scholarly journals Students’ experiences of a first‐year block model curriculum in higher education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trudy Ambler ◽  
Ian Solomonides ◽  
Andrew Smallridge
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Block Model ◽  
Model Curriculum

A Compass During the Storm: Offering Students Critical Rigor for Polarizing Times

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Wender ◽  
Valerie J. D’Erman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Learning Objective ◽  
First Year

ABSTRACT Teaching and learning in higher education is occurring, unavoidably, within the broader civic context of today’s extraordinarily polarizing political times. We seek to help students situate themselves with respect to and, above all, thoughtfully assess others’ as well as their own perspectives on issues of profound contention, without contributing to exacerbated polarization ourselves. Specifically, we offer students in our first-year exploratory political science course a vital tool—critical rigor—for navigating but not being inundated by the storm. This article discusses our experiences in teaching the course titled, “The Worlds of Politics,” as we attempt to help students deeply engage in cognitive processes of critical thinking and analysis, without undue infringement from their own—and least of all our own—personal political biases. Our focal learning objective is the cultivation of critical-thinking skills that promote students’ drawing of distinctions between advocacy and analysis, as well as their discerning civic engagement.

A necessary evil? The rise of online exam proctoring in Australian universities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2110058
Author(s):  
Neil Selwyn ◽  
Chris O’Neill ◽  
Gavin Smith ◽  
Mark Andrejevic ◽  
Xin Gu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Automated Systems ◽  
University Staff ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Surveillance Technology ◽  
Online Examination ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Necessary Evil ◽  
Australian Universities

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the rapid but sometimes controversial take-up of ‘online examination proctoring’ systems by universities keen to maintain their assessment schedules during times of campus closure. Following the theoretical tradition of media ‘domestication’, this article examines the mainstream adoption of different online proctoring systems in Australian higher education during the first year of the pandemic. Through analysis of interviews, documents, news, social media and marketing materials, the article examines the ‘appropriation’, ‘objectification’, incorporation’ and ‘conversion’ of proctoring technology from the perspective of commercial providers, university authorities, university staff and student groups. This raises a number of critical issues underpinning the adoption of this exam surveillance technology – not least the surrender of control to commercial providers, the hidden labour required to sustain ‘automated’ systems and the increased vulnerabilities of ‘remote’ studying.

Overconfidence of vocational education students when entering higher education

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Bowden ◽  
Subhash Abhayawansa ◽  
John Bahtsevanoglou
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – There is evidence that students who attend Technical and Further Education (TAFE) prior to entering higher education underperform in their first year of study. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of self-efficacy in understanding the performance of students who completed TAFE in the previous year in a first year subject of microeconomics in a dual sector university in Melbourne, Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises data collected by surveys of 151 students. Findings – A student’s self-efficacy is positively associated with their marks in a first year subject of microeconomics. However, the relationship between final marks and self-efficacy is negative for those students who attended TAFE in the previous year suggesting that they suffer from the problem of overconfidence. When holding self-efficacy constant, using econometric techniques, TAFE attendance is found to be positively related to final marks. Research limitations/implications – The findings are exploratory (based on a small sample) and lead to a need to conduct cross institutional studies. Practical implications – The research points to the need for early interventions so that TAFE students perform well in their first year of higher education. It also points to potential issues in the development of Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) programs. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the inter-related impact of attendance at TAFE in the previous year and self-efficacy on the subsequent academic performance of TAFE students.

A FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS’ ADAPTATION TO DIFFICULTIES AT HIGH EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS

2021 ◽  
pp. 97-113
Author(s):  
Nailya R. Salikhova ◽  
◽  
Aida R. Fakhrutdinova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Social Community ◽  
Transition To Higher Education ◽  
Study Participants

Data from an empirical study aimed at identifying the difficulties faced by students in their transition to higher education, the overcoming of which is important for personal development, are presented in the article. The study participants (n=179) were asked to describe the difficulties of transition from school to University in the 1st year based on analysis of their autobiographical memory. The content analysis of texts allowed identifying the main themes and compiling a list of challenges, and then the frequency of occurrence of each of them was determined. According to the results, the most actual difficulties are the different aspects of integrating into the new social community due to sharp changes in the social environment during the transition from school to University. A big challenge is the need for self-organization in educational and everyday matters, planning and organizing your time. The third most frequently mentioned is learning difficulties, especially those related to mastering the material in the new educational environment. Problematic areas of adaptation to higher education that have not been previously reflected in the sources are the establishment of a common life in the dormitory, pressure from parents, the manifestation of their individuality, the increase in the length of classes and the pace of learning, romantic relationships and language barriers. The difficulties of the first examination session are much less frequently mentioned, and are more frequently mentioned when examining the current adaptation process. The results of the study can be used for the development and subsequent implementation of a system of practical measures aimed at helping students to adapt to the new environment and conditions. Such assistance to students in building a new way of life at a university, especially at an early stage of study, is necessary not only to improve the effectiveness of the educational process, but also to facilitate the processes of personal growth and development of students

scholarly journals Analysis of Tinto’s student integration theory in first-year undergraduate computing students of a UK higher education institution

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 97-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Chrysikos ◽  
Ejaz Ahmed ◽  
Rupert Ward
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
First Year ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Integration ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose Retention is one of the key performance indicators in university quality assurance processes. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes leading to low retention rates for first-year undergraduate computing students in a UK higher education institution (HEI). Design/methodology/approach The study applies Tinto’s student integration theory, and connects it with the behavioural patterns of students. Data were collected from 901 students using Pascarella and Terenzini’s questionnaire (integration scales). This data were combined with student enrolment information and analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. Findings The study results indicate that Tinto’s student integration theory is useful in analysing student retention, but this accounts for only a modest amount of variance in retention. Nevertheless, important relationships amongst student’s initial and later academic goals and commitments have been identified through this new approach to analysing retention. The largest direct effect on retention was accounted for by initial goals and institutional commitments, followed by later goals and institutional commitments. In addition, the results show that academic and social integration constructs can have an influence on the student retention processes. When all, or some, of these relationships are operating towards students’ benefits, appropriate services or programmes, such as student support systems, can have their maximum benefits. Originality/value The authors mapped behavioural-related retention factors using a learning community lens. The study explored students’ social and learning experiences within the context of a UK HEI by employing Tinto’s model. This is the first time the model has been tested in this context.

Japan: The "Haves" are Gaining and the "Have-Nots" are Losing

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Obara
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Prospective Students ◽  
Risk Of Falling ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Rural Colleges ◽  
Negative Cycle ◽  
Rural Institutions

Many Japanese private higher education institutions also face a risk of falling into the "losing group." It seems that small/rural colleges end up receiving less extra income from admissions over the tei-in (the quota for first-year students) level. This loss creates less scholarship money for capable students. The small/rural institutions are likely to lose prospective students as a negative cycle works against them. This tendency, in turn, augments the opportunities available to large, metropolitan higher education institutions. In Japan, a clear division is anticipated, with the larger institutions getting much larger and the smaller and rural ones getting much smaller. This is a hard fact that we will face in the foreseeable future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document