First-year Science Research Articles

Do higher education students really seek ‘value for money’?: Debunking the myth

Although students are increasingly cast as consumers wanting ‘value for money’, this study empirically investigated whether students actively seek value for money. In Study 1, 1,772 undergraduates at a mid-ranked English university were asked open-ended questions about what they had wanted from their university learning experience and how that had turned out. Hopes were coded as fulfilled or unfulfilled. Responses were searched for key words related to ‘value for money’. Less than 2 per cent of students referenced ‘value for money’. Those students were significantly more likely to have unfulfilled hopes. In Study 2, 185 first-year science students were asked open-ended questions about why they chose their subject and their programme, and what they had wanted from their learning experience in that programme. None referenced value for money. Students’ reasons for choosing their subjects and programmes were analysed. ‘Value for money’ does not do justice to students’ hopes for university or their programme.

Effectiveness of an On-demand Online Course in Information Science for First-year Science and Engineering Students

Effectiveness of an On-demand Online Course in Information Science for First-year Science and Engineering Students

Computer Assisted Learning For Enhancing Mastery Of Concepts In Science

This study examined the effects of Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) on the mastery of Science concepts by learners in universities. Teaching and learning of Science concepts present learners with numerous challenges. Of critical concern is the negative perception by learners that Science based subjects are difficult, thus contributing to widespread poor performance by the learners in the national examinations and subsequently poor choice of the subject in the universities. Solomon Four Group experimental design was employed for the study. The target population comprised all first-year students taking science subjects in 8 universities in western Kenya. A sample size of 335 students was determined using Krejcie & Morgan table (1970). The universities were divided into two forming experimental and control groups. The study was carried out in 4 months spanning 16 weeks where pretest was administered after the first 8 weeks of conventional teaching and post-test administered after the next 8 weeks of treatment. Pretest and post-test Science Achievements Test (SAT) on two topics, digestive system and light and optics, were designed and administered by the respective lecturers, and scores recorded. Piloting was carried before the use of the instruments, and a reliability coefficient of 0.85 on SAT was recorded. Data were analyzed using t-test one-way ANOVA. The study found that 171 students taught using CAL achieved significantly higher scores in SAT compared to164 students taught through conventional methods with a mean gain of 2.851. The study demonstrated that CAL enhanced active manipulation of content and promoted interaction with content, and gave reality to abstraction. The study may be significant to educationists, lecturers, researchers, and policy makers as it provides insight on the benefits of applying Computer Assisted Learning in Science Education.

Test Anxiety and Associated Factors Among First-Year Health Science Students of University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BackgroundThe experience of extreme worry and self-doubt before taking a test can drastically hinder an individual’s ability to perform well and may lead to miserable. Studies about test anxiety and associated factors among first-year health science students in Ethiopia are limited. Therefore, this study is meant to provide essential data for future interventions.ObjectiveTo assess test anxiety and associated factors among first-year regular undergraduate health science students of the University of Gondar, northwest Ethiopia, 2019.MethodsAn institutional-based cross-sectional study with a stratified random sampling technique. Test anxiety was assessed using the Test Anxiety Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant in the multivariate analysis, and the strength of association was measured using adjusted odds ratio at a 95% confidence interval.ResultsIn this study, the prevalence of test anxiety was 54.7% (95% CI=49.40–60.20). The result revealed that fathers’ education of grade 9–12 (AOR=0.31, 95% CI=0.14–0.69), mothers’ education of grade 9–12 (AOR=2.43, 95% CI=1.07–5.47), psychological distress (AOR=8.37, 95% CI=4.29–16.39), the field of studies; midwifery (AOR=3.56, 95% CI=1.07–11.76), and medicine (AOR=6.79, 95% CI=1.64–28.22) were significantly associated with test anxiety at a P-value<0.05.ConclusionThe study found that test anxiety is a major problem of first-year undergraduate health science students. Mothers’ education of grades 9–12, psychological distress, midwifery, and medical field of studies were risk factors of test anxiety, whereas fathers’ education of grade 9–12 was protective for test anxiety. This showed that an increment in the education of father and mother has a controversial effect on test anxiety. It can be reduced by providing suitable trainings for first-year health science students in dealing with factors causing test anxiety.

Enhancing Student Engagement with a Small-Scale Car That Is Motion-Controlled through Chemical Kinetics and Basic Electronics

A five day activity that involves the construction and characterization of a small car whose motion is controlled by the vitamin C clock reaction is presented. The purpose of the activity is to engage first-year Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students not majoring in the chemical sciences. Throughout the activity students learn and put into practice basic concepts of electronics and chemical kinetics, while testing four different types of electric power devices: galvanic cells, thermoelectrical cells, fuel cells, and solar panels. They also learn to analyze the vitamin C clock reaction with a simple kinetic model to calculate the time elapsed for a color transition from transparent to dark. A target-distance competition takes place on the last day of the activity.

Impact of unhealthy lifestyle on cardiorespiratory fitness and heart rate recovery of medical science students

BackgroundMedical science students represent valuable labour resources for better future medicine and medical technology. However, little attention was given to the health and well-being of these early career medical science professionals. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of lifestyle components on cardiorespiratory fitness and heart rate recovery measured after moderate exercise in this population.MethodsVolunteers without documented medical condition were recruited randomly and continuously from the first-year medical science students during 2011–2014 at the University of Surrey, UK. Demographics and lifestyle components (the levels of smoking, alcohol intake, exercise, weekend outdoor activity and screen-time, daily sleep period, and self-assessment of fitness) were gathered through pre-exercise questionnaire. Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) and heart rate recovery were determined using Åstrand–Rhyming submaximal cycle ergometry test. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25.ResultsAmong 614 volunteers, 124 had completed both lifestyle questionnaire and the fitness test and were included for this study. Within 124 participants (20.6 ± 4 years), 46.8% were male and 53.2% were female, 11.3% were overweight and 8.9% were underweight, 8.9% were current smokers and 33.1% consumed alcohol beyond the UK recommendation. There were 34.7% of participants admitted to have < 3 h/week of moderate physical activity assessed according to UK Government National Physical Activity Guidelines and physically not fit (feeling tiredness). Fitness test showed that VO2max distribution was inversely associated with heart rate recovery at 3 min and both values were significantly correlated with the levels of exercise, self-assessed fitness and BMI. Participants who had < 3 h/week exercise, or felt not fit or were overweight had significantly lower VO2max and heart rate recovery than their peers.ConclusionOne in three new medical science students were physically inactive along with compromised cardiorespiratory fitness and heart rate recovery, which put them at risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Promoting healthy lifestyle at the beginning of career is crucial in keeping medical science professionals healthy.

Examining the effect of blended instructional method on students’ grades in an introductory statistics course

ABSTRACT Current consensus holds that blended learning offers students many advantages such as improving their learning outcomes and attitude toward the study of statistics. However, its effect on non-statistics students’ performance in a one-semester introductory course has not been widely studied. This study explored the effect of the blended instructional method on the grades of psychology students in an introductory statistics course at a non-regional Australian university. Students’ course performance and key demographic data were collected from the Student Information System (SIS) and the Learning Management System (LMS). All 541 study participants were first-year psychological science students undertaking the Statistics for Psychology course in the second semesters of 2015 and 2016. The only alteration to the delivery in 2016 was the replacement of face-to-face lectures with video material. Various statistical methods including the independent sample t-test, ANOVA with multiple comparisons as appropriate, and multiple linear regression were used. The results indicate that the final marks for the students were the same, irrespective of the teaching delivery (face-to-face and blended delivery) mode (p = 0.0827) after adjusting for the relevant variables. In conclusion, blended delivery could not be associated with any disadvantageous effect on student learning outcomes.

Fen Bilgisi Öğretmen Adaylarının Türkiye İstatistiki Bölge Birimlerine Göre Evrensel Fen Okuryazarlık Düzeyi

Bu calismanin amaci, Turkiye Istatistiki Bolgelerinin farkli birimlerinde ogrenim gormekte olan fen bilgisi ogretmen adaylarinin Evrensel Fen Okuryazarligi’nin hangi duzeyde oldugu; evrensel fen okuryazarlik duzeyine istatistiki bolge birimleri, cinsiyet ve sinif duzeyi degiskenlerinin etkisini arastirmaktir. Arastirma, 2015-2016 Egitim-Ogretim Yili Bahar Yariyilinda Turkiye’nin 12 farkli istatistiki bolge birimlerinde yer alan 20 universitenin egitim fakultelerinde ogrenim goren 1088 birinci sinif ve 920 dorduncu sinif olmak uzere, toplam 2008 (Kadin:1564; Erkek:444) fen bilgisi ogretmen adayi ile yurutulmustur. Elde edilen bulgularda, tum boyutlarda fen bilgisi ogretmen adaylarinin evrensel fen okuryazarlik duzeyi yuksek bulunmustur. Ayrica kadin ogretmen adaylarinin erkeklere gore, 4. sinif ogretmen adaylarinin da 1. siniflara gore evrensel fen okuryazarlik duzeyinin daha yuksek oldugu sonucuna ulasilmistir. Diger taraftan Evrensel Fen Okuryazarlik duzeyi Turkiye istatistiki bolge birimlerine gore farklilik olusturdugu gorulmustur.

Introducing the slope concept

ABSTRACT Many students do not have a deep understanding of slope. This paper defines what a deep understanding of slope is in terms of mathematics-education theory. The various factors which help explain why such a deep understanding is difficult to acquire are then discussed. These factors include the following: the different representations for slope; graphical understanding; ratio and rate; and proportional reasoning. In light of this discussion, the design of a mathematical resource to help give students a deep understanding of slope is described. The resource was used at one university, amongst Chinese first-year undergraduate science and engineering students. Evidence would suggest that those students who did not evidence a correct understanding of all the aspects of slope (deep understanding) before completing the resource improved their understanding of these aspects upon completion of the resource.

The Role of Pre-writing Strategies to Enhance the Students’ Idea Generating Abilities: The Case of First-Year Computer Science Students of Haramaya University

This research was aimed at fostering students’ idea generating abilities via the implementation of pre-writing strategies. The study adopted an action research design. The first phase involved problem identification and causes of the problems through focus group discussion and classroom observation. After identifying the challenges, systematically planned actions were implemented for eight successive weeks. During the intervention phase, awareness was created among the students on the importance of using idea-generating strategies before starting to write a text. As a result, four idea-generating strategies were employed; brainstorming, clustering, free-writing and questioning. Finally, the results of the actions taken were evaluated via observation, questionnaire, and focus group discussion. The findings reveal that the students showed interest in using idea-generating strategies, and the strategies used helped them to come up with adequate ideas in order to develop a text. The strategy also helped them to think exhaustively about what to write and how to support their argument before starting writing the actual text. Out of the four strategies employed, brainstorming was found to be the most convenient strategy to generate ideas. The strategies used were found to prevent students from unnecessary pen pause and frequent deletion of what they produced. Therefore, it is possible to comprehend from this action research that using idea-generating strategies will ease the practice of developing a text.This research was aimed at fostering students’ idea generating abilities via the implementationof pre-writing strategies. The study adopted an action research design. The first phase involvedproblem identification and causes of the problems through focus group discussion and classroomobservation. After identifying the challenges, systematically planned actions were implementedfor eight successive weeks. During the intervention phase, awareness was created among thestudents on the importance of using idea-generating strategies before starting to write a text.As a result, four idea-generating strategies were employed; brainstorming, clustering, freewritingand questioning. Finally, the results of the actions taken were evaluated via observation,questionnaire, and focus group discussion. The findings reveal that the students showed interestin using idea-generating strategies, and the strategies used helped them to come up with adequateideas in order to develop a text. The strategy also helped them to think exhaustively about whatto write and how to support their argument before starting writing the actual text. Out of the fourstrategies employed, brainstorming was found to be the most convenient strategy to generateideas. The strategies used were found to prevent students from unnecessary pen pause andfrequent deletion of what they produced. Therefore, it is possible to comprehend from this actionresearch that using idea-generating strategies will ease the practice of developing a text.

Enhancing learning with inspectable student models: Worth the effort?

In electronic learning environments, information about a student's performance can be provided to the student in the form of an inspectable student model. While relatively easy to implement, little is known about whether students use the feedback provided by such models and whether they benefit from it. In this study, the use of inspectable student models in an introductory university statistics course by 599 first-year social science students was monitored. Research questions focused on whether students sought feedback from the student models, which decisions for subsequent study steps they made, and how this feedback seeking and decision making related to results on their statistics exams. Results showed a large variety among students in feedback-seeking and decision-making behavior. Lower student model scores seemed to encourage students to practice more on the same topic and higher scores seemed to evoke the decision to move to a different topic. Viewing frequency and amount of variety in decision making were positively related to exam results, even when controlling for total time students worked. These findings imply that inspectable student models can be a valuable addition to electronic learning environments and suggest that more intensive use of inspectable student models may contribute to learning.

Peer-pairing sessional staff in a large first year Science unit as a form of supportive academic development

This study evaluated how the pairing of sessional teaching staff in a large first-year undergraduate science subject provided context-specific professional development for sessional teaching staff. We used a likert-scale questionnaire to ask sessional staff to rate how effectively peer-pairing in the classroom contributed to a range of teaching skills and capacities. Irrespective of the level of teaching experience, all sessional teaching staff rated the pairings as very beneficial to extremely beneficial for support with subject content. Lesser-experienced peers also found the pairings to be very beneficial to extremely beneficial for developing classroom management and student interaction techniques. This evaluation of peer-pairing in a large first-year science subject demonstrates the strategy can be an effective means of providing teaching development opportunities for sessional teaching staff, and facilitates particular teacher-student interactions to engage students in discipline-based discourse about their learning and their transition to university life

Building First-Year Science Writing Skills With an Embedded Writing Instruction Program

Building First-Year Science Writing Skills With an Embedded Writing Instruction Program

The Evolution of Information Literacy Outcomes in Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Science Courses

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy presents opportunities for moving beyond ‘one-shot’ information literacy sessions and creating a more scaffolded and embedded approach for instruction. We collaborated with faculty at Carnegie Mellon University to create Framework-inspired information literacy learning objectives for first-year and third-year science undergraduates and are continuously refining the objectives as the curriculum continues to evolve. This article describes our learning objective design and refinement process, challenges encountered, and ideas on how to create opportunities for embedding information literacy into a curriculum. We also share our full activity lesson plans and assessment tool.

A multiyear comparison of flipped- vs. lecture-based teaching on student success in a pharmaceutical science class

Background and purposeTo gauge the potential effect of mode of content delivery on overall student success in a pharmaceutical sciences course in a doctor of pharmacy program. Educational activity and settingPrinciples of Drug Action I (PDAI) is a first-year pharmaceutical science course typically taught by multiple faculty, and each utilizes their own approach to deliver course content. Over a seven year period, the course naturally separated into blocks. Block-1 was taught using a traditional lecture-based approach while Block-2 varied between either a lecture-based or a flipped-classroom format. Student success was evaluated by exam at the end of each block. FindingsFor the four years in which Block-2 was taught by lecture, the number of exam failures was similar to Block-1. For each of the three years Block-2 was taught via the flipped-classroom format, the number of exam failures was approximately half that of Block-1. While grades for the lecture-based Block-1 trended downward over the seven-year evaluation period, average exam grades overall were similar between Block-1 and Block-2 each year regardless of teaching modality. SummaryRetrospective analysis of this novel blocked approach within PDAI provided a means of internally evaluating the potential effect of teaching format on overall student performance. The results described here support previous studies that indicate that the flipped-classroom approach can reduce course failures. These findings also show that flipped-classroom teaching may have a greater impact on improving learning in lower-performing students.

A first-year middle school science teacher's experiences navigating science content in a Dual Language Immersion Program

Dual Language Immersion Programs (DLIPs) are offered as a way to address the needs of the students in our classrooms with a primary language other than English and a way to promote multilingualism for both English learners and native-English speakers. This study examined a first-year middle school science teacher's experience teaching in a DLIP. The authors focused on the teacher's challenges and how he handled the tensions between teaching science content and addressing issues of language development in a DLIP classroom environment. Based on classroom observations, pre- and post-year interviews, and weekly teacher reflections, themes emerged that reveal the teacher's concern with teaching science in Spanish, the need for support from both administration and science content and DLIP mentors, students' willingness to use Spanish, and the teacher's lack of familiarity with DLIP curriculum and pedagogy, particularly in regard to balancing the teaching of content and language. This study provides implications for both teacher preparation programs and for DLIP school administrators.

Analyzing a Piece of Teaching Through the Lens of The ABCs of How We Learn: 26 Scientifically Proven Approaches, How They Work and When To Use Them

For the continuing development of quality instructional practices, educators must have access to the findings of research and be in a position to explore applications of those findings. We think we may have found such a resource: A 2016 book titled The ABCs of How We Learn: 26 Scientifically proven approaches, how they work, and when to use them by Schwartz, Tsang, and Blair is a concise, insightful, and applicable set of 26 short articles that explain key learning factors, provide examples, and identify the supporting scholarship. In this article, a first-year middle school science teacher and a veteran teacher educator offer teacher educators and professional developers an overview of the 26 factors as they work in a middle school science classroom and an example of how to effectively utilize this text in teacher education programs via vignette creations and analyses.

Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Images about Their Past and Future Classrooms: Scratches from Indonesian Teacher Training Program at Islamic University

This study explores the science class experiences of pre-service science teachers (PSTs) and reveals their images of own future classrooms. In addition, the discussion leads to the relationship between teaching style based on their images, gender, the type of educational background, the meaningfulness of science subjects, the response to school teacher’s classroom in the past, and the desire to be a science teacher in the future. This study involved 176 first-year pre-service science teachers taking the teacher training program at two Islamic Universities. Data collection used the modified Draw-A-Science Teacher Test Checklist (DASTT-C) instrument. The results showed that the teaching style drawn by pre-service teachers was dominated by teacher-centered (65%), neither student-centered nor teacher-centered (24%), and student-centered (11%). There is no significant relationship between teaching style and gender, the type of institution at the previous level, the meaningfulness of science subjects, and the desire to be a science teacher in the future, but the description of their teaching style has a significant relationship with their responses to school-science teachers’ instruction. The response of PSTs to their past learning leads to how they present the future learning environment.

Veterinary Students’ Beliefs About Animal Sentience: What Role Does Gender Play?

ABSTRACTAcross a 15-year period, annual cohorts of first-year veterinary science students (n = 1,380; 77% female) at a British university completed the Belief in Animal Sentience (BiAS) questionnaire, in which they reported their beliefs about the sentience (capacity to feel) of ten species: dogs, cats, lions, pigs, sheep, rats, rabbits, chickens, bees, and spiders. On the basis of previous findings regarding people’s beliefs about animals’ capacities for mind, it was hypothesized that female students would ascribe more human-like sentience to animals than would male students. It was also hypothesized that the proportion of female students in each of the cohorts studied would have an influence on the beliefs of the year group as a whole: cohorts comprising a larger percentage of women would have higher animal sentience beliefs in both males and females. The data were analyzed using two-level regression models to concurrently investigate the effects of individual respondents’ gender and the percentage of female students in their cohort. Compared with their male counterparts, female veterinary students across all the cohorts studied attributed significantly higher (more human-like) sentience to each of the ten animals listed in the BiAS questionnaire, but the percentage of female students in each year group was not associated with students’ sentience beliefs. It was also found that childhood experience of having owned pet cats or dogs was related to students’ beliefs about the sentience of these species, although this association did not contribute to the differences found between male and female respondents. Given the increasing number of women entering the veterinary profession, and previous findings that beliefs about animals’ capacities for sentience may be associated with the veterinary care they are given, we conclude that gender differences in sentience beliefs could have a significant impact on the future of veterinary practice and patient welfare.

Prevalence of Random and Null-model Student’s Responses using Concentration Analysis: An Example from Electromagnetism Concepts

Science concepts, like electromagnetism, involve abstract relations, which are often problematic in students’ learning. Electromagnetism concepts are crosscutting concepts across science disciplines. A standardized Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism, which is a 32-item multiple-choice test, was used to collect data from 117 first-year science students newly enrolled in a university in Ethiopia. Concentration analysis was used to analyze the student’s responses to the test. A paired samples t-test was conducted to evaluate the difference between the concentrations of the student’s responses to the scientific and alternative conceptions. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two concentrations of the student’s responses (t = 0.23, p = 0.82). In addition, three-level categorization of student’s responses on the test showed that more than four-fifth of the student’s responses were in the null non-model state, less than one-fifth of the student’s responses were in the mixed bimodal state, and none of the students’ response was in the pure state. These results showed that the student’s responses to the electromagnetism concepts were nearly all in the null-model and random response states. This study argues that teacher educators need to use concept learning strategies to develop significantly students’ conceptual knowledge of electromagnetismScience concepts, like electromagnetism, involve abstract relations, which are often problematic in students’ learning. Electromagnetism concepts are crosscutting concepts across science disciplines. A standardized Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism, which is a 32-item multiple-choice test, was used to collect data from 117 first-year science students newly enrolled in a university in Ethiopia. Concentration analysis was used to analyze the student’s responses to the test. A paired samples t-test was conducted to evaluate the difference between the concentrations of the student’s responses to the scientific and alternative conceptions. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two concentrations of the student’s responses (t = 0.23, p = 0.82). In addition, three-level categorization of student’s responses on the test showed that more than four-fifth of the student’s responses were in the null non-model state, less than one-fifth of the student’s responses were in the mixed bimodal state, and none of the students’ response was in the pure state. These results showed that the student’s responses to the electromagnetism concepts were nearly all in the null-model and random response states. This study argues that teacher educators need to use concept learning strategies to develop significantly students’ conceptual knowledge of electromagnetism.