Traditional Students Research Articles

Assessment of a flipped classroom model based on microlectures in a medical molecular biology course

ABSTRACT This study aims to compare the influences of traditional lectures (TL) with a flipped classroom (FC). Two consecutive classes of students from a laboratory medicine speciality learned medical molecular biology through the flipped or nonflipped (TL) approach with online microlectures. We inspected examination scores, learning experiences and perceptions of the FC model and peer collaboration in the course by means of mixed-methods. The average examination score for the 2016 FC students was higher than that for the 2017 traditional students. The course evaluations submitted by the students showed positive learning experiences and perceptions of the FC model. The flipped approach also increased peer collaboration. This research reveals the positive influences of FC with online microlectures on learning. It is proposed that future research evaluates the influences of FC on the other courses in laboratory medicine higher education.

Noncognitive Predictors of Academic Achievement Among Nontraditional and Traditional Ethnically Diverse College Students

Research examining noncognitive predictors of academic success among ethnic minority, nontraditional college students is scant. The present study examined the degree to which noncognitive variables (conscientiousness, grit, college self-efficacy, time management, and test anxiety) predict achievement (college GPA) among ethnically diverse college students. We also explored the degree to which a student’s nontraditionalness moderated the effects that noncognitive factors had on academic achievement. Participants were 340 undergraduates enrolled in a four-year Hispanic-serving institution. The perseverance facets of grit, conscientiousness, college self-efficacy, and time management were all positive correlates of achievement. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that after controlling for students’ demographics and high school GPA, college self-efficacy and test anxiety were significant predictors of college achievement. Moderation analyses indicated that conscientiousness is positively associated with achievement in traditional college students but is not associated with achievement among nontraditional students.

The Health Risk Behaviors Experienced by traditional University Students during the Implementation of Restrictive Measures of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe

Globally, academic zeal had been put on hold by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus lockdown which lead to the closure of all learning institutions in Zimbabwe has caused traditional university students to indulge in health risk behaviours. The research findings revealed that some of the health risk behaviour have short term or long term effects. The lockdown led university students to sexual abuse, alcohol abuse, reluctant at home, social media addiction, drug abuse, excessive sleeping and eating habits. These health risk behaviour causes physical and psychological effects to traditional university students. This study is conducted with an aim of exploring the health risk behaviours experienced by traditional university students during the implementation of COVID-19 restrictive measures in Matabeleland Province. The phenomenological research design was used to study individuals in their natural setting and the population in the study was traditional students from National University of Science (NUST) and Technology, Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) and Lupane State University of Matabeleland region. The convenience and purposive sampling was used to select the participants and data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. Data was collected through an open ended interview question on social media platforms. The COVID-19 lockdown have caused more harm to traditional university students as they were cornered to behave in unexpected behaviours which threatens their future.

Artificial Intelligence and Mobile Programming Courses for a Video Game Development Program in Chile

In this article, we present our curriculum design process for two-third-year undergraduate courses: artificial intelligence for video games and mobile device programming. These are part of a 4.5 year program in video game development and virtual reality engineering. We explore the range of possible content, usually aimed at traditional computer science or software engineering students or practitioners, and extract and adapt it to our particular program. Students developed high quality apps, achieved good standings in AI competitions, and some even published peer-reviewed articles. We believe the approach presented in this article is broadly applicable, but can be especially useful to instructors creating courses for uncommon and innovative programs.

Pedagogy in the Time of Pandemic

Pandemic—the global spread of an initially local disease like COVID-19—bluntly forces us to stop. How do we respond in higher education to such stopping? Whether at the government level, for our universities, or in our classrooms, no existing playbook prescribes the pathway for dealing with a global pandemic of this magnitude, even now as we emerge from total lockdown to the potential for a new tomorrow. What we have done at this juncture is to capture anecdotal responses within and across countries that may highlight trends for later consideration. Unlike a globalised response that would adopt one approach internationally, our study considers adaptations for local differences in a glocalised set of responses in an attempt to identify new paradigms that reconceptualise not only teaching and learning, but also assessment. Our responses to the pandemic require leadership—from all of us—to leverage a firm and steady presence, care and compassion for each other, and prudent decision-making. Moreover, identified issues indicate shared threads across the seven institutions of higher education in this research. From a localised perspective emerge responses at the curricular, institutional, and technological levels. First, changes to courses and curricula must respond to emotional needs of students when transitioning from face-to-face (or hybrid) to online delivery; nevertheless, faculty must ensure that academic rigour is not sacrificed in the process. Second, the mission and value of higher education must indicate that institutions will recommit to faculty support beyond emergency remote teaching; furthermore, a sense of campus community needs to be nurtured. Third, the needs of students and faculty must drive the choices of technology—not the reverse—when determining how to transition to online deliveries; in short, administrators must reprioritise factors used in decision-making. Moreover, a glocalised synthesis of responses across all institutions and levels identifies four clustered themes. First, the disruption of the pandemic may lead to innovations in higher education. Second, the role of faculty is becoming redefined beyond content-specific disciplines. Third, educational models must expand to include individuals other than traditional students. Fourth, rigorous pedagogical scholarship, including leadership, will point to new educational insights. Overall, we stand at the crossroads. Rather than being defined by the pandemic, let us seize the opportunity to transform higher education from a paradigm that has been to the paradigm of what might be.

Utilizing Pragmatism Approach in Learning Jazz Guitar Reharmonization Technique using Malay Asli Song

Details of developing jazz guitar reharmonization learning book using Malay Asli song will not discuss here, however, this article divulges pragmatism approach that can be transcending in explaining logic between learning jazz guitar reharmonization techniques using Malay Asli Song. Although music is a universal language, traditional music and western music educators do not come to an agreement diffusing learning western music elements such in traditional music or vice versa. As a result, reharmonization technique only become known on western music repertoires. While traditional music practitioners presenting the same old repertoires, with deep-rooted dogmatic excuses to maintain what they called traditional authentic values. To conduct this study, relevant data on pragmatism was done through document analysis. The result show pragmatism approach can help music educators to reconceptualize teaching and learning traditional music using jazz reharmonization technique to recreate and innovate a new sound and contextual of learning jazz harmony, not just using on jazz standards repertoires, in making music theory beneficial to both traditional and modern music educators and students.

Student behaviors in a blended synchronous course

In the quest for broader participation in higher education, blended synchronous courses are offered as a way to support nontraditional as well as traditional students. While students appreciate the option of participating either face-to-face (F2F) or remotely (RMT), questions remain whether RMT students are as engaged and learning at the same rate as students participating F2F. A survey course on extreme weather has been offered in a blended synchronous format for multiple semesters. The course was live-streamed, and students could freely decide whether to attend F2F or RMT on a class-by-class basis. Technology allowed all students to answer formative assessment questions and ask questions during class sessions. The pros for offering the blended synchronous environment were found to be: 1) it was very popular with students and 2) the rate of attendance (∼85% daily) was considered significantly higher than the daily attendance rates in previous semesters. The cons for the blended synchronous environment were that students choosing the remote mode of participation did not appear to be as attentive and their exam grades were lower. More troubling, it appears that students who had lower incoming grade point averages (iGPA) tended to prefer participating remotely, which may represent that these students used the option to avoid a deeper commitment to engagement. Significantly, it was also found that students with lower iGPA who chose to participate in class activities at a higher frequency and choosing to more frequently attend class physically, received grades similar to higher iGPA students.While blended learning increases options for student participation it will be important to monitor how its availability affects student participation and learning and especially those students who have been previously less successful academically.

Comparing Online and Traditional Student Engagement and Perceptions of Undergraduate Research

Comparing Online and Traditional Student Engagement and Perceptions of Undergraduate Research

Traditional Students as Second Class Citizens through Modern Day Tracking

We used a qualitative case study approach to examine the schooling experiences of 40 current high school seniors and 20 alumni from an urban STEAM career academy comprised of 98% African American students from low-income families. Using tracking as a theoretical lens, we found that students in the high school STEAM career academy were stratified using a more modern, dual system approach - and were labeled as traditional and college preparatory. These schooling practices led to the traditional tracked students being treated as second class citizens as well as being denied access to high-quality curricula to prepare them to be college and career ready. Based on our findings, we recommend that school personnel customize curricula based on the interests of students and enable them all to participate in college preparatory activities as well as work-based learning experiences.

‘I have to be at home’: Place and gender among student-mothers in higher education

Mothers who study in higher education (HE) experience many roadblocks that typical traditional students do not. These challenges are most referred to in terms of a lack of time to dedicate to their responsibilities as students and carers. However, there is an overlooked relation between student-mothers’ identities and space, considering the classic dichotomy of private/home space and the public sphere that had prevented many women to study. Based on interviews (N=4) and one focus group (N=3) with student-mothers at a prestigious university in Scotland, this research examines their place in HE in the United Kingdom. Data analysis revealed that these students’ mobilities are constrained by their caring responsibilities but that they also challenge established gendered norms by building bridges between their homes and public spaces. Moreover, although all these students are marginalised due to their motherhood, other axes of power impact on their educational experiences. This paper provides an original contribution to discussing gendered spatial norms and accessibility of educational spaces using intersectional lens and moves the academic debate forward by exploring not only the spatial relations that constrain, but are also produced by, these mothers.

Evaluation of a Preceptorship Model on Third-Year General Surgery Clerkship

Medical students increasingly report not feeling meaningfully involved during surgical clerkships. Preceptorship and mentorship through longitudinal experiences ameliorate this problem. A preceptorship model was introduced into the surgery clerkship at our institution to increase contact and improve relationships between students and faculty. The preceptorship model was introduced at select sites in 2017. In contrast to the standard structure in which students are assigned to cases and clinics as needed, preceptorship students are assigned to attending surgeons and follow the surgeons' schedules for the rotation. Student performance data, including final grades, clinical evaluations, and shelf examination scores, were collected for clerkship students from May 2017 to November 2018. Formative and summative evaluations for each student were collected. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore evaluations for themes. Two hundred and seventy-four students completed the clerkship during the study period; 41 experienced a preceptorship model. There was no difference in student performance across clerkship structures. Summative and formative evaluations for preceptorship students were longer than for traditional students (137 words vs 78 words; p < 0.0001 and 46 words vs 16 words, p= 0.03 respectively). Preceptorship student evaluations contained higher-quality feedback relating to clerkship objectives than those of traditional students. Preceptorship comments also contained more frequent mentions of response to feedback. A preceptorship model was successfully implemented on the third-year surgical clerkship at our institution. Although there was no difference between top performers on either clerkship structure, preceptorship students received written evaluations with better feedback as a result of their direct relationship with faculty. Strategies such as this, which improve student-faculty relationships, will be needed as programs find new ways to assess residency applicants.

Summer Enrichment Program: A Novel Pre‐Matriculation Anatomy Curriculum for Medical Students

Study ObjectivesMedical schools increasingly accept students from Alternative Academic Pathways (“Alt Path”), such as through early assurance programs or after gaps of time in education. These students may have difficulty with the rigors of medical school and need further preparation to succeed. Exposure to first‐year content, including anatomy coursework, prior to starting medical school has been shown to improve students’ academic performance. Through a novel pre‐matriculation Summer Enrichment Program (“SEP”), we sought to prepare Alt Path medical students for their transition to medical school and first‐year courses. Over the years, varying curricula have been implemented.Our objectives include: (1) evaluating the impact of including anatomy in the SEP on the performance of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (“ISMMS”) medical students in their first‐year anatomy course, (2) comparing anatomy performance between the SEP participants and traditional path peers, and (3) understanding Alt Path students’ perceptions of preparedness and confidence in starting medical school.MethodsStudents completed a 5‐week intensive SEP the summer before starting medical school with a curriculum utilizing didactics, laboratories, review sessions, and assessments. Anatomy has been included in the SEP for the Classes of 2019 and 2021–2023 cohorts. Anatomy was not included for the Class of 2020 cohort. This provides a natural experiment for comparison of first‐year anatomy course performance between two subsequent cohorts of Alt Path students (Classes of 2019 and 2020). SEP anatomy was taught by the same faculty teaching the first‐year anatomy course. Future data analysis will include comparisons of coursework performance between Alt Path and traditional students among the Classes of 2019–2023 cohorts. For the Class of 2023 cohort, the perceived impact of the SEP on academic performance and adjustment to medical school will be evaluated using surveys and focus groups to holistically triangulate students’ experiences with the SEP.ResultsIn the Class of 2020 cohort (SEP did not include anatomy), 5 of the 8 students who marginally passed/failed the first‐year anatomy course participated in the SEP. In the Class of 2019 cohort (SEP included anatomy), only 1 of the 8 students who marginally passed/failed the anatomy course participated in the SEP. This suggests that anatomy education immediately prior to medical school in the SEP may positively impact students’ course performance. Qualitatively, Alt Path students positively reviewed the SEP and expressed sentiments of preparedness and confidence with first‐year coursework.Despite the small sample size, all SEP iterations since have included anatomy as a primary component of the curriculum. Future analysis of five Class cohorts (Classes of 2019–2023; n=700) may reveal additional insights.ConclusionMedical educators should consider pre‐matriculation programs in order to enhance medical school preparedness and performance of Alt Path students. Providing these students with educational opportunities focused on foundations prior to first‐year coursework may academically and professionally benefit such students.Support or Funding InformationThe authors received no funding for this work.

The Evolution and Devolution of Hospital Care

The Evolution and Devolution of Hospital Care

An Investigation of the Relationship Among Body Composition, Bone Mineral Density, Career, and Eating Attitude in Korean Traditional Dance-major Female College Students

An Investigation of the Relationship Among Body Composition, Bone Mineral Density, Career, and Eating Attitude in Korean Traditional Dance-major Female College Students

An Experiential Online Training Approach for Underrepresented Engineering and Technology Students

Workforce pipelines are essential to sustain a productive workforce in an increasingly competitive, high-tech environment. Advanced automation, sensors, materials and data analytics will increase the need for highly skilled workers in the manufacturing (and manufactured construction) sector. Attracting and developing the next-generation workforce is not without its challenges; however, students are often deficient in technical skills and generally have negative perceptions about manufacturing and construction. As a result, new education and training models have been developed to provide instruction at all levels of the educational system, with a focus on both traditional students and non-traditional students, including ethnic minorities, women, veterans, disabled persons and older adult learners. This study focused specifically on certain underrepresented students in STEM programs offered at community colleges in the Great Plains region of the U.S. An available online training program by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers was used as a contextualized online training tool. The Learning Management System embedded in this online training tool was used to gather student data. Conducting multiple regression analyses on the test outcomes, completion rates, and improvement between post-test and pre-test scores showed that female participants achieved greater improvement between pre- and post-test scores than males, and achieved higher rates of credentialing compared to all other demographic groups. African American participants achieved greatest improvement between pre- and post-test scores than all other ethnic groups while Hispanics achieved higher rates of module completion. Additionally, this study also examines the background related to contextualized teaching and learning, as well as the effectiveness of this delivery method for these underrepresented populations.

Managing Instructional Strategies in Classrooms With Adult Learners

Based on self-concept, role experience, and readiness to learn andragogy’s assumptions, this phenomenological research identifies the types of instructional strategies that professors use in a mixed undergraduate classroom to benefit traditional students’ and adult learners’ active participation in the classroom. The majority of studies emphasize that professors tend to manage instructional strategies, such as lecture or presentations, in mixed undergraduate classrooms mainly by focusing on traditional students’ characteristics such as age, role experience, expectations, and motivations. The findings of this study indicate that professors who have more adult learners in their mixed undergraduate classrooms tend to adapt and apply student-centered strategies, such as interactive lectures, group discussions, or debates in higher level classes, based on both traditional and adult learners’ characteristics.

Assessing the Relationship Between Nontraditional Factors and Academic Entitlement

The current study explores the intersection of two trends of interest in higher education: reported increases in academic entitlement (AE) and increases in the proportion of students considered nontraditional. AE has shown to have negative effects in the classroom and for students. Based on reports from educators, levels of AE may be lower for nontraditional students. The current study sought to understand the level of AE in nontraditional students, compare AE levels with traditional students, and investigate if specific nontraditional factors have larger impacts on AE. Four hundred and twenty-nine participants were assessed for nontraditional factors and their current level of AE. Nontraditional students were found to have lower levels of AE than traditional students, having more nontraditional factors predicted lower AE, and AE was found to vary within nontraditional grouping levels. Additionally, age and hours worked were found to be individual factors that best predicted AE levels.

One Man's Freedom Fighter on Film is Another Man's Terrorist During the Classroom Discussion: The Advantages and Unintended Consequences of Using Film to Teach Terrorism

People are often startled that I teach a course on terrorism. They half jokingly ask if I teach students how to commit it. Yet, the interdisciplinary study of terrorism has grown over the last decade and will continue to do so. Colleges and Universities have expanded their offerings on the subject. Terrorism is often cross listed with criminal justice, and intelligence studies. However, a constant challenge of teaching terrorism is the mixed audience of students and differing expectations of course content. The online course at Penn State is made up of traditional students, returning adults, active and retired military, and once I had an FBI agent who specialized in counter terrorism. Such a diverse audience begs the question of how are we to teach the course? Is there a difference between the academic studies and theoretical discussions on one side and the practitioner on the other? This problem has been exacerbated both online, and in the classroom by a generation of visual learners. Think about how powerful it is for students to watch news coverage of 9/11, or have students with combat experience in Afghanistan. These experiences are far more powerful than reading a quantitative study of terrorist activities and then finding the flaws in its methodologies. It behooves the teacher to find new ways to mix up the curriculum.This paper examines the pedagogical strategies of using fictional films in a course on terrorism (both in residence and online). It is the hope that these films can bring life to the abstract concepts that students wrestle with in their readings. In this paper I examine the use of three particular films: First, is the famous Battle of Algiers (1966), which explores the Algerian war of independence against France, and specifically addresses issues of urban guerrilla warfare, and the limitations of counter terrorism still relevant today. After all the French won the battle but lost the war. The film also helps visualize what David Rapoport (2002) calls the second wave of terrorism. The second chosen is the Palestinian film, Paradise Now (2005), about the journey of two suicide bombers heading to Israel. This film not only speaks to the literature of scholars like Robert Pape, but serves as a window to the study of psychology and religion. I use Paradise Now as the springboard for role of religion in terrorism (though it is important to point out that religion is not what necessarily drives these two Palestinian men). Finally, I examine In the Name of the Father (1993), while ostensibly about the wrongfully arrested Guilford Four and the United Kingdom's war against the IRA, the film allows a broader class room discussion of the problematic of fighting terrorism in a democracy that values civil liberties. A perfect illustration is how students react to Daniel Day Lewis as Gerry Conlon and compare that to young Arab men wrongfully arrested after 9/11.By examining these three films this paper also hopes to continue expanding the study of film use in the classroom. Films are a dynamic and interactive process over how social reality will be perceived. While most of these films are based on true stories, they have to some extent been fictionalized to suit the dramatic needs of the audience and the financial expectations of the industry. For Americans the war on terrorism has been fought in the modern 24 hour/7 days a week news cycle. I argue that if done properly, popular films about terrorism can serve as a stimulating jumping off point to illustrate the theories, concepts, and issues discussed in the course.

Learning gains and attitudes of students performing chemistry experiments in an immersive virtual world

ABSTRACT Virtual worlds are increasingly popular in educational settings. In order to further usefulness in providing a laboratory education, almost 300 students participated in a study to determine the relative learning gains and attitudes related to performing two chemistry experiments in either the virtual world of Second Life (SL) or a real world laboratory. The participants were traditional college students enrolled in a General Chemistry 2 course at a large public university. Student grades, responses to multiple surveys, and written comments were collected over two spring semesters that the experiments were implemented. Students performing the Second Life experiments performed as well or better than students conducting equivalent experiments in a real world laboratory based on quiz and lab report grades. Students held a favourable view of the experiences in Second Life, noting that the SL setting minimized distractions and made certain aspects of the experiments easier to perform. A large majority of students performing the SL experiments enjoyed and recommended them. Male and female students performed equally well and showed equivalent attitudes in all aspects of this study.

Self-Perceived Preparedness to Work Independently Among Graduating Dental Students in Saudi Arabia: Traditional Versus Integrated Curriculum

Objective: To investigate the perceived preparedness of graduating dental students to work independently and to compare these perceptions between Traditional and Integrated curriculums of dentistry in Saudi Arabia. Material and Methods: A pretested self-administered questionnaire was filled by 258 dental students from four dental institutions across the country. The questionnaire covered 10 domains consisting of sixty suitable questions. Students were asked to mark their responses at one of five levels of performance for each of the selected skills ranging from 0 (not yet learned) to 4 (can do it confidently). Mean scores for each subscale of the Questionnaire were calculated by individual items and for all comparison, p≤0.05 was considered statistically significant . Results: 253 graduating students were included in the final analysis, out of which 108 belongs to the Integrated curriculum group and 145 from Traditional curriculum. Overall scores of Traditional curriculum students (176 ± 4.8) were more compared to Integrated curriculum students (161 ± 3.2), which are statistically significant. Integrated curriculum students had more self-perceived skill scores in Orthodontics, Conservative/Operative Dentistry & Endodontics, Dental Public Health and Drug & Emergency management group of clinical skills. Overall, perceived preparedness to practice dentistry for all participants is 60.5% and traditional curriculum students expressed more preparedness (68%) than Integrated curriculum (53%) . Conclusion: Overall, preparedness to practice independently is unsatisfactory compared to other countries. The Ministry of Education (KSA) should take necessary actions to bridge the gap between training dentists and to be competent practitioners.