Student Evaluation Research Articles

Assessing the clinical reasoning skills of 4th year medical students in Batna

Aim. With the aim of examining the performance, commitment and perception of 4th year medical students in Batna - Algeria with regard to an interactive preparatory tool used in a flipped neuromeningeal infection course and to compare results with other types of teaching including blended as well as distance learning during COVID19. Methods. we conducted a prospective, evaluative, experimental before-and-after study with comparison maneuvers. Through this study, the success rate of external students 2022-2023 receiving "Reverse Classroom" teaching applied on group A was compared to the success rate of external students of the same year receiving "mixed teaching" applied on group B and to the success rate of external students of the year 2020-2021 (During COVID 19), receiving only "online teaching in downloadable papers" applied on group C consisting of 2 subgroups . All students in group A and B have access to a traditional downloadable paper document coupled with an enhanced e-learning tool including a video. We briefly evaluated this interactive tool during a 01:30-hour lecture in the form of a clinical case, with the same amount of dedicated class time for both subgroups. Results: Overall, our evaluation showed that the use of the flipped classroom approach is appreciated by students and helps them to learn, understand and retain the essential notions of the course, objectively demonstrated by their response to question 2, 3 and 4, and whose acquisition of the course reached 60% (33.3, 37.1) and 80% (56.0, 49.4) respectively for the A1 and A2 group. The majority asked to adopt it in nearly 67% of cases, which has been reported in studies other. Similarly, our results show the importance of having direct contact with a teacher and feedback during a lecture, and of not exclusively carrying out distance learning without direct contact interaction and feedback. Conclusion: The flipped classroom defines a blended learning approach in which core content is transferred to students to engage them in active learning exercises during class time.

Variables influencing students' course quality evaluation: A cross-sectional study for a bachelor's degree dental program.

This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate and predict variables that influence the Students' Course Evaluation Surveys (SCES) in a bachelor's degree of dental medicine and surgery program. Data from the Faculty of Dental Medicine for the academic year 2021-2022 were analyzed including 39 course reports, students' course evaluation surveys, students' academic performance data, and the program specification. The survey contains 24 statements that evaluate five main domains of the courses, which are course syllabus, staff performance through the course, course learning resources, course execution, and course quality. Chi-squared Test revealed no significant association between the total average students' evaluation score of the course against factors such as student's level, term, main mode of instruction, course category, department, and course director's gender, academic experiences, and nationality. On the other hand, pairwise comparisons revealed that grades from A+ to C were predictors of the total average SCES scores (p ≤ 0.004). Using the Paired Samples T-Test, the student's evaluation scores for their course were found to be significantly higher for females than males (mean±SD=50.56±24.3 vs. 41.00±26.3, p=0.042). Using Pearson correlations, results showed a significant association of total average students' course evaluation scores against factors such as average course syllabus, staff performance, course learning resources, course execution, and course quality (p<0.001). Average course syllabus, staff performance, course learning resources, course execution, and course quality are major predictor variables that influence SCES scores in the examined program. Enhancing these domains will be of great importance to improve the quality of the courses at the dental bachelor level.

Toward early intervention based on age-specific vision checkups: A vision impairment survey in Yantai, China.

The prevalence of myopia among children and adolescents is currently rising to alarming levels (>80%) in China. This study used several routinely collected demographic factors to quantify myopia and glass-wearing rates for primary and secondary school students. We identified myopia risk factors and proposed new aspects for early intervention. This study was a cross-sectional survey of myopia and glass-wearing rates for students (6-18 years old) in Yantai, China. We collected both vision (vision acuity [VA] and spherical equivalence [SE]) and glass-wearing information to establish respective logistic models for quantifying myopia and glass-wearing rate. We further propose a joint decision region (VA, SE, age) to guide early intervention. Among 10,276 children, 63% had myopia (65% wore glasses). The prevalence of myopia increases with age and levels off during adulthood. Females had a higher overall prevalence rate than males (P < .001). The rural age mode (≈15.5) is about 2 years larger than the urban age (≈13.5) for myopia students. For the myopia rate, in the age ≤14.5, the linear age effect was significant (odds ratio [OR] = 1.73, P < .0001), males had a significant negative baseline effect at the start of schooling (vs. females) (OR = 0.68, P < .0001), and the urban group had a significant positive baseline effect (vs. rural) (OR = 1.39, P < .0001). The correlation between VA and SE increases with age and has a directional shift (from negative to positive) at ages 8 to 9. For the glass-wearing rate, age had a significant positive effect (OR = 1.25, P < .0001), VA had a significant negative effect (OR = 0.002, P < .0001), and body mass index had a slightly significant positive effect (OR = 1.02, P = .03). Urban female have a higher myopia rate than rural male at the start of schooling, and vocational high school has improved vision upon high school. Body mass index was not a significant factor for myopia. The myopia rate model is specific to age range (separated at 14.5 years old). Students of lower ages are less likely to wear glasses for correction, and this may require intervention. The temporal age-specific (VA, SE) correlations and joint distributions strengthen the speculation in the literature that age 8 to 9 is a critical intervention period and motivates us to propose a rigorous intervention decision region for (age, VA, and SE) which mainly applies for this tight age period.

Emotions in Language Learning: Understanding Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety in Higher Education

The significant role of emotions in learning was reemphasized during school and university closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, upon returning to campus, cognitive learning outcomes have reclaimed a dominating position in the university curriculum, while affective learning appears to have been disregarded. The present study contributes to the discussion on the significance of social-emotional learning in higher education. Therefore, the primary objective of this inquiry is to trace the perceived levels of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) in order to understand factors which contribute to their emergence. The research sample comprises 108 Polish university students majoring in English and enrolled in a bachelor’s programme. The findings demonstrate that language enjoyment is more prevalent among participants than language anxiety. The causes of language enjoyment are associated with teacher-student and peer-peer interactions as well as the classroom atmosphere, while language anxiety is reported to be linked to the fear of negative evaluation of students’ academic performance, test anxiety, and communication apprehension. These results suggest that English Department students are not exempt from experiencing language classroom anxiety, and engaging in practical English classes may be a source of a range of positive and negative emotions.

Exploring student perceptions: Factors influencing academic performance in a school of pharmacy in Nigeria

Background: The failure and success rate of students in pharmacy school has been shown to be dependent on some courses that predict academic performance. The study identified factors that could impact failure and academic performances of pharmacy students at Obafemi Awolowo University. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study of 219 undergraduate pharmacy students from third, fourth and fifth years of a school of pharmacy in Nigeria. A pre-tested questionnaire gathered data on demographics, course perceptions and academic factors. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as percentages, weighted averages, and Chi squared tests were used to analyse the data obtained at p &lt; 0.05. Results: Financial constraints, family challenges, and a lack of peer interaction were significantly associated with repeating a year. Specific courses perceived as difficult included “Pharmaceutical organic chemistry” (PHC 202), “Practical pharmaceutics I” (PHA 201) and “Medicinal chemistry II” (PHC 402). Courses perceived as difficult, particularly in the fourth year, were notably linked to academic stress. Conclusion: The study identified specific factors and courses that affect pharmacy students’ performance in the Nigerian context. Policy makers and faculty can take vital feedback to adjust the training content, methods and assessment system to possibly deliver a holistic education to pharmacy students.     

A Student Teaching Assistant Program for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Antiracism Curricular Enhancement.

In the United States, physician bias is exhibited early in medical training and contributes to systemic inequities within the field of medicine. A lack of diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism (DEI-AR) content within medical curricula drives critical gaps in knowledge and deficiencies when preparing medical students to serve patients of diverse backgrounds. At the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (MCASOM), student-led curricular reviews between 2017 to 2018 and 2020 to 2021 revealed opportunities to improve DEI-AR content within preclinical courses. Course directors expressed concern of limited expertise and time to enact effective changes. The MCASOM DEI-AR teaching assistant (TA) program aims to curate a collaborative partnership between course directors and compensated student TAs to facilitate course enhancements responsive to the prior preclinical course review while centering standardized DEI-AR best practices. As of January 2024, the program has engaged 14 TAs and partnered with 24 preclinical courses. Postcourse student evaluation responses were collected from 8 courses for 2021 to 2022 (before enhancements) and 2022 to 2023 (after enhancements). Student satisfaction with DEI-AR content is tracked through postcourse evaluations, with preliminary data demonstrating improvement after DEI-AR curricular integration (improvement of mean preenhancement and postenhancement scores of 3.81 to 4.05; t12 = 1.79, P = .21). Qualitative student comments were sorted into general categories of positive, negative, or neutral, showing a 6.25% median increase in positive perception of DEI. Plans for the MCASOM DEI-AR TA program include application of quality improvement strategies to improve program processes and outcomes. Development of a centralized dashboard that integrates course enhancement progress and ongoing feedback from evaluations is anticipated to facilitate this effort. The program additionally aims to develop partnerships with clinical clerkships, which would allow for a more comprehensive enhancement of the overall medical education experience related to DEI-AR.

R.I.M.E. and reason: multi-station OSCE enhancement to neutralize grade inflation

ABSTRACT To offset grade inflation, many clerkships combine faculty evaluations with objective assessments including the Medical Examiners Subject Examination (NBME-SE) or Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), however, standardized methods are not established. Following a curriculum transition removing faculty clinical evaluations from summative grading, final clerkship designations of fail (F), pass (P), and pass-with-distinction (PD) were determined by combined NBME-SE and OSCE performance, with overall PD for the clerkship requiring meeting this threshold in both. At the time, 90% of students achieved PD on the Internal Medicine (IM) OSCE resulting in overall clerkship grades primarily determined by the NBME-SE. The clerkship sought to enhance the OSCE to provide a more thorough objective clinical skills assessment, offset grade inflation, and reduce the NBME-SE primary determination of the final clerkship grade. The single-station 43-point OSCE was enhanced to a three-station 75-point OSCE using the Reporter-Interpreter-Manager-Educator (RIME) framework to align patient encounters with targeted assessments of progressive skills and competencies related to the clerkship rotation. Student performances were evaluated pre- and post-OSCE enhancement. Student surveys provided feedback about the clinical realism of the OSCE and the difficulty. Pre-intervention OSCE scores were more tightly clustered (SD = 5.65%) around a high average performance with scores being highly negatively skewed. Post-intervention OSCE scores were more dispersed (SD = 6.88%) around a lower average with scores being far less skewed resulting in an approximately normal distribution. This lowered the total number of students achieving PD on the OSCE and PD in the clerkship, thus reducing the relative weight of the NMBE-SE in the overall clerkship grade. Student response was positive, indicating the examination was fair and reflective of their clinical experiences. Through structured development, OSCE assessment can provide a realistic and objective measurement of clinical performance as part of the summative evaluation of students.

AGE-GRADE DISTORTION

This article, which has the theme of age-grade distortion, presents the results of a documentary research and a qualitative approach, with the aim of analyzing the age-grade distortion rates of students in the final years of elementary school in the state network of Roraima and the actions implemented by the Department of Education and Sports (SEED) to meet this demand. The collection of data on school flow indicators was carried out in documents published by INEP and QEdu, with an analysis of the historical series of the School Census of the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 and information on the actions implemented by SEED, to assist students that make up this group, were obtained from publications on the official websites linked to that body. Results show that, although the age-grade distortion indicator shows a reduction, it is still present in both urban and rural state schools in the 15 municipalities of Roraima. Notwithstanding, the collection of data on the actions implemented by SEED has been limited to electronic media disclosures, it was found that actions are developed to reduce dropout, repetition and dropping out of school, such as the active search of students, the realization workshops and training courses for teachers working in flow correction classes.

Sustainable community development through peer-to-peer learning in the online and in-person classroom

Purpose Prior research suggests that collaboration is key to sustainable community development and environmental management, and peer-to-peer learning (P2PL) may facilitate community building and collaborative learning skills. This study aims to examine the effect of P2PL on the enhancement of environmental management and sustainable development skills, community building and social capital (i.e. connectedness) and understanding of course learning objectives. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative and qualitative longitudinal survey data was collected in a sustainable development focused course offered at a large American public university that uses P2PL to explicitly facilitate community building and collaborative skills. Safety precautions and changing locational course offerings due to the COVID-19 pandemic in years 2020, 2021 and 2022 provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of P2PL on these skills during both virtual and in-person formats. Additionally, this study compared in-course student evaluations with students taking other sustainable development-related courses with collaborative learning aspects to understand the wider effectiveness of this course structure. Findings This study finds that course format (virtual vs in-person) overall made no difference in either connectedness or conceptual understandings, and that students in both formats felt more connected to others than students taking other courses with P2PL. Scaffolding P2PL and supplemental peer support can yield improved connectedness and learning among students taking environmental coursework. Originality/value Sustainable development requires group collaboration and partnership building skills. Issues are consistently raised about the challenges to teaching these skills in higher education. The students and instructors in this research study identify P2PL strategies to address these challenges for in-person and virtual classroom settings.

Analysis of College Students' Entrepreneurship Under E-Commerce Environment

According to the relevant survey, the success rate of college students' entrepreneurship is lower than 5% for a long time, which is mainly due to the low cognitive ability of college students' entrepreneurship risk and the lack of knowledge related to risk management. The research results show that college students are more worried about and attach importance to the direction of the project, the source of funds, the change of the market and the corresponding knowledge and skills, but pay less attention to social resources and social skills. On the whole, college students' risk management ability is medium, so at the end of this article, relevant suggestions are put forward for the improvement of college students' entrepreneurial risk management ability.

Assessing the Efficacy of a Campus-Based Transdiagnostic Intervention for Filipino College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ABSTRACT With increasing rates of college students with various mental health concerns, The gap between students’ mental health needs and services available is growing wider. The present study aims to design a campus-based transdiagnostic intervention that can be implemented to address college student mental health. Utilizing a two-arm randomized controlled trial, the results showed that transdiagnostic intervention is effective in lowering psychological distress and transdiagnostic mechanisms (e.g. intolerance of uncertainty, repetitive negative thinking, experiential avoidance, and distress intolerance). The effectiveness of transdiagnostic intervention as a campus-based mental health program in a low-income, Asian country responds to the call for a shift toward alternative low-intensity treatment approaches that can have a greater public mental health impact.

Exploring challenges of online learning in the context of Ba Ria – Vung Tau University by English Major students

This study aims to find out challenges of English major students in conducting online learning at Ba Ria – Vung Tau University (BVU). The research results were found by analyzing quantitative data by introducing survey to 160 English major students; the qualitative data was summarized by 15 English major students and 10 teachers from the interview. The results revealed many difficulties by the evaluation and perception of both students and teachers. The aspect of support is the highest while the lowest belonged to the challenges in aspect of the environment. Meanwhile, the challenges in aspect of collaboration were at the second position and the third position is about students’ attitude towards online learning. About challenges relating to equipment, the result was at the fourth position. Additionally, further discussions and recommendations on challenges that English major students encountered during online learning were also proposed.

Framework For Performance Management, ICT-Based Digitalization in A Higher Education Institution

By improving teaching and learning, research, and governance, digital technology has altered the educational landscape in academic institutions. Adequate infrastructure, improved internet access, modern digital tools, a secure platform, and professionals with digital competency are all critically needed. Higher education institutions in India are clearly visible from the growing usage of ICT, cloud computing, AI, robotics, and virtual reality in daily operations, which improves competencies and aids in skill alignment with industry-based knowledge. Teaching in a regular classroom is becoming obsolete. The way that education is delivered has changed dramatically since the advent of technology. It provides the freedom for students to access learning at any time or location they want. The lines that were once drawn by understudies and educators being available in a similar spot simultaneously have likewise become more foggy because of education turning out to be more computerized. In the past ten years, internet and remote learning have grown in popularity in India. With the majority of the country now having access to digital technology, online learning courses are becoming more and more popular. Besides, understudy evaluation through digitalization technology is currently a chance on the grounds that to the improvement of learning management systems (LMS). Outside of the classroom, students can socialize with their peers. The pupils' soft skills have also been guided by the peer-centered learning component. LMS would enhance student evaluation and the teaching process.

Development of an Electronic Module (E-Module) Chemistry Based on POE (Predict, Observe, Explain) on Reaction Rate Study Materials

The social restrictions that were implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the field of education. There was an adaptation of changes from conventional to distance learning processes. This study aimed to develop a Chemistry Electronic Module (e-Module) based on the POE (Predict, Observe, Explain) approach to the study material of Reaction Rates for 11th grade science students. This module used videos as a stimulus for the student’s learning process in three learning stages: predict, observe, and explain. This Research and Development research inspired by Borg and Gall used descriptive methods for analysis. The instrument used for this study was a questionnaire. The results from the validation test by three material and language experts, as well as media experts, showed that this e-module was classified as well to be very good for a percentage range of 80-90%. The results of the e-module feasibility test for seven high school chemistry teachers, 18 high-school students of class XI IPA, and 40 undergraduate students of Chemistry Education at the State University of Jakarta on the aspects of the developed electronic module were obtained with scores ranging from well to excellent with a percentage range of 81-94%. It can be concluded that the developed electronic module is suitable for use as independent teaching material for students on the material of reaction rates.&#x0D; Keywords: chemistry electronic module, POE, reaction rates

Redesigning nurse practitioner clinical education with a Dyad/POD model: A feasibility study.

Clinical education for nurse practitioner (NP) students is increasingly challenging. With fewer preceptors, lack of resources and time burden, finding clinical placements is a burdensome responsibility. Also, when students have multiple preceptors, there may be inconsistencies when evaluating students. With the change to competency-based education, consistency is crucial when evaluating NP students. Typical preceptorship with students is a 1:1:1 ratio: one student with one preceptor for one semester. The Dyad/Precepting to Optimize Development (POD) model has potential to improve clinical precepting. Precepting to optimize development refers to a consistent team of students, preceptors, and faculty over the course of the students' education. Dyad refers to two students with one preceptor. Students rotate in dyad pairs every 4-8 weeks with a consistent group of preceptors, and see these same preceptors again over the course of their educational journey. Preceptors met monthly to collaborate, discuss, and learn. This article reports on the outcomes of a mixed-methods feasibility study that occurred over a year. The students, preceptors, and faculty report satisfaction with the model. Several themes arose during analysis of focus group sessions. Those themes were as follows: safe learning environment; everyone teaches, everyone learns; growth mindset; teaming culture and the POD structure is essential to the dyad. In conclusion, developing a different approach to precepting is essential to meet national provider needs. The Dyad/POD model provides consistency for development and evaluation of the NP student.

Analyzing Student Success Outcome Variables in Higher Education Utilizing the Chi-Square Test of Independence

For the past two decades student success measures such as student persistence, retention, and graduation rates have been a point of emphasis in higher education. These measures are often directly related to funding formulas for state public colleges and universities. Therefore, analyses of these data have become more critical to evaluating student success initiatives for faculty and administration at many institutions. However, while these data are often widely available there is very little higher education research on how they should be analyzed to assess student success initiatives, program evaluations, or teaching effectiveness at the institutional level.As student success outcome variables are categorical in nature, linear analyses of these data may prove rather difficult as a dependent variable without a significant amount of transformation. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide practitioners with a simple, yet powerful option for analyzing student success outcome variables utilizing the Chi-square test of independence. A case study approach was taken to illustrate how Chi-square can be used to specifically analyze the association between an experiential learning high impact practice and graduation rates among undergraduate students. This case was based on a results and interpretation perspective, rather than step-by-step instruction on how to perform the analysis itself.

Learning path planning methods based on learning path variability and ant colony optimization

With the advancement of education information, the scale of online education has been expanding, which brings challenges to students' learning path planning, i.e., course and learning method planning. To address the limitations of learning path planning such as insufficient personalization, the study proposes a learning path planning method based on learning path variability and ant colony optimization. First, dynamic time regularization is used to obtain learning path variability, and the K-means algorithm is used to classify students' learning types. Subsequently, an ant colony optimization algorithm is used to generate learning paths. Finally, the effectiveness of the method is tested. The results show that the loss value of the ant colony optimization algorithm converges to a minimum value of 0.1, which has the best stability of the loss function curve and the fastest convergence speed compared to other algorithms. Under the same experimental environment, the accuracy of the algorithm is as high as 0.9, which is conducive to the search for the optimal solution. The path planning method designed by the research can effectively grasp the learning characteristics and habits of students, and the accurate classification degree can reach 96.6%. With this learning path planning method, the average video learning time of students reaches a maximum of 80 min, while the average completion rate of students' course objectives is stable at 90%, which is about 20% higher than that of the GA-based learning path planning method. The method can significantly improve academic performance and educational outcomes. The method thus grasps the type of student learning, stimulates students' interest in learning, improves the effect of online learning, helps to promote education informatization and provides a boost to the deep reform of education.

Construction of influencing factor segmentation and intelligent prediction model of college students' cell phone addiction model based on machine learning algorithm

Mobile phone addiction among college students has emerged as a prevalent phenomenon in contemporary society, posing significant challenges to the development and well-being of these individuals. The assessment of the extent of mobile phone addiction has become an urgent concern in the present context. This study employed a sample of 3000 college students from a public university in Zhejiang Province, China, to gather questionnaire data. By utilizing a machine learning algorithm, we identified the most salient factors associated with college students' addiction, with perfectionism emerging as the primary influencer. Additionally, a machine learning-based prediction model for college students' cell phone addiction was developed, yielding a prediction accuracy of 76.68%. This intelligent model can serve as a reliable tool for subsequent evaluations of college students' cell phone addiction.

First-Year College Achievement and Graduation Rates for Hispanic and Hispanic First-Generation Students

To increase persistence, many universities provide first-year seminars (FYS) for entering students. Although there have been consistent positive outcomes for FYS participants, many times, the research is based on short-term outcomes, or less rigorous analysis. This study assessed short- and long-term outcomes for Hispanic ( n = 456) and Hispanic first-generation students ( n = 350) who participated in a research-based academic FYS. FYS participants had significantly higher outcomes in first-term GPA, 1-year persistence and graduation rates.

Evaluation of Students’ Participation in the 5E-Based Flipped Classroom Approach

This study aims to evaluate the participation of students levels in the 5E-based flipped classroom approach. The participants of the study consist of 12 students in the 7th grade at a public school. Case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was adopted in the study. In this study, how student participation occurred at each stage of the 5E-based flipped classroom approach was evaluated based on the students' subjective experiences. The data evaluated in the study were obtained through video recordings taken during classroom lessons, student worksheets, student documents uploaded in Google Classroom, semi-structured interview questions, audio recordings, field notes of the researcher teacher, and observation forms. Observation forms were created by the researcher to analyze in-class and out-of-class processes. Observation forms were prepared in line with the principles specified in the stages of the 5E-based classroom approach, which is the basis of the study. In the analysis of the data, deductive-inductive qualitative content analysis was used. In the coding process, a preliminary coding list was created using elements of both deductive and inductive approaches, and deductive categories were employed based on the 5E-based flipped classroom approach, which serves as the theoretical background of the study. According to the results of this study, it has been observed that in the use of the 5E-based flipped classroom approach, students' participation in out-of-class processes prepares students for in-class processes, and thus students actively participate in in-class processes. This study provides a framework for teachers to develop effective teaching strategies in terms of increasing student participation in in-class and out-of-class processes using the 5E-based flipped classroom approach. It also offers suggestions regarding the 5E-based flipped classroom approach to ensure student participation in mathematics lessons and emphasizes the importance of student participation in the learning process.