Second-year Course Research Articles

Two Models to Improve Undergraduate Writing Perception and Capabilities in Plant and Soil Sciences

Integration of professional writing with peer and instructor feedback as a graded component can be a strategy for writing improvement in an applied science undergraduate curriculum. The objective of this study was to assess the benefit of professional writing in first and second-year undergraduate courses in Agronomy and Horticulture with two different models for the writing experience. In the first-year course, students communicated the results of two plant growth experiments in the format of a standard research article. In the second-year course, students wrote a group report as a review of published research or a research-based proposal to address a soil management issue. Students were surveyed to determine their major and learning style evaluated with an18-question assessment. Students also chose their level of agreement with seven statements about the process and importance of professional scientific writing at the beginning and then at the end of the semester. Survey results showed that confidence in using and creating professional writing increased among students for both courses. Students in the first-year course showed a greater understanding of the value of peer reviewed research.

An Innovative Framework for Teaching/Learning Technical Courses in Architectural Education

This study presents a teaching/learning framework based on parallels between problem-based learning (PBL), constructivist pedagogy, and design, which enables students to learn technical courses in a way that promotes sustainable and self-directed learning. The study used qualitative content analysis of literature surveyed from scientific databases to determine thematic codes and find the relations. The theoretical framework was implemented in a case study conducted in a second-year course in building construction technology at Tishk International University, Sulaimaniya, Iraq. The results indicate that solving ill-defined problems increased student enjoyment in learning various subjects through several teaching methods including self-directed learning. The instructor’s role is to facilitate learning rather than to provide knowledge by showing the solutions. This stimulates the students’ curiosity toward understanding problems and approaching solutions through a game-based scheme. The suggested framework can be a guide for instructors teaching technical courses of any kind. This method equips students with technical knowledge that benefits them in their studies and their professional lives after graduation, as they can integrate both their design and technical knowledge.

Flipped classrooms: Using Google Groups to facilitate in-class communication

Foreword This report describes two mandatory one-semester ESP courses (English for International Relations) offered to second- and third-year undergraduates at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) enrolled in the selective “international relations” track. The second-year course deals with topics related to jobs in international relations and the third-year course with topics related to recent issues in international relations and diplomacy. The common objecti...

A scalable RPG project for object-oriented software development

This paper describes the development and outcome of a multi-part, object-oriented project based on role-playing games for a second-year software development course. The objective of the project was...

A student-centred approach to undergraduate course design in occupational therapy

ABSTRACT Undergraduate education is competitive. User experience is important to course design because it can improve user-satisfaction and learning. Action research methodology was used in our practice-oriented case study about the application of human-factors methods to re-design an undergraduate second-year occupational therapy course. A cognitive task analysis provided an empirical method to develop this framework. A mixed-method quality improvement process was undertaken. This was influenced by grounded theory to consider the experiences of the students and teaching staff. The methods included past curriculum review; cognitive task analysis; and seeking feedback from subject matter experts, including a student focus group. Six student roles were identified for this course: a generalist student, a mock client, a mock therapist, an evaluator of standardised assessment tools, a clinical documenter, and a case conference presenter. The student roles were detailed per nine cognitive components: knowledge, skills, abilities, tactics, decision-making, situation awareness, heuristics, interpersonal skills, and intrapersonal skills. Ninety-one elements that could influence performance were identified by this dissection. A student-centred approach to course design provided an empirically sound and practical method to determine important aspects: the student experience and role demands, effective instructional aids and teaching practices, and assessment to support role competence.

Constructive alignment and the learning experience: relationships with student motivation and perceived learning demands

ABSTRACT The constructive alignment (CA) of university teaching has received considerable attention from a policy-making perspective, but much less so from a student perspective. Against this background, we explored the relationships between CA and student motivation, and between CA and perceived learning demands. Fifty-six students from two second-year courses in different study programmes completed questionnaires in the second (T1), seventh (T2), and the final fourteenth (T3) course week. We assessed students’ surface and deep learning approaches at T1, and their perceptions of constructive alignment, learning demands, as well as their learning motivation at T2 and T3. Regression analyses showed that ILO Clarity (i.e., being clear about a course’s intended learning outcomes) was coupled with stronger self-competence perceptions, more enjoyment of and effort invested into the learning, and higher ratings of the course as useful. Perceiving teaching-learning activities (TLA) as aligned with ILO was associated with enjoyment of the course and with usefulness ratings, whilst the alignment of assessment tasks (AT) with ILO and TLA went with higher learning efforts and usefulness perceptions. Finally, receiving effective feedback went with higher usefulness ratings. Concerning learning demands, TLA alignment was coupled with lower ratings of temporal demands and the frustration from learning, whereas higher levels of perceived AT Alignment went with lower mental demands and frustration perceptions. Finally, AT Alignment and Effective Feedback were coupled with using more deep learning strategies. Surface learning strategies were used less the clearer ILO were, the better TLA were aligned with ILO, and the more effective feedback was perceived to be. In sum, our findings suggest that CA perceptions are meaningful predictors of student motivation and that CA influences motivation on different ‘routes’ (e.g., enjoyment, usefulness).

Editorial

PAM Review is the peer-reviewed student research journal produced in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney. The journal was created to provide a student-centered authentic learning experience in a theory heavy course to help facilitating Faculty of Science graduate attributes and the University’s model of teaching.
 The student journal was first introduced in 2014 in the second-year physics course Energy Science and Technology. The course covers fundamentals of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics and their applications in current and emerging technologies.

Curricular Advancement of Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Design Projects Beyond 1Year: A Pilot Study.

A year-long design project is a typical requirement for an undergraduate engineering degree. However, the abbreviated, two-semester format limits most projects from reaching appropriate maturity for obtaining intellectual property (IP) protection, external funding, and/or peer-reviewed publications. The traditional model may be associated with some dissatisfaction with the abrupt ending of the work, as projects are often just completing their initial proof-of-concept testing after 1year. This study reports the results of a pilot experiment that allowed such design projects to extend through a second year. We investigated three different mechanisms for continuation: research credits, a second-year curricular course (Advanced Design Teams), and extracurricular support. Students in this program continued to engage with an advisory board of clinicians, engineers, and other professionals, many of whom had assisted with the project during the first year. We investigated whether continuing the projects in a curricular fashion may provide a better avenue for productivity than extracurricular mechanisms. Based on the results of this pilot study, our department has formalized a curriculum to support teams beyond the first year, in which continuing students from the first-year teams can apply to continue their projects for credit toward their degrees.

CLIENT-BASED CORNERSTONE DESIGN PROJECTS

Engineering students at the University of Ottawa are exposed to engineering design in first- and second-year courses. Both courses are open to all engineering students and are multidisciplinary in nature. Students work in teams to deliver a physical prototype by the end of the term. The design projects are all community-based and involve a client from the local community with a specific unmet need. Examples of such clients include local hospitals, accessibility organizations, Ottawa police, Indigenous elders and many more. The client meets with the students a minimum of three times throughout the semester to provide the problem definition and give feedback to the student groups at different stages of the design process. The goal of this paper is to share best practices in selecting and delivering client-based projects targeting first- and second-year students in multidisciplinary engineering teams. The paper discusses the choice of project themes and specific projects. In addition, it presents lessons learned based on student-client interactions, lab manager-client interactions and client satisfaction. Examples are presented from the past three years of delivering such engineering design courses, with testimonials from clients and students.

INTEGRATING MAKERSPACES INTO ENGINEERING DESIGN

Makerspaces are informal sites in which people with similar interests can collaboratively build creative projects by using emerging technologies. In recent years, makerspaces have been created on most campuses and often linked to STEM learning practices. However, integrating makerspaces in engineering curriculum is often not done formally. In this paper, we discuss how the University of Ottawa integrated its makerspace into its cornerstone design curriculum and its design challenges. Cornerstone engineering design includes first- and second-year courses where students learn and apply design knowledge while working in teams. Each team is expected to develop three prototypes during the semester and solve a design problem for a client. Maker components are integrated in the labs, where many makerspace technologies, such as 3D printing and laser cutting, are taught and used in the development of the prototypes. In addition, the makerspace offers a yearly multidisciplinary client-based design challenge that is open to all students. This paper explores the integration of maker ideology and technology in curricular and extracurricular design activities. The paper outlines the connection between making and engineering design, the maker capacity for inclusion and sharing, the role of making activities in developing the identity of future engineers and the integration of course work into the makerspace.

TRANSFORMING UNDERGRADUATE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORIES

Over the past 15 years, we have made a series of innovations and systematic improvements to the lab courses offered in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CHBE) at The University of British Columbia (UBC). Prior to 2003, CHBE teaching laboratories used a more traditional laboratory course model where students performed "cookbook" experiments and individually wrote formal lab reports. Redevelopment began with our second-year course and improvements from the second-year course were progressively added to senior years. The integrated lab sequence now culminates in a capstone problem-based learning laboratory experience. We will present our optimized laboratory sequence model that is currently used in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year CHBE program at UBC.

Patterns of performance in students with frequent low stakes team based learning assessments: Do students change behavior?

Team-based learning offers an active learning strategy that provides a structure for measurement of learning and feedback to the students. Aggregating these results provides a longitudinal pattern of student performance. In this study, we analyzed results from a sequence of assessments related to TBL IRAT and GRAT assessments and traditional quizzes in a second-year musculoskeletal course in an undergraduate medical education program to determine if there are any measurable patterns, or performance trends, that students demonstrate in the course. Analyzing results from four academic years, we found evidence supporting there is predictability in student’s future week’s performance based on past performances across teaching modalities. We hypothesize that students are moderating their own effort regarding weekly low-stake assessments in prioritizing their academic efforts. The results from this study highlight the role of self-efficacy in medical education and suggest a new area of research for assessment of student performance patterns. Future studies could investigate whether these performance patterns are replicated in other assessment modalities and whether the same pattern holds for high-stakes assessments.

Answering Huxley: "now" students take a "then" exam.

Twenty-eight undergraduate students in a health sciences program volunteered for an exercise in the history of examinations. They had completed a second-year course in anatomy and physiology in which they studied modern texts and took standard contemporary exams. For this historical "experiment," students studied selected chapters from two 19th century physiology texts (by Foster M. A Textbook of Physiology, 1895; and Broussais FJV. A Treatise on Physiology Applied to Pathology, 1828). They then took a 1-h-long exam in which they answered two essay-type questions set by Thomas Henry Huxley for second-year medical students at the University of London in 1853 and 1857. These were selected from a question bank provided by Dr. P. Mazumdar (University of Toronto). A questionnaire probed their contrasting experiences. Many wrote thoughtful, reflective comments on the exercise, which not only gave them an insight into the difficulties faced by students in the past, but also proved to be a valuable learning experience (average score: 8.6 ± 1.6 SD).

Description of a transitions of care and telemedicine simulation lab activity

Background and purposeTransitions of Care (ToC) is an important clinical practice area requiring trained health care professionals, but there is limited literature describing ToC in the didactic curriculum. The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate a ToC telemedicine simulation activity in a doctor of pharmacy curriculum. Educational activity and settingA one-hour lecture and simulation activity was incorporated into a second-year course. Student teams participated in discharge and telemedicine encounters with standardized patients (SPs). Six medication-related problems (MRPs) were incorporated into the activity. Activity documents were collected to identify student competency. FindingsFifty-nine student pharmacists in 16 teams participated. All teams accurately identified five of the six MRPs. Fourteen teams (87.5%) accurately identified the sixth MRP after completion of the telemedicine encounter. Six teams (62.5%) completed the discharge medication list accurately and completely. All teams provided medication education, and 93.8% (n = 15) of teams identified follow-up was needed. Ten teams utilized effective interview sequence and structure during both encounters. Activity challenges included resources, financial support and SP training. SummaryCase-based learning and the use of simulation has good evidence supporting its use in education. Utilizing these techniques to reinforce concepts may be a beneficial way for students to be trained effectively to deliver impactful ToC services.

Nelson-Denny Reading Test Scores as a Predictor of Student Success in Osteopathic Medical Education

Reading skills are crucial in medical school, where students are expected to absorb an onslaught of new and complex material. Studies on reading assessment in osteopathic medical education are lacking. To address gaps in the literature related to reading assessment and to investigate the correlation of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test with various performance indicators in osteopathic medical education. The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine administered the Nelson-Denny Reading Test to first- and second-year students between 2015 and 2017. Raw scores were translated into the percentile rank, scale score, grade equivalent score, and stanine score based on guidelines supplied with the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. These translated scores were compared with Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, first- and second-year performance on course examinations, Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) Level 1 scores, and scores provided in a 2002 study by Haught and Walls. A total of 623 students took the first-year Nelson-Denny Reading Test, and 408 took both the first- and second-year Nelson-Denny Reading Test. Findings showed a large correlation between the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and the verbal reasoning section (r=0.56 for the class of 2020 and 0.46 for the class of 2021) of the old MCAT (before 2015) and the reasoning skills section (r=0.42 for the class of 2020 and 0.49 for the class of 2021) of the new MCAT (released in 2015). There were no correlations with first- and second-year course examination scores or COMLEX-USA Level 1 scores. The Nelson-Denny Reading Test scores reported by Haught and Walls for medical students and health professional students were slightly higher than those found for osteopathic medical students in this study. The reasoning skills section of the new MCAT could serve as a good proxy for a reading test. There were no correlations between the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and performance in the first 2 years of medical school or COMLEX-USA Level 1 performance. Further research can strengthen the findings and determine whether correlations exist with clinical performance.

Enemies Within or Without Enemies: “Enemy Aliens” and Internment in Canada during the Second World War

Tricia Nowicki (1985 – 2017) took two classes with me, but she taught me more than I taught her. Being in a mechanized wheelchair, she was a notable presence in the classroom. What really made Tricia stand out, though, was her powerfully articulate presence in seminar. For any who imagined a small woman in a mechanized wheelchair to need polite support and gentle handling, Tricia quickly put such notions to rest. She was fearless and suffered no fools. She spoke directly to issues, highlighting debates, pulling at evidence, ably comparing perspectives, and tackling debate with gusto. Her strength and intelligence stood out far more than any wheelchair.The following essay was from her second-year course with Professor Maureen Lux. It's not a research essay, but rather an exercise in historiography - that is, the history of what is written about a particular subject. One of the great challenges history students face is making sense of complex debates in history, not simply what happened but different interpretations of what happened and what meaning we take from it. This essay looks at four different historians all addressing the same story: the internment of "enemy aliens" - people born in or ethnically identified with the enemy countries of Germany, Italy, or Japan during the Second World War. While the basics of the story are agreed upon, each historian has a different assessment of why and how the Canadian government detained these people, whether and how it was justified, and what meaning we should take of this important moment in our country's history. Tricia's essay takes us through each essay, examines their evidence, assessing not only what is said, but also situating the political and ethical dimensions of the story. She understood the disciplinary issues of being a historian; she understood the ethical importance of this story and the debate around it. She was a fine historian.- Dr. Daniel Samson

Flipped learning – a case study of enhanced student success

ABSTRACTThis study presents the benefits of changing the delivery of a second-year engineering course from the traditional lecture-based format to the flipped approach that is becoming increasingly embraced by universities. The new format involved replacing theoretical lectures with online recordings and devoting the class time to working through problems (workshops). These workshops were complemented by pre- and post-class activities. The success of this change is measured by comparing the outcomes of the flipped and traditional offerings of the same course. This comparison reveals the following benefits from flipping the course: higher marks; improved engagement; and widespread student satisfaction with the flipped format based on student feedback. These outcomes are compared with those reported in the literature for similar teaching approaches. This paper differs from most previous studies by considering all of these outcomes together for one course. The detailed explanation of how the course was flipped provides a model that can be applied to successfully flip other courses. This paper concludes by provocatively raising several key issues that are surprisingly absent or glossed over in the literature. Further studies of these issues are proposed to make a firm case for flipped learning.

Implementation of the Second-year course in an Engineering Professional Spine

The objective of this paper is to document the experience of developing and implementing a second-year course in an engineering professional spine that was developed in a first-tier research university and relies on project-based core courses. The main objective of this spine is to develop the students’ cognitive and employability skills that will allow them to stand out from the crowd of other engineering graduates.The spine was developed and delivered for the first time in the academic year 2010-2011 for first-year general engineering students. In the year 2011-2012, those students joined different programs, and accordingly the second-year course was tailored to align with the different programs’ learning outcomes. This paper discusses the development and implementation of the course in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department.

The impact of participatory teaching methods on medical students’ perception of their abilities and knowledge of epidemiology and statistics

Statistics and Epidemiology are crucial both in clinical decision-making and clinical research. Teaching these disciplines in a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine is a significant challenge. In this paper, we aim to describe two participatory teaching methods used in a yearlong second-year course that includes both Epidemiology and Statistics, and to analyze how these two methodologies affect the students’ perception of the course and their abilities related to these subjects. Both methodologies consist in carrying out a specific practical activity. The first practical activity is carried out using a website and aims to help students understand concepts and interpret information; the second involves analyzing a database using a statistical package and, subsequently, producing a scientific report. In addition, we prepared a questionnaire to find out the students’ perception of these issues. The nine questionnaire items were assessed using a rating scale and adapted to characteristics of the course, which covers Epidemiology and Statistics in an integrated manner. Then we assessed the differences in perception before and after the activities were carried out. The results show that the students’ perception improved significantly in the following items: “importance of Statistics and Epidemiology in Medicine”; “usefulness in clinical practice”; “understanding concepts”; “ability to perform a statistical analysis”; and “ability to sort data”. The difference was not significant in the remaining four items. In conclusion, the students’ perception of their ability in Statistics and Epidemiology significantly improved after completing the practical activities, and their perception of importance and usefulness of these subjects also improved.

Exploring student study behaviours in engineering: how undergraduates prepared textbook problems for online submission

ABSTRACTWhile textbooks serve as a primary source of content material and problem-solving practice for undergraduates in engineering, studies that investigate how engineering students prepare assignments based on textbook problems are limited. To examine how engineering students complete textbook-based assignments outside of class, this exploratory qualitative study retrospectively investigated the study behaviours of six undergraduates enrolled in a required, second-year undergraduate engineering course at a mid-size, public university in the western United States. Within the course, students solved textbook problems and electronically submitted problem answers for graded credit. Findings from in-depth, semi-structured interviews showed that students identified and used a variety of non-traditional and unsupported resources in personalised approaches to preparing assignments. Resource choice and use was affected by students’ preferences for timely support, convenience, and social connections. The online submission process seemed to influence students’ adoption of study behaviours and resources considered less effective for deep, conceptual learning.