scholarly journals Entering the First Year of a Multidisciplinary, Hands-on, Competency-based Learning Experience: Hopes and Concerns of Students, Parents, and Faculty

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Exter ◽  
Iryna Ashby ◽  
Mark Shaurette
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Competency Based

Investigating the viability of a competency-based, qualitative laboratory assessment model in first-year undergraduate chemistry

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 629-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reyne Pullen ◽  
Stuart C. Thickett ◽  
Alex C. Bissember
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
First Year ◽  
Skills Acquisition ◽  
Laboratory Assessment ◽  
New Model ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Criterion Referenced

In chemistry curricula, both the role of the laboratory program and the method of assessment used are subject to scrutiny and debate. The ability to identify clearly defined competencies for the chemistry laboratory program is crucial, given the numerous other disciplines that rely on foundation-level chemistry knowledge and practical skills. In this report, we describe the design, implementation, results, and feedback obtained on a competency-based assessment model recently introduced into the first-year laboratory program at an Australian university. Previously, this laboratory program was assessed via a quantitative, criterion-referenced assessment model. At the core of this new model was a set of competency criteria relating to skills-acquisition, chemical knowledge and application of principles, safety in the laboratory, as well as professionalism and teamwork. By design, these criteria were aligned with the learning outcomes of the course and the degree itself, as well as local accrediting bodies. Qualitative and quantitative feedback from students (and staff) obtained before and after the implementation of this new model suggested this approach provided an enhanced learning experience enabling a greater focus on the acquisition of fundamental laboratory skills and techniques.

Teaching as Inquiry: Engaging Preservice Teachers with Research

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Patterson ◽  
Jennifer Sumsion ◽  
Toni Cross ◽  
Margaret McNaught ◽  
Alma Fleet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Community Of Inquiry ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Technology Skills ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Ict Skills ◽  
The Core ◽  
Powerful Learning ◽  
Hands On

This paper describes an initiative aimed at fostering inquiry-oriented learning through the introduction of the core unit Teachers as Researchers into the first year of the undergraduate program at the Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University. The unit contained three components: 1) introductory research skills for first-year students; 2) training for information technology skills; and 3) a hands-on approach where staff were engaged in research about the students’ learning. These aspects of the Teachers as Researchers unit combined to make it a powerful learning experience for students and staff alike. Several outcomes are evident in the early data analysis. First, students gained confidence in their developing ICT skills, and second, the unit has made a notable contribution to encouraging a ‘community of inquiry amongst pre-service teachers.

scholarly journals Using an Implementation Trial of an ePortfolio System to Promote Student Learning through Self-Reflection: Leveraging the Success

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 263
Author(s):  
Chris Campbell ◽  
Tran Le Nghi Tran
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
First Year ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Large N ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Implementation Trial

This paper reports on a pilot study that was conducted during a technical trial of a new ePortfolio system at a large Australian university. Students from a large (n = 325) first-year educational technology course were given the opportunity to use the new ePortfolio system weekly as part of their reflective practice at the end of the hands-on tutorial classes and also through a blogging assignment that required six posts throughout the semester. Although the students reflecting on their work and ePortfolios themselves are not new concepts, this paper reports how assessment practices can be improved using ePortfolios and how students can improve their reflective practice through simple and regular use throughout the 12-week semester that the study was conducted. From the class, 208 students responded to the survey with the results being positive. The students were able to use the system easily and did not report many problems with crashing or freezing. The lessons learnt form an important part of this study for future iterations with these reported in the paper.

scholarly journals Need for Assessment of MDS Paper I Examination at the End of the First Year of MDS: A Survey

2021 ◽  
pp. 030157422097623
Author(s):  
Shweta A. Kolhe ◽  
Shivani S. Khandelwal ◽  
Amol A. Verulkar ◽  
Twinkle D. Bajaj ◽  
Niyati Bhupesh Potode
Keyword(s):  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Dental Surgery ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
New Learning ◽  
Patient Work ◽  
Clear Information ◽  
Gain Access ◽  
New Framework

Introduction: Pursuant to the notification published by Dental Council of India, dated May 17, 2018, no. DE-14-MDS-2018/2131, the committee amended the regulation on postgraduate (PG) Masters of Dental Surgery (MDS) students and made provision of giving MDS paper I at the end of the first year. Assessment of this survey will provide clear information between the responses of PG students and teachers. The focus of this article is to report and discuss the characteristics of new learning process. Material Method: A total of 150 sample sizes and 50 PG teachers were included. Questions were generated using Google Form to gain access and establish rapport with participants and to obtain open, honest understanding of the participants’ “learning experience.” The link was sent to the participants, using emails or WhatsApp number. Result: The analysis of survey data was carried out using Likert scale. The comparison of mean scores was carried out using unpaired t-test. Figures 1 to 10 provide responses of participants. Conclusion: Postgraduate students and PG guides are neutral toward the initial protocol of examination. The participants have a positive attitude toward new framework. But curriculum activities such as library dissertation (LD), dissertation selection, and patient work get disturbed somewhere. It might take time for both students and guides to get familiar with the new framework.

CAD Platform Independent Software for Automatic Grading of Technical Drawings

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanchit Ingale ◽  
Anirudh Srinivasan ◽  
Diana Bairaktarova
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Spatial Visualization ◽  
First Year ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Students Success ◽  
Mechanical Objects

Spatial visualization is the ability of an individual to imagine an object mentally and understand its spatial orientation. There have been multiple works proving that spatial visualization skills can be improved with an appropriate training. Such training warrant a critical place in the undergraduate engineering curricula in many engineering schools as spatial skills are considered vital for students’ success in the technical and design fields [1–4]. Enhanced spatial skills help not only professionals in the engineering field but also everyone in the 21st century environment. Drawing sectional views requires mental manipulation and visual thinking. To enhance students spatial reasoning, one of the authors of this study, conducted a class in spatial visualization. The course-learning goal aimed at improving first-year engineering students’ spatial reasoning through instruction on freehand drawings of sectional view. During the semester, two teaching assistants had to grade more than 500 assignments that consisted of sectional views of mechanical objects. This was a tedious and a time consuming task. Motivated by this experience, this paper proposes a software aiming at automating grading of students’ sectional view drawings. The proposed software will also give live feedback to students while they are working on the drawings. This interactive tool aims to 1) improve the learning experience of first year students, with limited CAD knowledge, and 2) introduce a pedagogical tool that can enhance spatial visualization training.

scholarly journals Qualitative Development of Students’ Digital Skills by Integrating a Spreadsheet Software in First Year Introduction to Engineering and Seminar Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Aziatul Niza Binti Sadikin ◽  
Azizul Azri Bin Mustaffa ◽  
Hasrinah Binti Hasbullah ◽  
Zaki Yamani Bin Zakaria ◽  
Mohd Kamaruddin Bin Abd Hamid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Learning Skill ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Digital Skills ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Spreadsheet Software ◽  
Development Of Students

The Introduction to Engineering (ITE) and Industrial Seminar and Profession (ISP) courses conducted at School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, are integrated courses which implement the Cooperative Problem-based Learning (CPBL) methods in the same semester. Based on this integrated courses, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the qualitative impact of spreadsheet hands-on seminar on the first year students' digital skill. At the beginning of the semester, students are given sustainability-based project to work on, which requires them to collect and to report the data in a series of presentations and written reports. In order to present those data, they need to use analysis tools such as a spreadsheet software. The students are introduced with some in-depth applications of the Microsoft Excel software through the seminar sessions in the ISP course. With the knowledge that the students gain, they are expected to implement it in the CPBL project. A qualitative approach has been adopted to implement the study. Student’s reflections were used as the data source to identify common attributes that they have managed to gain from seminar sessions. This study has found that all students had primarily learned about digital skills. They perceived hand-on activity during the seminar as a good platform to acquire knowledge on basic calculation and developed learning skill on Excel. Moreover, students recognized the skills they are learning will be useful in other courses and future careers.

scholarly journals A Progressively Advancing Curriculum for Robotics Education – The Case of Toin University of Yokohama –

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-221
Author(s):  
Yasuo Hayashibara ◽  
◽  
Takeshi Agui ◽  
Takahiro Ito ◽  
Motoyoshi Ohaba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Practical Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Robotics Education ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Elective Course ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Real World Problems ◽  
Mobile Machine

We detail an educational program implemented at Toin University of Yokohama in which lab and workshop courses on automated mechanics, from basics to applications, are offered consecutively during the first three undergraduate years. Engineering is a discipline concerned with practical real-world problems, but students rarely have the chance to gain enough practical experience to effectively understanding engineering. At our department, first- to third-year students may take several hands-on courses for fabricating machines – first-year students build an automatic mobile machine, second-year students write computer programs to control the position of a robot, and some third-year students design and fabricate an entire robot from the bottom up. An elective course on robot fabrication enables students to choose individual theme. Students experience failures and discover better ways by trial and error through these processes.

scholarly journals Tongue Twister, Students’ Pronunciation Ability, and Learning Styles

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Fatchul Mu’in ◽  
Rosyi Amrina ◽  
Rizky Amelia
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Reflective Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
English Major ◽  
Tongue Twister ◽  
Teaching Pronunciation

In EFL context, considering appropriate technique in teaching pronunciation is a pivotal issue since it could help students to learn how to pronounce English sounds easy. This study aimed to investigate the effect of tongue twister technique on pronunciation ability of students across different learning styles. This study involved 34 first-year English major students taking Intensive English course at Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, one of leading universities in Indonesia. The students in the experimental group were taught by using tongue twister, while those in the control group were taught by using repetition technique. The students were also grouped based on two types of learning styles, namely active and reflective learning styles referring to Felder and Silverman’s (1988) learning style model. The findings of the study showed that there was no significant difference in pronunciation ability between the groups. No significant difference was either found in pronunciation ability between students with active learning style and those with reflective learning style. In spite of the insignificant results, tongue twister is considered beneficial by the students as they perceived that practicing tongue twisters cultivated joyful learning and it helped them to improve their pronunciation, fluency, and motivation in learning English pronunciation. Tongue twister practice could complement the use of repetition technique to enhance students’ learning experience and learning outcome.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document