scholarly journals An Academic Performance Indicator Using Flexible Multi-Criteria Methods

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (19) ◽  
pp. 2396
Author(s):  
Olga Blasco-Blasco ◽  
Marina Liern-García ◽  
Aarón López-García ◽  
Sandra E. Parada-Rico
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
R Programming Language ◽  
Recent Method ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Support Policy ◽  
R Programming ◽  
The University

Composite indicators are a very useful tool for conveying summary information on the overall performance of institutions and facilitating decision-making. Increasingly, there is a demand for indicators that allow performance to be assessed after the implementation of a strategy. This has several difficulties, and in this paper, we address three of them: how to evaluate at different points in time, how to estimate the weighting of the criteria and how to normalize the data. Our proposal is based on multicriteria techniques, using a recent method, uwTOPSIS, and is applied to data collected from 2975 students enrolled in the first year of science and engineering at the Industrial University of Santander (Colombia) from the first semester of 2016 to the first semester of 2019. In the paper, we show that our proposal makes it possible to measure and evaluate the academic performance of students at two points in time, and this allows the University to know whether its student support policy has been successful and to what degree it has been effective. Due to the large amount of data handled, data management has been done using R programming language, and model implementation has been done with Python.

scholarly journals First semester academic performance: The importance of early indicators of non-engagement

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Van der Meer ◽  
Stephen Scott ◽  
Keryn Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Grade Point Average ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Retention Strategy ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
The University

Success, progression and retention of students are goals of many university strategic directions and policies. For many decades it has been recognised that the greatest focus in any retention strategy should be on first-year students. University of Otago too has goals around student success. The Strategic Plan of the institution also identified that in the context of a fiscally constrained environment, all of our activities and processes need to be assessed for efficiency and effectiveness.  To this end, a pilot was undertaken in one area of the university to identify possible indicators of first-year students’ non-engagement in the first semester and their possible impact on the first semester academic performance. The findings suggest that there are indeed some indicators that predict Grade Point Average at the end of the first semester.

scholarly journals Predicting Undergraduate Level Students’ Performance Using Regression

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-139
Author(s):  
S Akuma ◽  
H Abakpa
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
First Year ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
University Environment ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Cumulative Grade Point Average ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
The University

Students’ academic performance in the university environment changes from one academic year to another as they climb up the ladder of their academic programme. Predicting students’ academic performance in higher educational institutions is challenging due to the lack of a central database of students’ performance records. The other challenge is the lack of standard methods for predicting students’ performance and other moderating factors like physical, economic and health that affect students’ progress. In this work, we predicted students’ performance based on previous academic results. A model to predict students’ performance based on their Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) was developed using Linear Regression Algorithm. A dataset of 70 undergraduate students studying Computer Science was analyzed and the results show that the model was able to predict the 4th year CGPA of the Students using the previous Cumulative Grade Point of the past three years with an accuracy of 87.84%, and a correlation of 0.9338. This study also identified students’ second semester CGPA in the first year and their first semester CGPA in the second year as the most important CGPAs that affect the accuracy

Personality traits, teamwork competencies and academic performance among first-year engineering students

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuok Ho Daniel Tang
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University

PurposeIt is commonly believed that personality traits determine a person's ability to work in a team and academic performance. However, studies have shown inconsistent results with some personality traits better than the other in predicting students' performance in different academic majors. The purpose of this study is to examine the interrelation between personality traits, teamwork competencies and academic performance among first-year first semester engineering students in an Australian university located in the Sarawak state of Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe Individual and Team Performance (ITP) metrics were administered among 189 students to gauge their personality traits as well as self-rated and peer-rated teamwork competencies. The correlations between personality traits and teamwork competencies as well as correlations of both the variables to academic performance were subsequently analyzed.FindingsThis study shows no significant difference between the self-rated and peer-rated teamwork competencies. Adventurous trait appears to negatively correlate with teamwork competencies. This study also reveals teamwork competencies as better predictors of academic performance than personality traits. Commitment and focus show relatively larger effect on academic performance. It can be concluded that commitment is the most significant factor to excel in first-year engineering in the university. Therefore, interventions that promote commitment is crucial to academic performance of the first-year first semester engineering students.Practical implicationsThis study promulgates the development of team competencies which are more crucial to academic excellence than personalities. It is useful for the design of team learning activities which lead to the development of teamwork competencies while improving academic performance. It shows that team activities which reinforce commitment especially and focus secondarily, will have significant positive effect on academic performance of the first-year engineering students generally.Originality/valueWhile most studies in this area examine the correlation between personality traits and academic performance, this study is among the very few that looks into the aspect of teamwork competencies. This study also finds its value in its regional significance as such correlational studies are not prevalent in Malaysia.

Correlating entrance data and first year academic performance of students enrolled in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Porto

2021 ◽  
pp. 030641902110156
Author(s):  
TMGP Duarte ◽  
AM Lopes ◽  
LFM da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
First Year ◽  
Female Type ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Over Time

Understanding how the academic performance of first year undergraduate students is influenced by home, personal and institutional factors is fundamental to delineate policies able to mitigate failure. This paper investigates possible correlations between the academic performance of students at the end of high school with their achievements at the end of first year university. Data for students in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering (MIEM) program within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto are analysed for the period 2016/2017 to 2019/2020. The students’ performance is measured by two metrics and the students are structured as a whole and by groups, according to their gender (Male/Female), type of secondary school (Public/Private), living place (Away/Home) and the rank of MIEM in their application list of options (Option 1/Option 2–6). The information is organized statistically and possible correlations between the data are investigated. The analysis reveals limited correlation between the two metrics, meaning that all students may exhibit good or poor results at the end of first year in MIEM, independent of their status at entrance. An unanticipated pattern is exhibited for the group Option 2–6, since it shows that, despite entering into MIEM without top application marks, the students in this group can perform as well as the others. This behavior is consistent over time.

The Use of Applets in an Engineering Chemistry Course

2010 ◽  
pp. 108-118
Author(s):  
B.M. Trigo ◽  
G.S. Olguin ◽  
P.H.L.S. Matai
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Software Applications ◽  
Engineering Department ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The University

This chapter deals with the use of Applets, which are examples of software applications, combined with a specific methodology of teaching, based on Paulo Freire’s education concepts. According to his methods, co-creation between its participants is fundamental for the effectiveness of learning process. In that way, to promote a cooperative learning, the Applet should have interactive features. The Chemistry course of Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, in which students take in the first semester of the first year of the engineering course, was the case study. First, a research with the teachers of the Chemical Engineering Department was carried out, to identify the main problems and difficulties teachers and students face. Then, a topic was selected to be explored with the Applet, which was developed and applied to a small group of students. To identify the success of this experiment a questionnaire was created and the results are presented in this chapter. Some conclusions were drawn and the interactive features of the Applet received a positive feedback.

scholarly journals Creating statistics e-assessments using Dewis with embedded R code

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Iain Weir ◽  
Rhys Gwynllyw ◽  
Karen Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Learning Modules ◽  
R Programming Language ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Creation ◽  
R Programming ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

We report on the creation of statistics e-assessments using the Dewis system with embedded R code. Dewis is a fully algorithmic open-source e-assessment system designed and developed at the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE). Dewis’ ability to communicate with the R programming language greatly facilitates the task of generating bespoke data and its subsequent analysis. This approach has allowed us to successfully test students’ ability to perform involved statistical analyses on individual data sets and led to the creation of a suite of open access online e-learning modules on the UK national statstutor website. Development of a Dewis-R interface allows the creation of sophisticated e-assessments solely by writing an R script file. The goal is to create a community of Dewis-R practitioners who will be able to author and share relevant, authentic and engaging statistics e-assessments that enrich the learning experience of students.

scholarly journals Reflections from Transitioning Carpentries Workshops Online

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben B. Chiewphasa ◽  
Anna K. Moeller
Keyword(s):  
Formative Assessments ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
R Programming Language ◽  
Online Setting ◽  
R Programming ◽  
The Many ◽  
Interactive Workshop ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time

Objectives: As certified Carpentries instructors, the authors organized and co-taught the University of Montana’s first in-person Carpentries workshop focused on the R programming language during early 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a repeated workshop was postponed to the fall of 2020 and was adapted for a fully online setting. The authors share their Carpentries journey from in-person to online instruction, hoping to inspire those interested in organizing Carpentries at their institution for the first time and those interested in improving their existing Carpentries presence. Methods: The authors reflected on their experience facilitating the same Carpentries workshop in-person and online. They used this unique opportunity to compare the effectiveness of a face-to-face environment versus a virtual modality for delivering an interactive workshop. Results: When teaching in the online setting, the authors learned to emphasize the basics, create many opportunities for feedback using formative assessments, reduce the amount of material presented, and include helpers who are familiar with technology and troubleshooting. Conclusions: Although the online environment came with challenges (i.e., Zoom logistics and challenges, the need to further condense curricula, etc.), the instructors were surprised at the many advantages of hosting an online workshop. With some adaptations, Carpentries workshops work well in online delivery.

Use of Symbaloo Edu for Improving Information Management Processes in Work by Modules

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 22-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Biel ◽  
Ester Pérez ◽  
Carmen Rodrigo ◽  
Ana Serrano
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Personal Learning ◽  
Personal Learning Environment ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
Digital Competencies ◽  
The University ◽  
Development Engineering

The case presented in this paper is framed within the context of Work by Modules taken during the first year-first semester of the Industrial Design and Product Development Engineering Degree at the University of Zaragoza, and its objective is to improve the processes involved in information management required to perform this work. For this purpose, the design of a personal learning environment (PLE) is proposed, using Symbaloo Edu. This tool provides methodological support to select and organize information sources, and its use favours collaborative work while helping to develop digital competencies, providing students with an environment that complements formal learning. Results show that between 70 and 75% of the students viewed PLE as a tool that made them feel more active and autonomous in their learning process.

Loneliness and the Development of Social Relationships in Malaysian University Students

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Intan H. M. Hashim ◽  
Siamak Khodarahimi
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
First Semester ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University

In this study we investigated loneliness and how social relationships develop in university students. Participants were 67 first-year students beginning their first semester in a university in northern Malaysia. We collected information regarding respondents' background, their descriptions of the social network at the university, and their level of loneliness. The study was conducted in 2 parts over a 10-week period; at 4 weeks after their registration and then at 14 weeks after their registration. Findings suggest development of friendship was still in progress and loneliness had increased at Time 2.

scholarly journals Impact of mother tongue on construction of notes and first-year academic performance

2016 ◽  
Vol Volume 112 (Number 11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalini Dukhan ◽  
Ann Cameron ◽  
Elisabeth Brenner ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Language Students ◽  
The University

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify whether there are any differences in the quality of the notes constructed in English between students for whom English is a first language and those for whom it is a second language. Subsequently we assessed whether this difference, if any, affected their grades. Unsurprisingly, the first-language students produced better structured and more detailed notes; they also performed better academically than their second-language peers. However, when students were provided with training that focused on using writing as a means to promote critical thinking, there was an improvement in the personalisation of their notes. The improvement in grades was significant for second-language students. Thus the university has a pivotal role to play in preparing students for academic success by providing them with supportive measures to aid their transition into first year.

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