Technical Quality of Endodontic Treatment Performed by Underperforming Undergraduate Dental Students

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the technical quality of root canal treatment performed by fifth-year underperforming students, in the extra sessions of the 2018–2019 academic year. Methods: Periapical radiographs of teeth endodontically treated by underperforming undergraduate students at King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Dentistry, were collected. The quality of obturation was evaluated radiographically in relation to the length of obturation to root apex, homogeneity and density of obturation, root canal tapering, and incidence of mishaps (such as perforation, ledge, missed canal, separated instruments). The data were subjected to descriptive analysis. Results: The periapical radiographs of 70 treated teeth showed acceptable length, filling density and root canal taper in 96 (80%),50 (41.7%) and 66 (55%) root canals, respectively. Only four teeth were subjected to mishaps. Conclusion: Under the circumstances of this study, the quality of endodontic treatment performed by underperforming students at the extra session was low. More studies are needed to address the student underperformance source and hence amend the quality of root canal filling.

A Neural Network-Based Approach to A Priori Assessment of the Student Academic Performance in the Mirera Digital Learning Platform

В статье рассматривается опыт авторов по построению априорной оценки финальных результатов успеваемости студентов в цифровой образовательной платформе Мирера. Оценка строится по результатам промежуточной проверки успеваемости, полученным из промежуточных проверок на семинарах, при выполнении домашних заданий и проверочных работ. При этом учитываются как непосредственные результаты проверок, так и поведение студента при их выполнении. В предлагаемом подходе студенты условно разделены на три категории: отстающие студенты с неудовлетворительным финальным результатом, удовлетворительно успевающие студенты со средним результатом и студенты с высоким результатом. Для каждой категории студентов можно определить характер и целесообразность автоматизации корректирующих действий преподавателя для «подтягивания» отстающих. Оценка строится с использованием искусственных нейронных сетей. Полученная априорная оценка может быть использована для раннего обнаружения студентов, которые могут быть отчислены за неуспеваемость и которым необходима помощь преподавателя, а также для построения адаптивных треков обучения средне и хорошо успевающих студентов. Предлагаемый подход может быть применен только при условии цифровой трансформации учебного процесса. The paper presents our approach to an a priori assessment of the final student performance in the Mirera digital learning platform. The assessment is based on interim tests at seminars, homework evaluations, and individual tests. In this case, both the test results and the student behavior during the tests are considered. In the proposed approach, students are conditionally divided into three categories: underperforming students with unsatisfactory final results, satisfactory performing students with average results, and high performing students. For each category, the type and feasibility of automating the teacher’s corrective actions to improve the student’s final scores can be identified. The score is generated using artificial neural networks. The a priori estimate can be used for early detection of underperforming students who need help, as well as for building adaptive learning tracks for average and high performing students. The proposed approach can be applied only to digitally transformed academic process. The authors are implementing adaptive learning technologies in the Mirera digital learning platform.  

Mensajes emitidos por docentes universitarios a sus estudiantes con bajos desempeños académicos durante la enseñanza en línea por COVID-19

COVID-19 generated new forms of student-teacher interactions, and it increased the use of virtual educational environments. Electronic messaging is one of the most widely used forms of communication between teachers and students. However, few studies on how teachers provide feedback motivate and encourage students to engage in academic activities in online learning environments. This study aims to characterize messages sent by university teachers to their students with low academic performance during the emergency remote teaching in the COVID-19 pandemic context. The electronic messages were obtained through the snowball sampling technique. The sample consisted of eighteen email threads facilitated by six universities. Ethical requirements for this type of research were met, and discourse or text analysis was used as a methodology with a qualitative approach and hermeneutic orientation. This study shows two main results. First, the necessary data to identify students with low academic performance can be mainly obtained from their teachers and third parties, like university authorities. Second, there are a number of elements to consider when creating messages to improve the engagement of underperforming students. These fundamental elements are: tone of voice, content of the message and moment in which the message is sent. Messages that are explicitly written for each student or group of students and messages that were written with anticipation, showed to be most effective in engaging students.

Moralizing the Production and Sale of Student Papers in Uganda

Sociologists have shown that moral understandings of market exchanges can differ between historical periods and institutional settings, but they have paid less attention to how producers’ moral frameworks vary depending on their unequal positions within both markets and institutions. We use interviews and ethnographic observations to examine the vibrant market of research shops selling academic work to students around two of Uganda’s top universities. We identify three groups of researchers—Knowledge Producers, Entrepreneurs, and Educators—who construct different professional identities and moral justifications of their trade, and who orient their market action accordingly. We demonstrate that these identities and moral frameworks reflect an interplay between the institutional contexts and the social class positions that researchers occupy within this illicit market. Knowledge Producers and Entrepreneurs both experienced a sense of “fit” with their respective institutional cultures, but the former now see their work as compromising ideals of research, whereas the latter capitalize on what they view as a broken system. Educators, disadvantaged at both institutions, articulate a framework countering the dominant institutional cultures and sympathetic to underperforming students. This approach illuminates how institutional contexts and individual class positions within them influence producers’ moral frameworks, leading to differentiation of the market.

Moralizing the Production and Sale of Student Papers in Uganda

Sociologists have shown that moral understandings of market exchanges can differ between historical periods and institutional settings, but have paid less attention to how producers’ moral frameworks vary depending on their unequal positions within both markets and institutions. We use interviews and ethnographic observations to examine the vibrant market of research shops selling academic work to students around two of Uganda’s top universities. We identify three groups of researchers— Knowledge Producers, Entrepreneurs, and Educators—who construct different professional identities and moral justifications of their trade, and orient their market action accordingly. We demonstrate that these identities and moral frameworks reflect an interplay between the institutional contexts and the social class positions that researchers occupy within this illicit market. While Knowledge Producers and Entrepreneurs both experienced a sense of “fit” with their respective institutional cultures, the former now see their work as compromising ideals of research, whereas the latter capitalize on what they view as a broken system. Educators, disadvantaged at both institutions, articulate a framework countering the dominant institutional cultures and sympathetic to underperforming students. This approach illuminates how institutional contexts and individual class positions within them influence producers’ moral frameworks, leading to differentiation of the market.This article is forthcoming at the American Sociological Review.

Use of End-of-Class Quizzes to Promote Pharmacy Student Self-Reflection, Motivate Students to Improve Study Habits, and to Improve Performance on Summative Examinations

Underperforming students are often unaware of deficiencies requiring improvement until after poor performance on summative exams. The goal of the current study was to determine whether inclusion of individual end-of-class formative quizzes, which comprise of higher level Bloom’s questions, could encourage students to reflect on and address deficiencies and improve academic performance. Ninety-seven out of 123 first-year pharmacy students (79%) enrolled in a Biochemistry and Cell & Molecular Biology course participated in a single-blinded, randomized, controlled, crossover study. Paired t-test analyses demonstrated that that implementation of individual end-of-class formative quizzes resulted in significantly higher summative exam scores for below average students (p = 0.029). Notably, inclusion of quizzes significantly improved performance on higher Bloom’s questions for these students (p = 0.006). Analysis of surveys completed by students prior to summative exam indicate that the formative end-of-class quizzes helped students identify deficiencies (89%) and making them feel compelled to study more (83%) and attend review sessions (61%). Many students indicated that quizzes increased stress levels (45%). Our collective data indicate that quizzes can improve summative exam performance for below average first year pharmacy students, and improve self-reflection and student motivation to study. However, the impact on student stress levels should be considered.

Changing Social Contexts to Foster Equity in College Science Courses: An Ecological-Belonging Intervention

In diverse classrooms, stereotypes are often “in the air,” which can interfere with learning and performance among stigmatized students. Two studies designed to foster equity in college science classrooms ( Ns = 1,215 and 607) tested an intervention to establish social norms that make stereotypes irrelevant in the classroom. At the beginning of the term, classrooms assigned to an ecological-belonging intervention engaged in discussion with peers around the message that social and academic adversity is normative and that students generally overcome such adversity. Compared with business-as-usual controls, intervention students had higher attendance, course grades, and 1-year college persistence. The intervention was especially impactful among historically underperforming students, as it improved course grades for ethnic minorities in introductory biology and for women in introductory physics. Regardless of demographics, attendance in the intervention classroom predicted higher cumulative grade point averages 2 to 4 years later. The results illustrate the viability of an ecological approach to fostering equity and unlocking student potential.

Proficiency testing for identifying underperforming students before postgraduate education: a longitudinal study

Background: Efficient selection of medical students in GP training plays an important role in improving healthcare quality. The aim of this study was to collect quantitative and qualitative validity evidence of a multicomponent proficiency-test for identifying underperforming students in cognitive and non-cognitive competencies, prior to entering postgraduate GP Training. From 2016 to 2018, 894 medical GP students in four Flemish universities in Belgium registered to take a multicomponent proficiency-test before admission to postgraduate GP Training. Data on students were obtained from the proficiency-test as a test-score and from traineeship mentors’ narrative reports.Results: In total, 849 students took the multicomponent proficiency-test during 2016-2018. Test scores were normally distributed. Five different descriptive labels were extracted from mentors’ narrative reports based on thematic analysis, considering both cognitive and non-cognitive competences. Chi-square tests and odds ratio showed a significant association between students scoring low on the proficiency test and having gaps in cognitive and non-cognitive competences during GP traineeship.Conclusion: A multicomponent proficiency-test could detect underperforming students prior to postgraduate GP Training. Students that ranked in the lowest score quartile had a higher likelihood of being labelled as underperforming than students in the highest score quartile. Therefore, a low score in the multicomponent proficiency-test could indicate the need for closer guidance early remediating actions focusing on both cognitive and non-cognitive competences.

Proficiency testing for identifying underperforming students before postgraduate education: a longitudinal study

Background Cognitive competencies are widely used to evaluate medical students’ performance in postgraduate education. However, non-cognitive competencies equally play an important role in medical students’ future career. Efficient selection of medical students in GP training plays an important role in improving healthcare quality. The aim of this study was to examine quantitatively and qualitatively the validity of a multicomponent proficiency assessment tool for identifying underperforming students in cognitive and non-cognitive competencies, prior to entering postgraduate GP education. Design Longitudinal cohort study with quantitative and qualitative data. Setting 894 medical GP students from 2016 to 2018 in four Flemish universities in Belgium registered to take a multicomponent proficiency-test before admission to postgraduate education. Method Data on students were obtained from a proficiency-test as a test-score and from traineeship mentors’ reports qualitatively. A thematic analysis was performed to analyze mentors’ reports. The lowest and highest score quartiles were compared. The relationship between test score and whether a student was labelled as underperforming was calculated with chi-square tests, and the effect estimate was calculated with odds ratios. Results In total, 849 students took the multicomponent proficiency-test during 2016-2018. Test scores were normally distributed. Five different descriptive labels were extracted from mentors’ reports considering both cognitive and non-cognitive competences. Conclusion Students that ranked in the lowest score quartile had a higher likelihood of being signaled as underperforming than students ranking in the highest score quartile. Therefore, a low score in the multicomponent proficiency-test could indicate the need for early remediating actions. This present study did not address reliability.