Final Grade Research Articles

Learning goals and level of individualism among undergraduate students

ABSTRACT Academic achievements are an important foundation for social mobility. Therefore, it is important to understand disparities between majority and minority groups in terms of such achievements. The present study was conducted in Israel, where previous research found differences between students from the Jewish majority and students from the Arab minority. Previous findings indicated that such gaps between groups were associated with learning goals and factors that the students indicated as reasons for choosing to study. The present research examined the relationships between these disparities and cultural differences found between the groups in previous research in individualism and collectivism. The sample consisted of 168 students (84 Arabic-speakers and 84 of Hebrew-speakers). Their levels of individualism and collectivism and their learning goals were measured when they began studying and their grades were collected later. In addition, parents’ education and some cognitive abilities were examined to establish that these variables did not explain the differences between groups. The findings indicate a significant difference between groups in final grades and in the interaction between level of individualism, learning goals, and final grades.

Tracing Student Activity Patterns in E-Learning Environments: Insights into Academic Performance

In distance learning educational environments like Moodle, students interact with their tutors, their peers, and the provided educational material through various means. Due to advancements in learning analytics, students’ transitions within Moodle generate digital trace data that outline learners’ self-directed learning paths and reveal information about their academic behavior within a course. These learning paths can be depicted as sequences of transitions between various states, such as completing quizzes, submitting assignments, downloading files, and participating in forum discussions, among others. Considering that a specific learning path summarizes the students’ trajectory in a course during an academic year, we analyzed data on students’ actions extracted from Moodle logs to investigate how the distribution of user actions within different Moodle resources can impact academic achievements. Our analysis was conducted using a Markov Chain Model, whereby transition matrices were constructed to identify steady states, and eigenvectors were calculated. Correlations were explored between specific states in users’ eigenvectors and their final grades, which were used as a proxy of academic performance. Our findings offer valuable insights into the relationship between student actions, link weight vectors, and academic performance, in an attempt to optimize students’ learning paths, tutors’ guidance, and course structures in the Moodle environment.

Design and practice of blended teaching of internal medicine nursing based on O-AMAS effective teaching model

BackgroundSelf-directed learning (SDL) ability is the basis for cultivating nursing students’ ability to find and solve problems, lifelong learning, and providing high-quality nursing talents for healthcare. The O-AMAS (Objective, Activation, Multi-learning, Assessment, Summary) model adheres to the teaching philosophy of student-centered, result-oriented, combines the advantages of online and offline teaching, enriching teaching resources and learning channels, diversifying teaching and evaluation methods, and emphasizing integrating and applying knowledge conducive to improving students’ SDL ability and achieving teaching objectives. This study explored the course design, practical, and application effects under the O-AMAS effective teaching model in internal medicine nursing to provide a basis and reference for combining effective teaching models with blended teaching in future nursing courses.MethodsThis study is a self-controlled before-after trial. The participants were 76 nursing undergraduates from Hunan Normal University. This study utilizes the O-AMAS effective teaching model to design internal medicine nursing courses and implement blended online and offline teaching. Main links: The overall course design and application are student-centered, after clarifying macro and micro multi-dimensional learning objectives, with online and offline blended teaching environments activated students’ learning behavior and diversified teachers’ teaching activities, then based on instant and dynamic provide effective feedback; finally, students take the initiate to make a brief and potent summary under the teacher guidance. After the course, a unified assessment of the learning effect of nursing students was conducted, including the evaluation of the SDL ability of nursing students, a final comprehensive evaluation grade, and a teaching satisfaction survey.ResultsThe nursing students’ SDL ability scores are higher than before teaching, and the results were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The final average comprehensive evaluation grade of nursing students was 78.38 ± 7.12. More than 96% of the students are satisfied with this course.ConclusionApplying for internal medicine nursing blended teaching integrated with the O-AMAS effective teaching model is conducive to improving nursing students’ SDL ability, academic grades, and teaching satisfaction.

What’s cost got to do with it? Cost belief trajectories of undergraduate computer science students

Students want to learn computer science due to its usefulness for future careers, however they often meet challenges in introductory courses. In the increasingly digital world, it is important to understand some important psychological consequences of such challenges: perceived costs of pursuing computer science. This study thus investigated semester-long trajectories of four cost perceptions (effort, opportunity, psychological, and emotional) and their relations to achievement, major intentions, and career intentions (N = 831). All cost beliefs showed average increases, although with nuanced differences in levels and slopes, and the four costs differentially predicted student outcomes. Interestingly, the intercept of psychological cost negatively predicted final course grades while positively predicting major and career intentions. Women reported steeper increases in cost perceptions compared to men. The findings highlight the differential functioning of cost perceptions, with implications for the importance of targeting different aspects of cost perceptions to mitigate students’ barriers to success in computer science.

Evaluation of Student Academic Performance After Curricular Content Reduction

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of curricular content reduction in an integrated course sequence spanning 3 years of a Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum on student examination scores and course grades. MethodsThis 2-year, prepost study compared student overall average and final examination scores and overall course grades after the transition from a 5-day to a 4-day week of an integrated learning experience (ILE) course sequence. In addition, an anonymous, optional 23-item survey was distributed to first to third year pharmacy students asking about the 4-day week change, how they utilized the non-ILE day, and additional demographic and social characteristics to identify factors influencing success on examination and course performance during the 4-day week. ResultsThere were 533 students included in the overall analysis, with no significant differences in overall course grades in the 5-day vs 4-day week. Examination scores were not significantly different after the transition, except in 2 of 12 courses where scores were higher and final examination scores were not significantly different, except for higher final examination scores in 1 course during the 5-day week. Significant positive influencers of top quartile of examination performance included prepharmacy grade point average ≥ 3.5, age 25 to 29 years, and prepharmacy coursework at the parent institution, whereas using the non-ILE day primarily to sleep negatively influenced outcomes. ConclusionCurricular density is a prevalent problem and addressing it at a program level is essential. Reducing curricular content and hours at our institution did not adversely impact student examination and course performance and slight improvement was noted in some areas.

Evaluating the Impact of Gamification on Learning Effectiveness in Technical Vocabulary Instruction

With the rise of digital education, the integration of gamified elements has emerged as a potential strategy to enhance student engagement and comprehension in various academic disciplines. This study seeks to evaluate the impact of gamification on learning effectiveness in the domain of technical vocabulary instruction during an online course. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving data collection from students enrolled on an online technical vocabulary programme offered by the Language Centre at Gdansk University of Technology. A quantitative analysis of placement test scores, the frequency of using course material and final grades was conducted to understand their impact on learning outcomes, and data from surveys provided insights into students' perceptions and experiences with gamified activities. The findings indicate that the incorporation of gamification positively influenced learning effectiveness during the online course. Participants demonstrated higher levels of motivation, active participation, and a deeper understanding of technical terminology achieved through gamified interactions. The study's outcomes contribute to the growing body of research on gamification's potential benefits in online learning environments, especially in the context of technical vocabulary instruction, and offer valuable implications for educators and course designers seeking innovative approaches to optimize learning experiences in virtual settings.

Relationship of Attitude and Performance in Mathematics of the BEEd and BSE Students

This study aimed to determine if the attitude toward mathematics of BSE and BEED students in DMMMSU NLUC is significantly correlated to their Mathematics performance. Specifically, it seeks answers to the following questions: What is the profile of the students enrolled in Mathematics along sex, CAT Result in Mathematics and IQ level. What is the attitude of students towards Mathematics? What is performance of the respondents in Mathematics? Is there a significant relationship between profile variables and attitude towards Mathematics profile variables and performance in Mathematics, attitude toward Mathematics and Mathematics performance? Which among the variables are predictors of Mathematics performance? What action plan can be proposed to enhance the level of performance and attitude of the students in Mathematics? This study utilized the descriptive method of investigation. This is best fitted to the study because this method involves describing, recording, analyzing and interpreting conditions that exist. It also includes some forms of comparison and contrast and discovers relationship between existing non-manipulative variables. The respondents are two classes enrolled in Basic Mathematics and Contemporary Mathematics for the SY 2014-2015. Their attitude towards Mathematics were obtained using an attitude inventory, their IQ and CAT Math results were obtained from the Guidance Office and their performance were taken from their final grade in Mathematics. The attitude of students toward Mathematics and their performance in Mathematics were described, analyzed, compared, and interpreted. Mean was used to describe the attitude and performance in Mathematics. Furthermore, the relationship of the aforementioned variables will be obtained. Hence, the use of statistics of correlation under descriptive method was also used. The following are the salient findings of this study: Majority of the Mathematics students are females with fair to good performance in the Math CAT and IQ level. The students have positive to highly positive attitude towards Mathematics. The students have very good performance in Mathematics.IQ and CAT performance are significantly correlated with Mathematics performance. CAT significantly correlates with attitude and attitude is significantly correlated with Mathematics performance. In the light of the above-stated findings, the following conclusions are drawn: The Math classes are dominated with females who have only fairly satisfactory to satisfactory IQ levels and performance in the CAT along Mathematics. A greater majority of the students find mathematics enjoyable, interesting and fun. Most of the students have acquired the needed competencies in Mathematics. They are good in computation, comprehension and problem solving. Those who have high IQ and high CAT results perform excellently in Mathematics. The better is the attitude towards Mathematics the higher is the performance in the subject. Attitude has a positive impact of performance in Mathematics. Based on the conclusions, the researcher offered the following recommendations: Teachers are encouraged to customize their instruction and improve the use of modernized and innovative teaching techniques and strategies to enhance performance and attitude of students toward Mathematics. The Mathematics teachers especially the Math Club Adviser should consider the implementation of the Action Plan to improve attitude and performance in Mathematics. The administrators should support the implementation of the Action Plan by providing the opportunities and logistics for its accomplishment. The Action Plan should be considered for adoption by other HEIs in La Union with the administrators and Head of Mathematics Department planning its mechanics of implementation. A research on the effectiveness of the proposed action plan when implemented be conducted as basis for revisions and improvement.

Squeeze-and-excitation-attention-based mobile vision transformer for grading recognition of bladder prolapse in pelvic MRI images.

Bladder prolapse is a common clinical disorder of pelvic floor dysfunction in women, and early diagnosis and treatment can help them recover. Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the most important methods used by physicians to diagnose bladder prolapse; however, it is highly subjective and largely dependent on the clinical experience of physicians. The application of computer-aided diagnostic techniques to achieve a graded diagnosis of bladder prolapse can help improve its accuracy and shorten the learning curve. The purpose of this study is to combine convolutional neural network (CNN) and vision transformer (ViT) for grading bladder prolapse in place of traditional neural networks, and to incorporate attention mechanisms into mobile vision transformer (MobileViT) for assisting in the grading of bladder prolapse. This study focuses on the grading of bladder prolapse in pelvic organs using a combination of a CNN and a ViT. First, this study used MobileNetV2 to extract the local features of the images. Next, a ViT was used to extract the global features by modeling the non-local dependencies at a distance. Finally, a channel attention module (i.e., squeeze-and-excitation network) was used to improve the feature extraction network and enhance its feature representation capability. The final grading of the degree of bladder prolapse was thus achieved. Using pelvic MRI images provided by a Huzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, this study used the proposed method to grade patients with bladder prolapse. The accuracy, Kappa value, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and area under the curve of our method were 86.34%, 78.27%, 83.75%, 95.43%, 85.70%, and 95.05%, respectively. In comparison with other CNN models, the proposed method performed better. Thus, the model based on attention mechanisms exhibits better classification performance than existing methods for grading bladder prolapse in pelvic organs, and it can effectively assist physicians in achieving a more accurate bladder prolapse diagnosis.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours: a comparison of cytological classification systems

AimsCytological classification systems provide a standardised interpretation framework for reporting cytological specimens. Three well-known classification systems can be applied when reporting pancreatic cytology. This study aimed to compare the accuracy...

The Impact of Large Language Models on Programming Education and Student Learning Outcomes

Recent advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Copilot have led to their integration into various educational domains, including software development education. Regular use of LLMs in the learning process is still not well-researched; thus, this paper intends to fill this gap. The paper explores the nuanced impact of informal LLM usage on undergraduate students’ learning outcomes in software development education, focusing on React applications. We carefully designed an experiment involving thirty-two participants over ten weeks where we examined unrestricted but not specifically encouraged LLM use and their correlation with student performance. Our results reveal a significant negative correlation between increased LLM reliance for critical thinking-intensive tasks such as code generation and debugging and lower final grades. Furthermore, a downward trend in final grades is observed with increased average LLM use across all tasks. However, the correlation between the use of LLMs for seeking additional explanations and final grades was not as strong, indicating that LLMs may serve better as a supplementary learning tool. These findings highlight the importance of balancing LLM integration with the cultivation of independent problem-solving skills in programming education.

A Robust Examination of Cheating on Unproctored Online Exams

The rapid growth of online education, especially since the pandemic, is presenting educators with numerous challenges. Chief among these is concern about academic dishonesty, especially on unproctored online exams. Students cheating on exams is not a new phenomenon. The topic has been discussed and debated within institutions of higher learning, and significant levels of cheating have been reported in the academic literature for over sixty years. Much of this literature, however, has focused on student behavior in a classroom utilizing proctored, in-class exams. Grades on exams usually determine most of a student’s final grade in a course, and GPAs are used by employers and graduate schools to indicate a student’s subject matter mastery. As more conventional colleges and universities expand their online course offerings it is natural to wonder if academic dishonesty is more prevalent in online classes than in face-to-face classes. In particular, are students more likely to cheat when no one is watching (i.e., on unproctored assessment assignments) than they do when someone is watching (i.e., on proctored assessment assignments)? The purpose of this study is to investigate whether students cheat more on unproctored online exams than they do on proctored in-classroom exams, and if so, is there any pattern to their cheating behavior. Our findings are derived from careful empirical analysis of 741 undergraduate students who completed three unproctored online exams, several collaboration-encouraged assignments, and a proctored in-class comprehensive final exam in the same course with the same instructor. Additionally, we collected demographic and human capital data for every student. Using bivariate and regression analysis, we find significant evidence of more cheating on unproctored online exams than on proctored in-class exams even though students were given stern honor code violation warnings. Moreover, we discover that student cheating increased with each unproctored online exam, implying that students learn how to cheat as they become more familiar with taking online assessment assignments. Finally, we find that students with certain demographic and human capital characteristics tend to cheat more than others. This research strongly supports the use of proctoring for all evaluation assignments in online classes to ensure that grades in these classes properly reflect student aptitude as opposed to merely reflecting their ability to cheat.

The death of exams? Grade inflation and student satisfaction when coursework replaces exams

A mid-sized advanced undergraduate economics module has undergone an assessment reform, where a typical 60% final exam was replaced by four scaffolded coursework assignments, each carrying a 15% weight in the final grade. As a result, student satisfaction with assessment and feedback went up at the expense of higher staff workload. In addition, the reform raised the final grades over and above the increase typically associated with an improvement in learning and engagement, effectively triggering grade inflation. The paper identifies the coursework assignment that inflated the grades. It then proceeds with grade simulations, whose purpose is to formulate an assessment reform agenda aiming to maintain high student satisfaction, disinflate grades, and stabilise staff workload. Finally, the paper evaluates the scalability of assessment reforms where final exams are targeted for replacement by coursework assessments. The evaluation suggests caution with such reforms, if they are necessary in the first place. They may both be feasible and desirable in small classes, but compelling arguments caution against a premature wholesale rollout.

Enhancing academic performance and student engagement in health education: insights from Work Station Learning Activities (WSLA)

Making health science students aware of the importance of basic science knowledge for professional practice is a major educational challenge, especially during the early years of preclinical courses. Here, using an integrated curricular approach, we analyze whether Work Station Learning Activities (WSLA), which combine active learning methodologies for teaching basic science in clinical scenarios, can help to develop deeper learning and student engagement. In order to increase student motivation, we evaluated the effectiveness of WSLA using statistical analyses and an observation tool based on the ICAP (Interactive, Constructive, Active, and Passive) framework, which categorizes learning tasks based on the nature of student engagement. Statistical analyses revealed positive correlations between the different summative evaluations along the development of the activities, indicating the learning process inherent to WSLA progression and affirming the positive influence of WSLA on academic outcomes. Comparing the pre- and post-tests, students scored significantly higher on the post-test (statistically significant p < 0.001). WSLA promotes both constructivist and interactive learning, as validated by its alignment with the ICAP model. The study examines student engagement through systematic observation, revealing a relationship between student engagement and final grades. Students who exhibit constructive learning consistently earn higher grades, emphasizing the positive impact of active engagement. Thus, passive behavior profiles show a significant proportion of fails (40%), while constructive profiles stand out as the sole recipients of the coveted excellent rating. Ultimately, this study contributes to our understanding of the effectiveness of WSLA in promoting active learning and enhancing student engagement within integrated health education curricula. It highlights the importance of active learning behaviors for academic success and suggests avenues for further research to optimize integrated teaching methodologies in medical education.

Gamification in technology and design areas: A teaching innovation project in a fully online environment

Gallifantes and motivation’ is a teaching innovation project intended to foster students to participate in the university online campus of UNIR, a fully online university. Although students at UNIR are used to studying in an online independent way, it is well known that having a learning community and a confident-based relationship with mates enhance learning results. Intended to promote a lively interaction between students, both in the forums and in synchronous lessons, this teaching innovation project proposes gallifantes-rewarded actions during the semester in a competitive run. The 4 students with the highest numbers of gallifantes obtain 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 additional points in the final grade. In this paper, we present the different approaches followed in 3 subjects in the areas of technology and design, having a total number of 114 active students and 1164 gallifantes rewarded. The students answered a survey at the end of the process. As a conclusion, most of them supports the initiative, obtaining good results in satisfaction, motivation and engagement, while also suggesting improvement opportunities.

Impact of the use of active methodology on the performance of undergraduate radiology students

Rationale and objectivesAlthough PBL is widely used in several countries, especially in medicine courses, its application in teaching other higher education courses, which involve fundamentals applied to radiology, is still little explored. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the implementation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in a higher education institution's radiology and biomedicine technologist course, focusing on specific radiology-related disciplines. Materials and methodsAn interventional study was developed with 78 students. An active methodology model was created and implemented for one of the groups of participants. At the beginning of each semester, students of both groups were evaluated with pre-tests. At the end of the semesters, the students performed a post-test and a validated evaluation of the discipline methodology. Repeated measures generalized linear regressive models with robust error estimators were used to evaluate test outcomes. ResultsA significant interaction among the methodologies was found (p=0.020), with better results from students exposed to the active methodology (initial and final grades were 7.18 and 7.57 in the active methodology, respectively, and 7.45 and 6.89 in the traditional methodology, respectively). In addition, students' evaluation regarding the quality of the methodology was favorable to the active methodology with statistical significance (p<0.05) in 16 of the 22 items evaluated. ConclusionsThe students' positive response and performance were attributed to the interaction and innovation of the methodology compared to conventional methods, highlighting the effectiveness of PBL in higher education in radiology and its potential for more participatory and contextualized learning.

Development of a Case/Problem-Based and Teamwork-Focused Applied Physiology Course to Graduate Students Planning to Apply to Dental School

The Master of Science in Oral Health Sciences (OHS) at Boston University Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine is explicitly designed for students who wish to improve their academic preparedness for dental school admission. Oral Health Sciences students take some courses, including the first-year Dental Physiology course, alongside dental students at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM). Since students in the OHS program often struggle in the largely lecture-based Dental Physiology course, we developed a case/problem-based and teamwork-focused Applied Physiology course that ran parallel to the Dental Physiology course in the fall of 2023. The primary goal of the Applied Physiology course is to provide additional instruction and academic support and to present course material in a team-based learning mode for the OHS students. We hypothesized this approach to learning physiology would help to improve student mastery of physiology content critical to their future success. The objective of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of the new Applied Physiology course in enhancing OHS students' motivation and academic performance in the Dental Human Physiology course. We are evaluating the benefits of this course by comparing Dental Physiology final grades and individual exam grades between dental students and OHS students. In addition, we are comparing course performance for OHS students from previous class years who did not take the Applied Physiology course against students from the current academic year who took the course. Our preliminary results indicate students who took the Applied Physiology course in the fall of 2023 performed better in the Dental Physiology course than last year’s OHS students. The mean grade for Dental and OHS students in Dental Physiology in the fall of 2023 was 82.3% ± 12.3% and 80.3% ± 13.9% respectively. In contrast, the mean grades for Dental students in the fall of 2022 was 82.7% ± 8%, while OHS students’ mean was much lower at 74.7% ± 11%. Analysis and comparisons for individual course exams for the dental and OHS students are ongoing. In addition, analysis of a validated survey containing Likert-style questions to quantify how the new course enhances motivation, engagement, and perceived benefits of student learning is underway. Our results indicate that additional team and case/problem-based support can improve academic performance for students hoping to gain admission to Dental School. No funding for this project. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

The Effect of Distance Reiki on State Test Anxiety and Test Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Nursing Students.

This randomized controlled, pretest-post-test intervention study examined the effect of distance reiki on state test anxiety and test performance. First-year nursing students (n = 71) were randomized into two groups. One week before the examination, intervention group participants performed reiki remotely for 20 minutes for 4 consecutive days, and control group participants received no intervention. The intervention group had lower posttest cognitive and psychosocial subscale scores than pretest scores (p > .05). The control group had a significantly higher mean posttest physiological subscale score than pretest score (p < .05). Final grade point averages were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups (p > .05). One quarter of the intervention group participants noted reiki reduced their stress and helped them perform better on the examination. Reiki is a safe and easy-to-practice method to help students cope with test anxiety. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(5):298-303.].

USING MICROSOFT TEAMS IN ONLINE LEARNING OF STUDENTS: METHODICAL ASPECT

The article presents the main tools, methods and techniques for using Microsoft Teams in online teaching of students, as well as detailed methodical recommendations for teachers on organizing the educational process using Microsoft Teams, based on the author’s practical experience. These recommendations allow readers to more easily master the features of working in Teams, which determines the practical value of the article. A model for using Teams in online student learning has been created. It has been found that by using Teams, the teacher can take into account the peculiarities of synchronous and asynchronous ways of submitting assignments by students, as well as the possibility of submitting missed topics of practical classes. Among the main advantages, it is also noted that Teams provides for the creation and posting of the main types of educational materials, including recordings of video lectures, practical tasks and tasks for independent work, current student grades, tests, final grades, etc. The article notes that Teams is well integrated with the main Microsoft 365 applications, including PowerPoint, Word, etc., which is an advantage for the effective organisation of the educational process, as these applications are quite sufficient for teachers to demonstrate presentations at lectures via video conferencing, as well as for them to check the tasks completed by students in the format of text or presentations. Particular attention is paid to identifying the most important features of a teacher's work in Teams, such as the need to create separate teams for each discipline, connecting students to discipline teams using existing corporate university accounts in Microsoft, the ability to post various types of educational materials, commenting and evaluating completed assignments by the teacher. In conclusion, the main advantage of using Microsoft Teams in online learning is the ability to organise the learning process using a single platform. As a result, the structured nature of educational materials using Teams can be one of the most important factors in improving the quality of students' education in online learning.

Does Attitude towards Grammar Affect High-Level Reading Comprehension Skills?

Grammar is a learning area that functionally contributes to effective language skills. The aim of grammar instruction is the acquisition of the four basic language skills based on Turkish language rules. Reading skill, a lingual comprehension skill, aims accurate structuring of the ideas of the author of a text by the reader. The present study aimed to determine the possible effects of the attitudes towards grammar on high-level reading comprehension skills (HLRCS) based on certain variables (gender, final Turkish language course grade, and parental education level). In the current quantitative study, data were collected with the Grammar Attitude Scale and the High-Level Reading Comprehension Test (HLRCT). The study group included 427 8th grade middle school students. In the study, the regression analysis conducted to determine the causality between the Grammar Attitude Scale and HLRCT scores, revealed significant findings. Grammar attitude explained 4% of the variation in the HLRCT scores. Grammar attitude improved the achievements in high-level reading comprehension.

Evaluating the Academic Benefits of Clinical Legal Education: An Analysis of the Final Average Marks of Five Cohorts of LSBU LLB Graduating Students, 2011-2015

This article seeks to contribute to the ongoing pedagogic debate about the aims and benefits of clinical legal education and to do so using a quantitative methodology. It is the result of a collaborative project within the School of Law &amp; Social Sciences at LSBU, researching whether placements in our Legal Advice Clinic have had any positive impact on Law students’ academic performance. We have analysed the academic results[1] of five cohorts of LLB full-time undergraduates, those graduating from 2011 to 2015,[2] to see whether students who volunteered in our Legal Advice Clinic achieved better grades than those who didn’t. Generally, they do. However, given the fact that places at the clinic are limited and recruitment is selective and to try and eliminate the possibility that the most academically successful students are the most likely to volunteer and be selected, we have controlled for first year average results. Even so, it appears that students who achieve similar grades in their first year are likely to get slightly better final grades, just under 2% better, if they volunteer in our Legal Advice Clinic in their second year. [1] We would like to thank Dr Bond’s Post-graduate student, Joshua Freeman-Birch, who undertook the long hours of date entry to code the results of five cohorts of LLB law students results, to allow the research to be conducted. [2] Unfortunately, writing up our research has taken longer than we hoped. Conducting the data analysis and the impact of COVID are the two main reasons.