scholarly journals Learning how to learn: can embedded discussion boards help first-year students discover new learning strategies?

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Louise Ainscough ◽  
Richard Leung ◽  
Kay Colthorpe
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
System Integration ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
First Year ◽  
Discussion Boards ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
New Learning ◽  
Self Discovery ◽  
New Strategies

Learning anatomy and physiology at university can be challenging, as students need to understand both the language of the discipline and complex topics, such as system integration. Yet learning strategies are rarely taught at university, making it difficult for students to adopt new strategies, if their approach to learning has not been effective or efficient. This study evaluated the use of small-group peer discussion boards as an avenue for sharing learning strategies between students in a first-year anatomy and physiology course. The majority of students (91%) identified strategies from the discussion board worth trying before they completed the midsemester exam. The most frequently reported type of strategy was transforming records. By the end of semester, 76% of students had adopted at least one new strategy; however, these students performed significantly worse on the exam compared with students who did not adopt new strategies. The students who adopted new strategies learned about them from peers (33%), the discussion board (32%), or through self-discovery (32%). The majority of students (83%) found the discussion boards to be useful as a source of new learning strategies and for insight into how others learn. Although the discussion boards provided an avenue for students to learn about new strategies from each other, further guidance from instructors may be required to help students evaluate the effectiveness of these learning strategies.

scholarly journals Proficiency markers of the motivation- and value-related components of the professional competence to be acquired by the specialists in the field of processing and food production

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1 (130)) ◽  
pp. 107-113
Author(s):  
Viktoriia Novikova
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Educational Activity ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
The Future ◽  
Self Discovery ◽  
Systematic Professional Development

The purpose of the research is to define the proficiency state of the motivation- and value-related components of the professional competence acquired by the specialists in the field of processing and food productions (based on the results of the experiment which involved the first-year students specialised in 181 "Food technologies"). To determine the proficiency of level of the motivation- and value-related components of the professional competence to be acquired by the future specialists in the field of processing and food productions we used the methodologies adapted to our research: the testing of person’s value-related reference points and the testing of person’s capacity for self-discovery. The experiment was aimed at revealing and comparing future specialists’ motivation to study, basic reasons for educational activity, grounds for choosing a profession, and value-related orientations of the students constituting experimental and control (general) groups. The experiment involved the students specialised in 181 "Food technologies" in Kharkiv State University for Food Technologies and Trade, Kharkiv Petro Vasylenko National Technical University of Agriculture and Kharkiv Cooperative Trade and Economic College. The experiment consisted of two stages. At the first stage, 237 future specialists participated in the continuous questioning specially elaborated by the author. On the second stage, the first-year (two groups) and the second-year students (two groups) were tested according to the methodology "Motivation for study": test 1 "Studying the reasons of students’ educational activity”, test 2 "The necessities to develop students’ self-evaluation". The future specialists in the field of processing and food production acquired the professional competencies during the pedagogical events facilitating the development of stable motivation for their professional activity. The experiment allowed us to affirm that the professional competence demonstrated by the future specialists in the field of processing and food productions consists of some components, the motivation- and value-related component being one of them. On the whole, the results of the questioning confirmed the insufficient (reproductive) proficiency level which the future specialists of processing and food production demonstrated within the professional competence. The results of the first stage of the experiment (continuous questioning) testify that it is important for most students rather to get an appraisal than acquire knowledge. Most students failed to give any reasons for self-perfection or systematic professional development.

scholarly journals The Influence of the Economic Students’ Motivations and Language Learning Strategies towards Their English Achievement in STIE Muhammadiyah Palopo

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Iksan ◽  
Dirham Dirham
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
First Year ◽  
Social Strategies ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Study Programs ◽  
High Motivation ◽  
English Competence

The aims of this research were: (1) to investigate the students’ motivations, (2) to investigate the language learning strategies (LLSs) that are used by the students, (3) to investigate the level of students’ LLSs usage, and (4) to investigate the influence of the students’ motivations and the level of students’ LLSs usage towards their English competence. This research gave descriptions about the students’ motivations, LLSs that are used by the students, and the level of students’ LLSs usage. The sample of this research was 111 students that were taken from three classes of the first year students from three study programs, i.e. Ilmu Ekonomi, Manajemen, and Akuntansi. This research revealed that the students were categorized into high motivated to learn English where 70 students (63%) had high motivation, 25 students (23%) had very high motivation, 13 students (12%) had medium motivation, and 3 students (3%) had low motivation. This research also found that the students were dominantly used metacognitive strategies (44%), followed by compensation strategies (18%), affective strategies (14%), social strategies (10%), cognitive strategies (8%), and the least used strategies were memory strategies (6%). For the level of the students’ language learning strategies usage, the researcher found that the students level were categorized into medium, where 78 students (70%) mediumly used the LLSs, 30 students (27%) highly used the LLSs, 2 students (2%) lowly used the LLSs, and 1 student (1%) very highly used the LLSs.

scholarly journals A good sine? Seeking math help using crowdsourced online discussion boards

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-93
Author(s):  
Ann Y Kim ◽  
Ian Thacker
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Discussion Boards ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Online Discussion Board ◽  
Asynchronous Online Discussion ◽  
One Year ◽  
Khan Academy

We examined asynchronous online discussion boards, specifically those that are unmediated by teacher figures, to identify characteristics of these spaces that support or constrain students as they seek help in mathematics. We analyzed 86 questions and 114 associated responses posted to two Khan Academy discussion boards centered around two related trigonometry lessons. The platform created a space where students could ask a variety of questions ranging from those requesting math definitions and explanations of math procedures to justifications for why formulas are true. However, crowdsourced replies to questions were delayed, sometimes taking more than one year for a reply to be posted; content of student replies did not always match the content of the questions posed; and the quality of the replies varied considerably, some replies were helpful or resourceful while others were incorrect or vague. These challenges seemed connected to the unmediated nature of this type of asynchronous online discussion board. We argue that this online learning environment demands additional self-regulated learning strategies such as awareness of one’s needs and the timeframe in which they must be met. We also discuss implications for research and practice.

scholarly journals Collaboration through Online Discussion Board: A Discourse Analysis of CALL in a Normal University in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
First Year ◽  
Discussion Boards ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Online Discussion Board ◽  
Normal University

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, all students take courses online in Mainland China at the beginning of the semester. The discourse for communication online is important for a successful course. In this study, the online discussion board assignment of a college graduate course was analyzed for the discourse patterns based on Vygotsky’s Cultural-historical theories that are more pragmatic than linguistics (Wertsch, 1990) and miss communication between students (Forman & McCormick, 1995). The course was taught and communicated in all-English. Participants are first-year graduate students in one Normal University in Northern Jiangsu Province in China. Data were generated based on a discourse analysis qualitative research and analyzed using the histogram and qualitative discourse pattern analysis. Findings for the histogram showed a late assignment submission, while more than half of students submitted during the final three days while having 11 days to finish. Patterns of responding were discussed in "questions with most responses" and "questions with no response." The open-ended questions allow respondents to utilize knowledge previously acquired as mediation for further discussions, while close-ended questions received a pattern of the contribution of degrading. Questions with no responses were mostly posted during the final two days. The discourse pattern of online discussion boards, thus manifested itself as a mediation tool for idea exchange not only online for peer evaluation but also self-evaluation.

scholarly journals Building Learning Communities in Residential Colleges

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-68
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Muldoon ◽  
◽  
Ian Macdonald ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
Regional University ◽  
Traditional Lectures ◽  
The University ◽  
Senior Students

This paper addresses the retention issues presented when large numbers of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and associated disadvantaged educational histories live together on-campus. It reports research in progress on a new approach taken at the University of New England (UNE), Australia, aimed at encouraging the growth of learning communities in colleges through the training and subsequent support of senior students charged with helping first year students negotiate the transition to successful university study. It outlines the issues faced by both the first year students and the senior students, strategies implemented, outcomes to date and plans for further change. UNE is a regional university with 5,000 on-campus students, half of whom live in seven residential colleges. It appears that for these students, traditional lectures and workshops on learning strategies and techniques are not as effective as layered, personal ‘at the elbow’ learning support in a non-threatening, social environment.

Improving Students' Exam Performance by Introducing Study Strategies and Goal Setting

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Manion Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Study Strategies ◽  
Introductory Psychology ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Exam Performance ◽  
First Year ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Experimental Section

This study addresses whether learning strategies would improve students' exam performance. Students in 2 sections (N = 65) of Introductory Psychology participated. I introduced students in the experimental section to learning strategies. Students set individual learning goals and recorded their learning related behavior during the first 2 units. Students in the control condition engaged in nonacademic tasks. All students experienced a lesson on learning at the end of Unit 2. First-year students in the control condition obtained significantly lower scores than all other students on the first 2 exams. On the 3rd exam, differences were not significant. On the final exam, the original pattern reemerged.

Social interaction learning strategies, motivation, first-year students’ experiences and permanence in university studies

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael García-Ros ◽  
Francisco Pérez-González ◽  
Francisco Cavas-Martínez ◽  
José M. Tomás
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
University Studies
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document