Learning In College Classrooms Research Articles

Investigating effects of indoor temperature and lighting on university students’ learning performance considering sensation, comfort, and physiological responses

Indoor temperature and lighting are pivotal factors influencing students' learning in university classrooms. These factors impact thermal and lighting sensations, influencing comfort and students' physiology. Despite their recognized importance, further research is needed to thoroughly analyze the intertwining involved in the relationships between sensation, comfort, physiological responses, and learning performance. To address this gap, our study investigates how indoor temperature and lighting affect students' learning performance, considering factors like sensation, comfort, and physiological responses. Seventeen students equipped with biosensor headsets and wristbands underwent experimental trials in a university classroom with varied temperature (20–23 °C, 23–26 °C, and 26–29 °C) and lighting levels (100–300lx, 300–600lx, and 600–900lx). Learning performance was assessed through cognitive tests targeting attention, perception, working-memory, and thinking-abilities. Results indicated a significant interaction between temperature and lighting in learning performance for attention ability (F (4) = [2.460], p = 0.043) and working-memory ability (F (4) = [2.920], p = 0.020). It was also observed that brighter lighting (600–900lx) enhanced task concentration, with peak learning performance observed at 23–26 °C, 600–900lx, and 26–29 °C, 600–900lx. Neutral temperature (23–26 °C) significantly influenced higher working-memory performance, with decrements of 5.20% and 7.54% with temperature changes. The sensation and comfort at 26–29 °C, 600–900lx recompensed for negative emotions for attention ability and 23–26 °C, 100–300lx for working-memory, resulting in higher learning performance. The results can be used to enhance existing indoor environment standards, offering references on environmental interactions and creating a tailored IEQ management plan for geographical regions like North Dakota, thereby improving the learning environment for students in similar areas.

Engaging classroom observation: A brief measure of active learning in the college classroom

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid, reliable, and brief measure of active learning in college classrooms that is cheap and easy to complete and yields results that faculty can easily use to inform their development as instructors. Initial construct and face validity was achieved by modifying existing instruments and creating a draft of a brief measure of active learning for external expert review. Following the suggested revisions, the engaging classroom observation was then piloted and revised as necessary. Reliability was tested and measures of internal consistency and interrater reliability were acceptable. A principal component analysis showed two components that were moderately correlated, which indicated the potential they could be combined. An Exploratory Factor Analysis confirmed the instrument is measuring one factor, which we propose as active learning. This study is significant because it offers a brief instrument based on students’ perceptions that can be used formatively by faculty.

Examining Student Perceptions of Engagement and Learning in a Flipped Introductory Agricultural Mechanics Course

Active, student-centered approaches to teaching and learning in university classrooms have been given greater focus in recent years. Consequently, the use of flipped classrooms in American universities has proliferated considerably. Evidence suggests that flipped classrooms have been successfully employed in agricultural coursework, such as university-level agricultural mechanics courses. Theoretically underpinned by Murillo-Zamorano et al.’s (2019) Flipped Classroom in Higher Education model, the purpose of our study was to determine students’ perceptions of their engagement and learning in a flipped introductory-level agricultural mechanics course taught at Illinois State University. We used a valid and reliable electronic instrument to collect data from 61 undergraduate students over the course of four semesters. Our findings indicate that using a flipped classroom design to deliver an introductory-level agricultural mechanics course is a worthy endeavor that can positively impact students’ course experience. We are seeing similar results each semester, which suggest that our students prefer this teaching style over a traditional lecture style. The lead author intends to continue teaching the AGR 130: Introduction to Agricultural Engineering Technology course with a flipped classroom design for the foreseeable future. Our recommendations include: (1) instructors of introductory-level agricultural mechanics courses consider using a flipped classroom approach and (2) replicating our study to further examine this topic.

Enhancing Virtual Teaching and Learning through Connectivism in University Classrooms

It is argued that teaching and learning in the 21st century rely heavily on technology, especially in university classrooms. This theoretical paper contends that for students to be successful in university classrooms in the 21st century, both lecturers and students should effectively resonate with technology. This paradigm shift is not without one or two challenges which must be addressed since teaching and learning through technology has come to stay. Therefore, this study presents the proponent of connectivism theory to enhance virtual teaching and learning in university classrooms. The study is located within a transformative worldview and derives its argument from a theoretical viewpoint by positioning connectivism as a tool to enhance teaching and learning in 21st-century university classrooms. Conceptual analysis was employed to argue the place of connectivism as a tool to enhance virtual classrooms in universities. The connectivism theory was presented, and its assumptions were argued in relation to how it could be integrated into university classrooms. The study concludes that the diversity of nodes' interconnections, coherence of things and adaptation to constant change are dimensions that could enhance virtual classrooms. Therefore, concerted efforts of both lecturers and students in universities to improve these dimensions to transform virtual space in university classrooms.

PBL's Analysis on Embedding Social and Emotional Learning in College Classrooms

PBL's Analysis on Embedding Social and Emotional Learning in College Classrooms

Exploring Students and Lecturers Perceptions on Tablet Use for Learning in a South African Rural University

Tablets are rapidly growing pervasive, influencing all age groups of people especially adolescents. Utilizing quantitative methodology, this study sought to explore the perceptions of students and lecturers on using tablets for learning at a rural university located in the Eastern Cape state of South Africa. A descriptive case study research design was employed. A sample of 155 from a population of 254 students and 14 from a population of 25 lecturers voluntarily participated in the survey. Data collected from the structured questionnaires were captured into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 24). Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis. Data collected from both stakeholders were triangulated by sources to confirm the findings. The results revealed that students answered the exercise questions, developed the projects and started to search concepts in detail after getting tablets. Although a statistically significant difference was there between the perceptions of students and lecturers, both stakeholders showed positive attitudes toward the students' use of tablets for learning in university classrooms. The study recommended that lecturers must provide more tablet related learning tasks to students in order to make them accept tablet as a learning tool and lecturers must ensure regularly that those tasks are done effectively.

Female and Male Students' Perceptions of Cooperative Learning in the Fields of Educational Sciences and Counselling

Despite the importance of cooperative learning in university classrooms, few studies have been conducted as a comparative form in terms of field of study and gender. Therefore, the present study seeks to study the perception of students of Educational sciences and Counselling from cooperative learning in university classrooms in terms of disciplines and gender. In this study two classes in the field of Educational sciences and Counseling at the University of Tehran were selected. Qualitative data were collected through unstructured interviews and data were analysed using Atlas-ti Software. The analysis of students’ descriptions of implementing cooperative learning in classroom environment showed four categories including quality of learning, life skills, classroom environment, and opportunities for improvement. Findings indicated that female students paid more attention to the quality of learning and male students paid more attention to opportunities for improvement. However, the percentage of participants' attention to the quality of learning in the cooperative learning class was more than the other three categories. University instructors can turn challenges into an opportunity to improvement by proper implementation of cooperative learning in university classrooms. Also Counselling students paid more attention to opportunities for improvement than Educational sciences students. Findings of this study have important applications in improving the quality of teaching methods of faculty members. The results, while encouraging instructors to learn more about cooperative learning, provide new insights for them about students' interests and concerns. The findings of the study encourage faculty members to turn the challenges into an opportunity for their teaching improvemen

Can active learning in college classrooms disrupt patterns of under-representation in STEM?

Students from minoritized groups enter college with interest in STEM but leave these majors at high rates, largely due to inequities in STEM classes. Active learning reduces the disparities in exam scores and passing rates observed in traditional STEM classrooms. Thus, changes in course design can be an important tool in promoting equity in STEM. - submission by Elli Theobald, Scott Freeman

Live Action Role-Play as Pedagogy for Experiential Learning

Many professors and lecturers strive to structure educational experiences that facilitate engaged learning in university classrooms. While some lectures may fail to achieve this goal due to monotone, routine speeches or uninteresting PowerPoint presentations, educational live action role-playing (edu-larp) is a strategy to facilitate interactive and engaged learning. Edu-larp is catching the attention of an increasing number of teachers, both in secondary schools and higher education. This article introduces edu-larp and its unique benefits by summarizing past research results and providing theoretical support for edu-larp through experiential learning theory. A sample lesson plan is also included. The lesson plan exemplifies how to utilize edu-larp to teach the importance and benefits of public parks to university students. A set of generalized recommendations for educators’ use of edu-larp is also provided.

Global, international, and intercultural learning in university classrooms across the disciplines

Classroom pedagogies that foster global, international, and intercultural (GII) learning across academic disciplines have the potential to reach all matriculated students, preparing them for diversity in their immediate communities, the international reach of their professions, and their responsibilities as citizens in the world. A number of empirical research studies and professional reports present instructors’ experiences with innovative pedagogies that embed GII learning within existing courses or lead to the design of new courses totally dedicated to the development of intercultural communicative competence. In this article, a review of these studies summarizes the basic features of these efforts, identifies commonalities across practices, and takes note of innovations showing promise for emulation or further study. Of particular value is the analysis of the outcomes the authors report from their efforts and the ways they have assessed their results. These assessments reveal degrees of success in meeting stated learning goals as well as limitations with regard to what has been achieved. The article concludes with a proposed research agenda that would help academics strengthen GII classroom learning. Future research could (a) provide an understanding of GII competencies needed by alumni in their professions and civic engagement, (b) consider how GII learning might take place with an intentional plan across the course of degree programs, and (c) examine how to address gaps and limitations in current classroom practice.Keywords

Advancing Cognitively Demanding Tasks in Undergraduate Classrooms: Using Graduate Student Discussion Groups & the Task Analysis Guide in Science (TAGS) as Leverage

With increasing focus on active learning in college classrooms, many institutions of higher education are redesigning introductory laboratory classes to provide more active-learning opportunities for students and to more authentically recreate the practices of scientists. These classes are primarily taught by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), who often lack the pedagogical training necessary to plan for and support students' intellectual engagement in rich science tasks that require deep engagement in the practices of science and the core disciplinary ideas. We believe that graduate student discussion groups can provide an opportunity to encourage and equip GTAs with pedagogical knowledge and skills to select and use cognitively demanding instructional tasks. In this article, we describe our planning and facilitation of one such meeting with a group of GTAs about the relative cognitive demands of various laboratory activities. We propose that regularly scheduled meetings of discussion groups like this can help build learning communities among GTAs. We provide strategies to support GTAs' professional development and help them think critically about the tasks they use in their classes. In particular, we highlight the importance of the cognitive demands of tasks for engaging students in active and rigorous opportunities for science learning.

Cooperative Team Learning and the Development of Social Skills in Higher Education: The Variables Involved.

The cooperative methodology provides an opportunity for university students to develop interpersonal, social, and teamwork competences which can be decisive in their professional and social success. The research described here examines the influence of cooperative learning on the social skills necessary for teamwork. Furthermore, it analyses whether the continued use of this type of learning, the type of group, the basic social skills for teamwork, or the academic level of the students, influence their efficacy. To do so, we have designed a research project of a quasi-experimental kind with a pre-test, a post-test, and a control group, in which 346 university undergraduate students studying degrees in Infant and Primary Education completed self-report surveys about behavior patterns in social skills concerning self-assertion and the reception and imparting of information in teamwork situations. The results show that cooperative learning in university classrooms is effective as a method for developing the social skills necessary for teamwork, as well as the relevance of the control over the number of students in a group, the basic social skills, or the academic level of the students, as relevant factors related with efficacy; where continuity over time in the use of the cooperative methodology is what marks the greatest differences in the development of the social skills necessary for teamwork. It is important to stress that when students are asked to work autonomously in teams, with the aim of favoring the development of social skills, they should be given adequate structures that can guarantee the minimum conditions of participation, so as to allow a proper development of the said social skills.

Action research and educational technology: Cultivating disruptive learning

Nowadays, teaching and learning in South African university classrooms seem to be most prominently spoken of in relation to transformation. In this article, I argue as to why action research offers a pedagogical approach to enhance transformative (disruptive) learning in university classrooms. Firstly, I give an account of action research and how it came to manifest in university education. Secondly, I show as to how educational technology can be used to enhance disruption within pedagogical encounters. And, thirdly, in relation to democratic educational theory I show as to how, using Jacques Ranciere’s ideas of disruption and coming to speech can enhance learning through action research.

Supporting instructional change in mathematics: using social network analysis to understand online support processes following professional development workshops

BackgroundStudies continually show benefits of active learning in college classrooms, yet it is difficult to get faculty to adopt these methods. Particularly challenging is the final step of the instructional change process, “refreezing,” when after making initial changes in instructional methods, instructors decide whether to continue with new instructional methods or return to their previous methods. Though this stage is important, it is not well studied. Most available studies about ongoing support following professional development on teaching merely state that facilitators made an effort to offer support, or report how frequently participants engaged with online support mechanisms through counting postings on listservs or message boards. Such measures do not show evidence that participants actually received positive reinforcement or intellectual and emotional support, which are crucial to refreezing, nor do these frequency analyses help other professional developers learn how to create productive ongoing support mechanisms that yield high participant engagement.ResultsThis workshop for 35 college mathematics instructors used online and in-person communities to provide support to participants during the post-workshop period of “refreezing.” Almost all workshop attendees participated in “e-mentoring” (94%), primarily through a productive, engaging group email listserv. By combining qualitative coding of message content with the techniques of social network analysis, we reveal how facilitators and participants on the group listserv provided intellectual and emotional support, as well as positive reinforcement through feedback loops. The analysis also shows how the facilitators made this a helpful group and maintained participant engagement through frequent encouragement, deliberate community building, and thoughtfully timed responses.ConclusionsThough many professional development workshops offer online support through email listservs, there is little evidence that these listservs successfully engage and support participants. Applying the analytic approach of social network analysis allowed us to model the conversation threads in one highly engaged and supportive listserv following a mathematics professional development workshop. This method revealed the processes of ongoing support in ways that traditional frequency-based analyses cannot. This method also revealed lessons for how other professional developers can create productive, helpful online support listservs. Since this is an innovative application of social network analysis, we describe the method in detail.

Assessing Inquiry in Physical Geology Laboratory Manuals

ABSTRACTMany agencies, organizations, and researchers have called for the incorporation of inquiry-based learning in college classrooms. Providing inquiry-based activities in laboratory courses is one way to promote reformed, student-centered teaching in introductory geoscience courses. However, the literature on inquiry has relatively few geoscience examples and features an array of modifiers that complicate instructor efforts to identify or adapt inquiry-based activities for their courses. We review several measurement protocols developed to assess inquiry in laboratory activities. We apply one of these to assess the level of inquiry present in four published physical geology laboratory manuals. While the majority of activities used in the published manuals were classified at low levels of inquiry, these manuals also contained examples of higher-level activities that were not identified in previous analyses. We describe the development of inquiry-based lessons for inclusion in a freshman-level physical geology laboratory course at a large public research university in the southeast U.S. and apply the same protocol to assess the laboratory course activities and discuss how some activities were adapted to increase inquiry levels. We discuss how other instructors or laboratory course developers can adapt existing activities to incorporate higher levels of inquiry in their laboratory courses, matching them with the type of information or skill they want students to learn.

The impact of formative assessment on self-regulating learning in university classrooms

This study describes the extent of which the use of quality formative assessment on lessons of a course involves the students as self-regulated learners. There is an increased interest among educational researchers to observe improvement of student self-regulation on learning. The predominant use of summative assessment remains a challenge to helping students develop self-regulation skills in learning and assessment. Quality formative assessment includes formative feedback, self-assessment and peer assessment. The study followed a partially mixed sequential research design and applied a quasi-experimental intervention that lasted for six weeks where six educators applied quality formative assessment on lessons of a general psychology course for intervention group students (N=191). The quantitative data were collected by self-regulated learning questionnaire before and after the use of quality formative assessment on lessons. The qualitative data were collected by focus group discussions with the students. The students’ perceptions on self-regulating learning were compared between the intervention (N=191) and the comparison (N=187) group of students. The quantitative analysis used t-test and biserial correlation and proved the presence of statistically significant difference between the two groups in perceiving the self-regulation of learning. Moreover, effect size estimate (Cohen’s d) was used to provide a strong validation on the variation between the two groups for the measure of self-regulating learning. Recommendations were made to promote the use of quality formative assessment aiming at the improvement of student self-regulation on learning and assessment in university classes.

Examining the Effectiveness of Team-Based Learning (TBL) in Different Classroom Settings

ABSTRACTThe problem of effective learning in college classrooms, especially in a large lecture setting, has been a topic of discussion for a considerable span of time. Most efforts to improve learning incorporate various forms of student-active learning, such as in-class investigations or problems, group discussions, collaborative examinations and interactive technology such as i-clicker. Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a classroom paradigm that all but eliminates the standard lecture and shifts exams from an end-of-unit exercise to a preparatory role. Adapting TBL to an introductory oceanography course has yielded mixed results. Student satisfaction as measured by course evaluations has increased in several important indicators, but not in summative questions. Final grades have also continued at high levels, and discussions around in-class investigations have become increasingly sophisticated, but performance on certain exam components associated with higher-order learning has declined. The classroom environment may play a major role, with TBL showing greater effectiveness in a TBL-designed facility compared with a traditional auditorium.

Ditching the Desks: Kinesthetic Learning in College Classrooms

In this article we argue that social science instructors at all levels should openly embrace kinesthetic learning as an everyday pedagogical tool. The standard model of instruction at the college level relies on lecture, perhaps with special alternative activities (e.g., simulations) scattered throughout each semester. We argue that students benefit from alternative instruction styles incorporated into their everyday classes. We outline several alternative instruction techniques we have used in our classrooms centered on kinesthetic learning. The kinesthetic activities that we present require little to no additional work on behalf of the instructor but allow the students to engage more fully with the given material and with each other. Furthermore, these simple examples allow instructors to remain relevant in physical classrooms, offering a straightforward counterpoint to the recent trend toward MOOCs (massive open online courses) in higher education.

History, Interactive Technology and Pedagogy: Past Successes and Future Directions

Based on a keynote presentation at the 2012 Canadian Historical Association conference, this paper surveys the state of digital technology and its impact on academic publication and teaching in the contemporary university. Focusing on the dramatic rise of the Digital Humanities in the last few years, the paper examines alternative forms of peer review, academic scholarship and publication, and classroom teaching as they have been reshaped by the adoption of a variety of digital technologies and formats, including open-access, online peer reviewing, use of databases and visualization techniques in humanities work, online journal publication, and the use of blogs and wikis as teaching tools. Examining the digital production and education work of the American Social History Project at CUNY, which he co-founded, and the Interactive Technology and Pedagogy doctoral certificate program that he heads at the CUNY Graduate Center, the author discusses a range of digital projects and approaches designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning in college classrooms.

COMPETENCIAS COMUNICATIVAS EFICACES MEDIANTE ESTRATEGIAS DE APRENDIZAJE COOPERATIVO

El aprendizaje cooperativo se plantea como una de las principales medicinas de la educación: el estudiante adopta un papel activo en su proceso de aprendizaje. La cuestión metodológica es trascendental dentro de la universidad: el proyecto de construcción del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior plantea cambios profundos en el paradigma docente, debiendo cambiar los roles del profesor y del alumno, dentro y fuera del aula. Para reforzar este argumento, se procedió a la aplicación del Cuestionario de Aprendizaje Cooperativo de Arellano, Navarro y Sosa (2007) a los 692 estudiantes matriculados en primero de Grado de Educación Primaria en el curso 2010/2011. La muestra coincidió con el universo de los estudiantes de primer año en el Grado de Educación Primaria, constituida por un 87% de mujeres y con una edad media de 19 años, lo cual permitió obtener un índice de consistencia interna de 0.83 para el instrumento. Los resultados recalcaron la importancia de potenciar el aprendizaje cooperativo en las aulas universitarias, teniendo en cuenta que son pocas las ocasiones en las que puede ponerse en juego.