Career Recommendation System for High-School Seniors based on Government Standardized-Tests Results

When it comes to choosing a career path, senior high-school students struggle to make a decision. The purpose of this research is to help such students select a career track by providing a match-based scored recommendation of academic and professional routes, promoting the development of the government-aided quality educational system by reducing the student dropout. Recommendations are based on the results of the Colombian standardized Saber 11 examination (which is similar to SAT [Scholastic Assessment Test] scores in the U.S.), and how other students with similar characteristics (demographic, socio-economic, family information) performed in their undergraduate tests and the Colombian standardized Saber Pro exam (which is similar to GRE -Graduate Record Examination- scores in the U.S.). Collected information was bundled with their career choice and the recommendation system was developed using Machine Learning and Deep Learning techniques, ROC (Receiver operating characteristic) curve was computed for each career and found on average the AUC (Area under the ROC Curve) score was 0.86 despite the high variability between them. In addition, a business metric was built and evaluated.

Metacognitive Confidence Can Increase but Also Decrease Performance in Academic Settings

The present research examined the role of metacognitive confidence in understanding to what extent people’s valenced thoughts guide their performance in academic settings. First, students were asked to engage in positive or negative thinking about exams in their major area of study (Study 1) or about themselves (Studies 2 and 3). The valence of these primary cognitions was manipulated to be positive or negative. Furthermore, a metacognitive variable, the perceived validity of the primary cognitions, was measured or varied to be relatively high or low. Finally, performance was assessed using a knowledge test (Study 1), a geometric shapes task (Study 2) or a selection of questions from the Graduate Record Examination (Study 3). In accordance with self-validation theory, we predicted and found that metacognitive confidence (relative to doubt) increased the impact of primary cognitions on performance. When thoughts were positive, increased confidence in the primary cognitions improved performance. However, when thoughts were negative, the same confidence validated the negative primary cognitions and reduced performance. Thus, metacognitive confidence can lead to opposite findings on performance depending on whether it validates performance-relevant positive thoughts or negative thoughts. Variations in the perceived validity of thoughts mediated the obtained effects. Therefore, we conclude that understanding the process of thought validation can help in specifying why and when metacognitive confidence is likely to work or to backfire in producing the desired performance effects.

Brief Communication: Predictive Value of Veterinary Student Application Data for Performance in Clinical Year 4

Student application packages for admission to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine currently include the following information: undergraduate grade point average (GPA), GPA in science courses, GPA in non-science courses, GPA for the last 45 hours (GPALast45hrs), Graduate Record Examination Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning (GRE-QV) score, GRE Analytical Writing (GRE-AW) score, and grades for 10 required prerequisite courses. From these data, an “academics score” of up to 70 points is calculated. Faculty reviewers also score each applicant up to a maximum of 30 points (FileScore), giving a total possible score of 100 points. Previous analyses demonstrated that the file score and academic variables are significantly related to first-year GPA of veterinary students; however, it is unknown how these variables relate to performance in clinical rotations. The present study pooled the two most recent graduating classes to compare each academic score component to student clinical rotation grades received during year 4 (CGrYr4) in the teaching hospital. Only one component of the student application packages—the pre-admission GRE-QV score—significantly correlated with CGrYr4.

Are Gifted Students Adapting Their Self-Regulated Learning Processes When Experiencing Challenging Tasks?

Self-regulated learning (SRL) promotes both current and future academic achievement and must be adapted based on task demands. To develop SRL, gifted students must have opportunities to experience optimally challenging tasks. Gifted students’ past experiences (or lack thereof) with challenging tasks affects how they approach current tasks, which affects how they will approach challenges in the future. The current study used a two-stage approach to examine the extent to which Honors College students are able to adjust their SRL approaches based on task demands. Stage 1 provided baseline data on which types of Graduate Record Examination data analysis problems each student found to be difficult or easy. Then, in Stage 2, students were provided individually designed, easy and difficult problems. The students reported their SRL processes while engaging with the problems. When students were solving difficult problems, they demonstrated lower self-efficacy, lower performance evaluations, and lower effort. Furthermore, students reported using more surface level strategies when solving a difficult task, compared with their deeper strategic approach employed when engaging with the easy task. These findings suggest that, although gifted students may be aware of deeper, more effective strategies, they may not transfer these skills to difficult learning tasks. Thus, one recommendation would be to provide gifted students with more opportunities to practice building and transferring adaptive SRL processes when faced with a challenging task.

Recruiting and Retaining Graduate Students in Kinesiology at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Over the past decade, there has been a notable increase in interest in master’s education in the United States. However, not much attention has been paid to recruiting and retaining master’s students in the field of kinesiology. This article describes recruitment and retention strategies that have been successfully implemented in a kinesiology graduate program at a Hispanic-serving institution. Recruiting from undergraduate programs, removing use of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in graduate admissions, awarding graduate teaching assistantships, creating new programs that flow with the evolving workforce, actively promoting the program at other universities and conferences, and building partnership with other universities are described for recruiting quality master’s students. Establishing a peer/faculty mentorship program and building a strong student network/organization have been shown to have a positive impact on retention. Readers may pick and choose the strategies that work best with the student population, faculty, and other resources available in the program.

Human-Centered Design of GRE Preparation Applications for Non-Native English Speakers

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a primary barrier to entry into US graduate programs for non-native English speakers. The goal of this study is to develop a GRE preparation mobile phone application for non-native English speakers through the human-centered design cycle. We conducted a Cognitive Task Analysis and Knowledge Audit for the Magoosh GRE App to identify the most difficult tasks while using the app. We proposed features to help with the most difficult tasks and implemented the most promising feature through iterative prototyping taking into account user feedback. Usability testing for the most recent prototype demonstrates the need for a GRE preparation app targeted at non-native English speakers. Results show that the additional functionality added in the prototype shows promise for assisting non-native English speakers in studying for the GRE.

Predictive Value of Veterinary Student Application Data for Class Rank at End of Year 1

Student applications for admission to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine include the following information: undergraduate grade point average (GPA), GPA in science courses (GPAScience), GPA for the last 45 credit hours (GPALast45hrs), results for the Graduate Record Examination Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning Measures (GRE-QV), results for the GRE Analytical Writing Measure (GRE-AW), and grades received for 10 required prerequisite courses. In addition, three faculty members independently review and score subjective information in applicants’ files (FileScore). The admissions committee determines a composite Admission Score (AdmScore), which is based on GPA, GPAScience, GPALast45hrs, GRE-QV, GRE-AW, and the FileScore. The AdmScore is generally perceived to be a good predictor of class rank at the end of year 1 (CREY1). However, this has not been verified, nor has it been determined which components of the AdmScore have the strongest correlation with CREY1. The present study therefore compared each component of the AdmScore for correlation with CREY1, for the three classes admitted in 2015, 2016 and 2017 (Class15, Class16, Class17). Results suggest that only a few components of the application file are needed to make strong predictive statements about the academic success of veterinary students during the first year of the curriculum.