University Classroom Environment Research Articles

Student-perceived social interactions in university musical ensembles predicted group identification

Group identification is a key process in the development of an individual’s social identity. This study examined whether student-perceived social interactions in university ensembles could shape their group identification. The sample included 517 university students from 7 ensembles of 2 universities in China. Student-perceived teacher–student relationships, peer relationships, cooperation, and equity in university ensembles were measured by the revised College and University Classroom Environment Inventory. Students’ group identification was measured by the questionnaire for identification with art-based groups. Data were collected and further analyzed by structural equation modeling via Amos 23. The results showed that students’ perceptions of teacher–student relationships, peer relationships, and cooperation had positive effects on their identification with the university ensemble, but the teacher’s differential treatment had negative effects on their group identification.

A path analysis of university EFL students' perceptions of the classroom environment and academic achievement

The current study aimed to explore the relationships between students' perceptions of the classroom environment and their academic achievement in higher education. The participants were 846 first-year undergraduate students who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. Data on students’ perceptions of the classroom environment were collected by the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory. Students’ academic achievement was measured by a national standardized test for English competence (the College English Test). The results of path analysis showed that students’ perceptions of innovative instruction and task orientation were positive predictors of their academic achievement; students’ perceptions of equity predicted their academic achievement via perceptions of teacher-student relationships; students’ perceptions of peer relationships had an indirect effect on student achievement mediated by cooperative learning. However, students’ perceptions of learning autonomy were not related to their perceptions of other environmental factors and learning outcomes. Keywords: Academic achievement; Classroom environment; English as a foreign language (EFL); perceptions.

Application of Multisource Data Fusion Analysis in College Vocal Music Teaching

This paper constructs a two-level data fusion model with the classroom environment monitoring background of colleges and universities. By judging the validity of the data received by each sensor, the model eliminates the influence of neglected monitoring values on fusion accuracy. It uses the adaptive weighted average method to fuse the data of the same type of sensors in each area and then uses the BP neural network to fuse the heterogeneous sensor data in the area. After each region sends the fusion result to the gateway node, the second-level fusion is performed. In the second-level fusion, the error between the actual output result and the expected output of the BP neural network is calculated, and it is used as the basic probability assignment in DS; then the D-S synthesis rule is used for decision-level fusion so as to realize the integration of the college classroom environment. Aiming at the shortcomings of the D-S evidence theory, we improved the algorithm with respect to the distance of evidence and the conflict factor. Through the exploration of the multisource data fusion analysis method, it is found that it plays an important role in early vocal music teaching. The quality of early vocal music-teaching teachers has a particularly important impact on the music level of college students. Schools with preschool education majors are important bases for teacher training in early vocal music teaching. In order to expand the application scope of the concept of multisource data fusion in the field of vocal music teaching in China, it is necessary to change the traditional vocal music teaching mode of existing college teachers and pay attention to the integration of multisource data fusion analysis methods and the reforms of colleges and universities. In this paper, the effectiveness of the two-level fusion model is verified by using two evaluation indicators: the mean absolute percentage error and the correlation coefficient. Then, comparing the calculation results of the improved algorithm and the classical algorithm in this paper, it is proved that the probability accumulation of this algorithm is more obvious and consistent with the expected results, which shows the optimization effect of the improved method.

Adaptive learning: Helpful to the flipped classroom in the online environment of COVID?

Flipped instruction in an undergraduate numerical methods course in the online, remote environment during the COVID‐19 pandemic was conducted with and without the use of adaptive‐learning lessons for pre‐class preparation. This comparison was made to explore potential differences with and without adaptive software relative to exam and concept inventory performance and student perceptions of the classroom environment, learning and motivation, and benefits and drawbacks. Student perceptions were gathered via the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI) and a survey designed to capture feedback specific to flipped instruction. The analysis was made possible by a current NSF grant to study adaptive learning in the flipped classroom at three universities and extensive prior research with the flipped classroom and adaptive learning by the authors. Results gathered in the online flipped classroom with adaptive learning suggested positive changes in the following: classroom environmental perceptions, preference for flipped instruction, perceived responsibility imposed, motivation for independent learning, and perceived learning. Furthermore, based on an open‐ended question, there was a significant decrease in the proportion of students who experienced load, burden, or stressors in the online flipped classroom when adaptive learning was available versus not. Multiple‐choice exam and concept‐inventory results were slightly higher with adaptive lessons (although not significantly so), with the most promising results occurring for Pell grant recipients. The emerging medical education literature has suggested that adaptive learning and flipped instruction will be key to post‐pandemic education. The present article begins advocacy for adaptive learning with flipped instruction in engineering education.

Exploring The Process of Teaching-Learning in a Non-Face-to-Face University Classroom Environment: [Entrepreneurship Foundation] Focusing on learning cases in Department of Early Childhood Education

Exploring The Process of Teaching-Learning in a Non-Face-to-Face University Classroom Environment: [Entrepreneurship Foundation] Focusing on learning cases in Department of Early Childhood Education

Effects of positive college classroom motivational environments on procrastination and achievement

Understanding factors within college learning environments that can ameliorate maladaptive academic behaviours such as procrastination could contribute to enhancing college students’ success and persistence. Thus, the aims of the current study were to investigate: (a) the degree to which facets of the college classroom motivational environment predict college students’ academic procrastination after controlling for students’ level of conscientiousness (which is a strong predictor of procrastination); and (b) whether academic procrastination mediates the effect of classroom motivational environment facets on course grades. Participants were 223 students enrolled in two four-year institutions (one a Hispanic-serving institution) in southern US. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that students who reported the presentation of course material in their classes as being more interesting (course situational interest) also tended to report procrastinating less. Furthermore, mediation analyses indicated that the positive effects on course grades of classroom motivational environments (in which instructors were perceived as providing academic and emotional support, promoting mutual respect and task-related interactions among students, and eliciting interest through the presentation of course material) were better explained as mediated by academic procrastination. These findings suggest that providing a supportive college classroom environment to engage students could cause them to procrastinate less and attain better academic outcomes.

Impact of Faculty Student Rapport on Classroom Environment

Rapport-building is a well-known construct and so is Classroom Environment (CRE). Faculty-student rapport (FSR) in higher education is perceived to enhance motivational level, comfort level, communication and eventually learning. Connecting with students also leads to better student engagement in the learning process. A lot has been said about faculty-student rapport by theoreticians however research needs to measure its impact empirically. This research paper measures impact of FSR on CRE in the institutions imparting management and engineering education in NCR, India. Objective of this paper is to establish whether a positive correlation exists between FSR and CRE. Other objectives of this paper are to evaluate if stream of education (engineering/management) and gender of teacher have significant impact on FSR. Data was collected from 800 students from private institutions of National Capital Region (NCR), India using Professor-Student Rapport Scale and The College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI) questionnaire. The impact of FSR on CRE has been measured through Pearson Correlation. The impact of stream of education (engineering/management) and gender of teacher on FSR have been measured through T-test. This research paper primarily measures student perception. Pearson correlation on this data size of 800 affirmed that there exists a positive correlation between Faculty-student rapport and Classroom Environment. T-tests determined that stream of education does not impact FSR whereas gender of the teacher impacts FSR. Previous research has shown mixed results that FSR impacts student achievement. This does not mean that FSR should be neglected or given less importance. Faculty-student rapport impacts Classroom Environment and hence should be considered and maintained in higher education.

Reactions vs. Reality: Using Sentiment Analysis to Measure University Students’ Responses to Learning ArcGIS

As data literacy competencies become more common in university-level curriculum, understanding how students are really feeling when they first encounter new software and data concepts is of increasing importance to student success. Using sentiment analysis, this article seeks to understand some of those students’ reactions, or sentiments, to using ArcGIS and geospatial data in a university classroom environment and how those reactions evolve as more experience is gained. Over the course of three weeks and six workshops, a librarian taught students how to use ArcGIS in order for them to complete course assignments. Each week the librarian provided a form that included two free-text response questions. The VADER sentiment analysis tool was applied to all text responses, rating each response with a compound score on a scale between +1 (positive sentiment) and –1 (negative sentiment). The analysis showed that the range of respondent sentiment narrowed throughout the three weeks. Voyant Tools, an online tool for quick text analysis, was also used to count the unique and frequently used words in the survey’s two free-text questions.

Classroom Participation: A Model of Feminist Pedagogy.

Nursing faculty need to provide students with problem-solving skills during their formative academic years, and feminist pedagogy supported by classroom participation may foster these skills. Through the lens of feminist pedagogy, factors that influence classroom participation of nursing students were identified using the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory. Nursing students reported higher levels of attendance and punctuality compared with preparation and contribution to class discussion and favored personalization and equity over innovation and individualization in the classroom.

Breaking New Ground: McHenry County College Developmental Mathematics Approach

ABSTRACTFocusing on the Developmental Mathematics program installed by McHenry County College (MCC), this case study examines an integrative approach to reducing student dependency on developmental math. Facing the challenge of bridging the gap between K-12 and college readiness, MCC established a summer bridge program to help alleviate summer brain drain and help students acclimated themselves to the college classroom environment. College and high school faculty collaborated to create a more fluid transition for students by aligning coursework and targeting specific needs of students. With an articulated mission of preparing students for future success in postsecondary education this program tremendously benefits students by saving time and cost by skipping developmental math courses. Especially for institutions that are experiencing developmental education reform and implementing the completion agenda, this case study provides practical implications to ensure student success and institutional effectiveness.

Motivational climates: assessing and testing how science classroom environments contribute to undergraduates’ self-determined and achievement-based science goals

The current research examined the psychometric properties and utility of a measure of college classroom environment in predicting goal-related outcomes rooted in goal contents and achievement goal theories. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in Studies 1 and 2, respectively, yielded support for two distinct and gender-invariant classroom environment constructs—professorial concern and affiliation. Results of multilevel regression analyses in Study 3 indicated that both constructs were positive predictors of intrinsic and self-approach goals. Additionally, professorial concern was a significant positive predictor of extrinsic goal adoption. Contrary to expectation, perceptions of affiliation in the science classroom were unrelated to task-approach goals. These findings illustrate the important role that socially dynamic classroom contexts play in fostering motivation and satisfying basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Subjective assessment of university classroom environment

Research into the design of learning environments is warranted as the classroom space impacts on students' wellbeing and learning performance. Studies on subjective evaluation of classrooms usually focus on the influence of more objective aspects like temperature, light, sound, etc., based on concepts or attributes defined by experts. Thus, the attributes used to find relations with design parameters might not be recognised by users, thereby conditioning the evaluation process itself. This paper aims to analyse students' affective response to a university classroom in their own words, and then, after obtaining the semantic space, to identify the design elements that generate a positive affective response. This analysis was carried out implementing the Semantic Differential method in the framework of Kansei Engineering. A sample of 918 university students was assessed in situ in 30 university classrooms. The results show that students' affective structure in relation to their classroom comprises six independent factors: functionality and layout, cosy and pleasant, concentration and comfort, modern design, daylight and outward facing, and artificial lighting. From these factors, efforts to improve the classroom environment should be directed mainly towards two aspects: improving classroom functionality-layout, which is significantly related to the work space allocated to students; and the sensation of cosy-pleasant which is generated by all the classroom design parameters, but in particular, those that refer to the relationship of the classroom with the outdoor environment.

“I Tolerate Technology—I Don't Embrace It”: Instructor Surprise and Sensemaking in a Technology-Rich Learning Environment

Assuming a dialectical approach to technology and pedagogy, this study explores sensemaking processes for instructors teaching in a technologically enhanced college classroom environment. Through a series of semi-structured individual and group interviews, seven instructors provided narrative accounts of the problems encountered with progressive instructional technology and their emergent strategies to make sense of and manage it. Three primary dialectical tensions were described: freedom vs. confinement, connectedness vs. fragmentation, and change vs. stability. Two related modes of sensemaking in response to these tensions were also uncovered: adaptation, involving day-to-day adjustments to non-routine failures, and reframing, entailing gradual reflection upon the instructors’ roles in the classroom. Implications for the current findings are discussed.

Learning to Stand: The Acceptability and Feasibility of Introducing Standing Desks into College Classrooms.

Prolonged sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for multiple negative health outcomes. Evidence supports introducing standing desks into K-12 classrooms and work settings to reduce sitting time, but no studies have been conducted in the college classroom environment. The present study explored the acceptability and feasibility of introducing standing desks in college classrooms. A total of 993 students and 149 instructors completed a single online needs assessment survey. This cross-sectional study was conducted during the fall semester of 2015 at a large Midwestern University. The large majority of students (95%) reported they would prefer the option to stand in class. Most students (82.7%) reported they currently sit during their entire class time. Most students (76.6%) and instructors (86.6%) reported being in favor of introducing standing desks into college classrooms. More than half of students and instructors predicted having access to standing desks in class would improve student’s “physical health”, “attention”, and “restlessness”. Collectively, these findings support the acceptability of introducing standing desks in college classrooms. Future research is needed to test the feasibility, cost-effectiveness and efficacy of introducing standing desks in college classrooms. Such studies would be useful for informing institutional policies regarding classroom designs.

Effectiveness of teaching strategies for engaging adults who experienced childhood difficulties in learning mathematics

We investigated whether the introduction of a variety of activity-based teaching strategies into college-level mathematics classes in the United Arab Emirates was effective in terms of the nature of the classroom learning environment and students’ satisfaction. In addition, we investigated how the use of personally-relevant and concrete activities changed the learning environment in ways that were perceived to be beneficial by adults who had experienced failure. For a sample of 84 students from eight classes in the Higher Colleges of Technology, the learning environment was assessed with a modified Arabic version of four scales (Involvement, Task Orientation, Personalisation and Individualisation) from the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI) and Satisfaction was also measured with a scale from the same instrument. As well, five case-study students were involved in assessing the learning environment through observations, semi-structured interviews and focus-group interviews in order to link qualitative information with the constructs assessed by the CUCEI.

How learning in an inverted classroom influences cooperation, innovation and task orientation

Recent technological developments have given rise to blended learning classrooms. An inverted (or flipped) classroom is a specific type of blended learning design that uses technology to move lectures outside the classroom and uses learning activities to move practice with concepts inside the classroom. This article compares the learning environments of an inverted introductory statistics class with a traditional introductory statistics class at the same university. This mixed-methods research study used the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI), field notes, interviews and focus groups to investigate the learning environments of these two classrooms. Students in the inverted classroom were less satisfied with how the classroom structure oriented them to the learning tasks in the course, but they became more open to cooperative learning and innovative teaching methods. These findings are discussed in terms of how they contribute to the stability and connectedness of classroom learning communities.

Classroom psychosocial environment and course experiences in pre-service teacher education courses at an Australian university

Research linking university students' perceptions of their classroom environment and course experiences was conducted in one Australian university. A sample of 495 students responded to the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI) and the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). Multilevel regression analyses revealed that several CUCEI scales were significant predictors of CEQ scales. Overall, task orientation was the most potent predictor of all five CEQ scales: clear goals and standards, generic skills, good teaching, appropriate workload and appropriate assessment. Improvements in the classroom environment were linked to more positive course experiences which are being taken as indicators of institutional performance. It is recommended that more attention be paid to classroom environment in colleges and universities.

La mirada de estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional hacia el docente y la docente: sus características y clima de aula

Recibido 22 de marzo de 2010 • Aceptado 24 de junio de 2010 • Corregido 28 de julio de 2010
 El artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación acerca de las características de docentes de la Universidad y el clima de aula, desde la mirada estudiantil. Mediante un diseño de método mixto, se acerca a la caracterización docente con la participación del estudiantado de las carreras en Pedagogía. Los resultados destacan la importancia de los rasgos correspondientes a características de personalidad y psicopedagógicas que otorgan las estudiantes, en contraposición a los planteamientos teóricos sobre el tema, que destacan los rasgos de características profesionales.
 
 
 

ABRIENDO PUERTAS (OPENING DOORS) THROUGH WRITING

A Latina college professor describes the family history-writing project she uses in her reading/language arts teacher preparation course. The project provides opportunities for Spanish bilingual teacher candidates to gain greater understanding of their cultural selves and to consider ways to successfully deploy that new insight as teachers in their own classrooms. As a sample case, she presents that of a young gay Latino teacher candidate whose increased self-knowledge and insight allow for enhanced confidence and perspective in his role as a writer and future teacher. The case study explores how the family history-writing project impacts the teacher candidate's negotiation of sexual identity and the role of heritage language as he struggles to establish himself both as a teacher and an out gay man. Also examined are the features of this university classroom environment that provided him with the necessary safety and support to engage in his writing for real life purposes. Inferences are made on the transformational power of writing and ways to open doors to new personal and professional understandings through writing.

Climate in the Interior Design Studio: Implications for Design Education

Researchers in the social sciences and in education have established that the classroom climate has a significant effect on a variety of student performance variables. The primary purpose of this study was to analyze empirically the interior design studio climate to better understand the dynamics of this educational environment. The College Classroom Environment Scales (CCES) instrument, which includes six subscales related to student perceptions of the classroom climate, was administered to 41 interior design students in three studios at a large public research university. The results were compared to a theoretical model representing conventional classroom climates to determine if and how the interior design studio classroom climate varied. Additionally, this study measured the degree of variance in interior design student perceptions of the studio classroom climate relative to the student's level in the interior design program (junior, senior, fifth–year senior). Finally, this study considered the relationship between student perceptions of the studio classroom climate and their individual academic performance as reported by the instructors. The results of this study support some previous research conclusions concerning the nature of design studio education, while challenging others. The findings clearly suggest that understanding the studio classroom climate can be an effective tool for design educators as they seek to respond to changing student populations and to create educational settings that maximize student achievement.