Poor Performance Of Students Research Articles

Out-of-Field Teaching in Ghanaian Basic Schools: A Matrix of Basic School Teachers' Experiences in Ekumfi District

Globally, the problem of out-of-field teaching persists despite the frantic efforts of policymakers to ensure that qualified teachers are placed in classrooms to teach subjects and grade levels for which they were trained. Though statistics on the phenomenon remain scanty in Ghana, available evidence indicates that it accounts for the poor performance of students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), especially in rural areas. This study, therefore, explored the experiences of out-of-field teachers in the basic schools in the Ekumfi District. Using the multiple case-study designs, nine teachers were sampled for the study. Both interview guide and observation schedules were used for data collection, where data collected from the respondents were analyzed thematically. The study revealed that teachers found themselves teaching out-of-field due to policy directives at the school level but not of their own volition. Therefore, most of them have not adjusted well to the demands of the classroom. They, therefore, struggle to prepare appropriate lesson notes, conduct assessments, and effectively manage their classrooms. The study concludes that students' performance in the rural parts of Ghana is likely to continue to decrease if policies that may limit its influence in the classroom are not pursued. Therefore, the study recommends that the Ministry of Education and its subsidiary agencies, such as the Ghana Education Service, develop a policy framework to guide the recruitment and deployment of teachers.

Rural STEM Preservice Teachers’ Acceptance of Virtual Learning

Teaching and learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to preservice teachers in rural universities has always been a challenge, resulting in poor student performance. The outbreak of COVID-19 has made it exacerbated this owing to lockdown restrictions in most institutions including universities. Consequently, universities switched to virtual learning (VL), even though most of them (especially rural universities) were not ready for it. This worsened the plight of struggling rural STEM students who had to make do with this new VL. Hence, this study focussed on rural STEM preservice teachers’ acceptance of virtual learning. Prior studies have shown that adoption of a new information system depends on its acceptance by users; however, very little is known about the acceptance of VL by rural STEM preservice teachers. Based on the technology acceptance model, the study proposed and used the STEM preservice teacher acceptance virtual learning model to investigate factors that predict rural STEM preservice teachers' actual use of VL. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse data from 250 valid questionnaires. The model explained 74.6% of the variance in rural STEM pre-service teachers' actual use of VL. Latent variables, facilitating conditions, attitude towards use, and perceived ease of use had a direct impact on the actual use of VL. Attitude to use also played a mediating role between actual use and predictors, perceived enjoyment, perceived social influence, computer self-efficacy, and perceived usefulness. It was concluded that rural STEM pre-service teachers embrace VL given the desperate pandemic situation.

Think-Pair-Share strategy in speaking skill development

Introduction: Mastery of oral expression is a powerful factor in the development of structured thinking and cognitive abilities. However, the traditional methodologies of English teaching, based on grammar and writing, determine a poor performance of students in the international context. Think-pair-share (TPS) as a collaborative learning strategy is an appropriate tool to solve the problem. Objective: This research analyzes the influence of the TPS teaching strategy in the speaking skill development of A1 students at a language center in a university in Ambato, Ecuador. Methodology: From direct observation and the application of a survey, it was detected that the students presented difficulties in constructing effective communication. A quasi-experimental study was considered, in which two groups, control and experimental, were established. The first group received classes through traditional learning strategies and the second through strategy based on TPS. Initially, the oral proficiency level of both groups was evaluated by applying the Cambridge Key English Test (KET). The teaching strategies were implemented in both groups. In the experimental group case, the TPS strategy consisted of collaborative work among students, each participant uploaded short videos in an online platform about their ideas regarding topics suggested by the teacher. The students then reviewed the material prepared by their class partners, made suggestions for improving their speaking skills, and gave an oral presentation to their classmates. Another KET test was applied to know the speaking skill development. Results: Students improved their performance, although the experimental group showed better results, to the point that the mean was 12.48 out of 15, compared to the mean of the control group, which was 9.70 out of 15. Conclusion: The students were well disposed to work using the TPS strategy and the teaching program allowed the students to improve their speaking skills to communicate in the English language.

Role of faculty characteristics in failing to fail in clinical clerkships.

In the context of competency-based medical education, poor student performance must be accurately documented to allow learners to improve and to protect the public. However, faculty may be reluctant to provide evaluations that could be perceived as negative, and clerkship directors report that some students pass who should have failed. Student perception of faculty may be considered in faculty promotion, teaching awards, and leadership positions. Therefore, faculty of lower academic rank may perceive themselves to be more vulnerable and, therefore, be less likely to document poor student performance. This study investigated faculty characteristics associated with low performance evaluations (LPEs). The authors analysed individual faculty evaluations of medical students who completed the third-year clerkships over 15 years using a generalised mixed regression model to assess the association of evaluator academic rank with likelihood of an LPE. Other available factors related to experience or academic vulnerability were incorporated including faculty age, race, ethnicity, and gender. The authors identified 50 120 evaluations by 585 faculty on 3447 students between January 2007 and April 2021. Faculty were more likely to give LPEs at the midpoint (4.9%), compared with the final (1.6%), evaluation (odds ratio [OR] = 4.004, 95% confidence interval [CI] [3.59, 4.53]; p < 0.001). The likelihood of LPE decreased significantly during the 15-year study period (OR = 0.94 [0.90, 0.97]; p < 0.01). Full professors were significantly more likely to give an LPE than assistant professors (OR = 1.62 [1.08, 2.43]; p = 0.02). Women were more likely to give LPEs than men (OR = 1.88 [1.37, 2.58]; p 0.01). Other faculty characteristics including race and experience were not associated with LPE. The number of LPEs decreased over time, and senior faculty were more likely to document poor medical student performance compared with assistant professors.

Examining Elementary School Children's Knowledge about Food and Nutrition in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.

Purpose: Knowledge is fundamental to helping children make nutritional choices that support lifelong healthy behaviours. This study (i) investigates elementary school children's knowledge about food and nutrition and (ii) identifies sociodemographic factors influencing children's reported knowledge.Methods: In 2017-2019, a survey was administered to 2443 students (grades 5-8) at 60 schools across southwestern Ontario, Canada, and a parent survey was used to validate self-reported sociodemographics. Multiple regression was used to analyse children's knowledge scores and related sociodemographic factors. A total knowledge score was calculated by summing correct responses derived from 46 individual questions in the student survey.Results: Mean total knowledge score was 29.2 out of a possible 46 points (63.5% correct). Students demonstrated some knowledge and awareness of strategies to encourage fruit and vegetable consumption, healthy food selection, nutrition, and food preparation skills, although knowledge of food guide recommendations and locally sourced produce were limited. Female sex, family income, and rurality were associated with higher knowledge scores.Conclusions: Results provide insight regarding strengths and gaps in elementary-school children's food and nutrition knowledge. Poor performance of students on specific food guide-related questions suggests that the general guidance of the 2019 Canada's Food Guide might be better understood by children and adolescents.

On Developing Generic Models for Predicting Student Outcomes in Educational Data Mining

Poor academic performance of students is a concern in the educational sector, especially if it leads to students being unable to meet minimum course requirements. However, with timely prediction of students’ performance, educators can detect at-risk students, thereby enabling early interventions for supporting these students in overcoming their learning difficulties. However, the majority of studies have taken the approach of developing individual models that target a single course while developing prediction models. These models are tailored to specific attributes of each course amongst a very diverse set of possibilities. While this approach can yield accurate models in some instances, this strategy is associated with limitations. In many cases, overfitting can take place when course data is small or when new courses are devised. Additionally, maintaining a large suite of models per course is a significant overhead. This issue can be tackled by developing a generic and course-agnostic predictive model that captures more abstract patterns and is able to operate across all courses, irrespective of their differences. This study demonstrates how a generic predictive model can be developed that identifies at-risk students across a wide variety of courses. Experiments were conducted using a range of algorithms, with the generic model producing an effective accuracy. The findings showed that the CatBoost algorithm performed the best on our dataset across the F-measure, ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve and AUC scores; therefore, it is an excellent candidate algorithm for providing solutions on this domain given its capabilities to seamlessly handle categorical and missing data, which is frequently a feature in educational datasets.

Assessing the Performance of Students in Communication Skills: A Case Study of Two Public Universities in Sierra Leone

The purpose of this study is to assess the performance of students in Communication Skills in two tertiary institutions in Sierra Leone – the Eastern Technical University and the Njala University. The introduction of Communication Skills into the curriculum of teacher training institutions is viewed as a reaction to the poor performance of students in the written and spoken use of the English Language. However, the introduction of Communication Skills at tertiary institutions is yet to remedy the situation. To guide the study properly, some objectives were developed. These include; an investigation of the extent to which English is used by lecturers and students in the institutions, an examination of students' attitude towards the learning of Communication Skills, an investigation to time allocation to the teaching of the subject, and an examination of the pedagogical capabilities of the Language studies departments of both institutions with regards their personnel, teaching methodologies, and the teaching/learning resources. The result of the study revealed the following: that students speak English seldom in class and within the campus and also very seldom in their homes; that Krio and other Sierra Leonean languages are widely spoken in these institutions as does the English Language; that the credit hours allocated to the teaching of the subject is insufficient; that students find some aspects of Communication Skills Challenging; and that although both institutions have general libraries, these libraries are not very well stocked with English textbooks.

Creativity in CS1: A Literature Review

Computer science is a fast-growing field in today’s digitized age, and working in this industry often requires creativity and innovative thought. An issue within computer science education, however, is that large introductory programming courses often involve little opportunity for creative thinking within coursework. The undergraduate introductory programming course (CS1) is notorious for its poor student performance and retention rates across multiple institutions. Integrating opportunities for creative thinking may help combat this issue by adding a personal touch to course content, which could allow beginner CS students to better relate to the abstract world of programming. Research on the role of creativity in computer science education (CSE) is an interesting area with a lot of room for exploration due to the complexity of the phenomenon of creativity as well as the CSE research field being fairly new compared to some other education fields where this topic has been more closely explored.To contribute to this area of research, this article provides a literature review exploring the concept of creativity as relevant to computer science education and CS1 in particular. Based on the review of the literature, we conclude creativity is an essential component to computer science, and the type of creativity that computer science requires is in fact, a teachable skill through the use of various tools and strategies. These strategies include the integration of open-ended assignments, large collaborative projects, learning by teaching, multimedia projects, small creative computational exercises, game development projects, digitally produced art, robotics, digital story-telling, music manipulation, and project-based learning. Research on each of these strategies and their effects on student experiences within CS1 is discussed in this review. Last, six main components of creativity-enhancing activities are identified based on the studies about incorporating creativity into CS1. These components are as follows: Collaboration, Relevance, Autonomy, Ownership, Hands-On Learning, and Visual Feedback. The purpose of this article is to contribute to computer science educators’ understanding of how creativity is best understood in the context of computer science education and explore practical applications of creativity theory in CS1 classrooms. This is an important collection of information for restructuring aspects of future introductory programming courses in creative, innovative ways that benefit student learning.

Effects Of Mathematical Games on Senior Secondary Students’ Academic Performance in Mathematics in Ejigbo, Osun State, Nigeria

The secondary school system of education in Nigeria assumes the role of training and producing students for tertiary institutions and manpower for national development and world of work. The general poor academic performance of students in Mathematics has become a source of great concern to all the stakeholders in education particularly the Mathematics educators, parents and the government. Educational Game is one of the strategies that have been found to enhance the attitude and academic achievement of students in many subjects including Mathematics. But many Mathematics teachers lack the knowledge of the role of Mathematical Games. The study therefore, examined the effects of Mathematical Games on senior secondary students’ academic performance in Mathematics in Ejigbo, Osun State, Nigeria. The researchers adopted a quasiexperimental research design and used simple random sampling technique to select two senior secondary schools for the study. A total of 73 students (32 experimental and 41 control groups) were involved in the study. The experimental group was exposed to Mathematical Games during the teaching of Mathematics for a period of three weeks while the control group was not exposed to Mathematical Games. Mathematics Performance Test (MPT) was used for data collection on students’ academic performance. The findings of the study revealed that the use of Mathematical Games has a significant positive effect on the academic performance of the students in Mathematics; the use of Mathematical Games was beneficial to students irrespective of their gender and scoring ability. It was recommended among other things that government should provide Mathematical Games for secondary school students and Mathematics teachers should incorporate the use of Mathematical Games into the teaching and learning of Mathematics.

Teachers’ Regular Supervision and Student Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The poor academic performance of students could be as a result of irregular supervision of teachers. The study investigated the relationship between teachers’ regular supervision and student academic performance in public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey and correlational research were used for the study. The population for this study was 203 schools and 7,538 teachers in public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Validated instrument titled “Teachers’ Regular Supervision Questionnaire (TRSQ) was employed to collect data from the sample while a profoma was used to obtained data for academic performance of students. The study revealed that there was a positive significant relationship between regular supervision of teachers and student academic performance in public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study recommended that principals and other internal supervisors should ensure regular supervision of teachers.

Poor Academic Performance of Students in Agriculture at Primary Schools in Botswana: Analysis of Causes and Ways to ImproveSom Pal Baliyan

This quantitative study analysed the factors that cause poor performance and identified the possible ways to improve the performance of students in agriculture at primary schools in Botswana. Data was collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire through a survey of a randomly sampled 200 students in primary schools in Botswana. A One sample t-test determined the twenty-five causes of the poor performance of students in agriculture; the six most important causes were found to be the shortage of appropriate tools and equipment, lack of libraries and laboratories, lack of out of schools activities, poor teaching methods, lack of practical work and, students’ negative attitude towards learning. Female students and students studying in schools located in urban areas perceived these causes as being more important compare to their counterparts in the rural areas. An Independent t-test determined eleven causes which showed a significant difference in performance between the male and female students as well as the students in schools located in the rural and urban areas, respectively. The six most important ways to improve the students’ performance were identified as the inclusion of more practical work in the syllabus, ensuring help out of the classroom, increasing practical work, providing accessible internet, providing updated textbooks and activating agricultural clubs in the schools. It is recommended that the policy makers and administrators to focus on the factors causing poor performance and the ways to improve performance while revising the existing agriculture curriculum.

Absenteeism of undergraduate medical students in large class format lectures: causes, solutions and the way forward

Despite compulsory attendance rule and strict policies, absenteeism from lectures is an ongoing phenomenon which is becoming a point of serious concern because it is associated with inadequate learning and poor academic performance of medical students. Student absenteeism springs from a variety of contributing factors that need to be addressed promptly and collectively. This review gives an overview of some of the factors that account for absenteeism interrelated with students, faculty, curriculum and learning environment. We propose that ‘Need Based Standardized Faculty Development Programs’, ‘Innovative teaching and learning methodologies’, ‘Good governance’ and ‘Institutional commitment should aim to replace the traditional passive mode of instruction with active learning and inquiry-based approach to ensure considerable attendance of medical students. We are optimistic that the suggested measures will help to improve the quality and delivery of lectures for better attendance and a shift from traditional way of teacher centered learning, to self-directed learning.

Factors affecting the selection of instructional materials in the teaching and learning of basic science in secondary schools, Imo State Nigeria

This study was conducted to assess the factors affecting the selection of instructional materials in the teaching and learning of basic science in secondary schools, Imo State Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive survey design to find out how factors affecting the selection of instructional materials in the teaching and learning of basic science in public secondary schools in Owerri Municipal Council, Imo State. Two hundred (200) respondents comprising teachers and students from seven (7) public secondary schools in the council were interviewed using a modified five-point Likert instrument (questionnaire). The data collected were coded into SPSS and analyzed with descriptive statistics. The results showed that 103 persons strongly reported they don’t have availability instructional materials, 68 persons agreed that unfavourable time allocation affects instructional materials used by teachers to develop lesson plan, 69 persons strongly agreed that lack of skills is one of the factors affect instructional materials used in the teaching and learning of basic science in secondary schools. Also, 148 persons strongly agreed that instructional materials should be made available in schools and teachers should be encouraged in using materials during teaching. Then, lack of instructional materials/facilities and non-utilization were among the major causes of poor performance of students in basic science in Owerri Municipal Council. In conclusion, it was understood that non availability of instructional materials, unfavourable time allocation, lack of skills, lack of facilities like basic science laboratory were major factors affect teachers, school administrators and government in teaching and learning of the basic science. Therefore, Government or public school authorities should help to provide instructional materials such as modern textbooks, charts, posters, computers, flip chart, and audio recordings, because basic science in secondary schools cannot be adequate learned without instructional materials.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate and graduate dental courses in Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised challenges in adapting to teaching and learning methods in dental education. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the academic activities of undergraduate (UDG) and graduate (GD) dental students in Brazil. Additionally, students' perceptions and attitudes toward teaching activities during this period were analyzed. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of Brazilian UDG and GD dentistry students. Data were collected in 2020 through an online, self-administered, and anonymous questionnaire, which comprised 26 questions related to demographic data, activities of the college, family and individual student income, and attitudes and perceptions about e-learning during the pandemic. The data were tabulated and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The sample included 1,166 students (779 UDG and 387 GD). Among these, 425 (54.6%) UDG and 270 (69.8%) GD students remotely participated in teaching activities, of which 42.6% of the UDG considered their performance in e-learning to be bad or very bad and 49.8% of the GD regarded it as good or excellent. The survey also showed that 354 (45.4%) UDG and 102 (26.4%) GD expressed a desire to discontinue the course following the outbreak of the pandemic. Among the GD, 225 (58.4%) said that their experiments were completely interrupted. This study reveals the poor perception and performance of dental students regarding e-learning. Additionally, the findings suggest a negative impact of the pandemic on dental education in Brazil. Effective measures should be taken to mitigate these significant consequences.

Promoting Students’ Academic Performances and Interests in Blocklaying and Concreting Works using a Futures-Wheel Instructional Strategy versus Problem Solving: Implications for Sustainable Development

The need to identify effective measures to minimize continuous poor academic performance of students in blocklaying and concreting works and other technical subjects/trades led to this study which sought the effectiveness of Future-wheel as compared to the problem solving approach in the instructionin technical colleges. The study adopted the non-equivalent control group quasi experimental research design. Six research questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. The study was conducted in Edo State, Nigeria. The population for the study consisted of all 604 vocational II blocklaying and concreting works students in the six technical colleges in Edo State as at 2017/2018 academic session. A sample size of 80 vocational II students was drawn using random sampling technique and used for the study. Findings from the study revealed among others that there was significant mean effect of Futures-Wheel instructional strategy on students Mean performance score and interest in blocklaying and concreting works; there was no significant mean effect of gender on students’ Mean performance score in Basic Technology. In line with the findings of the study, the educational implication of the findings were highlighted and it was recommended among others that blocklaying and concreting works teachers should be trained in the use of innovative instructional strategies such as Futures-Wheel to facilitate students’academic performance in the subject.

Knowing Process of Rural Secondary School Science Teachers: A Case of Rakai District in Uganda

The study was an investigation of the Knowing Process of rural secondary science teachers in Uganda. The problem of the study was the poor performance of students in sciences in the rural secondary schools in Ugandan Certificate Examinations (UCE). The central point was to find out the beliefs of the rural secondary science teachers about how the educators come to know anything. A non-experimental research design was employed in the study. The research was carried using a purposive sampling technique. Regarding data collection, the researcher administered fifty (50) questionnaires to fifty (50) teachers; interviewed ten teachers and carried out classroom observations often live lessons. The findings of the study revealed that teacher’s conceptions about the mode of knowing to fall under three sources of knowledge, namely, authority, sense-perceptual experience, and reason. It was clear that teachers assume that learners do not have knowledge; hence the Bucket theory of mind is central in their teaching-learning process. Many teachers appeared to do things the way they were taught; in other words, a number of rural science teachers tended to be doing activities whose underlying assumptions they were not clear of. A functional approach to the teaching of Philosophy in Educational programs is recommended.

Retrospective analysis of a STEM outreach event reveals positive influences on student attitudes toward STEM careers but not scientific methodology.

Substantial, involved, and expensive efforts to promote the dissemination of scientific knowledge and career interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are enthusiastically supported by many scientific, federal, and local organizations. The articulated underlying goals for these efforts include an enhanced public understanding of science and science-related policy, an increased diversity in STEM careers, and an increase in the future STEM workforce. This effort is primarily driven by an underperformance of the United States that includes poor test performance and limited number of students pursuing STEM degrees. Despite this investment, attitudes toward STEM have not notably changed. The goal of this project was to determine students' attitudes toward STEM in response to a previously established scientific outreach event. This event was used to address three common goals in STEM outreach: STEM literacy, diversity and inclusion, and career preparedness. We found there was a notable difference in the attitudes toward scientific activities and interest in pursuing a "Science Career" after participation in this event. Strikingly, interest in hypothesis development, the keystone of all STEM disciplines, was the least liked of all the activities offered during the event. Our data suggest that events designed to enhance interest in pursuing a STEM career may benefit from different elements compared with events designed to increase understanding of STEM literacy concepts, such as hypothesis development.

The study skills; an educational implication on students’ performance in secondary school mathematics

There is poor performance in mathematics among secondary school students in Delta State, Nigeria. Teachers, Parents, the government are all complaining about the poor performance of students in mathematics, and they are trying to find out how this problem can be solved. Many kinds of research have been carried out trying to find out the real cause of students’ poor performance in secondary mathematics, but they fail to focus much attention on the variable ‘study skills’ as one of the causes. The study is a survey type. Five hundred (500) students were sampled from 25 Government secondary schools, Delta State of Nigeria, through random sampling. The instrument used in gathering data for this study were the students’ Study Skills Questionnaire (SSSQ) and centrally set examination results from the state ministry of education. The result from the state ministry of education was used to gather data on the students’ performance in mathematics, while the questionnaire was used to gather information on students’ study skills. Two hypotheses were stated to guide the study, which was tested at a 0.05 level of significance using the SPSS and t-test statistic to analyze the data obtained. The result shows that there is a significant influence on students’ study skills and their performance in Mathematics. There was a significant difference between students who possess good study skills and those with bad study skills.

Enhancing Cognitive Development in Learning Chemical Symbol and Periodicity through Instructional Game

A digital instructional game with embedded multimedia was believed not limited to allowing the learner to visualize chemistry concepts while playing but enable them to collect relevant information that connects the understanding of the other. The subject was described as a core science area with multiple macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic representations. Thus, the study intended to investigate the effectiveness of the instructional game in enhancing students' cognitive development in learning chemical symbols and periodicity of elements. An instructional tool called "Symperiod Board Game) The study was designed and developed, containing 20 test items distributed in three different levels in order of complexity from simple to complex. The between-group experimental research design was adopted for this study in which 20 Form IV students distributed into four groups was selected. The alpha value 0.830 of the Pearson correlation coefficient determines the strength of the instrument's reliability, hence used for data collection. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the results indicated that the cognitive development of the respondents' increases as students play the instructional game from level 1 to 3. Thus, the study reveals that a learner cannot understand a concept if he/she does not first remember it; similarly, he/she cannot apply knowledge and concepts if he/she does not understand them. It is imperative to conclude that the poor performance of students in chemistry can be associated with the quality of instruction provided by the teacher during classroom instructions.

Does a Student's Academic Major Influence Their Perceptions of a Human Anatomy and Physiology Course and Ultimately Their Success in the Course?

Students from a variety of majors take human anatomy and physiology courses—usually because they are required for their program of study. Many students find anatomy and physiology classes academically challenging and institutions across the country report high failure and withdrawal rates for these courses. Although research has shown that several factors may contribute to poor student performance, this study focused on the relationship between a student’s major and their perceptions about the course to investigate whether these data were reflective of student success rates. Survey data was collected from students in the first semester of a two-semester, systems-based human anatomy and physiology course sequence. While the results did not show a statistical difference in successful completion of the anatomy and physiology course related to academic major, interesting preferences regarding learning styles, study habits, and perceived difficulty of the course were found.