assessment indicated student understanding of diversity issues was improved, and the material was relevant. Copyright © 2006 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

The Importance of Human-Computer Interaction in Radiology E-learning.

PubMed

den Harder, Annemarie M; Frijlingh, Marissa; Ravesloot, Cécile J; Oosterbaan, Anne E; van der Gijp, Anouk

2016-04-01

With the development of cross-sectional imaging techniques and transformation to digital reading of radiological imaging, e-learning might be a promising tool in undergraduate radiology education. In this systematic review of the literature, we evaluate the emergence of image interaction possibilities in radiology e-learning programs and evidence for effects of radiology e-learning on learning outcomes and perspectives of medical students and teachers. A systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, ERIC, and PsycInfo was performed. Articles were screened by two authors and included when they concerned the evaluation of radiological e-learning tools for undergraduate medical students. Nineteen articles were included. Seven studies evaluated e-learning programs with image interaction possibilities. Students perceived e-learning with image interaction possibilities to be a useful addition to learning with hard copy images and to be effective for learning 3D anatomy. Both e-learning programs with and without image interaction possibilities were found to improve radiological knowledge and skills. In general, students found e-learning programs easy to use, rated image quality high, and found the difficulty level of the courses appropriate. Furthermore, they felt that their knowledge and understanding of radiology improved by using e-learning. In conclusion, the addition of radiology e-learning in undergraduate medical education can improve radiological knowledge and image interpretation skills. Differences between the effect of e-learning with and without image interpretation possibilities on learning outcomes are unknown and should be subject to future research.

Dyslexia in higher education: implications for maths anxiety, statistics anxiety and psychological well-being.

PubMed

Jordan, Julie-Ann; McGladdery, Gary; Dyer, Kevin

2014-08-01

This study examined levels of mathematics and statistics anxiety, as well as general mental health amongst undergraduate students with dyslexia (n = 28) and those without dyslexia (n = 71). Students with dyslexia had higher levels of mathematics anxiety relative to those without dyslexia, while statistics anxiety and general mental health were comparable for both reading ability groups. In terms of coping strategies, undergraduates with dyslexia tended to use planning-based strategies and seek instrumental support more frequently than those without dyslexia. Higher mathematics anxiety was associated with having a dyslexia diagnosis, as well as greater levels of worrying, denial, seeking instrumental support and less use of the positive reinterpretation coping strategy. By contrast, statistics anxiety was not predicted by dyslexia diagnosis, but was instead predicted by overall worrying and the use of denial and emotion focused coping strategies. The results suggest that disability practitioners should be aware that university students with dyslexia are at risk of high mathematics anxiety. Additionally, effective anxiety reduction strategies such as positive reframing and thought challenging would form a useful addition to the support package delivered to many students with dyslexia. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Information Literacy in Biology Education: An Example from an Advanced Cell Biology Course

PubMed Central

2005-01-01

Information literacy skills are critically important for the undergraduate biology student. The ability to find, understand, evaluate, and use information, whether from the scientific literature or from Web resources, is essential for a good understanding of a topic and for the conduct of research. A project in which students receive information literacy instruction and then proceed to select, update, and write about a current research topic in an upper-level cell biology course is described. Students research the chosen topic using paper and electronic resources, generate a list of relevant articles, prepare abstracts based on papers read, and, finally, prepare a “state-of-the-art” paper on the topic. This approach, which extends over most of one semester, has resulted in a number of well-researched and well-written papers that incorporate some of the latest research in cell biology. The steps in this project have also led to students who are prepared to address future projects on new and complex topics. The project is part of an undergraduate course in cell biology, but parts of the assignments can be modified to fit a variety of subject areas and levels. PMID:16341261

Perceptions of scientific research literature and strategies for reading papers depend on academic career stage.

PubMed

Hubbard, Katharine E; Dunbar, Sonja D

2017-01-01

Reading primary research literature is an essential skill for all scientists and students on science degree programmes, however little is known about how researchers at different career stages interact with and interpret scientific papers. To explore this, we conducted a survey of 260 undergraduate students and researchers in Biological Sciences at a research intensive UK university. Responses to Likert scale questions demonstrated increases in confidence and skill with reading the literature between individuals at each career stage, including between postdoctoral researchers and faculty academics. The survey indicated that individuals at different career stages valued different sections of scientific papers, and skill in reading the results section develops slowly over the course of an academic career. Inexperienced readers found the methods and results sections of research papers the most difficult to read, and undervalued the importance of the results section and critical interpretation of data. These data highlight a need for structured support with reading scientific literature at multiple career stages, and for senior academics to be aware that junior colleagues may prioritise their reading differently. We propose a model for the development of literature processing skills, and consider the need for training strategies to help inexperienced readers engage with primary literature, and therefore develop important skills that underpin scientific careers. We also encourage researchers to be mindful of language used when writing papers, and to be more inclusive of diverse audiences when disseminating their work.

Perceptions of scientific research literature and strategies for reading papers depend on academic career stage

PubMed Central

Dunbar, Sonja D.

2017-01-01

Reading primary research literature is an essential skill for all scientists and students on science degree programmes, however little is known about how researchers at different career stages interact with and interpret scientific papers. To explore this, we conducted a survey of 260 undergraduate students and researchers in Biological Sciences at a research intensive UK university. Responses to Likert scale questions demonstrated increases in confidence and skill with reading the literature between individuals at each career stage, including between postdoctoral researchers and faculty academics. The survey indicated that individuals at different career stages valued different sections of scientific papers, and skill in reading the results section develops slowly over the course of an academic career. Inexperienced readers found the methods and results sections of research papers the most difficult to read, and undervalued the importance of the results section and critical interpretation of data. These data highlight a need for structured support with reading scientific literature at multiple career stages, and for senior academics to be aware that junior colleagues may prioritise their reading differently. We propose a model for the development of literature processing skills, and consider the need for training strategies to help inexperienced readers engage with primary literature, and therefore develop important skills that underpin scientific careers. We also encourage researchers to be mindful of language used when writing papers, and to be more inclusive of diverse audiences when disseminating their work. PMID:29284031

Merits of Undergraduate and High School Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenney, John

2016-06-01

When it comes to sports, everyone gets it; you have to play to really understand, experience, and learn what the game is all about. It would be ludicrous to teach basketball by practicing basketball fundamentals in the gym (layups, free throws, jump shots, dribbling, defense), reading about and attending professional basketball games, but never playing in a game. As important as classes and teaching laboratories may be in science education, there is simply no substitute for active engagement in scientific research to show students what science is all about and, perhaps even more importantly, to inspire and motivate them to become scientists or at least appreciate science. It is a widely held misconception that a student cannot really do meaningful, publishable scientific research until he/she is in graduate school. In actual fact, college undergraduates and even high school students can make original and significant scientific research contributions. Astronomical research, in particular, is very well suited to engage the beginning high school or college undergraduate researcher. The night sky’s inherent accessibility and also its inherent grandeur are natural draws for the curious student’s mind. And much can be learned and discovered using small telescopes. In sports, joining a team is a key aspect of the sports experience. Similarly in science, joining a research team and thereby entering a “community of scientific practice” is fundamental and transformational. As important as working with equipment and acquiring data happen to be in scientific research, this is only the beginning of the research process. Student researchers of all ages—particularly high school students and college undergraduates—have much to gain by giving presentations on their research, writing up their results for publication, and going through the peer review process. But this only works if the student researchers are imbedded within the community of practice.

Integrating Scientific Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Writing and Learning in a Global Environmental Change Course

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koffman, Bess G.; Kreutz, Karl J.; Trenbath, Kim

We present a strategy for using scientific argumentation in an early undergraduate laboratory course to teach disciplinary writing practices and to promote critical thinking, knowledge transformation, and understanding of the scientific method. The approach combines targeted writing instruction; data analysis and interpretation; formulation of a hypothesis; and construction of an argument. Students submit and receive feedback on two drafts of two different argumentation essays, providing the opportunity for guided practice. Each written argument is intended to draw on several weeks' course material, including short lectures, discussions, readings, and problem sets. Thus our aim with these writing assignments is to helpmore » students synthesize content and concepts, deepening their learning. We have found that this inquiry-based approach to writing engages students in course material, and significantly improves both writing and learning. We observed the greatest improvement among students with the lowest initial scores, suggesting that lower-achieving students benefitted disproportionately from this approach. Students have responded positively to the use of writing in the course, many stating on course evaluations that this is the first time they have received instruction in scientific writing. They have also pointed to a greater 'big-picture' understanding of the course gained through writing. We describe the course and our curriculum, and provide suggestions for implementation as well as rubrics used to evaluate problem sets and student argumentation essays.« less

The use of poetry writing in nurse education: An evaluation.

PubMed

Jack, Kirsten

2015-09-01

Arts based approaches have been used in health education in various ways e.g. to develop emotional awareness, reduce anxiety and stress and assess communication skills. This evaluation aimed to explore the use of poetry writing as a way for undergraduate nursing students to consider their feelings about important practice issues. 42 first year undergraduate nursing students were asked to write a poem which focussed on an important nursing issue e.g. compassion, communication or the therapeutic role of the nurse. They were then asked to read the poem aloud to a small group and discuss its meaning. 60% (n=24) of students reported that the exercise had increased understanding of their chosen subject, 75% (n=30) stated that they had learned something about themselves and 65% (n=26) of students stated that they had enjoyed the poetry writing exercise. Qualitative comments suggested that the use of poetry enabled greater understanding of others' experiences, promoted open and honest reflection on feelings and supported the development of confidence. There is a need for teaching methods which engage and develop students' imagination, if they are going to be adequately prepared for the demands of nursing practice. Poetry writing and discussion supports the development of confidence, therapeutic communication skills and the ability to think creatively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Primary Literature to Teach Science Literacy to Introductory Biology Students

PubMed Central

Krontiris-Litowitz, Johanna

2013-01-01

Undergraduate students struggle to read the scientific literature and educators have suggested that this may reflect deficiencies in their science literacy skills. In this two-year study we develop and test a strategy for using the scientific literature to teach science literacy skills to novice life science majors. The first year of the project served as a preliminary investigation in which we evaluated student science literacy skills, created a set of science literacy learning objectives aligned with Bloom’s taxonomy, and developed a set of homework assignments that used peer-reviewed articles to teach science literacy. In the second year of the project the effectiveness of the assignments and the learning objectives were evaluated. Summative student learning was evaluated in the second year on a final exam. The mean score was 83.5% (±20.3%) and there were significant learning gains (p < 0.05) in seven of nine of science literacy skills. Project data indicated that even though students achieved course-targeted lower-order science literacy objectives, many were deficient in higher-order literacy skills. Results of this project suggest that building scientific literacy is a continuing process which begins in first-year science courses with a set of fundamental skills that can serve the progressive development of literacy skills throughout the undergraduate curriculum. PMID:23858355

Occupational therapy students' perceptions of occupational therapy.

PubMed

Turpin, Merrill June; Rodger, Sylvia; Hall, Anna R

2012-10-01

An understanding of students' perceptions of occupational therapy on entry is required to recognise how professional socialisation occurs through curriculum. Findings pertain to a qualitative study investigating students' perceptions of occupational therapy upon entry to two occupational therapy programmes in Australia. Students commencing Bachelor of Occupational Therapy and Masters of Occupational Therapy Studies programmes participated in the study (n = 462). A purpose-designed questionnaire was distributed to students in the first lecture of each programme. Preliminary analysis comprised identification of keywords/phrases and coding categories were generated from patterns of keywords. Frequency counts and percentages of keywords/phrases within categories were completed. Students' responses were categorised as 'what' occupational therapists do; 'how' they do it; 'why' they do it; and 'who' they work with. In 'what' occupational therapists do students frequently described 'helping' people. Both undergraduate and graduate entry masters students used the term 'rehabilitation' to describe how occupational therapy is done, with graduate entry students occasionally responding with 'through occupation' and 'modifying the environment'. Students perceived the 'why' of occupational therapy as getting back to 'everyday activities', with some students emphasising returning to 'normal' activities or life. Regarding the 'who' category, students also thought occupational therapists worked with people with an 'injury' or 'disability'. Students entered their occupational therapy programmes with perceptions consistent with the general public's views of occupational therapy. However, graduate entry students exposed to a pre-reading package prior to entry had more advanced occupational therapy concepts than undergraduate students. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2011 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Constructing an Understanding of Undergraduate Disciplinary Reading: An Analysis of Contemporary Scholarship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porter, Heather D.

2018-01-01

This article presents a summation of the field's past contributions to understanding the nature of undergraduate reading practices and meaning making processes in relation to contemporary perspectives of disciplinary literacies. In presenting a synthesis of over 40 studies across interdisciplinary journals, the goal was to construct a generalized…

Incorporating Domestic Violence Awareness through an Undergraduate Reading Course Focused on Children's Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lelli, Colleen M.

2010-01-01

This mixed methods study examined preservice teachers' awareness of domestic violence through an undergraduate reading course which focused on children's literature. Pre and post surveys were administered to preservice teachers to determine whether their knowledge and skills in recognizing signs of domestic violence in behaviors of the elementary…

Prevalence and Persistence of Misconceptions in Tree Thinking†

PubMed Central

Kummer, Tyler A.; Whipple, Clinton J.; Jensen, Jamie L.

2016-01-01

Darwin described evolution as “descent with modification.” Descent, however, is not an explicit focus of most evolution instruction and often leaves deeply held misconceptions to dominate student understanding of common ancestry and species relatedness. Evolutionary trees are ways of visually depicting descent by illustrating the relationships between species and groups of species. The ability to properly interpret and use evolutionary trees has become known as “tree thinking.” We used a 20-question assessment to measure misconceptions in tree thinking and compare the proportion of students who hold these misconceptions in an introductory biology course with students in two higher-level courses including a senior level biology course. We found that misconceptions related to reading the graphic (reading the tips and node counting) were variably influenced across time with reading the tips decreasing and node counting increasing in prevalence. On the other hand, misconceptions related to the fundamental underpinnings of evolutionary theory (ladder thinking and similarity equals relatedness) proved resistant to change during a typical undergraduate study of biology. A possible new misconception relating to the length of the branches in an evolutionary tree is described. Understanding the prevalence and persistence of misconceptions informs educators as to which misconceptions should be targeted in their courses. PMID:28101265

An Innovative Approach to Science Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNamara, Bernard; Burnham, Chris; Bridges, Bill

1994-12-01

This paper reports on the results of a multi-year NSF project aimed at undergraduate instruction in astronomy. Its goal is to help incoming university students, particularly from minority groups, develop critical thinking skills and a better understanding of basic scientific principles. The project employs the techniques of ``Writing Across the Curriculum" to counter student math and science anxiety. It employs a workbook consisting of four sections: (1) basic skills exercises, (2) an evolving cosmology, (3) chapter reading responses, and (4) an astronomical scrapbook. Experience with this workbook in introductory astronomy classes at NMSU is discussed, along with suggestions on how the exercises can be incorporated into beginning astronomy classes at other universities.

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

Examining Associations between Reading Motivation and Inference Generation beyond Reading Comprehension Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clinton, Virginia

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between reading motivation and inference generation while reading. Undergraduate participants (N = 69) read two science articles while thinking aloud, completed a standardized reading comprehension assessment, and self reported their habitual reading motivation. Findings indicate that…

Just-in-Time Teaching in undergraduate physics courses: Implementation, learning, and perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwyer, Jessica Hewitt

Regardless of discipline, a decades-long battle has ensued within nearly every classroom in higher education: instructors getting students to come to class prepared to learn. In response to this clash between teacher expectations and frequent student neglect, a group of four physics education researchers developed a reformed instructional strategy called Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT). This dissertation investigates the following three areas: 1) the fidelity with which undergraduate physics instructors implement JiTT, 2) whether student performance predicts student perception of their instructor's fidelity of JiTT implementation, and 3) whether student perception of their instructor's fidelity of JiTT implementation correlates with student views of their physics course. A blend of quantitative data (e.g., students grades, inventory scores, and questionnaire responses) are integrated with qualitative data (e.g., individual faculty interviews, student focus group discussions, and classroom observations). This study revealed no statistically significant relationship between instructors who spent time on a predefined JiTT critical component and their designation as a JiTT user or non-user. While JiTT users implemented the pedagogy in accordance with the creators' intended ideal vision, many also had trouble reconciling personal concerns about their role as a JiTT adopter and the anticipated demand of the innovation. I recommend that this population of faculty members can serve as a JiTT model for other courses, disciplines, and/or institutions. Student performance was not a predictor of student perception instructor fidelity of JiTT implementation. Additionally, the majority of students in this study reported they read their textbook prior to class and that JiTT assignments helped them prepare for in-class learning. I found evidence that exposure to the JiTT strategy may correlate with a more favorable student view of their physics course. Finally, according to students, favorable JiTT implementation occurred when instructors reviewed all questions contained within the JiTT assignment during class and when instructors clearly connected JiTT questions to the textbook reading, lesson discussion, and other assignments. The impact of this work rests in its possibility to set the stage for future education studies on the fidelity of implementation of other research-based instructional strategies in various disciplines and how they affect student performance and perceptions.

CREATE cornerstone: introduction to scientific thinking, a new course for STEM-interested freshmen, demystifies scientific thinking through analysis of scientific literature.

PubMed

Gottesman, Alan J; Hoskins, Sally G

2013-01-01

The Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment (CREATE) strategy for teaching and learning uses intensive analysis of primary literature to improve students' critical-thinking and content integration abilities, as well as their self-rated science attitudes, understanding, and confidence. CREATE also supports maturation of undergraduates' epistemological beliefs about science. This approach, originally tested with upper-level students, has been adapted in Introduction to Scientific Thinking, a new course for freshmen. Results from this course's initial semesters indicate that freshmen in a one-semester introductory course that uses a narrowly focused set of readings to promote development of analytical skills made significant gains in critical-thinking and experimental design abilities. Students also reported significant gains in their ability to think scientifically and understand primary literature. Their perceptions and understanding of science improved, and multiple aspects of their epistemological beliefs about science gained sophistication. The course has no laboratory component, is relatively inexpensive to run, and could be adapted to any area of scientific study.

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.…

Evaluating Research Ethics Training in the Maryland Sea Grant REU Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, M. R.; Kumi, G. A.; Kumi, B. C.; Moser, F. C.

2016-02-01

The NSF's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is an opportunity to cultivate responsible research practices in researchers at an early stage in their career. However, teaching responsible research conduct and science ethics in this program has been challenging because of a lack of consensus regarding which instructional methods are most effective for educating students about ethical concepts and establishing the process of ethical decision-making. Over the last 15 years, Maryland Sea Grant's REU ethics program has evolved by exploring different teaching models and looking for ways to effectively engage upper level undergraduates throughout their summer experience in ethical responsibility training. Since 2007, we have adopted a concerted experiential learning approach that includes an ethics seminar, role playing, case studies, and reflection. Currently, our summer long ethics training includes: 1) an interactive seminar; 2) a workshop with role playing and case studies; 3) 1-2 readings; and 4) a roundtable discussion with faculty mentors and their mentees to discuss researchers' real-world experiences with ethical dilemmas. Within the last 3 years, we have expanded our student learning outcomes assessments by administering pre- and post-program surveys to assess ethical skills students acquire through the program. Reevaluations administered three and six years after the REU experience will measure long term effectiveness of the training. Results from the first group of students reveal a greater awareness of ethical issues following our summer program. Students show a high level of competence about "black and white" issues (falsification, fabrication, plagiarism), but are more challenged by ethical "gray areas" such as data ownership and authorship. Results suggest many undergraduates come to research programs with basic ethics training, but benefit from our additional focus on complex ethical dilemmas.

Moral distress in undergraduate nursing students: A systematic review.

PubMed

Sasso, Loredana; Bagnasco, Annamaria; Bianchi, Monica; Bressan, Valentina; Carnevale, Franco

2016-08-01

Nurses and nursing students appear vulnerable to moral distress when faced with ethical dilemmas or decision-making in clinical practice. As a result, they may experience professional dissatisfaction and their relationships with patients, families, and colleagues may be compromised. The impact of moral distress may manifest as anger, feelings of guilt and frustration, a desire to give up the profession, loss of self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. The purpose of this review was to describe how dilemmas and environmental, relational, and organizational factors contribute to moral distress in undergraduate student nurses during their clinical experience and professional education. The research design was a systematic literature review. The search produced a total of 157 articles published between 2004 and 2014. These were screened with the assessment sheet designed by Hawker and colleagues. Four articles matched the search criteria (one quantitative study and three qualitative), and these were separately read and analyzed by the researchers. The process of review and analysis of the data was supervised by a colleague experienced in moral distress who provided an independent quality check. Since this was a systematic review, no ethical approval was required. From the analysis, it emerged that inequalities and healthcare disparities, the relationship with the mentor, and students' individual characteristics can all impact negatively on the decisions taken and the nursing care provided, generating moral distress. All these factors condition both the clinical experience and learning process, in addition to the professional development and the possible care choices of future nurses. Few studies dealt with moral distress in the setting of nurse education, and there is a knowledge gap related to this phenomenon. The results of this review underline the need for further research regarding interventions that can minimize moral distress in undergraduate nursing students. © The Author(s) 2015.

A practical description and student perspective of the integration of radiology into lower limb musculoskeletal anatomy.

PubMed

Davy, S; O'Keeffe, G W; Mahony, N; Phelan, N; Barry, D S

2017-05-01

Anatomy educators are increasing their utilisation of radiology in anatomy education in line with growing requirements for undergraduate radiology competency and clinical need. We aimed to evaluate student perceptions of radiology and to outline the technical and academic considerations underlying the integration of radiology into musculoskeletal practical anatomy sessions. The formal integration of radiology into anatomy practical sessions took place over a 5-week period during the lower limb musculoskeletal component of the anatomy course taught to first-year medical students. During practical sessions, students were required to rotate between aligned audio-visual radiology presentations, osteology/anatomical models, and prosection/dissection learning stations. After completing the course, students were invited to complete a survey to establish their opinions on radiology as a mode of learning and their satisfaction with radiological integration in anatomical practical sessions. Most students were not familiar with radiology prior to attending our university. All our students agreed or strongly agreed that learning to read radiographs in anatomy is important and most agreed that radiology is a valid assessment tool. Sixty percent stated that radiology facilitated their understanding of anatomy. The majority believed that radiology was best suited to clinically relevant anatomy and X-rays were their preferred learning tool. The practical approach to integrating radiology into undergraduate musculoskeletal anatomy described here did not place strain on existing academic resources. Most students agreed that radiology should be increased in anatomy education and that learning to understand radiographs in anatomy was important for clinical practice.

Learning style preferences: A study of pre-clinical medical students in Barbados.

PubMed

Ojeh, Nkemcho; Sobers-Grannum, Natasha; Gaur, Uma; Udupa, Alaya; Majumder, Md Anwarul Azim

2017-10-01

Educators need to be aware of different learning styles to effectively tailor instructional strategies and methods to cater to the students' learning needs and support a conductive learning environment. The VARK [an acronym for visual (V), aural (A), read/write (R) and kinesthetic (K)] instrument is a useful model to assess learning styles. The aim of this study was to use the VARK questionnaire to determine the learning styles of pre-clinical medical students in order to compare the perceived and assessed learning style preferences, assess gender differences in learning style preferences, and determine whether any relationships exists between awareness of learning styles and academic grades, age, gender and learning modality. The VARK questionnaire was administered to pre-clinical students taking a variety of courses in the first three years of the undergraduate MB BS degree programme at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados in 2014. The majority of the students were multimodal learners with no differences observed between males (59.5%) and females (60.0%), with tetramodal being the most common. Read/write (33.8%) followed by kinesthetic (32.5%) were the most common learning style preferences. The sensory modality preference for females was read/write (34.2%) and for males it was kinesthetic (40.5%). Significant differences were observed between the perceived and assessed learning style preferences with a majority of visual and read/write learners correctly matching their perceived to their actual learning styles. Awareness of learning styles was associated with learning modality but not with academic performance, age or gender. Overall, 60.7% of high achievers used multimodal learning compared to 56.9% low achievers. The findings from this study indicated that the VARK tool was useful in gathering information about different learning styles, and might assist educators in designing blended teaching strategies to cater to the students' needs as well as help the students in becoming aware of their learning style preferences to enhance learning.

Sex, college major, and attribution of responsibility in empathic responding to persons with HIV infection.

PubMed

Bécares, Laia; Turner, Castellano

2004-10-01

This investigation studied the influence of sex, college major, and attributed responsibility on college students' empathic responding towards persons infected with HIV. We hypothesized that (1) women would score higher on empathy than men; (2) nursing and psychology majors would score higher on empathy than business and computer science majors; and (3) participants would score higher on empathy towards a target who contracted HIV through blood transfusion (presented as a Nonresponsible target) rather than through unprotected sex (presented as a Responsible target). Two hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students (110 male, 148 female) attending a large urban university in the northeast filled out an anonymous demographic questionnaire, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index of Davis (1983), and an Empathy Reaction Scale that was developed by the authors. Results indicated a higher mean Empathy Reaction score from nursing and psychology students as compared to business and computer science students. There was no difference in Empathy Reaction scores between men and women. A higher Empathy Reaction score was found among participants who had read a diary from the target portrayed as Nonresponsible, as opposed to those who read a diary from the target portrayed as Responsible.

Study skills and habits in Shiraz dental students; strengths and weaknesses.

PubMed

Zarshenas, Ladan; Danaei, Shahla Momeni; Mazarei, Elham; Zarif Najafi, Hooman; Shakour, Mahsa

2014-01-01

The dental students, the same as other students, during their academic courses are required to learn a wide range of scientific subjects. Obviously, choosing the inappropriate method of study leads to confuse and disenchantment of students and it causes wasting of their energy. The purpose of this study was to assess the existing strengths and weaknesses of the skills and study habits in Dental Students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2009-10. In this cross-sectional study, all of the dental students (n = 274), who studied at the time of study at all levels in the academic year of 2009-10, were selected by the census. Data were collected by using the Huston University questionnaire consisted of two parts of demographic questions and 64 specific areas of study skills in eight domains of time management, concentration/memory, study aids/note taking, test strategies, information processing, motivation, self-assessment/reading, and writing skills. Following the retranslation of the questionnaire, the validity was confirmed by using the content validity method. The reliability was obtained by using the Cronbach's Alpha of 0.92. The data were analyzed with SPSS software version 17 and using analytical statistic tests. Students who have previously participated in the study skills workshops had stronger skills in comparison with the students who had not participated in these workshops. Time management skills (P = 0.04), motivation (P = 0.0001) and information processing (P = 0.03) in students with professional status were in a more favorable position and showed significant differences in terms of educational levels. The study skills mean score of the students living in student housings in comparison with the other students were significantly higher (P = 0.04). Marital status showed no significant differences in reading skills. The review of study skills in the undergraduate and post-graduate dental students indicated that the residents had higher reading skills. By recognizing the existing strengths and weaknesses and holding programs through counseling centers can develop the study skills in the students.

Competence, competency-based education, and undergraduate dental education: a discussion paper.

PubMed

Chuenjitwongsa, S; Oliver, R G; Bullock, A D

2018-02-01

The aim of undergraduate dental education is to provide competent dentists to serve societal needs and improve population oral healthcare. Competency-based education has influenced the development of dental education for decades but this term is problematic. This article explores components of competency-based undergraduate health professional education in order to help the dental profession have a better understanding of the context and purposes of undergraduate dental education. This is a discussion paper based on a wide reading of the literature on the education of health professionals with a specific focus on competency-based undergraduate education. Competence comprises an integration of knowledge, skills and attitudes indicating a capability to perform professional tasks safely and ethically. The process of becoming a competent practitioner is complex. Four characteristics of competency-based education are: curriculum components and content shaped by societal needs; focused on student-centred learning; learning achievement; and limited attention to time-based training and numerical targets. Alongside a competency-based approach, undergraduate dental education can be influenced by institutional features and external factors but these receive little consideration in the literature. Understanding competence, competency-based education, and institutional and external factors will help to improve educational quality, define roles and professional development for the dental educator, and inform further research. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Astrobites and GeoSciBites: Using Online Research Digests for Outreach to Undergraduates and the Broader Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranjan, S.; Kohler, S.; Sanders, N.; Morey, S.

2013-12-01

Effective science communication is imperative for the sharing of scientific ideas, continued funding and support from policy makers, and education of the public. As future researchers and educators, it is particularly important to engage graduate students in science communication. Astrobites (http://astrobites.org) is an innovative education initiative developed by graduate students in planetary science, astronomy, and astrophysics. Our goal is to help undergraduates make the transition from the classroom to careers in research by introducing them to the astronomical literature in a pedagogical, approachable, and comprehensible way. Every day we select one new journal article posted to the astrophysics preprint server (arXiv.org/astro-ph) and prepare a brief summary describing methods and results, explain jargon, and provide context. We also write regular blog posts containing career advice, such as tips for applying for fellowships or demystifying the publishing process. The articles are written by 30 graduate students in astrophysics from throughout the US and Europe and are read by 1000 daily readers worldwide, including undergraduates, researchers, and interested non-scientists. We describe lessons learned in starting, sustaining, and expanding science outreach blogs like Astrobites. We survey our readership and present analysis summarizing our reader base and impact. We report on the foundation of other ';bites blogs, focusing on the foundation of GeoSciBites, a geophysical sciences outreach blog. We discuss future opportunities for additional outreach initiatives in new disciplines.

Astrobites and GeoSciBites: Using Online Research Digests for Outreach to Undergraduates and the Broader Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranjan, S.; Kohler, S.; Sanders, N.; Morey, S.

2011-12-01

Effective science communication is imperative for the sharing of scientific ideas, continued funding and support from policy makers, and education of the public. As future researchers and educators, it is particularly important to engage graduate students in science communication. Astrobites (http://astrobites.org) is an innovative education initiative developed by graduate students in planetary science, astronomy, and astrophysics. Our goal is to help undergraduates make the transition from the classroom to careers in research by introducing them to the astronomical literature in a pedagogical, approachable, and comprehensible way. Every day we select one new journal article posted to the astrophysics preprint server (arXiv.org/astro-ph) and prepare a brief summary describing methods and results, explain jargon, and provide context. We also write regular blog posts containing career advice, such as tips for applying for fellowships or demystifying the publishing process. The articles are written by 30 graduate students in astrophysics from throughout the US and Europe and are read by 1000 daily readers worldwide, including undergraduates, researchers, and interested non-scientists. We describe lessons learned in starting, sustaining, and expanding science outreach blogs like Astrobites. We survey our readership and present analysis summarizing our reader base and impact. We report on the foundation of other ';bites blogs, focusing on the foundation of GeoSciBites, a geophysical sciences outreach blog. We discuss future opportunities for additional outreach initiatives in new disciplines.

Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers: Are New Mexico's Education School Graduates Ready to Teach Reading and Mathematics in Elementary Classrooms?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, Julie; Jacobs, Sandi

2009-01-01

As a follow up to National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ's) national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looks at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate teacher preparation programs in New Mexico. This analysis evaluated New Mexico's eight undergraduate elementary teacher…

Social support and loneliness in college students: effects on pulse pressure reactivity to acute stress.

PubMed

O'Donovan, Aoife; Hughes, Brian

2007-01-01

Socially supportive relationships at university may buffer against psychological stress in students, particularly in those experiencing loneliness. To examine the relation of social support at university and loneliness with pulse pressure (PP) reactivity to acute psychological stress in a sample of first-year undergraduate students. Sixty-five female, adolescent, first-year university students. Pulse pressure (PP) was calculated as the arithmetic difference between systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, which were measured during a resting baseline and during a stressful reading task. The difference between baseline and reading task PP represents PP reactivity. The Social Support at University Scale (SSUS) was used to assess social support availability in university, and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale was used to assess loneliness. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine main and interactive effects of SSUS and loneliness on PP change scores, and simple slopes were computed to assist in the interpretation of interaction effects. Social support at university was associated with lower PP reactivity in students reporting medium (t = -2.03, p = .04) or high levels of loneliness (t = -2.93, p = .004), but not in those reporting low levels of loneliness (t = -0.20, p = .83). Psychosocial interventions designed to increase social support available at university, and targeted at students experiencing loneliness may buffer against the harmful effects of acute stressors in lonely first-year students.

A course for developing interprofessional skills in pre-professional honor students using humanities and media.

PubMed

Poirier, Therese I; Stamper-Carr, Connie; Newman, Kate

2017-09-01

To design and implement an undergraduate honors course for pre-health professional students that develops interpersonal skills through use of a variety of humanities. A three credit hour course in an honors seminar sequence was developed by pharmacy practice faculty and with input from faculty in mass communications, philosophy, applied communication studies and history. The course utilized a variety of media such as literature, film, and podcasts to foster student discussion about a variety of health-related topics. Topics included public health, stigmatization, portrayals of health care providers, patient experiences, health care ethics, aging, and death and dying. Students were assessed using pre-class assignments and reflective writings as well as a formal written and oral presentation on a selected health-related book. A quasi-experimental design was used to assess the impact of the course on desired course outcomes. The first course offering was to 22 undergraduate pre-health professional honors students. Pre- and post-course surveys on students' perceptions and students' reflective writings revealed achievement of desired course outcomes. Post-course evaluations also revealed positive perceptions about the course. The design of this course provided an outlet for students to read and enjoy various forms of media, while also meeting its goal of exposing students to a variety of humanities. The course allowed students to think critically about various health care issues, and to begin to develop interpersonal skills. The course could be adapted for pharmacy by developing affective domains of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching cultural competence using an exemplar from literary journalism.

PubMed

Anderson, Kathryn L

2004-06-01

Fadiman's work of literary journalism, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, was used as a case study to teach transcultural and other nursing concepts to undergraduate nursing students. Campinha-Bacote's model of cultural competence was used to organize transcultural nursing concepts in the course. Before and after the course, students completed assessments consisting of two cultural attitude questionnaires and a paper describing a personal experience with adherence and failure to adhere by a Mexican American client. After reading Fadiman's book and completing several short writing assignments examining key course concepts, student scores on the questionnaires were mostly unchanged. However, students demonstrated growth in cultural awareness and skill in their "after" papers. Results suggest that valid, reliable tools are needed to detect changes in cultural competence. Qualitative data suggest that students can begin the process of becoming culturally competent through the creative use of literature in nursing education.

Toxoplasmosis-Related Knowledge and Preventive Practices among Undergraduate Female Students in Jordan.

PubMed

Al-Sheyab, Nihaya A; Obaidat, Mohammad M; Bani Salman, Alaa E; Lafi, Shawkat Q

2015-06-01

Foodborne toxoplasmosis is a leading cause of foodborne deaths and hospitalization worldwide. The level of exposure to Toxoplasma gondii is influenced by culture and eating habits. There is a scarcity of data about women's knowledge and perception of this disease. The aim of this study was to determine toxoplasmosis knowledge and preventive practices of young childbearing age women in Jordan. A descriptive cross-sectional study recruited a random sample of 1,390 undergraduate university female students and was stratified based on place of residency. About half of students (51.1%) reported having "ever" heard or read about toxoplasmosis, and almost all students (98.6%) had never been tested for toxoplasmosis. Overall, there was a lack of awareness about toxoplasmosis, its risk factors, symptoms, and timing of infection, and preventive practices. High percentages of females reported a high level of hygienic practices related to hand washing after gardening, changing cat litter, and handling raw meat. However, 16.7% of students reported eating raw meat, 26.5% usually eat traditional herbs, and 17.2% drink untreated spring water. This study establishes a baseline for the awareness levels about toxoplasmosis among young women in Jordan. These findings highlight the urgent need for toxoplasmosis awareness and preventive education for childbearing females. An effective education and outreach program should cover important topics concerning risk factors, high-risk foods, and preventive measures against toxoplasmosis.

An Innovative Course in Technical Communication and More

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cranor, Maria B.; Price, Richard H.

2004-05-01

Several studies have shown that otherwise well-prepared physics undergraduates do not develop writing and speaking skills sufficient to the demands of graduate school or the technical workplace. To rectify this, we have developed and taught, for five semesters, a very successful course for junior and senior physics majors. Students improve their writing and speaking skills through technical projects and through a reading list which includes modules on scientific practice and ethics, pseudo science, management, and workplace collaboration. We present here an overview of this course, and discuss the pros and cons of introducing a useful, yet unusual and highly labor-intensive (for teachers and for students) class into the traditional physics curriculum.

Impact of a volunteer companion program on nursing students' knowledge and concerns related to palliative care.

PubMed

Kwekkeboom, Kristine L; Vahl, Cheryl; Eland, Joann

2006-02-01

Deficiencies in end-of-life education may explain nursing students' reports of feeling anxious and unqualified to care for dying patients. A volunteer Palliative Care Companion program was developed to provide undergraduate nursing students with an experiential learning opportunity by spending time with dying patients and their families. To evaluate the impact of the Palliative Care Companion program on nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and concerns about providing palliative care, and to describe companion students' volunteer activities. Quasiexperimental controlled pretest-posttest design. Fifty-two undergraduate nursing students (32 companion students, 20 controls) at a midwestern U.S. university with an affiliated hospital-based palliative care service. All participants completed the Palliative Care Quiz for Nurses, Attitudes Toward Palliative Care, and Concern About Caring for Dying Patients questionnaires at the beginning and end of the semester. Companion subjects also kept a journal describing their palliative care experiences. Attitude scores were not analyzed because of poor internal consistency of the questionnaire. Changes in scores on knowledge items did not reach significance. Concern scores decreased significantly from pretest to posttest in the companion group. After adjusting for pretest concern score, there was a trend toward lower concern score in the companion group compared to controls (p=0.07). Companion students' journals described activities including visiting patients, viewing end-of-life videos, attending educational and public lectures, independent reading, and making bereavement phone calls to family members. The Palliative Care Companion program did not produce significant improvements in knowledge and concerns compared to controls, but companion students described their participation as a meaningful learning experience.

Placing Science into Its Human Context: Using Scientific Autobiography to Teach Chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, Felix A.; Seeman, Jeffrey I.

2001-12-01

Scientific autobiography and biography can improve chemistry learning by helping students relate otherwise abstract concepts to important events in the lives of fellow human beings. In advanced courses, reading scientific autobiography and biography can help students see how scientific collaboration, advances in instrumentation, and major events in human lives influence the development of chemical ideas over time. In addition, studying many years of an individual's research program can demonstrate the progress of science, the connectivity of research findings, and the validity of experimental results over many decades. This paper describes the use of an autobiography of an eminent chemist in an advanced undergraduate chemistry course. This approach not only enhances the teaching of chemical concepts, but it also provides students with expanded opportunities for cooperative and self-directed learning activities.

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…

The learning style preferences of chiropractic students: A cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

Whillier, Stephney; Lystad, Reidar P.; Abi-Arrage, David; McPhie, Christopher; Johnston, Samara; Williams, Christopher; Rice, Mark

2014-01-01

Objective The aims of our study were to measure the learning style preferences of chiropractic students and to assess whether they differ across the 5 years of chiropractic study. Methods A total of 407 (41.4% females) full-degree, undergraduate, and postgraduate students enrolled in an Australian chiropractic program agreed to participate in a cross-sectional survey comprised of basic demographic information and the Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire, which identifies learning preferences on four different subscales: visual, aural, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Multivariate analysis of variance and the χ2 test were used to check for differences in continuous (VARK scores) and categorical (VARK category preference) outcome variables. Results The majority of chiropractic students (56.0%) were found to be multimodal learners. Compared to the other learning styles preferences, kinesthetic learning was preferred by a significantly greater proportion of students (65.4%, p < .001) and received a significantly greater mean VARK score (5.66 ± 2.47, p < .001). Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time chiropractic students have been shown to be largely multimodal learners with a preference for kinesthetic learning. While this knowledge may be beneficial in the structuring of future curricula, more thorough research must be conducted to show any beneficial relationship between learning style preferences and teaching methods. PMID:24350945

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…

Processing and memory of information presented in narrative or expository texts.

PubMed

Wolfe, Michael B W; Woodwyk, Joshua M

2010-09-01

Previous research suggests that narrative and expository texts differ in the extent to which they prompt students to integrate to-be-learned content with relevant prior knowledge during comprehension. We expand on previous research by examining on-line processing and representation in memory of to-be-learned content that is embedded in narrative or expository texts. We are particularly interested in how differences in the use of relevant prior knowledge leads to differences in terms of levels of discourse representation (textbase vs. situation model). A total of 61 university undergraduates in Expt 1, and 160 in Expt 2. In Expt 1, subjects thought out loud while comprehending circulatory system content embedded in a narrative or expository text, followed by free recall of text content. In Expt 2, subjects read silently and completed a sentence recognition task to assess memory. In Expt 1, subjects made more associations to prior knowledge while reading the expository text, and recalled more content. Content recall was also correlated with amount of relevant prior knowledge for subjects who read the expository text but not the narrative text. In Expt 2, subjects reading the expository text (compared to the narrative text) had a weaker textbase representation of the to-be-learned content, but a marginally stronger situation model. Results suggest that in terms of to-be-learned content, expository texts trigger students to utilize relevant prior knowledge more than narrative texts.

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.

Active Learning Techniques Applied to an Interdisciplinary Mineral Resources Course.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aird, H. M.

2015-12-01

An interdisciplinary active learning course was introduced at the University of Puget Sound entitled 'Mineral Resources and the Environment'. Various formative assessment and active learning techniques that have been effective in other courses were adapted and implemented to improve student learning, increase retention and broaden knowledge and understanding of course material. This was an elective course targeted towards upper-level undergraduate geology and environmental majors. The course provided an introduction to the mineral resources industry, discussing geological, environmental, societal and economic aspects, legislation and the processes involved in exploration, extraction, processing, reclamation/remediation and recycling of products. Lectures and associated weekly labs were linked in subject matter; relevant readings from the recent scientific literature were assigned and discussed in the second lecture of the week. Peer-based learning was facilitated through weekly reading assignments with peer-led discussions and through group research projects, in addition to in-class exercises such as debates. Writing and research skills were developed through student groups designing, carrying out and reporting on their own semester-long research projects around the lasting effects of the historical Ruston Smelter on the biology and water systems of Tacoma. The writing of their mini grant proposals and final project reports was carried out in stages to allow for feedback before the deadline. Speakers from industry were invited to share their specialist knowledge as guest lecturers, and students were encouraged to interact with them, with a view to employment opportunities. Formative assessment techniques included jigsaw exercises, gallery walks, placemat surveys, think pair share and take-home point summaries. Summative assessment included discussion leadership, exams, homeworks, group projects, in-class exercises, field trips, and pre-discussion reading exercises.An interdisciplinary active learning course was introduced at the University of Puget Sound entitled 'Mineral Resources and the Environment'. Various formative assessment and active learning techniques that have been effective in other courses were adapted and implemented to improve student learning, increase retention and broaden knowledge and understanding of course material. This was an elective course targeted towards upper-level undergraduate geology and environmental majors. The course provided an introduction to the mineral resources industry, discussing geological, environmental, societal and economic aspects, legislation and the processes involved in exploration, extraction, processing, reclamation/remediation and recycling of products. Lectures and associated weekly labs were linked in subject matter; relevant readings from the recent scientific literature were assigned and discussed in the second lecture of the week. Peer-based learning was facilitated through weekly reading assignments with peer-led discussions and through group research projects, in addition to in-class exercises such as debates. Writing and research skills were developed through student groups designing, carrying out and reporting on their own semester-long research projects around the lasting effects of the historical Ruston Smelter on the biology and water systems of Tacoma. The writing of their mini grant proposals and final project reports was carried out in stages to allow for feedback before the deadline. Speakers from industry were invited to share their specialist knowledge as guest lecturers, and students were encouraged to interact with them, with a view to employment opportunities. Formative assessment techniques included jigsaw exercises, gallery walks, placemat surveys, think pair share and take-home point summaries. Summative assessment included discussion leadership, exams, homeworks, group projects, in-class exercises, field trips, and pre-discussion reading exercises.

The Community Mentoring REU: A Novel Paradigm for Research Experiences for Undergraduates Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobulnicky, Henry; Maierhofer, Lara; Kobulnicky, Carol; Dale, Daniel A.

2018-01-01

Research Experience for Undergraduates programs were conceived to promote entry of college students into STEM disciplines. Evidence suggests that participating in REUs increases interest in STEM, conveys skills leading to STEM jobs and graduate study, increases science self-efficacy, builds professional networks for young scientists, and cultivates identity as a scientist. Nevertheless, the factors that mediate desired outcomes are still poorly understood, and persistence of negative mentoring experiences among REU participants motivates the design and study of novel approaches to preparing future STEM professionals. During five summers spanning 2012-2016 we implemented a "Community Mentoring" paradigm at the University of Wyoming's 10-week Astronomy REU program. In contrast to "traditional model (TM)" REUs that pair a single senior scientist mentor with a single junior mentee, community mentoring (CM) unites 6-8 undergraduates with 3-5 faculty (perhaps assisted by a graduate student or postdoc) on a collaborative team addressing a single science goal. In CM, students have access to a pool of mentors and a peer group reading the same literature, working in a common location, sharing equipment (in this case the WIRO 2.3 meter telescope), sharing data, and learning the same analysis skills. The community interacts daily, modeling the highly collaborative nature of modern scientific teams. Our study used an electronic survey consisting of 24 questions to compare a cohort of 28 CM students to a national control group of 77 students who conducted REUs elsewhere during the same period, typically under the TM. CM students report a significantly higher level of "learning from their peers", "learning to work on a science team", and "sense of community" compared to the TM cohort. The CM cohort also reports a higher overall level of satisfaction with the REU and a lower level of negative experiences, such as finding it difficult to get time with a mentor. This talk will review other lessons learned in five years of community mentoring as it describes an alternative paradigm for REUs.

Purcell the Teacher: In and Out of the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigden, John

2012-02-01

As a high school student Edward Purcell read articles by K.K. Darrow from his series, ``Advances in Contemporary Physics.'' Many years later, Purcell, referring to those articles, said they remind us ``that great teaching does not require a classroom.'' Many of Purcell's choices were motivated by his devotion to teaching: the undergraduate courses he preferred to teach at Harvard, the textbooks and pedagogical papers he wrote, and the professional activities he engaged in. He delighted in explaining complex phenomena in simple ways -- a mark of a great teacher.

Predicting self-construal from authoritarianism: a pilot study of perceived threat.

PubMed

Shaffer, Barbara A; Hollen, Ryan D; Hastings, Brad M

2007-12-01

This pilot study investigated the association of perceived threat and scores on a measure of Authoritarianism. Undergraduate students (29 women, 8 men; ages 18-32, M=21, SD=3.1), completed the Right-wing Authoritarianism scale and then the Self-construal scale after reading a nonthreatening or threatening news article. In the threatening condition, Authoritarian scores accounted for a significant amount of variance (R2= .26) in Interdependent Self-construal scores, but not for Independent Self-construal scores. No significant associations were found in the non-threatening condition.

Biomedical Science Undergraduate Major: A New Pathway to Advance Research and the Health Professions.

PubMed

Gunn, John S; Ledford, Cynthia H; Mousetes, Steven J; Grever, Michael R

2018-01-01

Many students entering professional degree programs, particularly M.D., Ph.D., and M.D./Ph.D., are not well prepared regarding the breadth of scientific knowledge required, communication skills, research experience, reading and understanding the scientific literature, and significant shadowing (for M.D.-related professions). In addition, physician scientists are a needed and necessary part of the academic research environment but are dwindling in numbers. In response to predictions of critical shortages of clinician investigators and the lack of proper preparation as undergraduates for these professions, the Biomedical Science (BMS) undergraduate major was created at The Ohio State University to attract incoming college freshmen with interests in scientific research and the healthcare professions. The intent of this major was to graduate an elite cohort of highly talented individuals who would pursue careers in the healthcare professions, biomedical research, or both. Students were admitted to the BMS major through an application and interview process. Admitted cohorts were small, comprising 22 to 26 students, and received a high degree of individualized professional academic advising and mentoring. The curriculum included a minimum of 4 semesters (or 2 years) of supervised research experience designed to enable students to gain skills in clinical and basic science investigation. In addition to covering the prerequisites for medicine and advanced degrees in health professions, the integrated BMS coursework emphasized research literacy as well as skills related to work as a healthcare professional, with additional emphasis on independent learning, teamwork to solve complex problems, and both oral and written communication skills. Supported by Ohio State's Department of Internal Medicine, a unique clinical internship provided selected students with insights into potential careers as physician scientists. In this educational case report, we describe the BMS undergraduate major and its outcomes after 10 years of implementation. Major outcomes include the strength of the major's matriculates (average ACT score = 32.6; average high school class percentile rank = 95.5) and the high percentage of BMS students who pursued graduate/professional degrees (91%; n = 110). Other markers of success include the strong focus on research, which resulted in 120 articles published by graduates to date (range = 0-12/student; 43% with at least 1 peer-reviewed journal article). Based on its successes, adoption of a similar program at other academic medical centers would help feed the pipeline of well-trained health professionals and biomedical researchers.

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.

Graphic Novel Comprehension among Learners with Differential Cognitive Styles and Reading Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Simpson W. L.; Miao, Hoyee; Cheng, Rebecca Wing-yi; Yip, Michael Chi Wing

2017-01-01

Learners with poor reading skills are less able to acquire knowledge through text. Graphic novels may enhance reading comprehension skills owing to fewer words, more pictures, and an engaging storyline. This study considered the reading skills of 188 Chinese-English bilingual undergraduates, comparing their reading comprehension performance after…

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

Learning our L.I.M.I.T.S.: less is more in teaching science.

PubMed

Hoskins, Sally G; Stevens, Leslie M

2009-03-01

The rapid and accelerating pace of change in physiology and cell biology, along with the easy access to huge amounts of content, have altered the playing field for science students, yet most students are still mainly taught from textbooks. Of necessity, textbooks are usually broad in scope, cover topics much more superficially than do journal articles, and present the scientific process as a linear string of successful experiments, largely ignoring the reality of rejected hypotheses, unanticipated discoveries, or surprising findings that may shift paradigms. We suggest that a more narrow focus on scientific thinking, using a new method for reading a series of journal articles that track the evolution of a single project over a period of years, can more realistically convey the excitement and challenges of research science and perhaps stimulate some students to consider research careers for themselves. Our approach, termed "CREATE" (for Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze data, and Think of the next Experiment), has proven successful at both demystifying the scientific literature and humanizing science/scientists in undergraduate biology courses (8), and we suggest that it could be profitably expanded to physiology courses.

Readings in Cooperative Learning for Undergraduate Mathematics. MAA Notes No. 44.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dubinsky, Ed, Ed.; Mathews, David, Ed.; Reynolds, Barbara E., Ed.

Seventeen papers that relate to the use of cooperative learning activities in undergraduate mathematics courses are contained within this collection. Papers were selected by the staff of Project CLUME (Cooperative Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics Education) and organized into categories pertaining to constructivism and the teachers' role,…

Incorporating Primary Literature in Undergraduate Crop Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Lori K.; Simmons, Steve R.

2006-01-01

Primary literature is an underutilized learning resource for undergraduate courses in crop science. Reading assignments from scientific journals were utilized in an undergraduate University of Minnesota crop physiology course at Southwest Minnesota State University from 2002 to 2004. The subjects of the articles corresponded to the lecture topics.…

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…

Engineering a Cause and Cure to Climate Change; Working a culture change with our Future Engineers.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudier, E. J. J.

2014-12-01

Where scientist unravel the laws of nature giving the human race the means to remodel their environment, engineers are the tools that put together the very technologies that give humans this power. Early on, along our first steps through this industrialization era, development was the key word, nature could digest our waste products no matter what. We have managed to tamper with our atmosphere's gas composition and the climate is slowly remodelling our way of life. Engineers are now expected to be a key part of the solution. Engineering programs have evolved to include new dimensions such as ethics, communication and environment. We want future engineers to put these dimensions first while working on new machine designs, concepts and procedures. As undergraduate students with a deep science background we also want them to be a source of information for their co-workers and more. How well are we getting through? How good teachers our future engineers will be? This work take a look at the teaching/learning successes comparing engineering students with students attending an undergraduate program in biology. Methods emphasizing the acquisition of knowledge through lectures and reading assignments are tested along with activities aiming at unraveling the scientific fundamental behind environmental issues and putting forward original solutions to specific problematic. Concept knowledge scores, communications' quality and activities evaluations by students are discussed.

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.

Effects of Task Relevance Instructions and Topic Beliefs on Reading Processes and Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohn-Gettler, Catherine M.; McCrudden, Matthew T.

2018-01-01

This study investigated the effects of task relevance instructions and topic beliefs on reading processes and memory for belief-related text. Undergraduates received task instructions (focus on arguments for vs. against) before reading a dual-position text. In Experiment 1 (n = 88), a reading time methodology showed no differences in reading time…

Does Poor Spelling Equate to Slow Reading? The Relationship between Reading, Spelling, and Orthographic Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin-Chang, Sandra; Ouellette, Gene; Madden, Melanie

2014-01-01

High quality lexical representations in memory, characterized by accuracy and stability, are said to underpin fluent reading. Here, the relationship between orthographic quality and reading speed was examined by asking undergraduates (N = 74) to repeatedly read and spell words. Spelling performance over five trials indicated orthographic quality.…

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.

The CREATE Strategy for Intensive Analysis of Primary Literature Can Be Used Effectively by Newly Trained Faculty to Produce Multiple Gains in Diverse Students

PubMed Central

Stevens, Leslie M.

2014-01-01

The CREATE (Consider Read, Elucidate the hypotheses, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment) strategy aims to demystify scientific research and scientists while building critical thinking, reading/analytical skills, and improved science attitudes through intensive analysis of primary literature. CREATE was developed and piloted at the City College of New York (CCNY), a 4-yr, minority-serving institution, with both upper-level biology majors and first-year students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. To test the extent to which CREATE strategies are broadly applicable to students at private, public, research-intensive, and/or primarily undergraduate colleges/universities, we trained a cohort of faculty from the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area in CREATE pedagogies, then followed a subset, the CREATE implementers (CIs), as they taught all or part of an existing course on their home campuses using CREATE approaches. Evaluation of the workshops, the CIs, and their students was carried out both by the principal investigators and by an outside evaluator working independently. Our data indicate that: intensive workshops change aspects of faculty attitudes about teaching/learning; workshop-trained faculty can effectively design and teach CREATE courses; and students taught by such faculty on multiple campuses make significant cognitive and affective gains that parallel the changes documented previously at CCNY. PMID:26086655

Medication error reduction and the use of PDA technology.

PubMed

Greenfield, Sue

2007-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether nursing medication errors could be reduced and nursing care provided more efficiently using personal digital assistant (PDA) technology. The sample for this study consisted of junior and senior undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students. By self-selection of owning a PDA or not, students were placed in the PDA (experimental) group or the textbook (control) group, provided with a case study to read, and asked to answer six questions (i.e., three medication administration calculations and three clinical decisions based on medication administration). The analysis of collected data, calculated using a t test, revealed that the PDA group answered the six questions with greater accuracy and speed than did the textbook group.

College students' perceptions of individuals with anorexia nervosa: irritation and admiration.

PubMed

Geerling, Danielle M; Saunders, Stephen M

2015-04-01

Stigmatizing attitudes against anorexia nervosa (AN) may act as barriers to treatment. Evaluated college students' perceptions of AN as compared to major depressive disorder (MDD). One-hundred two female undergraduates read vignettes describing targets with mild or severe MDD or AN, then rated biological, vanity, and self-responsibility attributions; feelings of admiration, sympathy, and anger; and behavioral dispositions toward coercion into treatment, imitation, and social distance. AN was perceived more negatively than MDD in terms of vanity attributions, self-responsibility attributions, and feelings of anger, but more positively in terms of admiration and imitation. This research demonstrates stigma-related mixed messages received by individuals with AN, which might be useful in improving eating disorders mental health literacy.

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…

Study skills and habits in Shiraz dental students; strengths and weaknesses

PubMed Central

Zarshenas, Ladan; Danaei, Shahla Momeni; Mazarei, Elham; Najafi, Hooman Zarif; Shakour, Mahsa

2014-01-01

Introduction: The dental students, the same as other students, during their academic courses are required to learn a wide range of scientific subjects. Obviously, choosing the inappropriate method of study leads to confuse and disenchantment of students and it causes wasting of their energy. The purpose of this study was to assess the existing strengths and weaknesses of the skills and study habits in Dental Students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2009-10. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all of the dental students (n = 274), who studied at the time of study at all levels in the academic year of 2009-10, were selected by the census. Data were collected by using the Huston University questionnaire consisted of two parts of demographic questions and 64 specific areas of study skills in eight domains of time management, concentration/memory, study aids/note taking, test strategies, information processing, motivation, self-assessment/reading, and writing skills. Following the retranslation of the questionnaire, the validity was confirmed by using the content validity method. The reliability was obtained by using the Cronbach's Alpha of 0.92. The data were analyzed with SPSS software version 17 and using analytical statistic tests. Results: Students who have previously participated in the study skills workshops had stronger skills in comparison with the students who had not participated in these workshops. Time management skills (P = 0.04), motivation (P = 0.0001) and information processing (P = 0.03) in students with professional status were in a more favorable position and showed significant differences in terms of educational levels. The study skills mean score of the students living in student housings in comparison with the other students were significantly higher (P = 0.04). Marital status showed no significant differences in reading skills. Conclusion and Recommendations: The review of study skills in the undergraduate and post-graduate dental students indicated that the residents had higher reading skills. By recognizing the existing strengths and weaknesses and holding programs through counseling centers can develop the study skills in the students. PMID:25013837

Association between learning style preferences and anatomy assessment outcomes in graduate-entry and undergraduate medical students.

PubMed

O'Mahony, Siobhain M; Sbayeh, Amgad; Horgan, Mary; O'Flynn, Siun; O'Tuathaigh, Colm M P

2016-07-08

An improved understanding of the relationship between anatomy learning performance and approaches to learning can lead to the development of a more tailored approach to delivering anatomy teaching to medical students. This study investigated the relationship between learning style preferences, as measured by Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic (VARK) inventory style questionnaire and Honey and Mumford's learning style questionnaire (LSQ), and anatomy and clinical skills assessment performance at an Irish medical school. Additionally, mode of entry to medical school [undergraduate/direct-entry (DEM) vs. graduate-entry (GEM)], was examined in relation to individual learning style, and assessment results. The VARK and LSQ were distributed to first and second year DEM, and first year GEM students. DEM students achieved higher clinical skills marks than GEM students, but anatomy marks did not differ between each group. Several LSQ style preferences were shown to be weakly correlated with anatomy assessment performance in a program- and year-specific manner. Specifically, the "Activist" style was negatively correlated with anatomy scores in DEM Year 2 students (rs = -0.45, P = 0.002). The "Theorist" style demonstrated a weak correlation with anatomy performance in DEM Year 2 (rs = 0.18, P = 0.003). Regression analysis revealed that, among the LSQ styles, the "Activist" was associated with poorer anatomy assessment performance (P < 0.05), while improved scores were associated with students who scored highly on the VARK "Aural" modality (P < 0.05). These data support the contention that individual student learning styles contribute little to variation in academic performance in medical students. Anat Sci Educ 9: 391-399. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Capacity-Building for Career Paths in Public Health and Biomedical Research for Undergraduate Minority Students: A Jackson Heart Study Success Model.

PubMed

White, Wendy Brown; Srinivasan, Asoka; Nelson, Cheryl; Fahmy, Nimr; Henderson, Frances

2016-07-21

This article chronicles the building of individual student capacity as well as faculty and institutional capacity, within the context of a population-based, longitudinal study of African Americans and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this article is to present preliminary data documenting the results of this approach. The JHS Scholars program is designed, under the organizational structure of the Natural Sciences Division at Tougaloo College, to provide solid preparation in quantitative skills through: good preparation in mathematics and the sciences; a high level of reading comprehension; hands-on learning experiences; and mentoring and counseling to sustain the motivation of the students to pursue further studies. This program is on the campus of a private Historically Black College in Mississippi. The participants in the program are undergraduate students. Data, which included information on major area of study, institution attended, degrees earned and position in the workforce, were analyzed using STATA 14. Of 167 scholars, 46 are currently enrolled, while 118 have graduated. One half have completed graduate or professional programs, including; medicine, public health, pharmacy, nursing, and biomedical science; approximately one-fourth (25.4 %) are enrolled in graduate or professional programs; and nearly one tenth (9.3%) completed graduate degrees in law, education, business or English. These data could assist other institutions in understanding the career development process that helps underrepresented minority students in higher education to make career choices on a path toward public health, health professions, biomedical research, and related careers.

The effects of different types of text and individual differences on view complexity about genetically modified organisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dinsmore, Daniel L.; Zoellner, Brian P.; Parkinson, Meghan M.; Rossi, Anthony M.; Monk, Mary J.; Vinnachi, Jenelle

2017-05-01

View change about socio-scientific issues has been well studied in the literature, but the change in the complexity of those views has not. In the current study, the change in the complexity of views about a specific scientific topic (i.e. genetically modified organisms; GMOs) and use of evidence in explaining those views was examined in relation to individual factors and type of text (informational, persuasive, or narrative). Undergraduate students completed measures of their prior views about GMOs their epistemic beliefs about the nature of science, and activities related to food consumption. Participants then read either an informational, persuasive, or narrative passage about GMOs and again answered a question related to their views about GMOs. Participants who read the persuasive passage decreased in the complexity of their views, while those who read the narrative and expository passage increased in the complexity of their views. Additionally, while cultural activities related to the complexity of individuals' views during the pretest, these significant differences were not evident at posttest after the text intervention. These findings can be used to help scientists and teachers better understand how to communicate information critical to understanding complex science and environmental issues to the public and their students.

Taken out of Context: Differential Processing in Contextual and Isolated Word Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin-Chang, Sandra; Levesque, Kyle

2013-01-01

Three experiments are reported that investigate the cognitive processes underlying contextual and isolated word reading. In Phase 1, undergraduate participants were exposed to 75 target words under three conditions. The participants generated 25 words from definitions, read 25 words in context and read 25 in isolation. In Phase 2, volunteers…

The Use of “Non-Fiction Novels” in a Sensation and Perception Course

PubMed Central

Gunther, Karen L.

2011-01-01

Scientific material can be difficult to relate to everyday knowledge. Textbook facts can be abstract. This Study of Teaching and Learning project examined the use of “non-fiction novels” (biographies and other books that read like novels but are true) in an undergraduate Sensation and Perception course in order to increase the concreteness of the reading material and to give the students a story on which to hang the facts learned in lecture. In Phase I (Fall 2009) non-fiction novels were used for half of the units and a standard textbook for the other half. In Phase II (Fall 2010) only non-fiction novels were used. The Fall 2009 class was very positive about the use of non-fiction novels, but exam scores did not mirror this enthusiasm, either on semester exam scores or on a four-month re-take of the cumulative final exam. In contrast, the Fall 2010 class missed having a textbook, but exam performance significantly improved over prior semesters, and performance on the four-month re-take of the cumulative final exam showed performance equivalent to the Fall 2009 class’s four-month performance on questions from textbook units. In both semesters, the effectiveness of the instructor in stimulating student interest was significantly higher than in prior years where only the textbook was used. In addition, 68% of the students said that reading the non-fiction novels made them want to learn more about our sensory systems. PMID:23626489

The use of "non-fiction novels" in a sensation and perception course.

PubMed

Gunther, Karen L

2011-01-01

Scientific material can be difficult to relate to everyday knowledge. Textbook facts can be abstract. This Study of Teaching and Learning project examined the use of "non-fiction novels" (biographies and other books that read like novels but are true) in an undergraduate Sensation and Perception course in order to increase the concreteness of the reading material and to give the students a story on which to hang the facts learned in lecture. In Phase I (Fall 2009) non-fiction novels were used for half of the units and a standard textbook for the other half. In Phase II (Fall 2010) only non-fiction novels were used. The Fall 2009 class was very positive about the use of non-fiction novels, but exam scores did not mirror this enthusiasm, either on semester exam scores or on a four-month re-take of the cumulative final exam. In contrast, the Fall 2010 class missed having a textbook, but exam performance significantly improved over prior semesters, and performance on the four-month re-take of the cumulative final exam showed performance equivalent to the Fall 2009 class's four-month performance on questions from textbook units. In both semesters, the effectiveness of the instructor in stimulating student interest was significantly higher than in prior years where only the textbook was used. In addition, 68% of the students said that reading the non-fiction novels made them want to learn more about our sensory systems.

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.

Myopia prevention, near work, and visual acuity of college students: integrating the theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory.

PubMed

Chan, Derwin King-Chung; Fung, Ying-Ki; Xing, Suxuan; Hagger, Martin S

2014-06-01

There has been little research examining the psychological antecedents of safety-oriented behavior aimed at reducing myopia risk. This study utilizes self-determination theory (SDT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the role of motivational and social-cognitive factors on individuals' near-work behavior. Adopting a prospective design, undergraduate students (n = 107) completed an initial questionnaire based on SDT in week 1, a second questionnaire containing measures of TPB variables in week 2, and objective measures of reading distance and visual acuity in week 6. The data were analyzed by variance-based structural equation modeling. The results showed that perceived autonomy support and autonomous motivation from SDT significantly predicted attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control from the TPB. These social-cognitive factors were significantly associated with intention and intention significantly predicted reading distance. The relationships in the model held when controlling for visual acuity. In conclusion, the integrated model of SDT and the TPB may help explain myopia-preventive behaviors.

Impaired theory of mind in first-episode schizophrenia: comparison with community, university and depressed controls.

PubMed

Kettle, Jonathan W L; O'Brien-Simpson, Laurie; Allen, Nicholas B

2008-02-01

First order theory of mind, as measured by the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test' Revised, is impaired in schizophrenia. However, no study has investigated whether this occurs in first-episode schizophrenia. Also, it is unclear whether such a deficit is specific to schizophrenia, and whether convenience control samples, particularly undergraduate university students, represent valid comparison groups. This study investigated theory of mind ability, measured by the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test' Revised, in a group of first-episode schizophrenia outpatients (n=13) and three control groups: outpatients with non-psychotic major depression (n=14), individuals from the general community (n=16) and from an undergraduate university course (n=27). The schizophrenia group exhibited significant theory of mind impairments compared to both non-psychiatric control groups but not the depression group. Unexpectedly, the depression group was not significantly impaired compared to the community control group, and the university control group exhibited superior theory of mind ability relative to all three groups. The findings indicate theory of mind deficits in first episode schizophrenia and support the implementation of theory of mind interventions in first-episode schizophrenia treatment programs. Results also indicate that community rather than university control groups represent more valid comparison groups in first-episode schizophrenia research.

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

A comparison of students' and jury panelists' decision-making in split recovery cases.

PubMed

Fox, Paul; Wingrove, Twila; Pfeifer, Courtney

2011-01-01

This study was designed to assess jury decision-making for 289 participants reading a medical malpractice vignette as a function of participant type (undergraduate students or jury panelists), punitive damage award apportionment (none, half, or all to the plaintiff), and compensation previously assigned to the plaintiff (low, medium, or high). We found several sample differences. Overall, jury panelists awarded more money for punitive damages. Jury panelists were also more affected by compensatory-relevant information when making punitive decisions, including assigning punitive damages and rating the fairness of the traditional apportionment scheme, where the plaintiff receives all of the money. Compared with students, more jury panelists were in favor of the plaintiff receiving the entire punitive award. Most students endorsed split recovery. The authors suggest that psycholegal research conducted solely with student samples, rather than community members, may misestimate the likely behavior of actual juries. The implications of the study for split recovery policy are also discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Service Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education: Strategies to Facilitate Meaningful Reflection.

PubMed

Schmidt, Nola A; Brown, Janet M

2016-01-01

Service learning is recognized as a valuable pedagogy involving experiential learning, reflection, and reciprocal learning. Students develop critical thinking and social awareness by using the crucial activity of reflecting upon their experiential learning with community partners. The purpose of this paper is to demystify the process of reflection by identifying best practices to enhance reflection and offering suggestions for grading. By understanding "the what" and "the how" of reflection, educators can implement service learning experiences designed to include the essential component of reflection. Strategies for facilitating meaningful reflection are described including descriptions of what students should reflect upon and how to initiate reflection through writing, reading, doing, and telling. Grading rubrics are suggested to facilitate evaluation of student reflection. When properly implemented, service learning encourages students to be good citizens of the world. By using best practices associated with reflection, students can be challenged to think critically about the world and how their service can achieve community goals. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Blended learning within an undergraduate exercise physiology laboratory.

PubMed

Elmer, Steven J; Carter, Kathryn R; Armga, Austin J; Carter, Jason R

2016-03-01

In physiological education, blended course formats (integration of face-to-face and online instruction) can facilitate increased student learning, performance, and satisfaction in classroom settings. There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of using blending course formats in laboratory settings. We evaluated the impact of blended learning on student performance and perceptions in an undergraduate exercise physiology laboratory. Using a randomized, crossover design, four laboratory topics were delivered in either a blended or traditional format. For blended laboratories, content was offloaded to self-paced video demonstrations (∼15 min). Laboratory section 1 (n = 16) completed blended laboratories for 1) neuromuscular power and 2) blood lactate, whereas section 2 (n = 17) completed blended laboratories for 1) maximal O2 consumption and 2) muscle electromyography. Both sections completed the same assignments (scored in a blinded manner using a standardized rubric) and practicum exams (evaluated by two independent investigators). Pre- and postcourse surveys were used to assess student perceptions. Most students (∼79%) watched videos for both blended laboratories. Assignment scores did not differ between blended and traditional laboratories (P = 0.62) or between sections (P = 0.91). Practicum scores did not differ between sections (both P > 0.05). At the end of the course, students' perceived value of the blended format increased (P < 0.01) and a greater percentage of students agreed that learning key foundational content through video demonstrations before class greatly enhanced their learning of course material compared with a preassigned reading (94% vs. 78%, P < 0.01). Blended exercise physiology laboratories provided an alternative method for delivering content that was favorably perceived by students and did not compromise student performance. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Student-Led Objective Tutorial (SLOT) in Medical Education.

PubMed

Sivagnanam, Gurusamy; Saraswathi, Simansalam; Rajasekaran, Aiyalu

2006-12-01

Purpose - To assess an innovative tutoring program named 'Student-Led Objective Tutorial' (SLOT) among undergraduate medical students. Method - The program was conceptualized by the Pharmacology Unit of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Asian Institute of Medicine Science & Technology (AIMST), Malaysia and implemented in the middle of 2005. A cohort of 246 medical undergraduate students (spread across 5 consecutive batches) participated. Following a brief explanation on the purpose and nature of SLOT, each batch was divided into small groups and was given a reading assignment on 4 previously delivered lecture topics. Each group was asked to prepare 3-5 multiple choice questions (MCQs) of their own in PowerPoint format to be presented, in turns, to the whole class on the day of SLOT. The proceedings were facilitated by 2 lecturers. Student feedback on the efficacy and benefits were assessed through an anonymous self administered questionnaire. Results - About 76% (188) of the students favored SLOT. The acceptance rate of SLOT was higher among males. There was no significant difference between batches in their opinions on whether to pursue SLOT in future. The most prevalent positive comment was that SLOT enhanced learning skills, and the negative comment being, it consumed more time. Conclusions - SLOT is a novel tutorial method which can offset faculty shortage with advantages like enhanced interest among teachers and learners, uniform reach of content, opportunities for group learning, and involvement of visual aids as teaching-learning (T-L) method. SLOT unraveled the students' potential of peer tutoring both inside as well as outside the classroom. Consumer tutors (students) can be tapped as a resource for SLOT for all subjects and courses in healthcare teaching.

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…

Mental health literacy: knowledge of depression among undergraduate students in Hanoi, Vietnam.

PubMed

Nguyen Thai, Quynh Chi; Nguyen, Thanh Huong

2018-01-01

Mental health literacy (MHL) refers to an individuals' knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders that aid their recognition, management, and prevention. This study aims to investigate the MHL of depression among public health and sociology undergraduate students in Hanoi, Vietnam. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from May to September 2015. Data was collected using an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire distributed to 350 undergraduate students (213 public health majors; 137 sociology majors). Questions about MHL of depression were adapted from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health Literacy and Stigma. Question topics included recognition of depression, help-seeking intentions, first-aid support, and knowledge about interventions to help people with depression. Chi squared tests were conducted to compare proportional statistics across groups for multiple measures. With regard to recognition of mental disorders, 32.0% of the respondents used the accurate label "depression" for the vignette. Among those who correctly identified depression, 82.1% would seek help. The corresponding statistic was 81.1% from those who did not recognize depression. Both groups would seek help from counselor, psychologist, family members, and close friends. First-aid support suggested by the respondents in both groups were informal sources ( to listen to her problem in an understanding way, to encourage her to be more physically active , etc.). The interventions considered most helpful by the respondents were self-help strategies such as learning how to relax , getting physically active , doing exercise early in the morning , and reading a self - help book . Joining a group of individuals with similar problems was chosen to be a helpful intervention among those who did not recognize depression (p < 0.001), but those who correctly identify depression believed that people with depression should be admitted to hospital for psychiatric treatment (p < 0.05). There is a need for education about MHL of depression among undergraduate students in Vietnam. The training can focus on symptoms of depression, appropriate help-seeking intentions, and first-aid support relevant to the Vietnamese context.

Effects of reading health and appearance exercise magazine articles on perceptions of attractiveness and reasons for exercise.

PubMed

Pankratow, Melanie; Berry, Tanya R; McHugh, Tara-Leigh F

2013-01-01

To examine the effects of reading exercise-related magazine articles (health, appearance, or control) and the moderating effects of exercise self-identity on reasons for exercise and perceptions of attractiveness, among women in first year university. An additional purpose was to use a thought listing technique, the results of which were examined for evidence of internalization of the exercise-related messages. Female students in their first year of studies between September 2010 and April 2011 (N = 173; mean age = 19.31 years, mean body mass index = 22.01). Participants read a health, appearance, or control article, listed thoughts, and completed questionnaires measuring reasons for exercising, physical self-perception, and exercise self-identity. Participants in the health condition rated exercise for health significantly higher than control condition participants. Participants with high exercise self-identity rated attractiveness as a reason for exercising significantly higher than low exercise self-identity participants in both the health and appearance conditions. Participants with higher internalization scores (i.e., accepted societal norms of appearance) reported exercising for attractiveness reasons more so than participants with lower internalization scores. The good news is that health messages may be influential and result in wanting to exercise for health purposes. However, exercising for attractiveness was rated highly by participants with high exercise identity who read either the health or appearance articles. Health and appearance are not necessarily distinct concepts for female undergraduate students and the media may influence cited reasons for exercise.

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

Using Eye Tracking to Investigate Semantic and Spatial Representations of Scientific Diagrams during Text-Diagram Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jian, Yu-Cin; Wu, Chao-Jung

2015-01-01

We investigated strategies used by readers when reading a science article with a diagram and assessed whether semantic and spatial representations were constructed while reading the diagram. Seventy-one undergraduate participants read a scientific article while tracking their eye movements and then completed a reading comprehension test. Our…

Reading to Write an Argumentation: The Role of Epistemological, Reading and Writing Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mateos, Mar; Cuevas, Isabel; Martin, Elena; Martin, Ana; Echeita, Gerardo; Luna, Maria

2011-01-01

The general aim of this study was to examine the relations among epistemological, reading and writing beliefs held by psychology undergraduates and the role played by these three types of belief in influencing the degree of perspectivism manifested in a written argumentation task based on reading two texts presenting conflicting perspectives on…

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.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 26: The technical communication practices of aerospace engineering students: Results of the phase 3 AIAA National Student Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Hecht, Laura M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

This report describes similarities and differences between undergraduate and graduate engineering students in the context of two general aspects of the educational experience. First, we explore the extent to which students differ regarding the factors that lead to the choice of becoming an engineer, current satisfaction with that choice, and career-related goals and objectives. Second, we look at the technical communication practices, habits, and training of aerospace engineering students. The reported data were obtained from a survey of student members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The survey was undertaken as a phase 3 activity of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Data are reported for the following categories: student demographics; skill importance, skill training, and skill helpfulness; collaborative writing; computer and information technology use and importance; use of electronic networks; use and importance of libraries and library services; use and importance of information sources and products; use of foreign language technical reports; and foreign language (reading and speaking) skills.

[Physical projects atelier: strategy for physical resources administration learning on nursing].

PubMed

Draganov, Patricia Bover; Sanna, Maria Cristina

2011-09-01

The success of learning involves adequate strategies. Those inspired on andragogy, which is the science of teaching adults, seem to be ideal for the nursing undergraduate subject "projects", with a focus on the administration of physical resources for nursing. This study reports teaching strategies that try to estimulate the acquisition of competences that make the nurse capable of a dialogue on projects with a multiprofessional team. The strategy involved a workshop composed by four stages: reading of projects, health assistance institute (HAI) attributions, notions on physical scaling strategies and development of a glossary. The strategy, proposed by a graduate student in the subject "Strategies to the teaching of Administration", was tested through practical application, evaluated and approved by graduate students and teachers. The conditions for its implementation are working with few students, availability of proper classrooms and equipment, and partnership with HAIs.

Testing foreign language impact on engineering students' scientific problem-solving performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tatzl, Dietmar; Messnarz, Bernd

2013-12-01

This article investigates the influence of English as the examination language on the solution of physics and science problems by non-native speakers in tertiary engineering education. For that purpose, a statistically significant total number of 96 students in four year groups from freshman to senior level participated in a testing experiment in the Degree Programme of Aviation at the FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria. Half of each test group were given a set of 12 physics problems described in German, the other half received the same set of problems described in English. It was the goal to test linguistic reading comprehension necessary for scientific problem solving instead of physics knowledge as such. The results imply that written undergraduate English-medium engineering tests and examinations may not require additional examination time or language-specific aids for students who have reached university-entrance proficiency in English as a foreign language.

Brownfield Action Online - An Interactive Undergraduate Science Course in Environmental Forensics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liddicoat, Joseph; Bower, Peter

2014-05-01

Brownfield Action (BA) is a web-based, interactive, three dimensional digital space and learning simulation in which students form geotechnical consulting companies and work collectively to explore problems in environmental forensics. Created at Barnard College (BC) in conjunction with the Center for New Media Teaching and Learning at Columbia University, BA has a 12-year history at BC of use in one semester of a two-semester Introduction to Environmental Science course that is taken by more than 100 female undergraduate non-science majors to satisfy their science requirement. The pedagogical methods and design of the BA model are grounded in a substantial research literature focused on the design, use, and effectiveness of games and simulation in education. The successful use of the BA simulation at BC and 14 other institutions in the U.S. is described in Bower et al. (2011 and 2014). Soon to be taught online to non-traditional undergraduate students, BA has 15 modules that include a reconnaissance survey; scale; topographic, bedrock, and water table maps; oral and written reports from residents and the municipal government; porosity and permeability measurements of the regolith (sand) in the area of interest; hydrocarbon chemistry; direction and velocity of groundwater flow; and methods of geophysical exploration (soil gas, ground penetrating radar, magnetic metal detection, excavation, and drilling). Student performance is assessed by weekly exercises and a semester ending Environmental Site Assessment Phase I Report that summarizes the individual and collective discoveries about a contaminated subsurface plume that emanates from a leaking underground storage tank at a gasoline station upgrade from the water well that serves the surrounding community. Texts for the course are Jonathan Harr's A Civil Action and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which are accompanied by questions that direct the reading.

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...

Palliative care volunteerism among college students in Canada.

PubMed

Claxton-Oldfield, Stephen; Tomes, Jennifer; Brennan, Michelle; Fawcett, Catherine; Claxton-Oldfield, Jane

2005-01-01

The goal of Study 1 was to investigate whether young Canadian adults were interested in becoming involved in palliative care volunteer work. After reading a brief description of what volunteering in a palliative care environment typically involves, participants (undergraduate students) were asked to indicate whether they would be interested in this kind of volunteer experience and to provide a written explanation of their answer. Of the 105 participating students, only 39 (37.1 percent) expressed an interest in volunteering, while 66 (62.9 percent) were not interested. Not surprisingly, the results revealed that significantly more females than males were interested in palliative care volunteer work (45.9 percent and 25.0 percent, respectively). The most common reason students gave for wanting to become a palliative care volunteer was to help others; the reason given most often for not wanting to volunteer was that it would be too emotionally demanding. It is important to note that prior to taking part in this study the majority of the participating students (75.9 percent) did not know what palliative care was. The goal of Study 2 was to investigate undergraduate students' interest in volunteering in a nursing home, in a classroom, and at a food bank. Of the 111 participating students, 74 (66.7 percent) expressed an interest in volunteering at a food bank and in a nursing home, and 89 (80.2 percent) were interested in becoming a classroom volunteer. Together, the results of Studies 1 and 2 support the view that young people in Canada (especially males) are not interested in becoming involved in the care of dying persons. However, the results also indicate that they are very interested in volunteering with other populations (e.g., the elderly, school children) and in other settings (e.g., food bank).

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.

A Progressive Reading, Writing, and Artistic Module to Support Scientific Literacy.

PubMed

Stockwell, Stephanie B

2016-03-01

Scientific literacy, marked by the ability and willingness to engage with scientific information, is supported through a new genre of citizen science-course-based research in association with undergraduate laboratories. A three-phased progressive learning module was developed to enhance student engagement in such contexts while supporting three learning outcomes: I) present an argument based on evidence, II) analyze science and scientists within a social context, and III) experience, reflect upon, and communicate the nature of scientific discovery. Phase I entails guided reading and reflection of citizen science-themed texts. In Phase II, students write, peer-review, and edit position and counterpoint papers inspired by the following prompt, "Nonscientists should do scientific research." Phase III involves two creative assignments intended to communicate the true nature of science. Students work collaboratively to develop public service announcement-like poster campaigns to debunk a common misconception about the nature of science or scientists. Individually, they create a work of art to communicate a specific message about the raw experience of performing scientific research. Suggestions for implementation and modifications are provided. Strengths of the module include the development of transferable skills, temporal distribution of grading demands, minimal in-class time needed for implementation, and the inclusion of artistic projects to support affective learning domains. This citizen science-themed learning module is an excellent complement to laboratory coursework, as it serves to surprise, challenge, and inspire students while promoting disciplinary values.

A cluster randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of an intervention to educate students about depression.

PubMed

Merritt, Rowena K; Price, Jonathan R; Mollison, Jill; Geddes, John R

2007-03-01

Depression is an important cause of disability worldwide, with many people experiencing their first depressive episode before the age of 18. University students are particularly vulnerable to depression. Depression can be treated successfully in most patients. However, for treatment to be successful, depressed people need to recognize their symptoms as illness, present to medical care, and be aware that effective treatment is available. A thoughtful health campaign might therefore increase the likelihood of successful treatment. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention. A total of 3313 undergraduate students participated in the study. The intervention consisted of postcards and posters on depression and its treatment. The primary outcome was student awareness that depression can be treated effectively. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of students reading the postcards, recognition of symptoms and knowledge of treatments. The postcards were read by 69% of students. Less than half of participants reported that depression could be treated effectively, and there was no evidence of a difference between the intervention and control groups [341 (49.1%) v. 379 (49.7%), difference -0.7, p=0.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.1 to 3.7]. However, intervention group participants were more likely than control group participants to recognize depressive symptoms and to report that antidepressants are not addictive. Many university students lack knowledge about depression and its treatment. Simple and cheap media, such as postcards and posters, might help to improve awareness in areas where current knowledge is low.

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).

Do Specific Relevance Instructions Promote Transfer Appropriate Processing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCrudden, Matthew T.

2011-01-01

This study examined whether specific relevance instructions affect transfer appropriate processing. Undergraduates (n = 52) were randomly assigned to one of three pre-reading question conditions that asked them what-questions, why-questions, or to read for understanding (i.e., control condition). There were no differences in reading time across…

A Writing-Intensive Course Improves Biology Undergraduates' Perception and Confidence of Their Abilities to Read Scientific Literature and Communicate Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brownell, Sara E.; Price, Jordan V.; Steinman, Lawrence

2013-01-01

Most scientists agree that comprehension of primary scientific papers and communication of scientific concepts are two of the most important skills that we can teach, but few undergraduate biology courses make these explicit course goals. We designed an undergraduate neuroimmunology course that uses a writing-intensive format. Using a mixture of…

How People Reason: A Grounded Theory Study of Scientific Reasoning about Global Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shiyu

Scientific reasoning is crucial in both scientific inquiry and everyday life. While the majority of researchers have studied "how people reason" by focusing on their cognitive processes, factors related to the underpinnings of scientific reasoning are still under-researched. The present study aimed to develop a grounded theory that captures not only the cognitive processes during reasoning but also their underpinnings. In particular, the grounded theory and phenomenographic methodologies were integrated to explore how undergraduate students reason about competing theories and evidence on global climate change. Twenty-six undergraduate students were recruited through theoretical sampling. Constant comparative analysis of responses from interviews and written assessments revealed that participants were mostly drawn to the surface features when reasoning about evidence. While prior knowledge might not directly contribute to participants' performance on evidence evaluation, it affected their level of engagement when reading and evaluating competing arguments on climate issues. More importantly, even though all participants acknowledged the relative correctness of multiple perspectives, they predominantly favored arguments that supported their own beliefs with weak scientific reasoning about the opposing arguments. Additionally, factors such as personal interests, religious beliefs, and reading capacity were also found to have bearings on the way participants evaluated evidence and arguments. In all, this work contributes to the current endeavors in exploring the nature of scientific reasoning. Taking a holistic perspective, it provides an in-depth discussion of factors that may affect or relate to scientific reasoning processes. Furthermore, in comparison with traditional methods used in the literature, the methodological approach employed in this work brought an innovative insight into the investigation of scientific reasoning. Last but not least, this research may help initiate further discussion regarding how to bridge cognitive research with science education to promote student learning of complex scientific issues such as global climate change.

L1 and L2 Strategy Use in Reading Comprehension of Chinese EFL Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Yea-Ru; Ernst, Cheryl; Talley, Paul C.

2010-01-01

This study revealed the relationship between L1 (Mandarin Chinese) and L2 (English) strategy use in L2 reading comprehension by focusing on the correlation of L1 reading ability, L2 proficiency and employed reading strategies. The participants, 222 undergraduates learning English as a foreign language (EFL), were classified into skilled and…

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.

Engaging novice researchers in the process and culture of science using a "Pass-the-Problem" case strategy.

PubMed

White, Harold B; Usher, David C

2015-01-01

Undergraduates having their first research experience frequently have little idea of what to expect. Institutions offering summer research experiences attempt to address this issue through programs that introduce students to the process and culture of science. However, didactic approaches frequently bore students who prefer more interactive sessions. We describe a "Pass-the-Problem" case study approach that engages groups of students in useful discussions about the research environment they are entering. The cases presented here include keeping a thorough laboratory notebook, balancing laboratory and personal time demands, anxiety about formal presentations, unexpected federal regulatory inspection, working in a lab with limited funds, being used as a technician rather than a researcher, frustration with failed experiments, effects of promotion and tenure on laboratory atmosphere, the importance of reading the research literature, and questioning a career in science. These cases alert students to different situations they might encounter and stimulate discussion about how to deal with them. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

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

Incoming dental students' expectations and acceptance of an electronic textbook program.

PubMed

Brunet, Darlene P; Bates, Michael L; Gallo, John R; Strother, Elizabeth A

2011-05-01

Since 2005, the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry has required the VitalSource Technologies, Inc. Bookshelf as the textbook program for all dental students. In a 2008 survey, four classes of dental students expressed dissatisfaction with most features of the bookshelf. With the expectation that incoming students would be more accustomed and amenable to digital textbooks and to further determine student attitudes toward electronic textbooks, we developed two surveys for first-year dental students in the class of 2013. The sixty-five first-year students received a survey (S1) one week before they were introduced to the e-textbook program. Questions centered on their undergraduate experience with e-books and their expectations of studying with an electronic textbook collection. In the second survey (S2), sent nine months later, the questions focused on students' opinion of the VitalSource Bookshelf. Forty-five students (69.2 percent) completed the S1 survey. Of those, thirty-six (80 percent) responded that they never used e-textbooks in college. Of the nine students who responded that they used e-books, only two liked them without reservations. The response rate to S2 increased to fifty students (77 percent). After using VitalSource for nine months, thirty-three students (66 percent) indicated a preference for reading print textbooks, compared to forty-seven students (57.3 percent) of the four classes surveyed in 2008. Although we expected incoming dental students to have had previous experience with e-textbooks, only nine students had used e-books in college courses. Few students indicated preference for e-textbooks, and over half of the group was undecided. After experience with VitalSource for first-year courses, students indicated that they like VitalSource for the ability to search for specific topics across the entire collection of dental books, but not for reading large amounts of text.

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.

Science Literacy’s Neglected Twin: Numeracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Follette, Katherine B.; McCarthy, D. W.; Dokter, E. F.; Buxner, S.

2014-01-01

The abysmal numerical skills of undergraduates is a common lament among science educators. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that this lack of skill is not mitigated over the course of an undergraduate education and is carried over into the college-educated general population in the form of widespread quantitative illiteracy. Consequently, the general public’s ability to do simple arithmetic, read graphs and charts, interpret statistics and put numbers into context is lacking. This makes them vulnerable to false advertising and pseudoscience and harms their ability to be savvy consumers, discerning voters and conscientious citizens. More than 10% of all college students take an introductory Astronomy course, and the math-phobic are particularly drawn to Astronomy, believing it to be a “non-quantitative” science. We as astronomy educators thus have a unique ability to help with the problem of quantitative illiteracy by showing our students how numbers and numerical language can be used in context to understand science, to make, support and discount arguments, and to interpret information in the media. The educational component of my dissertation has been focused on investigating whether introductory astronomy courses for non-majors can improve student skills and, perhaps even more importantly, improve student attitudes towards the numerical and its role in daily life. This research has included the development of a 25 question survey instrument administered to more than 1000 students in 17 classrooms. I will report on the development of the instrument, as well as interesting preliminary results, including students’ overrating of their own abilities and data showing that it is possible to improve student attitudes, if not skills, by consciously emphasizing the numerical in the science classroom.

Comprehending Multiple Documents on Scientific Controversies: Effects of Reading Goals and Signaling Rhetorical Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stadtler, Marc; Scharrer, Lisa; Skodzik, Timo; Bromme, Rainer

2014-01-01

Understanding conflicts between sources is an inherent part of science text comprehension. We examined whether readers' memories for conflicts and their situational interpretation of conflicts would be affected by reading goals and lexical cue phrases that signal rhetorical relationships. To this end, 198 undergraduates read multiple documents on…

How Reading Strategy Use and Personality Types Are Related?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Safdarian, Zahra; Ghyasi, Majid; Farsani, Mohammad Amini

2014-01-01

This study sought to uncover the reading strategies utilized by Iranian undergraduate English Foreign Language (EFL) learners and their relationship with personality types. To this end, 194 university EFL learners were asked to fill out the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to identify their personality types and answer a reading strategy…

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 style preferences: A study of pre-clinical medical students in Barbados

PubMed Central

OJEH, NKEMCHO; SOBERS-GRANNUM, NATASHA; GAUR, UMA; UDUPA, ALAYA; MAJUMDER, MD.ANWARUL AZIM

2017-01-01

Introduction: Educators need to be aware of different learning styles to effectively tailor instructional strategies and methods to cater to the students’ learning needs and support a conductive learning environment. The VARK [an acronym for visual (V), aural (A), read/write (R) and kinesthetic (K)] instrument is a useful model to assess learning styles. The aim of this study was to use the VARK questionnaire to determine the learning styles of pre-clinical medical students in order to compare the perceived and assessed learning style preferences, assess gender differences in learning style preferences, and determine whether any relationships exists between awareness of learning styles and academic grades, age, gender and learning modality. Methods: The VARK questionnaire was administered to pre-clinical students taking a variety of courses in the first three years of the undergraduate MB BS degree programme at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados in 2014. Results: The majority of the students were multimodal learners with no differences observed between males (59.5%) and females (60.0%), with tetramodal being the most common. Read/write (33.8%) followed by kinesthetic (32.5%) were the most common learning style preferences. The sensory modality preference for females was read/write (34.2%) and for males it was kinesthetic (40.5%). Significant differences were observed between the perceived and assessed learning style preferences with a majority of visual and read/write learners correctly matching their perceived to their actual learning styles. Awareness of learning styles was associated with learning modality but not with academic performance, age or gender. Overall, 60.7% of high achievers used multimodal learning compared to 56.9% low achievers. Conclusion: The findings from this study indicated that the VARK tool was useful in gathering information about different learning styles, and might assist educators in designing blended teaching strategies to cater to the students’ needs as well as help the students in becoming aware of their learning style preferences to enhance learning. PMID:28979913

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…

Students Turned Off by Turnitin? Perception of Plagiarism and Collusion by Undergraduate Bioscience Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompsett, Andrew; Ahluwalia, Jatinder

2010-01-01

Research on undergraduate bioscience students and the incidence of plagiarism is still in its infancy and a key problem arises in gauging the perception of undergraduate students on plagiarism and collusion in biosciences subjects because of the lack of empirical data. The aim of this study was to provide qualitative data on the perceptions of…

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.

A Preservice Training Module in Microcomputer Applications for Teaching Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balajthy, Ernest

1986-01-01

Declares the need to train teachers to use computers in reading and language arts and describes a training program used with undergraduate education majors at the State University of New York at Geneseo. (SRT)

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…

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.

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

Effects of Reading Health and Appearance Exercise Magazine Articles on Perceptions of Attractiveness and Reasons for Exercise

PubMed Central

Pankratow, Melanie; Berry, Tanya R.; McHugh, Tara-Leigh F.

2013-01-01

Objective To examine the effects of reading exercise-related magazine articles (health, appearance, or control) and the moderating effects of exercise self-identity on reasons for exercise and perceptions of attractiveness, among women in first year university. An additional purpose was to use a thought listing technique, the results of which were examined for evidence of internalization of the exercise-related messages. Participants Female students in their first year of studies between September 2010 and April 2011 (N = 173; mean age = 19.31 years, mean body mass index = 22.01). Methods Participants read a health, appearance, or control article, listed thoughts, and completed questionnaires measuring reasons for exercising, physical self-perception, and exercise self-identity. Results Participants in the health condition rated exercise for health significantly higher than control condition participants. Participants with high exercise self-identity rated attractiveness as a reason for exercising significantly higher than low exercise self-identity participants in both the health and appearance conditions. Participants with higher internalization scores (i.e., accepted societal norms of appearance) reported exercising for attractiveness reasons more so than participants with lower internalization scores. Conclusions The good news is that health messages may be influential and result in wanting to exercise for health purposes. However, exercising for attractiveness was rated highly by participants with high exercise identity who read either the health or appearance articles. Health and appearance are not necessarily distinct concepts for female undergraduate students and the media may influence cited reasons for exercise. PMID:23630618

Brain Knowledge and the Prevalence of Neuromyths among Prospective Teachers in Greece.

PubMed

Papadatou-Pastou, Marietta; Haliou, Eleni; Vlachos, Filippos

2017-01-01

Although very often teachers show a great interest in introducing findings from the field of neuroscience in their classrooms, there is growing concern about the lack of academic instruction on neuroscience on teachers' curricula because this has led to a proliferation of neuromyths. We surveyed 479 undergraduate (mean age = 19.60 years, SD = 2.29) and 94 postgraduate students (mean age = 28.52 years, SD = 7.16) enrolled in Departments of Education at the University of Thessaly and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. We used a 70-item questionnaire aiming to explore general knowledge on the brain, neuromyths, the participants' attitude toward neuroeducation as well as their reading habits. Prospective teachers were found to believe that neuroscience knowledge is useful for teachers (90.3% agreement), to be somewhat knowledgeable when it comes to the brain (47.33% of the assertions were answered correctly), but to be less well informed when it comes to neuroscientific issues related to special education (36.86% correct responses). Findings further indicate that general knowledge about the brain was found to be the best safeguard against believing in neuromyths. Based on our results we suggest that prospective teachers can benefit from academic instruction on neuroscience. We propose that such instruction takes place in undergraduate courses of Departments of Education and that emphasis is given in debunking neuromyths, enhancing critical reading skills, and dealing with topics relevant to special education.

[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…