Low-performing Students Research Articles

Relationship between intrinsic teacher motivation and teacher amotivation and student academic performance in public secondary schools in Gem Sub-County, Kenya

Studies on teacher motivation indicate low teacher motivation results in low student academic performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between teacher motivation and student academic performance in public secondary schools in Gem Sub-county, Kenya. The objective of the study was to establish the relationship between intrinsic teacher motivation and teacher amotivation on student academic performance. The study was guided by the Conceptual Framework based on Self-Determination Theory and adopted correlation and descriptive research designs. The study population was 41 principals and 180 teachers from 41 public secondary schools. A sample of 36 principals from 36 schools was picked through a saturated sampling technique given that 5 schools were used for the pilot study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 110 teachers who had taught the same class from form three to form four between 2013-2014. Work Self-Determination Index was used to measure teacher motivation. The reliability of the instruments was established by the test-retest method and a coefficient index of 0.791 was accepted. The study showed that intrinsic teacher motivation had a weak, positive and significant relationship with student academic performance (r =.327; N=110; p <.05) and accounted for a 9.9% variation in student academic performance. Teacher amotivation had a weak, positive and significant relationship with student academic performance (r =.218; N=110; p<.05) and accounted for a 3.9% variation in student academic performance. The study noted that increased teacher motivation enhances student academic performance. The findings of this study would inform the stakeholders in education in coming up with strategies to enhance teacher motivation to improve student academic performance.

Academic Resilience in Mathematics and Science: Europe TIMSS-2019 Data.

Academically resilient students are those who exhibit high performance starting from a disadvantaged socioeconomic situation. This study aims to identify the personal, school, and national factors that are associated with that resilience in the European Union (EU). The sample comprised 96556 fourth grade students from 21 EU countries participating in TIMSS-2019. Two three-level logistic regression models were specified for the overall sample. The EU has an average of 25.67% resilient students in mathematics and 24.16% in science. Student confidence and having done prior linguistic tasks at school were the variables with the most predictive power after accounting for gender and students' immigrant background. The European countries analyzed largely compensated for the doubly-disadvantaged situation of immigrant students. Those countries with higher proportions of low-performing students had fewer resilient students. The educational policies in the EU member states are able to largely compensate for unfavorable starting positions; fundamentally, policies of a social nature such as support for immigrant students, families, or schools.

Observed Quality of Formative Peer and Self-Assessment in Everyday Mathematics Teaching and its Effects on Student Performance

<p style="text-align: justify;">The positive effect of peer assessment and self-assessment strategies on learners' performance has been widely confirmed in experimental or quasi-experimental studies. However, whether peer and self-assessment within everyday mathematics teaching affect student learning and achievement, has rarely been studied. This study aimed to determine with what quality peer and self-assessment occur in everyday mathematics instruction and whether and which students benefit from it in terms of achievement and the learning process. Two lessons on division were video-recorded and rated to determine the quality of peer and self-assessment. Six hundred thirty-four students of fourth-grade primary school classes in German-speaking Switzerland participated in the study and completed a performance test on division. Multilevel analyses showed no general effect of the quality of peer or self-assessment on performance. However, high-quality self-assessment was beneficial for lower-performing students, who used a larger repertoire of calculation strategies, which helped them perform better. In conclusion, peer and self-assessment in real-life settings only have a small effect on the student performance in this Swiss study.</p>

Using Technology to Personalize Middle School Math Instruction: Evidence From a Blended Learning Program in Five Public Schools

Schools are increasingly using technology to personalize instruction. Programs such as Khan Academy and Zearn produce a vast array of data on students’ behaviors and outcomes when engaged in technology-based instruction. However, these datasets rarely include equally detailed information from when students engage in non-technological learning activities. This study explores the implementation of an innovative model for adolescent mathematics instruction that includes detailed data from both technological and non-technological learning modalities. Much of the research on the implementation of technology-based personalization has focused on the effects of technology programs as isolated interventions rather than within blended models that combine instructional technology with significant changes to teacher-led instruction. Furthermore, existing studies of blended, personalized programs very rarely utilize daily programmatic data to push inside the “black box” of day-to-day interactions among students, teachers, and content. We attempt to address these gaps by using hierarchical cluster analysis, cluster trees, and clustergram heatmaps to explore and visualize data from 170,075 daily lesson assignments and assessments generated by 1,238 unique fifth through eighth grade students across five schools implementing an innovative model for blended and personalized middle school math instruction. We explore three research questions: (1) To what degree did the daily implementation of this program reflect its stated goal of personalizing instruction? (2) Did student outcomes vary based on exposure to each of the learning modalities utilized by this program? (3) Did student outcomes vary based on the academic proficiency of students entering the program? These analyses support three main findings: (a) The instructional reform succeeds in creating a highly personalized student experience, but was likely hampered in implementation by policy and logistical constraints; (b) Participation in a learning modality focused on long-term projects was associated with a lower degree of personalization but higher student outcomes than the other six learning modalities utilized by the program, particularly for some latent clusters of students; and (c) Initially higher-performing students earned higher scores on daily assessments than initially lower-performing students, despite the program’s intended goal of fostering equity in student outcomes through personalization of content to meet each student’s supposed level of readiness.

Active learning in informal learning spaces: science students’ experiences

ABSTRACT In crafting the active learning approach for this study, we leverage on the definition of active learning as a methodology that requires students’ active collaborative engagement and involvement in their own learning and they are held accountable for learning with peers. Building from social interaction, we extend the notion of active learning to include socio-cognitive conflicts and socio-emotional conflicts. Subsequently, the aim of this study is to gain insights into science students’ experiences and perceptions of active learning in informal learning spaces. The current study used a basic qualitative research method involving 29 genetics students.. The data were collected from the 2-hour video recordings and 45-minute semi-structured focus group interviews. The conceptual content analysis approach was used to analyse the data. The results reveal that the higher-performing students are able to regulate the cognitive processes, and to learn effectively in a minimally guided instruction environment outside the classroom by relying on their peers as a reliable source of information. However, the lower-performing students depend on their lecturer to transfer knowledge to them. They do not believe it is possible to learn science from their peers. Probably because they do not know how to learn in a group.

The Academic Performance of Female Students in Integrated Science in Junior High Schools: Evidence from Aowin Municipality, Western North Region of Ghana

The study investigated factors responsible for the low performance of female students in integrated science in some selected Junior High Schools (JHS) in the Aowin Municipal of Western North region of Ghana. The study employed descriptive research design to investigate the determinants of female students’ poor performance in the subject. The sample size for the study comprised 375 JHS female students selected from five educational circuits in the Aowin Municipal. A four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) was developed and administered to the participants. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, specifically, mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed poor psychological state, teachers’ teaching practices/procedures and students’ socio-economic background as possible factors responsible for female students’ low academic performance in integrated science subject. It was recommended among others that the Municipal education office should organize workshops and seminars on the state-of-the-art procedure of teaching science subjects in the basic schools with particular emphasis on how to create a good learning atmosphere for the female students.

ONE ON ONE.COM: A STRATEGY IN ENHANCING THE COMPUTER LITERACY OF EMPOWERMENT TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS

This action research study is conducted to determine the effect of one-on-one Tutorials with performance task sheets as an intervention for the low performance of students in Isabela School of Arts and Trades Senior High School taking up Empowerment Technology Subject. Thirty-seven students consented to participate in the study. It was found out that the intervention has a medium positive effect in improving the students' computer skills. Thus, the intervention is encouraging to be utilized in the teaching and learning process. The method and procedure of the research used is descriptive comparative design in this study wherein the data were generated from the pre and post-test results of the respondents in their Empowerment of Technology subject for the first semester 2019 – 2020, specifically in learning Competency Advanced Spreadsheet skills.

LESSON STUDY: USING GROUPWORK ACTIVITY TO ENCHANCE STUDENT’S OUTPUT IN EAP CLASSES

This article is a product of collaborative work between three university instructors that specifically focused on developing and enhancing students’ output using groupwork in their English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes. The experimental part of this paper was based on the method commonly known as lesson study and aimed at observing and analyzing the use of language input covered during the classes by students. To provide favorable environment for the language practice, greater time was allocated for the production part of the lesson, where students did a role play activity in groups. The experiment proved that groupwork indeed enhances student output and engages more of them. At the same time, it was revealed that providing more time for the production part does not always lead to an increase in student talking time. Low-performing students’ output as well, did not necessarily improve during such activities.

The relationship between perfectionism and test anxiety of junior high school students: the mediating role of self-efficacy and trait anxiety

ABSTRACT Test anxiety contributed to lower student performance, limited students' learning opportunities, predisposed to negative emotional experiences, and affected physical and mental health. Perfectionism as one of the crucial factors influencing test anxiety has been widely confirmed in the context of individualistic cultural values. This study explores the effects of perfectionism on test anxiety among junior high school students in collectivist cultural values (e.g., China) and the role of self-efficacy and trait anxiety in this context. The results of the study indicated that adaptive perfectionism positively predicted test anxiety, and maladaptive perfectionism was not related to test-taking in a group of middle school students in a Chinese cultural context. If adaptive perfectionism caused an increasein self-efficacy, it weakened trait anxiety and reduced test anxiety, whereas when adaptive perfectionism failedto cause an increase in self-efficacy, it led to higher trait anxiety and test anxiety.

Effect of cognitive behavioral intervention on electroencephalographic band powers of children with learning difficulty under eyes-closed and eyes-open conditions.

Electroencephalography (EEG) plays an important role in assessing children with learning difficulties or related behavioral issues. Understanding EEG alterations in students with learning difficulties is crucial for evaluating cognitive functioning. The first aim was to examine the effects of the Program for Enhancing Academic and Behavioral Learning Skills (PEABLS), a cognitive-behavioral intervention on absolute and relative EEG band powers under eyes-closed and eyes-open conditions. Another aim was to examine the relationship between relative band powers of EEG waveforms through specific cognitive measurements like IQ, working memory and BGT for perceptual motor skills and organization. This study had a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test research design and involved a group of 50 students with learning problems. PEABLS, an accessible school-based intervention, was offered to academically low-performing students. EEG recordings were conducted before and after the intervention on prefrontal (FP1 FP2), temporal (T3 T4) and occipital (O1 O2) scalp locations. The data acquired were processed using MATLAB to find the absolute and relative band powers of waveforms. Paired t tests on the recorded EEG data suggested that significant improvements in absolute and relative power values of waveforms were achieved, post-intervention. There were significant increases in relative alpha power values in the prefrontal and temporal regions under both eyes-closed and eyes-open conditions and significant increases in relative theta and delta power in the prefrontal and temporal regions. Pearson's correlation suggested that there was a significant relationship between relative alpha and beta power values in the prefrontal and occipital regions, through the cognitive measurements. PEABLS was significative in bringing changes to EEG band powers.

A data mining approach using machine learning algorithms for early detection of low-performing students

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to build predictive models for early detection of low-performing students and examine the factors that influence massive open online courses students' performance.Design/methodology/approachFor the first step, the author performed exploratory data analysis to analyze the dataset. The process was then followed by data pre-processing and feature engineering (Step 2). Next, the author conducted data modelling and prediction (Step 3). Finally, the performance of the developed models was evaluated (Step 4).FindingsThe paper found that the decision trees algorithm outperformed other machine learning algorithms. The study also confirms the significant effect of the academic background and virtual learning environment (VLE) interactions feature categories to academic performance. The accuracy enhancement is 17.66% for decision trees classifier, 3.49% for logistic regression classifier and 4.89% for neural networks classifier. Based on the results of CorrelationAttributeEval technique with the use of a ranker search method, the author found that the assessment_score and sum_click features are more important among academic background and VLE interactions feature categories for the classification analysis in predicting students' academic performance.Originality/valueThe work meets the originality requirement.

The Effect of Grade Retention on Adult Crime: Evidence from a Test-Based Promotion Policy

This paper presents the first analysis in the literature of the effect of test-based grade retention on adult criminal convictions. We exploit math and English test cutoffs for promotion to ninth grade in Louisiana using administrative data on all public K-12 students combined with administrative data on all criminal convictions in the state. Our preferred models use the promotion discontinuity as an instrument for grade retention, and we find that being retained in eighth grade has large long-run effects on the likelihood of being convicted of a crime by age 25 and on the number of criminal convictions by age 25. Effects are largest for violent crimes: the likelihood of being convicted increases by 1.05 percentage points, or 58.44%, when students are retained in eighth grade. Our data allow an examination of mechanisms, and we show that the effects are likely driven by declines in high school peer quality, lowered non-cognitive skill acquisition, and a reduction in educational attainment. However, we find little effect on juvenile crime, which suggests the effects on adult criminal engagement are driven by worse job market prospects and non-cognitive skills that stem from lower educational investments by students. Using the method proposed by Angrist and Rokkanen (2015), we also estimate effects of grade retention away from the promotion cutoff and show that our results are generalizable to a larger group of low-performing students. Our estimates indicate that test- based promotion cutoffs lead to large private and social costs in terms of higher levels of long-run criminal convictions that are important to consider in the development and use of these policies.

Exploring the Effectiveness of Learning Path Recommendation based on Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model: A Learning Analytics Intervention Approach

A fixed learning path for all learners is a major drawback of virtual learning systems. An online learning path recommendation system has the advantage of offering flexibility to select appropriate learning content. Learning Analytics Intervention (LAI) provides several educational benefits, particularly for low-performing students. Researchers employed an LAI approach in this work to recommend personalised learning paths to students pursuing online courses depending on their learning styles. It was accomplished by developing a Learning Path Recommendation Model (LPRM) based on the Felder–Silverman Learning Style Model (FSLSM) and evaluating its efficacy. The data were analysed with the help of a dataset from the Moodle Research Repository, and different learning paths were recommended using a sequence matching algorithm. The effectiveness of this approach was tested in two groups of learners using the independent two-sample t-test, a statistical testing tool. The experimental evaluation revealed that learners who followed the suggested learning path performed better than those who followed the learning path without any recommendations. This enhanced learning performance exemplifies the effects of learning analytics intervention .

Remote English Teaching during Covid-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Lessons in Higher Education Teaching in Colombia

The objective of this article is to do bibliographic research lined up with the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic in which the main focus will be inclusion, Pygmalion effect as well as teaching and learning remotely. The basis is to gather different perspectives to build knowledge through exhaustive reading of books, doctoral dissertations, masters programs dissertations, current news, reliable sources of information, scientific papers, and own experience amongst others. The analysis of this bibliographic research will be useful for future research on topics related. Emotional and affective relations are important and have impact when facing English learning difficulties and when working to have inclusion. In the context of Covid-19, the learning and teaching conditions got complex when migrating to virtual classes. Remote teaching is not a solution to face learning and teaching difficulties. In this way, affection is the best tool for inclusive learning in virtual environments. It is said that one of the biggest barriers is teacher’s formation whose career is based on traditional pedagogy not easily adaptable to digital environments. This situation creates a deep feeling of frustration in teachers, which can be reflected in the low academic performance of English students. Several reflections will be made to encourage the actors involved in the teaching-learning process and in the educational system to ask themselves: Which are the challenges of remote teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic being inclusive through the Pygmalion effect?

Facilitating Concept Map Analysis: Generating and Evaluating Representative General Chemistry Concept Maps with a Novel Use of Image J, Gephi, JPathfinder, and R

Concept maps are powerful tools used to reveal challenges in students’ learning. However, their use introduces complexities when a large group of students’ conceptualizations need to be examined. In this study, concept maps of 344 general chemistry students were analyzed after grouping them based on achievement in chemistry, math proficiency, and gender. The analysis was also expanded with the consideration of eccentricity values and the extended chemistry triplet. Although some similarities exist between the map of high-achieving students in chemistry and that of high-performing students in the Mathematics Placement Test (MPT), the calculated eccentricity values show interesting variations. On the other hand, the analysis of the map of the low-performing students in MPT and that of low-achieving students in chemistry revealed no clear patterns of symbolic, macroscopic, and submicroscopic terms. Practical suggestions were included to increase the use of representative maps in different assessment and teaching scenarios.

The effects of course format, sex, semester, and institution on student performance in an undergraduate animal science course.

The transition of courses from in-person to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic could have potentially affected overall student performance in lecture-based courses. The objective of this case study was to determine the impact of course format, as well as the effects of student sex, time of year at which the course was taken, and the institution it was taken at on student performance in an undergraduate animal science course. The course used for this study was taught at two institutions (University of Florida; UF and University of Nevada, Reno; UNR) over 7 yr (2014–2017 at UNR and 2018–2021 at UF). Student’s performance (n = 911) was evaluated using both quizzes and exams from 2014 through the spring semester 2020 and only exams were used for summer and fall semesters of 2020 and the spring and summer semesters of 2021. The final score (out of 100%) for each student was used to evaluate student’s performance. In addition, students were classified as high-performing students, if they scored ≥95% and low-performing students, if they scored ≤70%. The variables evaluated were the effects of semester (spring, summer, or fall), institution (UF or UNR), sex (male or female), number of teaching assistants (TAs; 0–13), and course format (online or in-person). The course was taught in-person at UNR and in-person and online at UF. The spring semester of 2020 was taught in-person until March but was switched to online approximately 9 wk after the semester started and was considered an online semester for this analysis. As the course was only taught online at UF, the variable course format was assessed using UF records only. Data were analyzed using both linear models and logistic regressions. The probability that students were high performing was not affected by sex or institution. Interestingly, both fall semester and the online format had a positive, desirable effect on the probability that students were high performing. The probability that students were low performing was not affected by sex. However, if a student performed poorly in the class, they were more likely to have taken the course at UNR, or at UF with many TAs. Thus, student’s performance was impacted by changing the course format, as well as institution, the number of TAs, and the semester in which the course was taken.

A Review Paper on the Role of Sentiment Analysis in Quality Education.

Education is a critical indication of progress and a major factor in well-being. The UNs Sustainable Development Goals establish specific requirements for increasing educational quality and protecting the well-being of children. UN’s agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 4 which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” was adopted in India in 2015. Students’ academic success is a vital part of the education system. Predicting student performance has grown more challenging due to the enormous amount of data in educational databases. Low-performing students will experience a variety of difficulties, including delayed graduation and even dropping out. Therefore, educational institutions should closely monitor the academic progress of their students and provide quick assistance to those who have low performance. Using Students’ academic achievement predictions to accomplish that is one method. This method will help educational institutions in identifying and supporting low-performing students at an initial stage. This study presents a systematic review of research on sentiment analysis towards SDG4 quality education through social media platform such as Twitter, Facebook and a review of 21 studies indexed in SCOPUS. Using social media data rather than a conventional survey of the data, evaluation of outspoken opinion and feelings of students towards their institution to obtain Quality Education. In this study, the dataset is taken from kaggle with names as student-performance-data-set which uses two files named as student-math, and student-por which shows the student performance in a Math language course and Portuguese language course, respectively, with 33 attributes and 396 records in each. Of 396 records, 110 records were selected as sample. During the visualization, we analyzed SVM model is stable because even minor data changes have no impact on the hyperplane and it handles the nonlinear data using Kernel techniques.

AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE TOPICS “MASS, DENSITY” IN PHYSICS – 7 TEXTBOOK: METHODICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSOLIDATING THE TOPICS “OPERATIONS WITH VARIOUS FRACTIONAL NUMBERS” (MATHEMATICS 5)

In the article, the author’s proposal is based on the experience of using real examples to calculate the values of physical mass and density in order to increase their interest in studying the reasons for the low performance of students in the topic of studying fractions in the 5th grade. At the beginning of the experiment, the subjects were given: a) information about the mass and density of objects; b) properties of physical phenomena – characterized by physical quantities, including basic physical quantities: length, time, mass, temperature, speed, acceleration, density, force, mechanical work, power, kinematic energy, potential energy, etc. d. The recording is recorded. For the measurement of basic physical quantities, their unit was determined in advance, and it was said that the unified system of units (including SI) was adopted at the International Great Meeting of Courses held in Paris in 1872.

An Early Intervention Technique for At-Risk Prediction of Higher Education Students in Cloud-based Virtual Learning Environment using Classification Algorithms during COVID-19

Higher Education is considered vital for societal development. It leads to many benefits including a prosperous career and financial security. Virtual learning through cloud platforms has become fashionable as it is expediency and flexible to students. New student learning models and prediction outcomes can be developed by using these platforms. The appliance of machine learning techniques in identifying students at-risk is a challenging and concerning factor in virtual learning environment. When there are few students, it is easy for identification, but it is impractical on larger number of students. This study included 530 higher education students from various regions in India and the outcomes generated from online survey data were analyzed. The main objective of this research is to predict early identification of students at-risk in cloud virtual learning environment by analyzing their demographic characteristics, previous academic achievement, learning behavior, device type, mode of access, connectivity, self-efficacy, cloud platform usage, readiness and effectiveness in participating online sessions using four machine learning algorithms namely K Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Random Forest (RF). Predictive system helps to provide solutions to low performance students. It has been implemented on real data of students from higher education who perform various courses in virtual learning environment. Deep analysis is performed to estimate the at-risk students. The experimental results exhibited that random forest achieved higher accuracy of 88.61% compared to other algorithms.

Challenges in addressing low student performance

This article presents basic ideas for improving student achievement. Basic guidelines for motivating students, teachers and parents are proposed. Specific educational products resulting from these activities are presented. In the article, we present opportunities implemented in the STE(A)M center of High School Sava Dobroplodni. The learning material is "translated" by the teachers so that it can meet the students' interests and activities. We jointly implement numerous projects aimed at in-depth understanding of the educational material. We believe that students learn willingly when the material is close in subject matter and content.