Undergraduate Education

Professional development (PD) workshops designed to help faculty move from teacher- to learner-centered science courses for undergraduates are typically evaluated with self-reported surveys that address faculty’s satisfaction with a workshop, what they learned, and what they applied in the classroom. Professional development outcomes are seldom evaluated through analysis of observed teaching practices. We analyzed videotapes of biology faculty teaching following PD to address three questions: (1) How learner centered was their teaching? (2) Did self-reported data about faculty teaching differ from the data from independent observers? (3) What variables predict teaching practices by faculty? Following PD, 89% of the respondents stated that they made changes in their courses that included active, learner-centered instruction. In contrast, observational data showed that participation in PD did not result in learner-centered teaching. The majority of faculty (75%) used lecture-based, teacher-centered pedagogy, showing a clear disconnect between faculty’s perceptions of their teaching and their actual practices.

All too often education research focuses on academic disparities with under-served student populations. Frequently, both remedial and introductory college-level mathematics courses are cited as gatekeepers or insurmountable barriers for adult low-socioeconomic status (LSES) students. There has been a call from within the mathematics education community for less gap-gazing at disparities and more studies of success within marginalized groups. Many previously unsuccessful, under-prepared, under-served, and under-supported students persist and eventually succeed. In addition, there is a lack of research through the lens of the community college as a unique educational context, distinct from both K-12 and the four year colleges and universities. The goal of this hermeneutical phenomenological study is to describe and interpret the lived experienced of previously unsuccessful LSES students who became successful. Ten students told their stories during unstructured phenomenological interviews. Upon analysis of the interview transcripts, themes appeared consistent with the patterns of the inward and outward journeys found in the Hero’s Journey or monomyth narrative structure. The stages of the monomyth as described in the work of Campbell (2008) are rooted in the universal human themes of the transformational quest. Six meta-themes appeared through the textual analysis of the interview transcripts; 1) the call of a better life that requires education, 2) connections with mentors and allies through authentic relationships, 3) the cultural border crossing at the threshold to higher education, 4) perspective transformations taking place as tests presented by an array of threshold guardians are passed, 5) increasing resilience through taking ownership and increasing networks of connections as the labyrinth of higher education was navigated, 6) after seizing the magic elixir of education the desire to pay it forward.  Their stories reveal a perspective transformation as described in Mezirow’s (1981) transformative learning theory. These stories of transformational learning as experienced by previously unsuccessful LSES community college students provide essential insights as to how we might foster positive learning transformations, and more importantly, avoid being the source of needless obstacles for our students. These findings present a narrative counter to the current deafening drumbeat of the anti-developmental education, completion and acceleration agendas.

"Trainee teachers following the three-year undergraduate BEd course at the University of Wolverhampton undertake a final-year research study. This project requires each individual to investigate an aspect of teaching and learning within an early years or primary school setting.

Reflections on Research presents, in publication, a selection of these final-year projects completed by trainee teachers in 2008 and 2009.

The students themselves have looked back upon the project to critically evaluate the positive and not so positive elements of their investigation. They also considered how what they did as student teachers remains relevant to what they do now as qualified professionals working in the classroom.

See also ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Doing Your Education Research Project’, published by SAGE: http://bit.ly/IrLHvD, and on FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/QsLY2Q"

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) on student performance in one of the Environmental Control Systems courses offered by the Department of Construction Science, Texas A&M University. Reciprocal peer tutoring has been used extensively at school level for developing academic skills of the students. It has also been used at college level for different disciplines. In this technique, students occasionally function equally as both tutor and tutee in a classroom situation. It enables the students to gain both from the preparation and instruction in which the tutors engage, and from the instructions that the tutees receive. The study population consisted of the students who attended the course in Summer terms of 1998 and 2000, and Spring semester of 2000. Sample size of the study was 156 students. Relevant data was collected from the Student Information Management System database of the university. Chi-square tests were performed to ascer...

Background: A World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution adopted in 2014 strongly encourages member states to integrate palliative care (PC) in undergraduate training for health professionals. Objective: The study objective was to describe a consensus-based process workshop to develop PC competences for medical and nursing schools in Colombia and to present a summary of the findings. Methods: The workshop included 36 participants representing 16 medical and 6 nursing schools from 18 universities in Colombia. Participants were distributed in four thematic groups. Using the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) List of Essential Practices (LEP) as guidance, they were asked to discuss and define PC competencies at the undergraduate level. Participants provided feedback and approved each recommendation, and then were asked to complete an evaluation. Results: The resulting competences were separated into six categories: (1) Definition and Principles of PC, (2) Identification and Control of Symptoms, (3) End-of-Life Care, (4) Ethical and Legal Issues, (5) Psychosocial and Spiritual Issues, and (6) Teamwork. A comparative analysis revealed that treatment of several symptoms in the IAHPC LEP (pain, dyspnea, constipation, nausea, vomit, diarrhea, delirium, and insomnia) were included in the competencies. All of the IAHPC LEP related to psychological/emotional/spiritual care was included. The evaluation rate of return was 80%. The assessment was very positive: total score of 4.7/5.0; SD = 0.426), with 89% considering the workshop to be helpful. Conclusion: The workshop provided an opportunity for individuals from different disciplines to discuss competencies and achieve consensus. The resulting competencies will be helpful in the development of PC curricula for physicians and nurses throughout schools in Colombia and other countries.

The authors present a Research Full Paper on the application of critical and liberative theories in understanding the disproportionately low student outcomes of marginalized undergraduate students studying engineering at a large, highly selective public university in the United States. In addition to looking at women students and students of color, we also examine the effects of social class on educational opportunity and performance, hypothesizing that access to financial capital is correlated to student success. In recognition of class-related structural oppression, this study introduces the framework of Freirean critical theory and other anti-oppressive frameworks as lenses through which we observe and analyze student experiences and outcomes.

We pursue a quantitative study in which we investigate engineering student outcomes based on reported gender, ethnicity, and household income level. Dependent variables include degree completion rates, time to graduation, and grade point average after the first four semesters of study. We find that students of color and working class students experience lower rates of graduation , prolonged time to degree, and lower grade point averages than students who do not fall into either of these categories. These results are heavily influenced by the intersectionality of students of color and working class students, as the two groups largely overlap both in the United States population and in the engineering student body at this institution.

The results support liberative theoretical claims that societal structures, such as patriarchalism, racism, and capitalism, have filtering effects that impact the opportunities available to individuals with marginalized identities throughout their lives. As incremental interventions fail to address the roots of these problems, they cannot entirely remove the debilitating obstacles facing students from marginalized identity groups; the only true solution lies in liberation from oppressive social structures. In accordance with critical and liberative theories, engineering educators can and should contribute to liberative efforts by employing pedagogical methods that challenge structural oppression.

The Great Depression was a seminal event in history and is, therefore, widely covered in history courses of all types. It tends, however, to be ignored in current core and advanced undergraduate business, economics and finance courses, as is
most history. This paper discusses ways in which the Great Depression can be used as an organizing principle for introductory curricula in such courses, it offers some illustrations of such uses, and it provides a basic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches.

Visual analytics (VA) combines the strengths of human and machine intelligence to enable the discovery of interesting patterns in challenging datasets.  Historically, most attention
has been given to developing the machine component—for example, machine learning or the human-computer interface. However, it is also essential to develop the abilities of the analysts themselves, especially at the beginning of their careers.

Fraternity members are exposed to developmental opportunities through service, leadership, and involvement, guided by organizational values. The purpose of this study was to learn more about how members interpret their experiences in relation to civic values. Data sources were responses from essays (n = 196) written by graduate and undergraduate members of an international fraternity. Results from thematic analysis evidenced a range of applications, from a literal interpretation of rules to a broader sense of agency in the world. Discussion focuses on addressing gaps in what members are learning based on the core tenets of NASPA's Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE). For more than a century, higher education's charge has been to prioritize civic learning and democratic principles as ways to foster citizenship (Dey & Associates, 2009; Harper, 1905). In a contemporary reemphasis, student affairs practitioners have been called to take a more active role in these activities (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). The authors of A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future recognized the role of student affairs in cultivating civic learning, specifying efforts such as creating shared living-learning environments, guiding and advising students as they learn consensus, and helping students establish socially accountable expectations as ways of promoting social responsibility. Unfortunately, many scholars associate these concepts primarily with classroom-based or service-oriented activities when mapping learning environments (see Finley, 2011),

Using games to teach introductory computing courses provides another context with which to exploring the possible attraction, retention, and education of a new generation of computer science (CS) students. At Bryn Mawr College, we have been actively exploring these contexts and have identified four that have great promise for use in teaching introductory computing courses: visualization, multimedia, robotics, and, most recently, games. We are currently using and analysing robots and have some preliminary results. ...

Aim: To find out whether success in medical Entry Test has any impact on future grades of students in Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Methodology: This is an analytical study conducted in Khyber Medical College, Peshawar from 3rd April, 2016 to 30th May, 2016. The marks obtained in medical Entry Test and 1st Professional MBBS were compared using Pearson Correlation. Data was obtained from appropriate sources and then its evaluation was done. Findings: This study found that there is a Pearson Correlation of 0.303(moderate) between Entry Test marks and the first professional MBBS marks. The scatter plot shows a positive relation between the two, which means that if one increases, so will the other. The p value of less than 0.000 was obtained. Conclusion: Student’s performance in entry test can be a predictability factor for success later on during his undergraduate years. However, there is still, room for improvement in the entry test format. It should be redesigned...

The following paper was written as a presentation, originally, for incoming undergraduate students at Shawnee State University as a guide for effective research for term papers. It was later expanded as a possible presentation for graduate students to demonstrate a more effective means of building one’s body of research.

Aim There has been an ongoing debate about a legalisation of active euthanasia (AE) in Germany. Palliative care education in German medical schools seeks to foster and cultivate a negative attitude toward AE, but little is known about its effectiveness in this respect. The aim of this study was to assess attitudes toward AE among students with and without palliative medicine tuition (PMT). Methods The link to an anonymised online questionnaire was sent out to 1,092 third, fifth and sixth year medical students (YMS) in August-November 2006 at two German universities: university one (U1) with compulsory and additional optional PMT and university two (U2) without any PMT. Thirteen questions addressed active, passive or indirect euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (statistic: mean ± SD (range), Wilcoxon, Whitney U Test, significance p<0.05). Results Response rate was 17.5%; 59.2% of the questionnaires were returned from U1 and 40.8% from U2; 28.3% of the students were male. Whereas 50% of third YMS at U1 and 36.7% at U2 favoured a legalisation of AE, this was true for 22.4% sixth YMS at U1 and 35.7% at U2. At U1, the number of students who would want to make use of AE for themselves decreased considerably (70%-44.9%) but less at U2; main reasons were 'unbearable suffering' and 'circumstances that lack dignity'. Of all students, 21.1% at U1 and 37.2% at U2 could imagine to perform AE in patients, even though 72.6% at U1 and 78.2% at U2 think its legalisation would promote misuse. Conclusions The high proportion of pro-AE attitudes gives reason to reconsider both 'standard' and palliative medicine tuition for medical students.

These days computer simulation is very instrumental in education as well as in industry. Circuit simulators like Electronic Workbench, Simplorer and PSpice etc. have become essential tools of both undergraduate and graduate courses in basic circuits and electronics courses. PSpice increases the students' abilities to comprehend the behavior of electronic components and circuits. This paper summarizes the usefulness of the PSpice in understanding the operation of electronic components and circuits using a boost regulator and controlled rectifier.

Chemical crystallography is considered one of the essential characterization techniques of inorganic chemistry since it is a critical tool in the structural determination of molecules small and large. Several attempts have been made to introduce crystallography topics at the undergraduate level, but the one present obstacle is the availability of instrumentation for undergraduates to run experiments in. State of the art X-ray diffraction instruments typically reach the ~$500,000 range and are rarely available to primarily undergraduate institutions. While accessibility to high-tech instrumentation is indeed an obstacle, there are educational sources that are quite accessible for undergraduate students, merely requiring a working computer to make use of them. Thus, the aim of this article is to touch upon the attempts to introduce the topic of crystallography to undergraduates of the inorganic chemistry laboratory at Georgia College and State University (GCSU). Two guided inquiry research type assignments are herein discussed that expose students to crystallography and enhance literature review/analysis skills that allows them to become better undergraduate researchers.

Laboratory reports have always been a part of the modern science and engineering curricula. However, it has also often been the least liked part of a students' (and instructors') laboratory experience. Despite research demonstrating the importance of lab reports to the undergraduate science and engineering lab experience, instructors are likely to minimize their use. Lab reports have been replaced with fill in the blank labs, reports that are worth only a token number of points towards a final grade, or excluded altogether. The LabWrite project has been developing online support materials to promote and support undergraduate lab report writing. A NSF-CCLI funded project, LabWrite is a web-based tool containing both static pages and an interactive tutor designed to support the lab report writing experience from before the student enters the lab through reviewing the graded lab report. Integral to LabWrite is a set of training materials for lab instructors, both faculty and graduate teaching assistants. Since 2000, LabWrite materials have been piloted in institutions ranging from Research I universities to community colleges. Our experiences and research have demonstrated the importance of lab reports in undergraduate education but have also pointed up the difficulties in successfully integrating lab reports back into courses.

Course Description: A continuation of the Classical Mind, the Modern Mind is an introduction to modern philosophy focusing on texts from selected early modern and modern thinkers. The class builds upon the history, thought concepts, and themes developed in the Classical Mind and traces the development of Western philosophical thought from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. In particular, this course deals with philosophers that consider the nature of thinking and reasoning, the idea of metaphysics and the foundations of human knowledge, the idea of a universal moral law, the nature of political society and the concept of right, and the idea and value of historical thinking. This course utilizes canonical philosophic texts situated in the history of philosophy to establish the structure and methodology of philosophical thinking. As the second course of the introductory sequence of philosophy classes, this class culminates not only in the identification of philosophic issues, concepts, and questions, but also the practical examination and analysis of fundamental human questions as preparation for students' continuing engagement with their liberal arts education. — Prerequisite for PHIL 202: successful completion of PHIL 201.

A case study was conducted to assess the efficacy of online communication tools for enhancing independent student engagement in a first-year undergraduate class. Material relevant to course topics was shared with students through three communication platforms and data were extracted to measure student engagement. A questionnaire was also used to validate online data and determine why students chose a particular platform. Online results revealed that more than half of the students engaged with at least one post to some degree through one or more communication platforms. Facebook was the primary platform for student engagement. Students primarily engaged with material on Facebook by " liking " posts and used Facebook to share relevant material that they came across personally. There was no significant difference in student engagement with shared material between instructor-shared and student-shared posts, although Facebook engagement was 29% higher when the instructor commented and/or liked a post 1 day after sharing. Questionnaire results suggested that 90% of all students engaged with material to some extent. Most students engaged with between 3 and 10 posts by seeing a post, clicking the associated link, and reading the material. The majority of students engaged through Facebook and felt most comfortable with this platform. Of those engaging at the highest level, 66% used Facebook. Convenience appeared to be the dominant reason for engaged students choosing a particular platform. Weakly positive relationships between academic performance vs. overall engagement and engagement level were apparent. This study suggests that Facebook can be used to enhance independent student engagement.

Resumo O texto aborda a formação realizada nos cursos de licenciatura a partir do que dizem os professores oriundos desses cursos considerando a relação universidade e escola. Toma por base pesquisa realizada com professores da educação básica e estudantes de cursos de licenciatura, a partir do problema: quais são os indicadores dos professores da educação básica sobre sua formação e que se expressam em suas práticas docentes realizadas da educação básica? O objetivo é compreender a relação da universidade com a educação básica a partir de depoimentos de professores quanto à relação entre a sua prática pedagógica e a formação efetivada nos cursos de licenciatura de modo a indicar possíveis demandas para os cursos de licenciatura. A metodologia de abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa considera a investigação realizada por meio de entrevistas e questionários com professores e coordenadores da educação básica e estudantes desses cursos. A análise é baseada em Bardin (2010) e nos aportes teóricos do campo da formação docente, considerando como categorias básicas: os conhecimentos para a formação docente; a organização da prática pedagógica e a prática docente. Palavras-chave: Cursos de licenciatura. Escola básica. Prática pedagógica. Abstract The text approaches the teacher education undergone in the undergraduate courses from what the professors say of these courses, considering the relation between university and school. Based on research carried out with teachers of basic education and students of undergraduate courses, considers the problem: what are the indicators of basic education teachers about their education and which are expressed in their teaching practices carried out in basic education? The objective is to understand the relations between the university and basic education based on teachers' testimony regarding the relations between their pedagogical practice and the training carried out in undergraduate courses in order to indicate possible demands for undergraduate courses. The methodology of qualitative research approach considers the research conducted through interviews and questionnaires with teachers of basic education and students of these courses. The analysis is based on Bardin (2010) and on the theoretical contributions of the field of teacher education, considering as basic categories: the knowledge for teacher education; the organization of the pedagogical practice and the teaching practice.

First-generation and low-income students have been an important subject of research in the sociology of higher education due to the particular struggles and needs that these groups face. Diversification of elite campuses have called into question the experiences that these types of students have-many of whom come from working-class backgrounds. Understanding elite institutions of higher education as platforms for social mobility, lower-income students are provided with the opportunity to escalate in the socioeconomic ladder. In this research paper, I study the social identity of working-class students at Harvard College. I begin with the assumption, provided by the literature, that working-class students undergo a transformation of social class identity. My key question is how these students navigate their social class at a place as diverse and as wealthy as Harvard. I interviewed ten students who self-identified as first-generation and in the lower side of the socioeconomic ladder. I found that most students relate to people who share their social class background, that their social class identity while in college is hard to define, and that they prioritize financial stability over giving-back when thinking of post-graduation jobs. I also found that they are very critical about the values and morals someone who goes into a high-paying job must have. Families are not part of their social class transformation.

The Department of Communication Studies prepares students to be intellectually curious, go into the world informed by Jesuit values, and contribute meaningfully to their communities and professions. Within our program, students will analyze, craft, and evaluate communication messages and understand communication as a set of everyday practices that are mindful, purposeful, and strategic. Students learn to ask good questions and find the answers about meaningful problems in our society, our workplaces and our personal lives. In our major capstone sequence, all students conduct a senior research project, complete an internship and reflect on the role of communication in their work, and connect communication with Jesuit values of service and justice. Our program offers flexibility in terms of choices of projects, service, and work experiences, giving students a chance to pursue a wide variety of occupations or graduate programs pursuant to their particular talents, callings, and interests. Our graduates are able to embrace and act on complex problems in groups, organizations, relationships, and cultures. Brummett, B. (2015). Rhetoric in popular culture (4 th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Establishing a strong STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) identity at
Boise State University, a metropolitan campus with approximately 3,655 undergraduate STEM
students and a total undergraduate enrollment of approximately 19,042 (16,136 FTE) has been an
important step toward creating a climate conducive to facilitating fundamental change. Examples
of such change include building collaborations among faculty within and across departments,
establishing the identity of students as part of a community beyond their chosen major,
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of university systems, and perhaps most importantly,
developing a framework to think deliberately about ways to effect change. This paper is focused
on describing and categorizing the development of a STEM “identity” over the past decade
within a metropolitan campus that does not have an overall STEM central mission.
The College of Engineering (CoE), established in 1997 as a result of a regional demand for
engineering and computer science graduates, began focusing heavily on student success
initiatives in 2004 with support from the Engineering Schools of the West Initiative, through the
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. This first wave of initiatives was critically assessed, and
engineering student success became a focal point for the CoE. Internal research conducted under
this grant exposed numerous roadblocks that impeded students' academic success. In 2010,
another large grant, funded through the National Science Foundation Science Talent Expansion
Program (STEP), was awarded to increase the numbers of students graduating with STEM
degrees. This grant engaged an interdisciplinary, cross-college team of STEM educators
passionate about continuous improvement and pedagogical reform. Six months after the STEP
grant launch, a second grant was awarded, a NSF Innovation through Institutional Integration
(I^3) grant. All activities associated with these grants were deliberately categorized as “STEM”
activities, in order to benefit all STEM students and faculty. This had the added benefit of
unifying the STEM community and helping launch a sense of common purpose among STEM
faculty and staff. We discuss a framework and present supporting cases to show how developing
a STEM identity has been a critical step towards cross-curricular integration and improvements
in pedagogical development, structures, policies and a sense of STEM community.

‘A Beginner’s Guide…’ is a step-by-step guide for students new to research. It covers every stage in turn, starting with learning from other research, choosing a topic, designing research questions, writing a literature review, deciding on methodology, designing research instruments, and consideration of validity and reliability; then moving to carrying out the investigation, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data and finally writing up the project. The ethical issues of doing education research are examined throughout.

Included are case studies to illustrate common problems and solutions; 14 ‘Project Sheets’ (available on this Academia page) which allow students to build up their work in stages and prepare draft text for their final written project; also key points, activities, recommended further reading and a glossary of research terms.

The book is written for undergraduate students doing education courses and Masters-level students new to research. It is relevant to students of all phases of education: early years, primary, secondary and further education, and to a range of international settings.

More information: http://bit.ly/IrLHvD
Also on Facebook at: http://on.fb.me/QFobAp (click on Like to get news feed)
More information about the author: http://bit.ly/Hk3L6h

Whether socializing with friends, vacationing with family, or meeting with co-workers, organizations are primary actors in our lives. From governments to banks, from schools to churches, from gyms to hospitals, these institutions are born, grow, change, and disband through communication. This class is designed to introduce students to historical and contemporary theories of organizational communication processes. Specifically, students will develop an understanding of how communication is studied differently using a variety of theories. Through such analyses, we can develop a broader conceptualization of the challenges and opportunities facing the communication processes of a range of organizations.

Students’ grades are increasingly important in defining their future employability, and therefore, securing a fair assessment of students’ theses is important. This study aimed to assess the level of grade correspondence between internal and external examiners of occupational therapy students’ bachelor theses, and to evaluate the overall level of grades initially set by examiners in the two groups. The grades initially suggested for 67 bachelor theses were analyzed. Absolute agreement between internal and external examiners was estimated as the proportion of theses on which the examiners suggested identical grades (percentage agreement), and consistency in agreement was estimated by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). There was absolute agreement between the internal and the external examiners in 33 of the 67 cases (49.3 %), and also consistency in agreement was high (ICC = 0.81, 95 % CI [0.68, 0.88], p &lt; 0.001). The results from this study demonstrate a high level of a...

At a southern metropolitan university, the researchers examined the students' perceived quality of the learning experience of the online courses as compared to classroom-based learning for graduate education courses. The researchers used Chickering and . Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin, 3-7] seven principles of good practice to have students rate the quality of their learning experience. The 92 student responses demonstrated that they perceived their learning experience the same or significantly better online than the classroom-based courses. The principle that demonstrated a significant difference in favor of the online courses was more time on learning materials. Participants also rated the online courses as high on how much they learned in the course as the traditional the on campus classes. The implications were that students perceive the quality of their online learning in graduate education courses similar or even superior to campus courses. D (J.S. Robertson). Internet and Higher Education 8 (2005) 73 -86 animated GIFs, Javascript, Cascading Style Sheets and dynamic Hypertext Markup Language, coupled with high-bandwidth connections, have transformed the Web into an interactive, multimedia, multimodal system.

Blended learning, described as the integration of online and classroom teaching, can range in complexity from the augmentation of traditional instructional methods to transformational course redesign. In this case study, an introductory communication course was redesigned by a team to blend online and classroom learning. Where team design approaches typically involve instructor participation, thereby allowing them to reconceptualize their teaching using technology, this paper examines how various design choices, with little instructor input, affected their ability and willingness to adapt to the blended course environment. Through an analysis of semi-structured interviews with instructors over two iterations of the course design, this paper provides insight into how the instructors, who were experienced with teaching in a traditional setting, struggled with the new format. The analysis reveals three themes connected to pedagogical decision-making -consistency versus flexibility, pedagogical dissonance, and student-instructor engagement -that describe the challenges instructors face in this changing environment. Suggestions are offered for institutions and course designers looking to implement blended learning programs.