Performance In Course Research Articles

Assessment and Evaluation for Programme Learning Outcomes in Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) is the 15th of the 20 public universities established in Malaysia. UTHM consists of eight faculties. One of them is the Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (FKMP). The programme offered - Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Honours (BDD), undergoes continuous auditing and accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC). To fulfill the requirement for accreditation, EAC requires the faculty to assess and evaluate the programme learning outcomes’ (PLOs) attainment of the graduates, such that all graduates are targeted to achieve the performance indicator (PI) upon graduation. This paper discusses the methods developed by the FKMP for PLOs’ measurement and evaluation. Two approaches are utilized in this regards, (i) the direct assessment based on students’ performance in courses, and (ii) the indirect assessment based the industrial and graduates’ perception. The PLOs’ attainment for graduates of cohort 2010-2012 are analysed in this study. Consolidation data shows that the PI for majority of the PLOs are achieved, indicating that the programme offered complies with the standard expected by different stakeholders.

Student performance in computing education: an empirical analysis of online learning in programming education environments

ABSTRACTThe benefits of using online exercises have been analysed in terms of distance learning, automatic assessment and self-regulated learning. In this study, we have not found a direct proportional relationship between student performance in the course exercises that use online technologies and the exam grades. We see that the average submission rate to these online exercises is not positively correlated with the exercise points. Yet, our results confirm that doing exercises along supports student learning and skill accumulation equipping them with the knowledge of programming. While the student performance in programming courses is affected by factors such as prior background in programming, cognitive skills and the quality of teaching, completing the course exercises via learning-by-doing is an indispensable part of teaching. Based on the student feedback from the course survey, the students are highly satisfied with using online technologies as part of learning.

How important is personality in the selection of medical school students?

Admittance to medical school has traditionally been determined on the basis of students' performance on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and grade point average (GPA), which assess cognitive abilities. To supplement these predictors, medical schools also consider a semi-structured interview, which assesses non-cognitive attributes. Successful performance as a medical student is determined by performance in courses and clinical rotations. The traditional cognitive predictors generally contribute to the prediction of course requirements. However, these traditional predictors often demonstrate weak relations with clinical performance, suggesting that other predictors are necessary. Using approximately 300 medical students, the current study investigated a) the ability of the traditional admission tools to predict course and clinical performance, and b) the incremental validity of personality predictors, which were chosen on the basis of a personality-oriented job analysis. The traditional predictors accounted for a significant proportion of variance in course performance, with personality accounting for incremental variance. Clinical performance was only predicted by personality and the traditional predictors did not demonstrate predictive validity.

Predicting Students’ Performance in University Courses: A Case Study and Tool in KSU Mathematics Department

Educational data mining is a growing field that uses the data obtained from educational information systems to discover knowledge and find answers to questions and problems concerning the education system. High dropout rates and poor academic performance among students are examples of the most common issues that affect the reputation of an educational institution. Students’ academic records can be analyzed to explore the factors behind these phenomena. This paper discusses the building of a model to predict the performance of students in a programming course based on their grades in courses in other subjects. A classification based on an association rules algorithm is used to build a classifier to help evaluate the student's performance in the programming course. This model aims to reduce dropout levels by helping student predict their likelihood of success in a course before they enroll in it. In addition, course instructors will be able to enhance student performance in the course by better estimating their abilities to learn the subject matter and adjusting their teaching strategies and methods.

TECHNOLOGY PEDAGOGY AND CONTENT IN WEB-BASED LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR SECONDARY VOCATIONAL STUDENTS

Students in vocational schools in Greece are less motivated and have low performance in courses demanding academic skills, like language learning with reading and writing tasks (e.g. essay writing). If they were asked, they would say that they prefer to do things rather than study or get involved in traditional classroom language activities. School cannot provide them with language materials and methodology adjusted to their needs. Language teaching and learning is an academic task-oriented subject and teachers find it extremely difficult to arise their students' interest. So, from this point of view there is a gap between need and supply. How to overcome this obstacle? Is it possible that an educational e-Learning environment applying a purpose specific e-pedagogy, will do this? An experimental teaching intervention took place in a Greek Secondary Vocational Lyceum (1st EPA.L Epagelmatiko Lykeio of Lamia city, at 2012-13 school year) in the Greek language curriculum of 11th Grade students so as the researcher to answer the above question. In an activity based situated e-environment for agriculturists, engineers, electricians, car mechanics, students were asked to solve real life technical problems and practise their mother language skills by producing technical textual 'genres' that are likely to use as future professional craftsmen.

Percepção acerca da qualidade e utilidade do relatório de avaliação do ENADE: um estudo na área de negócios

Este artigo teve por objetivo conhecer a percepção que coordenadores dos cursos de Administração e Ciências Contábeis têm sobre a utilidade e qualidade do Relatório de Curso do ENADE e de que forma tais compreensões relacionam-se com o desempenho dos cursos na avaliação. Com uma amostra de 101 cursos, utilizou-se, para análise dos dados, a Análise Fatorial Exploratória e a Análise de Regressão Linear Múltipla. A Análise Fatorial gerou dois fatores: um é resultante da percepção positiva; e outro, resultante da percepção crítica acerca da utilidade e qualidade do Relatório de Curso do ENADE. Por sua vez, os resultados das regressões sugerem que cursos cujos gestores revelaram uma visão positiva acerca da qualidade e utilidade do Relatório de Curso obtiveram notas mais altas na avaliação. Depreende-se que a percepção favorável sobre o relatório de avaliação pode fomentar o seu uso, munindo os gestores de informações que os auxilie na gestão dos cursos.

The language issue and academic performance at a South African University

Academic performance at universities in South Africa is a cause of concern. It is widely acknowledged that there are a variety of factors that contribute to poor academic performance, but language is regarded as one of the most important issues in this discussion. In this article, the relationship between language and academic performance at a South African university for the first-year group in 2010 (n = 900) is investigated, taking their performance in their second (2011) and third (2012) year into account. The authors review: (a) the relationships between measures of language ability (matric scores, and scores on university placement tests like the NBT and TALL/TAG); and (b) the relationship between these language measures, performance in courses offered by universities to support students and general academic success indicators to investigate the language issue and academic performance at university. The main findings of the study are: (a) matric average results above 65% are useful to predict academic success at university; matric average results below 65% cannot be used with confidence to predict success at university; (b) language measures (e.g. matric language marks, and scores on academic literacy tests used by some universities) are not good predictors of academic success at university; (c) there are strong positive relationships between the academic literacy components in the NBT and TALL/TAG; and (d) scores achieved in academic literacy modules are good predictors of academic success. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of strategic decisions that academic managers should consider when they reflect on the language issue and its impact on academic performance at South African universities.

Team Based Learning Strategy Applied to Pharmacy Based Courses

Objective: To assess students’ performance in courses of the school of pharmacy’s curriculum. Design: The Team-Based Learning strategy was used as a means to instruct students compared with the Traditional Learning strategies of instruction for two courses in the school’s curriculum. Assessment: There was a significant difference (p 0.048 to ≤ 0.001) in grades A to C for the Complementary/ Alternative Medicine and Nonprescription Drugs course in academic year 2014-2015 compared with the previous year. A significant difference (p ≤ 0.002) was only observed in grades B and C for the Immunology and Microbiology course relative to the previous year. Conclusion: The Team-Based Learning strategy may account for the observed differences in the grades. It is hoped that students are better able to retain and recall the course content as they progress in the curriculum. This may ensure that learning outcomes are achievable and/or demonstrative when students enter the practice environment.

An Empirical Look At Developmental Interventions And Student Performance In The First Intermediate Accounting Course

Due to concerns about student performance in Intermediate Accounting I, our Department of Accounting established an Intermediate Readiness Committee in the spring of 2006 to create a developmental program for students entering Intermediate I, with the goal of improving performance in that course. Over the next two years, the Committee established the Developmental Program with two escalating interventions to improve performance in Intermediate I. These interventions were comprised of readiness testing with study sessions and readiness testing with use of developmental software. This study reports the impact these interventions had on student performance in Intermediate I. The authors control for gender, grades earned in each of the two accounting principles courses, whether the student took Principles II at school of study or transferred the course credit from another school, and overall undergraduate grade point average upon entering Intermediate I. Results indicate that each intervention resulted in significantly higher grades than observed in a Base Period without intervention.

The Other Jack Tanner: Shaw and Robert Loraine

The Other Jack Tanner: Shaw and Robert Loraine

The Test of Logical Thinking as a Predictor of First-Year Pharmacy Students’ Performance in Required First-Year Courses

To investigate the correlation of scores on the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) with first-year pharmacy students' performance in selected courses. The TOLT was administered to 130 first-year pharmacy students. The examination was administered during the first quarter in a single session. The TOLT scores correlated with grades earned in Pharmaceutical Calculations, Physical Pharmacy, and Basic Pharmacokinetics courses. Performance on the TOLT has been correlated to performance in courses that required the ability to use quantitative reasoning to complete required tasks. In the future, it may be possible to recommend remediation, retention, and/or admission based in part on the results from the TOLT.

Admission interview scores are associated with clinical performance in an undergraduate physiotherapy course: an observational study

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine if there is an association between admission interview score and subsequent academic and clinical performance, in a four-year undergraduate physiotherapy course. DesignRetrospective observational study. Participants141 physiotherapy students enrolled in two entry year groups. Outcome measuresIndividual student performance in all course units, practical examinations, clinical placements as well as year level and overall Grade Point Average. Predictor variables included admission interview scores, admission academic scores and demographic data (gender, age and entry level). ResultsInterview score demonstrated a significant association with performance in three of six clinical placements through the course. This association was stronger than for any other admission criterion although effect sizes were small to moderate. Further, it was the only admission score to have a significant association with overall Clinical Grade Point Average for the two year groups analysed (r=0.322). By contrast, academic scores on entry showed significant associations with all year level Grade Point Averages except Year 4, the clinical year. ConclusionsThis is the first study to review the predictive validity of an admission interview for entry into a physiotherapy course in Australia. The results show that performance in this admission interview is associated with overall performance in clinical placements through the course, while academic admission scoring is not. These findings suggest that there is a role for both academic and non-academic selection processes for entry into physiotherapy.

Emotional intelligence predicts success in medical school.

Accumulating evidence suggests that effective communication and interpersonal sensitivity during interactions between doctors and patients impact therapeutic outcomes. There is an important need to identify predictors of these behaviors, because traditional tests used in medical admissions offer limited predictions of "bedside manners" in medical practice. This study examined whether emotional intelligence would predict the performance of 367 medical students in medical school courses on communication and interpersonal sensitivity. One of the dimensions of emotional intelligence, the ability to regulate emotions, predicted performance in courses on communication and interpersonal sensitivity over the next 3 years of medical school, over and above cognitive ability and conscientiousness. Emotional intelligence did not predict performance on courses on medical subject domains. The results suggest that medical schools may better predict who will communicate effectively and show interpersonal sensitivity if they include measures of emotional intelligence in their admission systems.

Intervention Strategies for the Improvement of Students’ Academic Performance in Data Structure Course

The study is intended to recommend intervention strategies which can be used in teaching Data Structure course effectively to undergraduate program in the field of computing and information technology. Descriptive method, formal assessment which is the actual grades of the students, and informal interviews among instructors were utilized in the study. The formal assessment results revealed that 39% of students in the course have poor academic performance in the course. This concluded that there is a need for intervention strategies which requires planning and implementation to strengthen the motivation of the students to study, boost their academic performance, and uplift the quality of education in the area of computing and information technology

PENGARUH QUALITY ASSURANCE DAN ISO 9000 TERHADAP KINERJA PROGRAM STUDI (STUDI PADA SEBUAH PERGURUAN TINGGI SWASTA DI YOGYAKARTA)

Higher education is very important for the community. The college is an institution that organizes the process of education or teaching, research and service to the community. This research was conducted at a private university in Yogyakarta. The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of Quality Assurance and ISO 9000 on performance. The population of this research is the entire department. The sampling technique using saturated or census sampling technique, i.e. by using all components of the population considered to be able to assess the implementation of the Quality Assurance (QA) and the implementation of ISO 9000. The respondents in this study is the Chairman or Secretary of department. Technique of data analysis in this study uses the program of Generalized Structured Component Analysis (GSCA) to perform analysis of hypothesis testing. The result show that the diversity of variable QA, ISO and performance can be explained by models research with having value as fit as much as 73,6 %. The remaining 26,4 % described by other variables.Variable QA influential not significantly to the performance of a course of study in college. Variable ISO 9000 influential not significantly to the performance of course of study. While variable QA influential positive and significantly to ISO 9000. On the contrary, variable ISO 9000 influential positive and significantly to QA.

Assessing impact of not attending lectures on osteopathic medical student performance: Brief survey of the literature and proposed future research

It has been anecdotally reported that osteopathic medical students often decrease their attendance of didactic lectures to increase time to study for the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States (COMLEX-USA). There is no strong evidence supporting the impact of attending vs. not attending didactic lectures on osteopathic medical student performance in courses during the first two years of osteopathic medical education. This paper provides a brief survey of the literature. The paper also presents a proposal for future research to assess the impact of not attending didactic lectures on student performance. The proposed study would provide needed evidence toward answering this question in the osteopathic medical school environment.

Evidence for Insisting on Cognitive Conflict Tasks: Impact on Accounting Majors in Upper-Level Courses

ABSTRACTSpringer and Borthick (2004a) designed cognitive conflict tasks in sophomore accounting to develop critical thinking. While prior work showed that students completing critical thinking courses had stronger content knowledge (Springer and Borthick 2007), it provided no evidence that these experiences would improve performance in courses with new content areas. This study extends the prior work by providing evidence of far transfer, the kind that would be expected if critical thinking were developed during the sophomore tasks. In this study, students with cognitive conflict task experience in sophomore accounting performed better than those with traditional sophomore accounting experience, in both readings-only and problem-based junior-level courses. In addition, the graduation GPAs of students with cognitive task experience increased more between the junior year and graduation than those of students without these tasks. An interaction between GPA and sophomore learning experience showed stronger effects for lower-achieving students, consistent with improved critical thinking.

Sistem Panel Kinerja Untuk Program Studi Sarjana Berbasis BAN PT

Study program need to do monitoring and continuously measurements of performance to ensure achievement the goals set of its. The process of performance requires monitoring data and information was taken from all parts of the organization. The purpose of this research is to build a panel system performance (performance dashboard) that can be used to help measure the performance of undergraduate degree courses based on BAN PT in order of quality assurance in higher education. The results of performance monitoring will be delivered to the parties concerned, efficiently and effectively. Panel System (Dashboard) is a tool to present information at a glance. Dashboard inform using Key Performance Indicators (KPI) an effective presentation media. KPIs are used in the construction panel system performance of these courses entirely using the instruments of the National Accreditation of Higher Education. The methodology can be applied either on a case study of the development of dashboards to support the efforts of quality assurance courses at the Stikubank University Semarang. This study emphasizes how the application is to provide easy information to Head of study program, Dean of faculty, Rector and Vice Rector of university to the achievement of the quality of undergraduate study program. Keywords: Performance Dashboard; Key Performance Indicators; Accreditation.

Lower Level Prerequisites and Student Performance in Intermediate Business Courses: Does It Matter Where Students Take Their Principles Courses?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that those students who take their lower level business principles courses at junior or community colleges are less prepared for success in intermediate business courses than their classmates who take them at a 4-year institution. Using data on student performance in four typical intermediate business courses—Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Intermediate Business Statistics, and Intermediate Financial Accounting I—the authors found that average student performance in these courses is essentially completely determined by the underlying academic quality of the student, as measured by grade point average. Where they take their lower level prerequisite courses, and what letter grade they earn in those courses, do not generally play a significant role.

Effects of Restructuring a Neuroscience Curriculum in a Physical Therapist Education Program

Background and Purpose. This study investigated (1) whether restructuring of the neuroscience curriculum to reduce basic neuroscience credit hours to allow additional credit hours in applied neuroscience would improve students’ knowledge of basic neuroscience and neurology course sequence outcomes, and (2) whether integration of basic neuroscience into a regional cadaver anatomy course would improve student attitudes toward neuroscience topics and improve retention of basic neuroscience knowledge. Participants. A survey instrument and a neuroscience knowledge-retention test (KRT) were developed and administered to 5 sequential cohorts of physical therapist students. Methods. The first 2 cohorts (nonintegratedcourse group) took a 6-credit-hour regional anatomy course in their first semester and a 3-credit-hour basic neuroscience course in their second semester. The second 3 cohorts (the integrated-course group) took a 6-credit-hour combined regional anatomy and basic neuroscience course in their first semester, followed by a 2-credit-hour applied neuroscience course in their second semester. Outcomes. Overall GPA performance in subsequent neurology sequence courses improved with the revised neuroscience curriculum. Student attitudes to neuroscience improved markedly in the second cohort of students prior to course integration. No further improvement in attitudes occurred after course integration. These findings suggest that the first cohort by chance had more students with negative attitudes toward neuroscience. Mean KRT scores were not statistically different after the shift in student attitudes or after course integration (P > .87, P > .35). When data from all cohorts were combined, analysis of student attitudes and demographics revealed that students who reported enjoyment in learning basic neuroscience topics had on average statistically higher KRT scores (52% versus 46%, P < .007). Discussion and Conclusion. Student performance in courses in the neurology course sequence improved and retention of basic neuroscience knowledge remained constant following a shift of 2 credits from basic neuroscience to applied neuroscience courses within the Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum. Integration of the anatomy and basic neuroscience courses did not impact student attitudes toward basic neuroscience. Those students who enjoyed learning basic neuroscience performed better on the KRT than those students who reported less enjoyment in learning neuroscience content.