Variation In Student Performance Research Articles

Personalized strategies for academic success in learning anatomy: Exploring metacognitive and technological adaptation in medical students.

Personalization of learning is an educational strategy rooted in metacognition and is significant in academic training. This is especially true in medical contexts. This study explored the relationship between the metacognitive profile of students of human anatomy, the classification of questions according to their difficulty, and the anatomical domain. It also covered the integration of educational technologies to create personalized learning environments. The identification of metacognitive profiles ("Active", "Pragmatic", "Theoretical", and "Reflective") has been highlighted as a critical influence on students' responses to different pedagogical approaches. Personalized adaptation based on these profiles has shown potential for improving grades and increasing student satisfaction and engagement with learning. The results revealed variations in student performance in relation to different pedagogical approaches, learning units, and evaluation modalities. The "Experience" evaluation modality, personalized according to metacognitive profiles, level of competence, and learning objectives, resulted in higher average scores. However, there was significant variability in the results. Those findings confirm the effectiveness of metacognitive adaptation in improving academic performance. Furthermore, they provide a solid basis for formulating personalized and effective pedagogical strategies in medical education. They recognize the influence of metacognitive profiles on student performance and contribute to advancing medical pedagogy.

Multiple choice as formative assessment in dental education.

The effectiveness of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in dental education is pivotal to student performance and knowledge advancement. However, their optimal implementation requires exploration to enhance the benefits. An educational tool incorporating MCQs was administered from the 5th to the 10th semester in a dental curriculum. The students filled out a questionnaire after the MCQ, which was linked to the learning management system. Four cohorts of four semesters generated 2300 data points analysed by Spearmen correlation and mixed model regression analysis. Demonstrated a significant correlation between early exam preparation and improved student performance. Independent study hours and lecture attendance emerged as significant predictors, accounting for approximately 10.27% of the variance in student performance on MCQs. While the number of MCQs taken showed an inverse relationship with study hours, the perceived clarity of these questions positively correlated with academic achievement. MCQs have proven effective in enhancing student learning and knowledge within the discipline. Our analysis underscores the important role of independent study and consistent lecture attendance in positively influencing MCQ scores. The study provides valuable insights into using MCQs as a practical tool for dental student learning. Moreover, the clarity of assessment tools, such as MCQs, remains pivotal in influencing student outcomes. This study underscores the multifaceted nature of learning experiences in dental education and the importance of bridging the gap between student expectations and actual performance.

EFEKTIVITAS PLATFORM PEMBELAJARAN MATEMATIKA BERBASIS DIGITAL UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN PEMECAHAN MASALAH SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR

The lack of use of digital platforms as a learning tool at the elementary school level is one of the causes of low student learning outcomes in solving mathematical problems. This study uses a quantitative approach. The aim of the research is to improve elementary school students' problem-solving abilities with a digital-based platform in the form of live worksheets. The research population consisted of 300 students enrolled in a school. The data collection technique was a random sample (random sampling) of 49 students. The test instruments used are in the form of pretest and posttest sheets. The results showed that the pretest average was 21.24, the lowest score obtained on the pretest was 10, while the highest score was 25. Meanwhile, the average posttest score was also 21.24, the lowest score on the posttest was also 10, while the highest score was 25. It can be concluded that the average pretest and posttest scores are the same, namely 21.24. In addition, the range of scores from the lowest score to the highest score is from 10 to 25, indicating that there is variation in student performance but not too extreme. This concludes that the use of a digital platform in the form of live worksheets can improve students' problem solving abilities in mathematics learning.

The utility of adaptive eLearning data in predicting dental students' learning performance in a blended learning course.

To examine the impact of dental students' usage patterns within an adaptive learning platform (ALP), using ALP-related indicators, on their final exam performance. Track usage data from the ALP, combined with demographic and academic data including age, gender, pre- and post-test scores, and cumulative grade point average (GPA) were retrospectively collected from 115 second-year dental students enrolled in a blended learning review course. Learning performance was measured by post-test scores. Data were analyzed using correlation coefficients and linear regression tests. The ALP-related variables (without controlling for background demographics and academic data) accounted for 29.6% of student final exam performance (R2=0.296, F(10,104)=4.37, p=0.000). Positive significant ALP-related predictors of post-test scores were improvement after activities (β=0.507, t(104)=2.101, p=0.038), timely completed objectives (β=0.391, t(104)=2.418, p=0.017), and number of revisions (β=0.127, t(104)=3.240, p=0.002). Number of total activities, regardless of learning improvement, negatively predicted post-test scores (β= -0.088, t(104)=-4.447, p=0.000). The significant R2 change following the addition of gender, GPA, and pre-test score (R2=0.689, F(13, 101)=17.24, p=0.000), indicated that these predictors explained an additional 39% of the variance in student performance beyond that explained by ALP-related variables, which were no longer significant. Inclusion of cumulative GPA and pre-test scores showed to be the strongest and only predictors of post-test scores (β=18.708, t(101)=4.815, p=0.038) and (β=0.449, t(101)=6.513, p=0.038), respectively. Track ALP-related data can be valuable indicators of learning behavior. Careful and contextual analysis of ALP data can guide future studies to examine practical and scalable interventions.

THE UTILIZATION OF DUOLINGO TO BOOST STUDENTS’ GRAMMAR MASTERY IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

This classroom action research utilized Duolingo to enhance the grammar mastery of 31 senior high school students in Reported Speech. The research procedures cover; planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. The researchers collected data through tests. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in students' grammar of Reported Speech mastery, with test average scores increasing from 56.77 to 85.16. Regarding the result, teachers are suggested to integrate technology-based learning tools like Duolingo to create engaging and interactive learning environments and enhance students‘ mastery. However, it is important to note that individual student progress varied, and some students showed more substantial improvements compared to others. Further analysis and consideration of factors such as individual learning styles, frequency of Duolingo usage, and additional instructional support may help understand the variations in student performance.

Genetic counseling students' use of patient-centered communication skills predicts standardized patient satisfaction during virtual simulated sessions.

Communication is essential to effective genetic counseling, but few studies have systematically evaluated methods of assessing communication skills among genetic counseling trainees. The study's objective is to compare the strength of associations between standardized patient (SP) satisfaction with simulated genetic counseling sessions and student skill use during the sessions, as reported by SPs and students. We hypothesized that (1) Both SP- and student-reported skill use will be significantly associated with SP satisfaction ratings during the baseline simulation and (2): SP ratings of student skill use will show a stronger relationship to SP satisfaction than student self-rating of skill use. Sixty genetic counseling students and recent graduates (referred to as "students") from accredited U.S. and Canadian programs participated in the study and completed a baseline virtual-simulated genetic counseling session. Both students and SPs completed post-session questionnaires about communication skill use (a 22-item checklist) and SPs completed a satisfaction questionnaire based on the session (a 14-item Likert scale). Multilevel regression models assessed associations between SP satisfaction during the baseline session and SP- or student-reported skill use. SP satisfaction was significantly associated with skill use reported by both SPs and students, but the model based on SP report explained a higher proportion of the variance in SP satisfaction than student-reported skill use (SP model fixed effects R2 = 27%, adjusted R2 = 21%; vs. student model R2 = 7%, adjusted R2 = -2%). For both the SP and student models, use of more skills from the LISTEN domain (which focused on eliciting the patient's perspective) was associated with higher SP satisfaction, while other skill category domains were not. These findings support the SP satisfaction measure as sensitive to variation in student performance of key communication skills, especially those eliciting the patient's perspective. Moreover, SP assessment of session satisfaction can be a useful assessment of student communication performance and a meaningful proxy for actual patient satisfaction.

Salient syllabi: Examining design characteristics of science online courses in higher education.

The importance of online learning in higher education settings is growing, not only in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, metrics to evaluate and increase the quality of online instruction are crucial for improving student learning. Whereas instructional quality is traditionally evaluated with course observations or student evaluations, course syllabi offer a novel approach to predict course quality even prior to the first day of classes. This study develops an online course design characteristics rubric for science course syllabi. Utilizing content analysis, inductive coding, and deductive coding, we established four broad high-quality course design categories: course organization, course objectives and alignment, interpersonal interactions, and technology. Additionally, this study exploratively applied the rubric on 11 online course syllabi (N = 635 students) and found that these design categories explained variation in student performance.

Validating a rubric for assessing integrated writing in an EAP context

Although researchers have argued for a mixed-method approach to rubric design and validation, such research is sparse in the area of L2 integrated writing. This article reports on the validation of an analytic rubric for assessing a classroom-based integrated writing test. Argumentative integrated essays (N = 48) written by EAP students at an English-medium Canadian university were rated by instructors (N = 10) with prior EAP teaching experience. Employing a mixed methods design, the quality of the rubric was established through many facet Rasch measurement and perceptions from the instructors elicited during semi-structured interviews. To further explore the rubric’s ability to differentiate among students, essays from three performance levels (low, average, high) were compared in terms of fluency, syntactic and lexical complexity, cohesion, and lexical diversity measures. Results have suggested the rubric can capture variation in student performance. Implications are discussed in terms of validation of assessment rubrics in localized assessment contexts.

Turning around teacher quality in Latin America: Renewed confidence and lessons from Colombia

We present new evidence on the effectiveness of large-scale reforms of public teaching careers towards improving student outcomes in Latin America. Since 2002, Colombia’s public teacher candidates are screened through an entry competition featuring a standardized examination, and their subsequent career progression is subject to performance evaluations; the fact that educators hired before the reform remained exempt from the new rules provides a unique research setting for policy evaluation. We are able to exploit unusually detailed data on the universe of secondary schools and teachers in Colombia; our empirical strategy exploits variation in student performance and teacher types across different subjects, within any given school and year. We pin down a sizeable performance premium of quality-screened teachers with respect to their traditional colleague: the former improve student achievement by about 7% of a standard deviation within school and year. We are able to exclude various types of selection biases, cohort effects and other confounders. We show that the Colombian entry examination is an effective candidate screening device and that teachers’ achievement on the exam is predictive of their performance on the job. We provide suggestive evidence on how the reform affected other policy-relevant aspects such as teacher candidate quality and career attrition.

Effectiveness of a Team-Based Learning exercise in the learning outcomes of a medical pharmacology course: insight from struggling students.

We have previously reported that multiple Team-Based Learning (TBL™) exercises in a 4-week pre-clinical medical school course improved final exam performance and significantly reduced the number of course failures. Here, we conducted a long-term study, with eight cohorts of first-year medical students, to determine whether the implementation of a single TBL individual readiness assessment test (iRAT) exercise in a 4-week medical school pharmacology course produces similar effects in overall course performance. We implemented a single TBL iRAT exercise that covered the subjects addressed during oneweek of the medical pharmacology course, with the four most recent cohorts of students matriculating at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (n = 403). The first four cohorts matriculating at CMSRU did not participate in the TBL exercises (n = 266). Correlation of individual student TBL iRAT and final examination scores in the medical pharmacology course was compared to a second, unrelated first-year course (physiology) to control for variation in student performance between cohorts. We found that there was a significant moderate correlation between final examination and TBL iRAT scores (r = 0.49, p < 0.01, n = 403). Interestingly this moderate correlation was seen in students performing in the lower 25th percentile on the course final examination (r = 0.41, p < 0.01, n = 101) and negligible in students performing in the upper 25th percentile (r = 0.11, n = 101, p > 0.05). Implementation of the single TBL exercise also significantly reduced variance or range of student final examination performance compared to the group of the first four cohorts. These results suggest that implementation of a single TBL exercise, which covers only oneweek of content delivered in a 1-month medical pharmacology course, benefits first-year medical students by reducing the disparity in knowledge acquisition among them and providing a means to identify students who may struggle with course content.

Antecedents and Relative Importance of Student Motivation for Science and Mathematics Achievement in TIMSS

Although motivation has been shown to have substantial influence on learning, the relative significance of Students’ motivational characteristics, compared to other school-related factors, for student learning and performance is still unclear. Furthermore, knowledge about the relative importance of different situational variables for predicting these motivational characteristics is crucial for educational decisions about how to enhance student motivation. This study examined (1) the relative importance of motivational characteristics derived from five different theories on motivation and epistemic beliefs, compared to almost 300 situational factors, for predicting student performance on the TIMSS 2011 achievement tests in science and mathematics, and (2) how student motivational characteristics can be predicted by the background variables in the TIMSS 2011 questionnaires and an additional questionnaire about motivation accompanying TIMSS in Sweden. Up to 52% of the variation in student performance could be predicted by models containing all background variables, and student motivational characteristics were among the most important variables in the model. Models that comprised only student motivational characteristics from several motivation theories predicted up to 27% of student performance on the achievement test, while models using only single motivational characteristics predicted, on average, 7%. Results emphasize teachers’ importance for student motivation. Five teacher features were consistently among the most important variables in predicting Students’ motivational characteristics. These five variables predicted as much of the variation in important student motivational characteristics as the remaining 300 situational variables together.

Measuring educational inequality of opportunity: pupil’s effort matters

• Effort, broadly defined, contributes between 31% and 40% of predicted variation in student performance in rural Bangladesh. • Effort indicators are the main source of within-school variation in mathematics and English performance. • Social background and parental effort are a key source of between-schools variation in performance. • Accounting for the correlation between effort and circumstances beyond students’ control does not matter much for the analysis of inequality of opportunity in the context of rural Bangladeshi schools. • In the context of rural Bangladesh, it is not sufficient to erase the influence of family and social background to level the educational playing field. The distinction between effort and other factors, such as family background, matters for correcting policies and normative reasons when we appeal to inequality of opportunity. We take advantage of a purposefully designed survey on secondary schools in rural Bangladesh to offer a comprehensive view of the importance of overall effort when measuring inequalities of opportunity in education. The analysis comprises decomposition exercises of the predicted variance of student performance in mathematics and English by source (effort, circumstances, etc.) and subgroup (within- and between-schools) based on parametric estimates of educational production functions. Pupils’ effort, preferences, and talents contribute between 31% and 40% of the total predicted variances in performance scores. The contribution of overall effort falls by 10% when the correlation between effort and circumstances is taken into account. These findings are robust to the choice of estimation strategy (i.e. combined within- and between-schools variation models versus multilevel random-effect models). All in all, these results advocate that social determinism in education can be mitigated by individual effort at school.

The role of collective efficacy and co-regulation in medical students' performance in small group contexts.

PurposeThis study investigated the role of collective efficacy and co-regulation in terms of students’ performance during small group projects in a medical research program. The effect of collective efficacy in student performance was expected to be mediated by co-regulation.MethodsA total of 50 students who enrolled in a medical research program worked on their medical research project in small groups over a period of 9 weeks. After they had submitted their final research project reports as groups at the end of the course, the collective efficacy and co-regulation surveys were conducted online.ResultsThe mediation model was significant and explained 26.61% of the variance in student performance. The total effect of collective efficacy on student performance was significant and the indirect effect through co-regulation was also significant.ConclusionThese results suggest that collective efficacy influenced student performance through co-regulation in group learning contexts. Considering the fact that more and more collaborative learning now occurs in medical education, the result of this study can provide significant insights for enhancing students’ performance in small group contexts.

Effects of Flipped Classroom on High- and Low-achievers’ English Vocabulary Learning

The flipped classroom, an approach that extends learning beyond the classroom, has been extensively and empirically researched in the science and math disciplines. However, whether the flipped classroom is feasible in senior high school education—where variation in student performance is of particular concern—has yet to be examined. In this light, this study set out to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the flipped classroom in high school education, and to compare its effects with conventional lecture-based instruction on high school students with different levels of foreign language (English) vocabulary knowledge. After six weekly sessions, it was found that both methods of instruction were effective in promoting vocabulary gains. However, the flipped classroom was better able to reduce variation among students in a multi-level class. Importantly, although both high and low achievers benefited from the flipped classroom instruction and were left with a positive attitude toward the additional workload it entailed, the effect of the flipped classroom seems to be more manifest in low achievers. Based on the above findings and the results of questionnaire data, the pedagogical implications are discussed.

Social presence enhances student performance in an online geology course but depends on instructor facilitation

Online courses can feel isolating and sometimes lack human connections that can motivate students. We developed a fully online geoscience course to build a ‘Community of Inquiry’ with attention to cognitive, social, and teaching presences. We ran the course using nearly identical materials for 8 semesters (recorded video lectures, labs, assignments, and assessments). Slight variations in instructor behavior caused profound impacts on student performance, creating a natural experiment to isolate factors that influence student performance. During semesters that instructors sent fewer course announcements and provided less feedback to students, about 50% more students earned D’s and F’s than semesters with frequent interactions. These performance drops correlated with drops in key indicators of social presence such as the number of students who thought the instructor knew their name. We developed an instrument to quantify student perceptions about the strength of student-student and instructor-student connections. An exploratory principal component analysis revealed two underlying constructs that we interpret as social presence and cognitive presence. We found that students with the highest reported social and cognitive presences had overall course grades an average of 12 points higher (out of 100) than those with the lowest presences, when all other factors were equal. Social and cognitive presence had relatively equal effects, but each explained more than 3 times the variance in student performance than the amount of time students reported spending on the course. When instructors build a supportive community with online students and facilitate their interaction around course ideas, student performance benefits.

Neighborhood, race and educational inequality

Education is critical to poverty reduction and upward mobility, and rising education inequality has drawn broad concern in the United States. However, the role of neighborhood context in education remains under-studied. This paper integrates the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, spatial filtering regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR) to explore determinants of student performance in Salt Lake County, and better understand the underlying causes. Path analysis is used to examine the interactions among school performance, student background, and neighborhood environments. We find that over 60% of the variation in student performance can be explained by school resource, student background and neighborhood environments using OLS and spatial filtering regressions. The GWR model further reveals that student performance in the eastern region with a higher percentage of whites, higher household income and higher education levels, is more sensitive to the neighborhood environment than in poorer and more diversified northwestern regions. Finally, path analysis finds that household income and population density influence student performance indirectly by attracting more whites to the neighborhoods. These findings confirm the significance of neighborhood context in students' academic performance, and the importance of integrating GIS spatial analysis tools into studying education inequality.

Ergonomics Calibration Training Utilizing Photography for Dental Hygiene Faculty Members.

Dental and dental hygiene clinical faculty members often do not provide consistent instruction, especially since most procedures involve clinical judgment. Although instructional variations frequently translate into variations in student performance, the effect of inconsistent instruction is unknown, especially related to ergonomics. The aim of this study was to determine whether photography-assisted calibration training would improve interrater reliability among dental hygiene faculty members in ergonomics evaluation. The photography-assisted ergonomics calibration program incorporated features to improve accessibility and optimize the quality of the training. The study used a two-group repeated measures design with a convenience sample of 11 dental hygiene faculty members (eight full-time and three part-time) during the autumn 2016 term at one U.S. dental school. At weeks one and seven, all participants evaluated imaged postures of five dental students using a modified-dental operator posture assessment instrument. During weeks three and five, training group participants completed calibration training using independent and group review of imaged postures. All pre-training and post-training evaluations were evaluated for interrater reliability. Two-way random effects intraclass coefficient (ICC) values were calculated to measure the effects of the training on interrater reliability. The average measure of ICC of the training group improved from 0.694 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.001 to 0.965 (F(4,8)=3.465, p>0.05) to 0.766 with a 95% CI of 0.098 to 0.972 (F(4,8)=7.913, p<0.01). The average measure of ICC of the control group improved from 0.821 with a 95% CI of 0.480 to 0.978 (F(4,28)=7.702, p<0.01) to 0.846 with a 95% CI of 0.542 to 0.981 (F(4,28)=8.561, p<0.01). These results showed that the photography-assisted calibration training with the opportunity to reconcile different opinions resulted in improved agreement among these faculty members.

Social-Economic Factors, Student Factors, Student Academic Goals and Performance of Students in Institutions of Higher Learning in Uganda

ABSTRACTThis article evaluates the relationship between social-economic factors, students’ factors, student academic goals and performance of students. The study adopts a cross-sectional survey, with largely quantitative approaches. A sample of 950 students was randomly and proportionately drawn from undergraduates in four institutions of higher learning. A response rate of 61% was recorded. We observed significant positive relationships between student factors (except competence in quantitative subjects and grades earned in high school) and student performance, as well as student learning goals and student academic performance. We did not observe a significant relationship between socio-economic factors and student performance at higher institutions. The model was significant, and explained 47% of the variation in student performance. The study recommends that higher institutions should place considerable emphasis on inculcating a reading/preparation culture among students, enforce attendance at lectures and encourage students to set learning goals, if they are to improve the performance of their students.

Do coursework summative assessments predict clinical performance? A systematic review

BackgroundTwo goals of summative assessment in health profession education programs are to ensure the robustness of high stakes decisions such as progression and licensing, and predict future performance. This systematic and critical review aims to investigate the ability of specific modes of summative assessment to predict the clinical performance of health profession education students.MethodsPubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, ERIC and EMBASE databases were searched using key terms with articles collected subjected to dedicated inclusion criteria. Rigorous exclusion criteria were applied to ensure a consistent interpretation of ‘summative assessment’ and ‘clinical performance’. Data were extracted using a pre-determined format and papers were critically appraised by two independent reviewers using a modified Downs and Black checklist with level of agreement between reviewers determined through a Kappa analysis.ResultsOf the 4783 studies retrieved from the search strategy, 18 studies were included in the final review. Twelve were from the medical profession and there was one from each of physiotherapy, pharmacy, dietetics, speech pathology, dentistry and dental hygiene. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations featured in 15 papers, written assessments in four and problem based learning evaluations, case based learning evaluations and student portfolios each featured in one paper. Sixteen different measures of clinical performance were used. Two papers were identified as ‘poor’ quality and the remainder categorised as ‘fair’ with an almost perfect (k = 0.852) level of agreement between raters. Objective Structured Clinical Examination scores accounted for 1.4–39.7% of the variance in student performance; multiple choice/extended matching questions and short answer written examinations accounted for 3.2–29.2%; problem based or case based learning evaluations accounted for 4.4–16.6%; and student portfolios accounted for 12.1%.ConclusionsObjective structured clinical examinations and written examinations consisting of multiple choice/extended matching questions and short answer questions do have significant relationships with the clinical performance of health professional students. However, caution should be applied if using these assessments as predictive measures for clinical performance due to a small body of evidence and large variations in the predictive strength of the relationships identified. Based on the current evidence, the Objective Structured Clinical Examination may be the most appropriate summative assessment for educators to use to identify students that may be at risk of poor performance in a clinical workplace environment. Further research on this topic is needed to improve the strength of the predictive relationship.

Pendulum Swings in Educational Policymaking

Reforms in American public education have not resolved the wide academic performance gap between students. Officials respond by developing reforms, that is, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Waivers. The Waivers modified the more controversial aspects of ESEA/NCLB, which imposed a strict compliance deadline. This was a difficult task for many and an impossible one for the poorest school districts. Using factor analysis and logistic regression, this study provides a methodology for generating data to explain variation in student performance in Michigan school districts associated with organizational, school, financial, and social characteristics.