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Sample records for student cognitive engagement

  1. Teachers' Cognitive Flexibility on Engagement and Their Ability to Engage Students: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Kristy Cooper; Miness, Andrew; Kintz, Tara

    2018-01-01

    Background: Student engagement is a cognitively complex domain that is often oversimplified in theory and practice. Reliance on a single model overlooks the sophisticated nature of student engagement and can lead to misconceptions and limited understandings that hinder teachers' ability to engage all of their students. Assessing varied models…

  2. Relationship quality and student engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culver, Jennifer

    The purpose of this study was to examine the qualities of support, relatedness, and negative interaction within parent-child and teacher-student relationships and their association with cognitive, psychological, and behavioral engagement. Additionally, this study explored the contributions of cognitive and psychological engagement on behavioral engagement. The role of gender, grade, and ethnicity on relationship quality and engagement was also considered. Participants (n=311) were students in grades three through five from a suburban school district in southeastern Michigan. Perceptions of teacher-student relationship quality varied by grade level. In general, younger students reported greater teacher support and relatedness in comparison to older students. Conversely, older students perceived greater conflict within the teacher-student relationship. Student engagement also varied by grade level, with younger students reporting greater engagement than older students. Ethnicity also contributed to variance in student engagement, with African American students reporting significantly more engagement than Caucasian or Multiracial students. Teacher-student relationship quality was a significant predictor of student engagement, even after controlling for student characteristics and parent-child relationship variables. Results of path analysis revealed that cognitive and psychological engagement contributed significantly to behavioral engagement.

  3. Student Engagement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Conduit, Jodie; Karpen, Ingo; Farrelly, Francis

    2017-01-01

    system (the university), the narrow service system (the course), and the individual dyadic level of engagement (the student-lecturer interaction). These findings could be further considered and empirically tested in other engagement contexts (e.g. employee engagement, customer engagement).......Universities are seeking to actively and strategically manage student engagement through providing opportunities for students to interact and engage with the institution on a range of levels and in different ways. However, this increasingly complex and multi-layered nature of student engagement...... within a tertiary education environment is not well understood. Through qualitative focus groups and a series of interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate students, this study explores and articulates the cognitive, emotional, behavioural and social dimensions of engagement that depict the nature...

  4. Relationships between Students' Engagement and the Dissimilar Cognitive Styles of Their Undergraduate Instructors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedel, Curtis R.; Rudd, Rick D.

    2009-01-01

    This study was conducted to determine if the dissimilarity of cognitive style between the instructor and the student was related to student engagement in nine undergraduate classes. Kirton's Adaption-Innovation Inventory was used to measure cognitive style as a preference to a method of solving problems: either more adaptively or more…

  5. Pharmaceutical Cognitive Enhancement in Greek University Students: Differences Between Users and Non-Users in Social Cognitive Variables, Burnout, and Engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazuras, Lambros; Ypsilanti, Antonia; Lamprou, Efthymios; Kontogiorgis, Christos

    2017-06-07

    Pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement (PCE) represents the non-medical use of prescribed medication for the improvement of cognitive functioning and academic performance. Although there are some studies about PCE prevalence, it is less clear how users and non-users of PCE substances differ with respect to their positive and negative student experiences (e.g. academic burnout and engagement with studies) and in social cognitive variables that relate to decision-making and self-regulation of PCE use. The present study assessed whether students with different experiences of PCE substance use displayed differences in academic burnout, study engagement, and social cognitive variables relevant to PCE use. Three hundred and forty-seven university students (mean age (M) = 22.15 years, SD = 1.69; 54% females) completed a battery of anonymous questionnaires on academic burnout, engagement with studies, social cognitive variables relevant to PCE use, and self-reported use of PCE substances and non-prescribed nutritional supplements. Three user groups emerged, namely non-users (51.9%, n = 180), single users of non-prescribed dietary supplements (25.4%, n = 88), and dual users of both non-prescribed dietary supplements and PCE (22.8%, n = 79). Multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant differences among the three user groups in intentions, attitudes, social norms, and anticipated regret toward PCE use. No significant differences were observed with respect to academic burnout and work engagement. The findings show that university students may engage in PCE use independent of their student experiences. Rather, a chemically assisted performance enhancement mindset seems to differentiate users from non-users of PCE substances.

  6. Immigrant Students’ Emotional and Cognitive Engagement at School: A Multilevel Analysis of Students in 41 countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Ming Ming; Pong, Suet-ling; Mori, Izumi; Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin

    2014-01-01

    Central to student learning and academic success, the school engagement of immigrant children also reflects their adaptation to a primary institution in their new country. Analysis of questionnaire responses of 276,165 fifteen-year-olds (50 % female) and their 10,789 school principals in 41 countries showed that school engagement has distinct, weakly-linked cognitive and emotional components. Native students had weaker attitudes toward school (cognitive engagement) but greater sense of belonging at school (emotional engagement) than immigrant students or students who spoke a foreign language at home. Students with better teacher–student relationships, teacher support or a classroom disciplinary climate often had a greater sense of belonging at school and had better attitudes toward school than other students. While immigrant students often have solid attitudes toward school, teachers can help them feel a greater sense of belonging at school. PMID:22484548

  7. Students Engaged in Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail, Emad A.; Groccia, James E.

    2018-01-01

    Engaging students in learning is a basic principle of effective undergraduate education. Outcomes of engaging students include meaningful learning experiences and enhanced skills in all learning domains. This chapter reviews the influence of engaging students in different forms of active learning on cognitive, psychomotor, and affective skill…

  8. Engaging Students Emotionally: The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Predicting Cognitive and Affective Engagement in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maguire, Rebecca; Egan, Arlene; Hyland, Philip; Maguire, Phil

    2017-01-01

    Student engagement is a key predictor of academic performance, persistence and retention in higher education. While many studies have identified how aspects of the college environment influence engagement, fewer have specifically focused on emotional intelligence (EI). In this study, we sought to explore whether EI could predict cognitive and/or…

  9. Moving Beyond Concepts: Getting Urban High School Students Engaged in Science through Cognitive Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Renu

    In order to maintain its global position, the United States needs to increase the number of students opting for science careers. Science teachers face a formidable challenge. Students are not choosing science because they do not think coursework is interesting or applies to their lives. These problems often compound for adolescents in urban areas. This action research investigated an innovation aimed at engaging a group of adolescents in the science learning process through cognitive processes and conceptual understanding. It was hoped that this combination would increase students' engagement in the classroom and proficiency in science. The study was conducted with 28 juniors and sophomores in an Environmental Science class in an urban high school with a student body of 97% minority students and 86% students receiving free and reduced lunch. The study used a mixed-methods design. Instruments included a pre- and post-test, Thinking Maps, transcripts of student discourse, and a two-part Engagement Observation Instrument. Data analysis included basic descriptives and a grounded theory approach. Findings show students became engaged in activities when cognitive processes were taught prior to content. Furthermore it was discovered that Thinking Maps were perceived to be an easy tool to use to organize students' thinking and processing. Finally there was a significant increase in student achievement. From these findings implications for future practice and research are offered.

  10. Cognitive abilities and motivational processes in high school students' science achievement and engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Shun

    The dissertation presents two analytic approaches, a variable-centered and person-centered approach, to investigating holistic patterns of the cognitive, motivational, and affective correlates of science achievement and engagement in a sample of 491 10th and 11th grade high-school students. Building on Snow's (1989) idea of two pathways to achievement outcomes, Study 1 adopted a variable-centered approach to examining how cognitive and motivational factors associated with the performance and commitment pathways, respectively, contributed to the prediction of achievement outcomes in science. Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that (a) students' cognitive abilities were the strongest predictors of their performance in science as measured by standardized test scores; (b) motivational processes enhanced the predictive validity for science test scores and grades beyond the variance accounted for by ability and demography; (c) motivational processes were the strongest predictors of students' commitment to science in the form of situational engagement and anticipated choices of science-related college majors and careers; and (d) competence beliefs served as a point of contact between the performance and commitment pathways. These results are consistent with Snow's (1989) conjecture that both performance and commitment pathway-related factors are necessary for understanding the full range of person-level inputs to achievement outcomes. Study 2 adopted a person-centered approach to examining holistic organizations of psychological factors within individuals and their relations to science achievement and engagement. Four types of students characterized by unique configurations of cognitive, motivational, and affective attributes were identified in both the male and female subsamples using inverse factor analysis. Type membership was found to distinguish students in various indicators of science achievement and engagement. Two of the four types were also found

  11. The Impact of Classroom-Based Meditation Practice on Cognitive Engagement, Mindfulness and Academic Performance of Undergraduate College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Napora, Lisa

    2013-01-01

    This study explored the potential of classroom-based meditation practice as a tool to facilitate learning. Moreover, the impact of meditation on cognitive engagement, mindfulness and academic performance of undergraduate college students was investigated. Additionally, the relationships between mindfulness and cognitive engagement, and between…

  12. The ABCs of Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsons, Seth A.; Nuland, Leila Richey; Parsons, Allison Ward

    2014-01-01

    Student engagement is an important consideration for teachers and administrators because it is explicitly associated with achievement. What the authors call the ABC's of engagement they outline as: Affective engagement, Behavioral engagement, and Cognitive engagement. They also present "Three Things Every Teacher Needs to Know about…

  13. Student Engagement with Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight-McKenna, Mary; Felten, Peter; Darby, Alexa

    2018-01-01

    Student engagement in the local community comes with both risks and rewards. This chapter explains the cognitive, behavioral, and affective outcomes of student learning in the community, along with noting the importance of preparation and reflection.

  14. Life satisfaction and student engagement in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Ashley D; Huebner, E Scott; Malone, Patrick S; Valois, Robert F

    2011-03-01

    Situated within a positive psychology perspective, this study explored linkages between adolescent students' positive subjective well-being and their levels of engagement in schooling. Specifically, using structural equation modeling techniques, we evaluated the nature and directionality of longitudinal relationships between life satisfaction and student engagement variables. It was hypothesized that adolescents' life satisfaction and student engagement variables would show bidirectional relationships. To test this hypothesis, 779 students (53% female, 62% Caucasian) in a Southeastern US middle school completed a measure of global life satisfaction and measures of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement at two time points, 5 months apart. A statistically significant bidirectional relationship between life satisfaction and cognitive engagement was found; however, non-significant relationships were found between life satisfaction and emotional and behavioral student engagement. The findings provide important evidence of the role of early adolescents' life satisfaction in their engagement in schooling during the important transition grades between elementary and high school. The findings also help extend the positive psychology perspective to the relatively neglected context of education.

  15. Differences in students' mathematics engagement between gender and between rural and urban schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayub, Ahmad Fauzi Mohd; Yunus, Aida Suraya Md.; Mahmud, Rosnaini; Salim, Nur Raidah; Sulaiman, Tajularipin

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore secondary school students' mathematics engagement focusing on the cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement domains. A total of 387 students (186 male and 201 female) from the urban and rural secondary schools in Pahang, Malaysia, were randomly selected. There were 158 students from the urban schools and 229 students from the rural schools. Descriptive analyses for mathematics engagement domains revealed behavioural engagement had the highest mean (M = 3.74, SD = .63), followed by cognitive engagement (M = 3.56, SD = .43) and affective engagement (M = 3.48, SD = .47). The mean for students' overall mathematics engagement was 3.56 (SD = .46). Further analyses showed there were significant differences in each of the engagement domains in mathematics learning (affective, cognitive and behavioural), where students in the urban schools showed significantly better in the mean scores for affective, cognitive, behavioural domains and the overall mathematics engagement as compared to the students in the rural schools. Similar findings also showed there were significant differences in the overall mathematics engagement mean between the genders. The findings indicated girls were significantly better than boys in all (affective, cognitive and behavioural) of the engagement domains in mathematics learning. It was also shown girls had higher overall mathematics engagement mean as compared to boys. However, the study also indicated the overall students' mathematics engagement was at a moderate level. Besides, the rural school students did not show high mathematics engagement as compared to the urban school students. Further analyses showed girls significantly had better mathematics engagement as compared to boys. Hence, it is recommended that in order to optimize students' mathematics engagement, they should be actively engaged in more participative learning activities in mathematics classrooms. Focus should be given to rural schools

  16. University student’s engagement: development of the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Maroco

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Student engagement is a key factor in academic achievement and degree completion, though there is much debate about the operationalization and dimensionality of this construct. The goal of this paper is to describe the development of an psycho-educational oriented measure – the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI. This measure draws on the conceptualization of engagement as a multidimensional construct, including cognitive, behavioural and emotional engagement. Participants were 609 Portuguese University students (67 % female majoring in Social Sciences, Biological Sciences or Engineering and Exact Sciences. The content, construct and predictive validity, and reliability of the USEI were tested. The validated USEI was composed of 15 items, and supported the tri-factorial structure of student engagement. We documented evidence of adequate reliability, factorial, convergent and discriminant validities. USEI’s concurrent validity, with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student Survey, and the predictive validity for self-reported academic achievement and intention to dropout from school were also observed.

  17. Scaffolding student engagement via online peer learning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casey, M M; Bates, S P; Galloway, K W; Galloway, R K; Hardy, J A; Kay, A E; Kirsop, P; McQueen, H A

    2014-01-01

    We describe one aspect of a UK inter-institutional project wherein an online tool was used to support student generation of multiple choice questions. Across three universities and in five modules in physics, chemistry and biology, we introduced the PeerWise online system as a summative assessment tool in our classes, the desire being to increase student engagement, academic attainment and level of cognitive challenge. Engagement with the system was high with many students exceeding the minimum requirements set out in the assessment criteria. We explore the nature of student engagement and describe a working model to enable high-impact student-learning and academic gain with minimal instructor intervention. (paper)

  18. Increasing Student Engagement, Self-Efficacy, and Meta-Cognitive Self-Regulation in the High School Geometry Classroom: Do iPads Help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, David R.; Steck, Andy K.

    2015-01-01

    Teachers are increasingly integrating mobile digital technology into the classroom. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of incorporating iPads in a secondary-level geometry course on academic achievement, student engagement, self-efficacy, and meta-cognitive self-regulation. Students in the iPad-using classroom experienced lower…

  19. Engaging Students in Learning Science through Promoting Creative Reasoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldrip, Bruce; Prain, Vaughan

    2017-01-01

    Student engagement in learning science is both a desirable goal and a long-standing teacher challenge. Moving beyond engagement understood as transient topic interest, we argue that cognitive engagement entails sustained interaction in the processes of how knowledge claims are generated, judged, and shared in this subject. In this paper, we…

  20. Incremental Theory of Intelligence Moderated the Relationship between Prior Achievement and School Engagement in Chinese High School Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ping; Zhou, Nan; Zhang, Yuchi; Xiong, Qing; Nie, Ruihong; Fang, Xiaoyi

    2017-01-01

    School engagement plays a prominent role in promoting academic accomplishments. In contrast to the relative wealth of research that examined the impact of students' school engagement on their academic achievement, considerably less research has investigated the effect of high school students' prior achievement on their school engagement. The present study examined the relationship between prior achievement and school engagement among Chinese high school students. Based on the Dweck's social-cognitive theory of motivation, we further examined the moderating effect of students' theories of intelligence (TOIs) on this relationship. A total of 4036 (2066 girls) students from five public high school enrolled in grades 10 reported their high school entrance exam achievement in Chinese, Math and English, school engagement, and TOIs. Results showed that (a) students' prior achievement predicted their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, respectively, and (b) the association between prior achievement and behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement is strong for students with an incremental theory but not for those with an entity theory in the emotional and cognitive engagement. These findings suggest that prior achievement and incremental theory were implicated in relation to adolescents' school engagement. Implications and future research directions were discussed.

  1. Engaging students in learning science through promoting creative reasoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldrip, Bruce; Prain, Vaughan

    2017-10-01

    Student engagement in learning science is both a desirable goal and a long-standing teacher challenge. Moving beyond engagement understood as transient topic interest, we argue that cognitive engagement entails sustained interaction in the processes of how knowledge claims are generated, judged, and shared in this subject. In this paper, we particularly focus on the initial claim-building aspect of this reasoning as a crucial phase in student engagement. In reviewing the literature on student reasoning and argumentation, we note that the well-established frameworks for claim-judging are not matched by accounts of creative reasoning in claim-building. We develop an exploratory framework to characterise and enact this reasoning to enhance engagement. We then apply this framework to interpret two lessons by two science teachers where they aimed to develop students' reasoning capabilities to support learning.

  2. Student engagement and its relationship with early high school dropout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archambault, Isabelle; Janosz, Michel; Fallu, Jean-Sébastien; Pagani, Linda S

    2009-06-01

    Although the concept of school engagement figures prominently in most school dropout theories, there has been little empirical research conducted on its nature and course and, more importantly, the association with dropout. Information on the natural development of school engagement would greatly benefit those interested in preventing student alienation during adolescence. Using a longitudinal sample of 11,827 French-Canadian high school students, we tested behavioral, affective, cognitive indices of engagement both separately and as a global construct. We then assessed their contribution as prospective predictors of school dropout using factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Global engagement reliably predicted school dropout. Among its three specific dimensions, only behavioral engagement made a significant contribution in the prediction equation. Our findings confirm the robustness of the overall multidimensional construct of school engagement, which reflects both cognitive and psychosocial characteristics, and underscore the importance attributed to basic participation and compliance issues in reliably estimating risk of not completing basic schooling during adolescence.

  3. Student Motivations as Predictors of High-Level Cognitions in Project-Based Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stolk, Jonathan; Harari, Janie

    2014-01-01

    It is well established that active learning helps students engage in high-level thinking strategies and develop improved cognitive skills. Motivation and self-regulated learning research, however, illustrates that cognitive engagement is an effortful process that is related to students' valuing of the learning tasks, adoption of internalized goal…

  4. An analysis of user engagement in student Facebook groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murray Lane

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Analysing the engagement of students in university-based Facebook groups can shed light on the nature of their learning experience and highlight leverage points to build on student success. While post-semester surveys and demographic participation data can highlight who was involved and how they subsequently felt about the experience, these techniques do not necessarily reflect real-time engagement. One way to gain insight into in-situ student experiences is by categorising the original posts and comments into predetermined frameworks of learning. This paper offers a systematic method of coding Facebook contributions within various engagement categories: motivation, discourse, cognition and emotive responses. 

  5. Early high school engagement in students with attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zendarski, Nardia; Sciberras, Emma; Mensah, Fiona; Hiscock, Harriet

    2017-06-01

    Students with attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continue to languish behind their peers with regard to academic achievement and education attainment. School engagement is potentially modifiable, and targeting engagement may be a means to improve education outcomes. To investigate school engagement for students with ADHD during the crucial high school transition period and to identify factors associated with low school engagement. Participants are adolescents (12-15 years) in the first and third year of high school with diagnosed ADHD (n = 130). Participants were recruited from 21 paediatric practices. Cross-sectional study assessing school engagement. Data were collected through direct assessment and child, parent, and teacher surveys. School engagement is measured as student attitudes to school (cognitive and emotional) and suspension rates (behavioural). Multivariable regression analyses examined student, family, and school factors affecting engagement. In comparison with state data, students with ADHD in the first year of high school were less motivated (p comparison to state-wide suspensions (21% vs. 6%, p < .01). Explanatory factors for poor attitudes include adolescent depression, poor adolescent supervision, and devaluing education. Conduct problems and increased hyperactivity were related to increased likelihood of being suspended, whilst higher cognitive ability, family socio-economic status, and independent schools reduced risk. Potentially modifiable individual and family factors including adolescent depression, behavioural problems, education values, and family supervision could be targeted to better manage the high school transition for students with ADHD. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

  6. Not just robo-students: why full engagement matters and how schools can promote it.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, Jerusha O; Pope, Denise C

    2013-09-01

    Research has long linked academic engagement to positive social, psychological, and physical developmental outcomes; however, qualitative studies in high-performing schools find that some students who work hard in school may be compromising their mental and physical health in the pursuit of top grades. Such research calls for closer and more contextualized examinations of the concept of engagement. This study examines academic engagement in a sample of 6,294 students (54 % female; 44 % White, 34 % Asian, and 22 % other racial or ethnic background) attending 15 high-achieving schools. Findings show that two-thirds of students at these schools are not regularly "fully engaged" in their academic schoolwork; that is, they do not regularly report high levels of affective, behavioral and cognitive engagement. Although most students report working hard, few enjoy their schoolwork and find it valuable. This lack of full engagement, particularly the absence of affective and cognitive engagement, is associated with more frequent school stress, higher rates of cheating, and greater internalizing, externalizing, and physical symptoms of stress. The study also finds that full engagement is strongly related to positive teacher-student relationships. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

  7. Student engagement in mathematics: Development of instrument and validation of construct

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Qi-Ping; Wong, Ngai-Ying; Lam, Chi-Chung

    2003-05-01

    Universal education has aggravated the problems of students' disengagement in learning, highlighting in particular, a greater range of motivations to learn and wider diversification in students' interests. Students' engagement with curriculum has become a crucial element in classroom learning. How we cultivate their involvement in the curriculum may be seen as being far more important than the epistemological consideration in the design of the school curriculum. Though aspects of behavioural, affective and cognitive engagements have been revealed in literature, we are still in need of a validated instrument that measures student engagement for further research. In the present study, an instrument of student engagement in the subject area of mathematics was developed through grounded research. Its validity was established by statistical methods

  8. Situational Interest, Computer Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulation: Their Impact on Student Engagement in Distance Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jerry Chih-Yuan; Rueda, Robert

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates possible relationships among motivational and learning variables (interest, self-efficacy and self-regulation) and three types of student engagement (behavioural engagement, emotional engagement and cognitive engagement) in a distance education setting. Participants were 203 students enrolled in online classes in the fall…

  9. An Investigation into Student Engagement in Higher Education Classrooms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Witkowski, PhD

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This article reports on a one-year research project that used peer coaching and collaboration between two reading professors to study the effects of collaborative classroom activities on student engagement. In order to address professors’ concerns about student participation, two undergraduate reading-methods classes were revised through the inclusion of more collaborative learning activities. Classroom observations were conducted to take notes on both pedagogical methods and student response to these methods. Students were also asked to self-assess their engagement in behavioral, cognitive, and affective domains. The results of this research were then used to revise pedagogical techniques in these and other classes.

  10. Staying on Track for High School Graduation: Promoting Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stout, Karen E.; Christenson, Sandra L.

    2009-01-01

    Students' engagement at school has emerged as a critical factor across hundreds of dropout prevention and recovery programs in the United States. By supporting and improving academic, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement, we can mitigate the risk of dropping out. This article describes the history of school dropout, predictors of…

  11. Incremental Theory of Intelligence Moderated the Relationship between Prior Achievement and School Engagement in Chinese High School Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Li

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available School engagement plays a prominent role in promoting academic accomplishments. In contrast to the relative wealth of research that examined the impact of students’ school engagement on their academic achievement, considerably less research has investigated the effect of high school students’ prior achievement on their school engagement. The present study examined the relationship between prior achievement and school engagement among Chinese high school students. Based on the Dweck’s social-cognitive theory of motivation, we further examined the moderating effect of students’ theories of intelligence (TOIs on this relationship. A total of 4036 (2066 girls students from five public high school enrolled in grades 10 reported their high school entrance exam achievement in Chinese, Math and English, school engagement, and TOIs. Results showed that (a students’ prior achievement predicted their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, respectively, and (b the association between prior achievement and behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement is strong for students with an incremental theory but not for those with an entity theory in the emotional and cognitive engagement. These findings suggest that prior achievement and incremental theory were implicated in relation to adolescents’ school engagement. Implications and future research directions were discussed.

  12. The Influence of Motivational Regulation Strategies on Online Students' Behavioral, Emotional, and Cognitive Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sanghoon; Yun, Heoncheol

    2018-01-01

    Providing effective motivational support is a critical determinant of a successful online distance learning experience for students in higher education. In this study, we examined how students' academic level and use of 8 motivational regulation strategies influence 3 types of student engagement: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and…

  13. Using the Partial Credit Model to Evaluate the Student Engagement in Mathematics Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leis, Micela; Schmidt, Karen M.; Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E.

    2015-01-01

    The Student Engagement in Mathematics Scale (SEMS) is a self-report measure that was created to assess three dimensions of student engagement (social, emotional, and cognitive) in mathematics based on a single day of class. In the current study, the SEMS was administered to a sample of 360 fifth graders from a large Mid-Atlantic district. The…

  14. How Cognitive Engagement Fluctuates during a Team-Based Learning Session and How It Predicts Academic Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotgans, Jerome I.; Schmidt, Henk G.; Rajalingam, Preman; Hao, Joey Wong Ying; Canning, Claire Ann; Ferenczi, Michael A.; Low-Beer, Naomi

    2018-01-01

    The objective of the paper is to report findings of two studies that attempted to find answers to the following questions: (1) What are the levels of cognitive engagement in TBL?; (2) Are there differences between students who were more exposed to TBL than students who were less exposed to TBL?; (3) To which extent does cognitive engagement…

  15. Measuring Student Engagement in the Online Course: The Online Student Engagement Scale (OSE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixson, Marcia D.

    2015-01-01

    Student engagement is critical to student learning, especially in the online environment, where students can often feel isolated and disconnected. Therefore, teachers and researchers need to be able to measure student engagement. This study provides validation of the Online Student Engagement scale (OSE) by correlating student self-reports of…

  16. Situating cognitive/socio-cognitive approaches to student learning in genetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindfield, Ann C. H.

    2009-03-01

    In this volume, Furberg and Arnseth report on a study of genetics learning from a socio-cultural perspective, focusing on students' meaning making as they engage in collaborative problem solving. Throughout the paper, they criticize research on student understanding and conceptual change conducted from a cognitive/socio-cognitive perspective on several reasonable grounds. However, their characterization of work undertaken from this perspective sometimes borders on caricature, failing to acknowledge the complexities of the research and the contexts within which it has been carried out. In this commentary, I expand their characterization of the cognitive/socio-cognitive perspective in general and situate my own work on genetics learning so as to provide a richer view of the enterprise. From this richer, more situated view, I conclude that research from both perspectives and collaboration between those looking at learning from different perspectives will ultimately provide a more complete picture of science learning.

  17. Student Engagement in Assessments: What Students and Teachers Find Engaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Soung; Kokka, Kari

    2016-01-01

    Although research has shown that student engagement is strongly related to performance on assessment tasks, especially for traditionally underserved subgroups of students, increasing student engagement has not been the goal of standardized tests of content knowledge. Recent state and federal policies, however, are changing the assessment…

  18. Selective Engagement of Cognitive Resources: Motivational Influences on Older Adults’ Cognitive Functioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hess, Thomas M.

    2018-01-01

    In this article, I present a framework for understanding the impact of aging-related declines in cognitive resources on functioning. I make the assumption that aging is associated with an increase in the costs of cognitive engagement, as reflected in both the effort required to achieve a specific level of task performance and the associated depletion or fatigue effects. I further argue that these costs result in older adults being increasingly selective in the engagement of cognitive resources in response to these declines. This selectivity is reflected in (a) a reduction in the intrinsic motivation to engage in cognitively demanding activities, which, in part, accounts for general reductions in engagement in such activities, and (b) greater sensitivity to the self-related implications of a given task. Both processes are adaptive if viewed in terms of resource conservation, but the former may also be maladaptive to the extent that it results in older adults restricting participation in cognitively demanding activities that could ultimately benefit cognitive health. I review supportive research and make the general case for the importance of considering motivational factors in understanding aging effects on cognitive functioning. PMID:26173272

  19. Intergenerational Programs May Be Especially Engaging for Aged Care Residents With Cognitive Impairment: Findings From the Avondale Intergenerational Design Challenge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Jess Rose; Webster, Lindl; Lynn, Nigel; Rogers, Julie; Belcher, Jessica

    2017-06-01

    Intergenerational programs are an authentic way to engage elders in meaningful activity and report benefits to both elders and youth. The Avondale Intergenerational Design Challenge (AVID) randomly assigned small teams of technology students aged 13 to 15 years (total N = 59) to 1 of 24 aged care residents with a range of cognitive impairment. Students met with the resident 4 times over 15 weeks and ultimately crafted a personalized item for them. Students showed no change in self-reported attitudes to elders, empathy, or self-esteem post-AVID or at 3-month follow-up, compared to a 3-month within-subject control period pre-AVID. Compared to usual lifestyle activities, residents showed significant improvements in self-reported positive affect and negative affect after student visits and were observed to be significantly more engaged during visits, especially residents with greater cognitive impairment. The personal and guided nature of intergenerational programs may be especially effective in engaging elders with cognitive impairment in meaningful activity.

  20. Measuring student engagement among elementary students: pilot of the Student Engagement Instrument--Elementary Version.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Chandra P; Reschly, Amy L; Lovelace, Matthew D; Appleton, James J; Thompson, Dianne

    2012-06-01

    Early school withdrawal, commonly referred to as dropout, is associated with a plethora of negative outcomes for students, schools, and society. Student engagement, however, presents as a promising theoretical model and cornerstone of school completion interventions. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Student Engagement Instrument-Elementary Version (SEI-E). The psychometric properties of this measure were assessed based on the responses of an ethnically diverse sample of 1,943 students from an urban locale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the 4-factor model of student engagement provided the best fit for the current data, which is divergent from previous SEI studies suggesting 5- and 6-factor models. Discussion and implications of these findings are presented in the context of student engagement and dropout prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Under-represented students' engagement in secondary science learning: A non-equivalent control group design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vann-Hamilton, Joy J.

    conducted. The reliability results prompted exploratory factory analyses, which resulted in two of the three subscale factors, cognitive and behavioral, being retained. One-within one-between subjects ANOVAs, independent samples t-test, and multiple linear regressions were also used to examine the impact of a multicultural science education, multimedia, and individual characteristics on students' engagement in science learning. Results. There were main effects found within subjects on posttest scores for the cognitive and behavioral subscales of student engagement. Both groups, using their respective versions of the multimedia science curriculum, reported increased engagement in science learning. There was also a statistical difference found for the experimental group at posttest on the measure of "online science was more interesting than school science." All five items unique to the posttest related to the multimedia variable were found to be significant predictors of cognitive and/or behavioral engagement. Conclusions. Engagement in science learning increased for both groups of participants; this finding is aligned with other significant research findings that more embracive and relevant pedagogies can potentially benefit all students. The significant difference found for the experimental group in relation to the multimedia usage was moderate and also may have reflected positive responses to other questions about the use of technology in science learning. As all five measures of multimedia usage were found to be significant predictors of student engagement in science learning, the indications were that: (a) technical difficulties did not impede engagement; (b) participants were better able to understand and visualize the physics concepts as they were presented in a variety of ways; (c) participants' abilities to use computers supported engagement; (d) participants in both groups found the online science curriculum more interesting compared to school science learning; and

  2. The Influence of Inquiry-Based Teaching on Male and Female Students' Motivation and Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Yen-Ruey; Tuan, Hsiao-Lin; Chin, Chi-Chin

    2018-03-01

    This study aims to examine the influence of inquiry-based instruction on eighth-grade male and female students' motivation and engagement in science learning in two public junior high schools in central Taiwan. Mixed-methods methodology was adopted with 60 students (32 males and 28 females) in the experimental group and 56 students (28 males and 28 females) in the control group. The study lasted for one semester and six units using inquiry-based teaching (90-180 min each) were implemented in the experimental group. Questionnaires used for measuring students' motivation and engagement in science learning were administered as pre- and post-tests. In addition, eight to ten male and female students from both experimental and control groups, as well as two instructors were interviewed four times throughout the semester. Quantitative data were analyzed with t test and the interview data were fully transcribed and coded. Results show that male and female students under intervention expected to do more experiments because it improved their understanding. Male and female students under intervention also used more learning strategies. However, males benefited more than females from the intervention in regard to their motivation and engagement in learning science. Males improved more in motivational constructs, recognized the value of learning science, and increased their cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement because what they learned applied to real life. In contrast, females had higher exam anxiety and lower cognitive engagement due to mathematics fear, stronger sense of pride in class, and caring too much about the right answers.

  3. The Role of Subjective Task Value in Service-Learning Engagement among Chinese College Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yulan; Guo, Fangfang; Yao, Meilin; Wang, Cong; Yan, Wenfan

    2016-01-01

    Most service-learning studies in higher education focused on its effects on students' development. The dynamic processes and mechanisms of students' development during service-learning, however, have not been explored thoroughly. Student engagement in service-learning may affect service-learning outcomes and be affected by subjective task value at the same time. The present study aimed to explore the effect of subjective task value on Chinese college student engagement during service-learning. Fifty-four Chinese college students participated in a 9-weeks service-learning program of interacting with children with special needs. Students' engagement and subjective task value were assessed via self-report questionnaires and 433 weekly reflective journals. The results indicated that the cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagement of Chinese college students demonstrated different developmental trends during service-learning process. Subjective task value played an essential role in student engagement in service-learning activities. However, the role of subjective task value varied with different stages. Finally, the implications for implementing service-learning in Chinese education were discussed.

  4. Students individual engagement in GIS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Lene Møller; Christiansen, Frederik V; Rump, Camilla Østerberg

    2014-01-01

    This paper develops two sets of concepts to theorize why students engage differently in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). These theoretical concepts are used as an analytical lens to explore empirical data on the experiences and engagement of students enrolled in an undergraduate GIS course...... in planning and management. The analysis shows that both the theoretical perspectives and the custom and didactical contract are important to understand students' engagement in GIS. However, it is the personal desiderata that are the key to understanding the students' different engagement. Further, a temporal...... dimension and contextual awareness are important in understanding students' engagement in a broader perspective....

  5. Examining Behavioral, Relational, and Cognitive Engagement in Smaller Learning Communities: A Case Study of Reform in One Suburban District

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Heather A.; Chang, Mei-Lin; Andrzejewski, Carey E.; Poirier, Ryan R.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this project was to examine the impact of Smaller Learning Community reform on students' behavioral, relational, and cognitive engagement in a suburban school district experiencing urbanization. We describe a project in which we evaluated the engagement of a cohort of 8th grade students as they transitioned to high school (n = 605).…

  6. Students Engaged in Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Channing R.; Wilkins, Emily B.; Groccia, James E.

    2018-01-01

    The role of peer teaching has long been established in academia as a means to foster student engagement in the classroom, increase student learning, and as a way to reduce faculty workload. This chapter highlights the direct and powerful positive impacts of engaging students as teachers upon the student providing the instruction, those receiving…

  7. Student cognition and motivation during the Classroom BirdWatch citizen science project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomasek, Terry Morton

    The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the ways various stakeholders (CBW project developer/coordinator, elementary and middle school teachers, and 5th through 8th grade students) envisioned, implemented and engaged in the citizen science project, eBird/Classroom BirdWatch. A multiple case study mixed-methods research design was used to examine student engagement in the cognitive processes associated with scientific inquiry as part of citizen science participation. Student engagement was described based on a sense of autonomy, competence, relatedness and intrinsic motivation. A goal of this study was to expand the taxonomy of differences between authentic scientific inquiry and simple inquiry to include those inquiry tasks associated with participation in citizen science by describing how students engaged in this type of science. This research study built upon the existing framework of cognitive processes associated with scientific inquiry described by Chinn and Malhotra (2002). This research provides a systematic analysis of the scientific processes and related reasoning tasks associated with the citizen science project eBird and the corresponding curriculum Classroom BirdWatch . Data consisted of responses to surveys, focus group interviews, document analysis and individual interviews. I suggest that citizen science could be an additional form of classroom-based science inquiry that can promote more authentic features of scientific inquiry and engage students in meaningful ways.

  8. Student Engagement: Body, Mind and Heart – A Proposal for an Embedded Multi-Dimensional Student Engagement Framework

    OpenAIRE

    Pickford, R

    2016-01-01

    This paper considers student engagement in the context of a diverse higher education population and explores what institutions can do to impact positively on student engagement. The paper takes as its starting point the goals of higher education and the purposes of student engagement and reflects on the politicisation of student engagement, and the relative positioning of the student and the higher education institution in relation to student engagement. The paper suggests conditions for and ...

  9. Just-in-Time or Plenty-of-Time Teaching? Different Electronic Feedback Devices and Their Effect on Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jerry Chih-Yuan; Martinez, Brandon; Seli, Helena

    2014-01-01

    This study examines how incorporating different electronic feedback devices (i.e., clickers versus web-based polling) may affect specific types of student engagement (i.e., behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement), whether students' self-efficacy for learning and performance may differ between courses that have integrated clickers and…

  10. Student Engagement In Inclusive Classrooms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rangvid, Beatrice Schindler

    There is general agreement that to thrive and learn at their best, students must be engaged. However, schools face a particular challenge to provide a suitable and engaging learning environment for SEN (special educational needs) students who are educated in general education classes. Using data......-students as for other students. This highlights the need for better inclusion initiatives aimed at strengthening engagement of SEN-students in regular classrooms....

  11. Emotional engagements predict and enhance social cognition in young chimpanzees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bard, Kim A; Bakeman, Roger; Boysen, Sarah T; Leavens, David A

    2014-09-01

    Social cognition in infancy is evident in coordinated triadic engagements, that is, infants attending jointly with social partners and objects. Current evolutionary theories of primate social cognition tend to highlight species differences in cognition based on human-unique cooperative motives. We consider a developmental model in which engagement experiences produce differential outcomes. We conducted a 10-year-long study in which two groups of laboratory-raised chimpanzee infants were given quantifiably different engagement experiences. Joint attention, cooperativeness, affect, and different levels of cognition were measured in 5- to 12-month-old chimpanzees, and compared to outcomes derived from a normative human database. We found that joint attention skills significantly improved across development for all infants, but by 12 months, the humans significantly surpassed the chimpanzees. We found that cooperativeness was stable in the humans, but by 12 months, the chimpanzee group given enriched engagement experiences significantly surpassed the humans. Past engagement experiences and concurrent affect were significant unique predictors of both joint attention and cooperativeness in 5- to 12-month-old chimpanzees. When engagement experiences and concurrent affect were statistically controlled, joint attention and cooperation were not associated. We explain differential social cognition outcomes in terms of the significant influences of previous engagement experiences and affect, in addition to cognition. Our study highlights developmental processes that underpin the emergence of social cognition in support of evolutionary continuity. © 2014 The Authors. Developmental Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Widowhood, leisure activity engagement, and cognitive function among older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yura; Chi, Iris; A Palinkas, Lawrence

    2018-04-10

    Maintaining cognitive function is an essential aspect of successful aging. Widowhood is a salient life transition that can affect older adults' cognitive function. Leisure engagement has received increasing attention because it is still modifiable in later life to help prevent cognitive decline. Nonetheless, limited longitudinal studies have examined how widowhood influences cognitive function, and even fewer studies have tested the role of leisure activities in this relationship. This study delineated the mechanism of widowhood, leisure activity engagement, and cognitive function among older adults using a national longitudinal dataset, the Health and Retirement Study, and its supplementary dataset, the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey, which repeatedly measured individuals' leisure activity engagement. Findings showed no significant association between widowhood and cognitive function during a 4-year period. However, engagement in mental activities moderated the impact of widowhood on cognitive function. Specifically, the benefit of mental activity engagement on cognition was more pronounced among individuals who were recently widowed compared to those who were married. This implies a protective role of mental activities in the relationship between widowhood and cognitive function. Interventions with mentally stimulating activities at the community level to retain cognition among individuals in early phase widowhoodare suggested. Future studies are necessary to explore whether other factors such as changes in physical and mental health and intergenerational support from adult children during widowhood may further influence this mechanism among widowhood, leisure activities, and cognitive function.

  13. High school student's motivation to engage in conceptual change-learning in science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barlia, Lily

    1999-11-01

    This study investigated motivational factors that are related to engaging in conceptual change learning. While previous studies have recognized the resistance of students' scientific conception to change, few have investigated the role that non-cognitive factors might play when students are exposed to conceptual change instruction. Three research questions were examined: (a) What instructional strategies did the teacher use to both promote students' learning for conceptual change and increase their motivation in learning science? (b) What are the patterns of students' motivation to engage in conceptual change learning? And (c) what individual profiles can be constructed from the four motivational factors (i.e., goals, values, self-efficacy, and control beliefs) and how are these profiles linked to engagement (i.e., behavioral and cognitive engagement) in conceptual change learning of science? Eleven twelfth grade students (senior students) and the teacher in which conceptual change approach to teaching was used in daily activities were selected. Data collection for this study included student's self-reported responses to the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), classroom observation of students and the teacher, and structured interviews. Analysis of these data resulted in a motivational factor profile for each student and cross case analysis for entire group. Results from this study indicate that each student has different motivation factors that are mostly influenced individual student to learn science. Among these motivation factors, task value and control beliefs were most important for students. The implication of these findings are that teachers need to encourage students to find learning for conceptual change a valuable task, and that students need to find applications for their new conceptions within their everyday lives. In addition, teachers need to encourage students to develop learning strategies for conceptual understanding

  14. Training versus engagement as paths to cognitive enrichment with aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L; Payne, Brennan R; Roberts, Brent W; Kramer, Arthur F; Morrow, Daniel G; Payne, Laura; Hill, Patrick L; Jackson, Joshua J; Gao, Xuefei; Noh, Soo Rim; Janke, Megan C; Parisi, Jeanine M

    2014-12-01

    While a training model of cognitive intervention targets the improvement of particular skills through instruction and practice, an engagement model is based on the idea that being embedded in an intellectually and socially complex environment can impact cognition, perhaps even broadly, without explicit instruction. We contrasted these 2 models of cognitive enrichment by randomly assigning healthy older adults to a home-based inductive reasoning training program, a team-based competitive program in creative problem solving, or a wait-list control. As predicted, those in the training condition showed selective improvement in inductive reasoning. Those in the engagement condition, on the other hand, showed selective improvement in divergent thinking, a key ability exercised in creative problem solving. On average, then, both groups appeared to show ability-specific effects. However, moderators of change differed somewhat for those in the engagement and training interventions. Generally, those who started either intervention with a more positive cognitive profile showed more cognitive growth, suggesting that cognitive resources enabled individuals to take advantage of environmental enrichment. Only in the engagement condition did initial levels of openness and social network size moderate intervention effects on cognition, suggesting that comfort with novelty and an ability to manage social resources may be additional factors contributing to the capacity to take advantage of the environmental complexity associated with engagement. Collectively, these findings suggest that training and engagement models may offer alternative routes to cognitive resilience in late life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Engaging with Assessment: Increasing Student Engagement through Continuous Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Naomi

    2018-01-01

    Student engagement is intrinsically linked to two important metrics in learning: student satisfaction and the quality of the student experience. One of the ways that engagement can be influenced is through careful curriculum design. Using the knowledge that many students are "assessment-driven," a low-stakes continuous weekly summative…

  16. Staying Engaged: Knowledge and Research Needs in Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ming-Te; Degol, Jessica

    2016-01-01

    In this article, we review knowledge about student engagement and look ahead to the future of study in this area. We begin by describing how researchers in the field define and study student engagement. In particular, we describe the levels, contexts, and dimensions that constitute the measurement of engagement, summarize the contexts that shape engagement and the outcomes that result from it, and articulate person-centered approaches for analyzing engagement. We conclude by addressing limitations to the research and providing recommendations for study. Specifically, we point to the importance of incorporating more work on how learning-related emotions, personality characteristics, prior learning experiences, shared values across contexts, and engagement in nonacademic activities influence individual differences in student engagement. We also stress the need to improve our understanding of the nuances involved in developing engagement over time by incorporating more extensive longitudinal analyses, intervention trials, research on affective neuroscience, and interactions among levels and dimensions of engagement. PMID:27087833

  17. Rules of (Student) Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buskist, William; Busler, Jessica N.; Kirby, Lauren A. J.

    2018-01-01

    Teachers often think of student engagement in terms of hands-on activities that get students involved in their courses. They seldom consider the larger aspects of the teaching--learning environment that often influence the extent to which students are willing to become engaged in their coursework. In this chapter, we describe five "rules of…

  18. The Role of Subjective Task Value in Service-Learning Engagement among Chinese College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yulan; Guo, Fangfang; Yao, Meilin; Wang, Cong; Yan, Wenfan

    2016-01-01

    Most service-learning studies in higher education focused on its effects on students’ development. The dynamic processes and mechanisms of students’ development during service-learning, however, have not been explored thoroughly. Student engagement in service-learning may affect service-learning outcomes and be affected by subjective task value at the same time. The present study aimed to explore the effect of subjective task value on Chinese college student engagement during service-learning. Fifty-four Chinese college students participated in a 9-weeks service-learning program of interacting with children with special needs. Students’ engagement and subjective task value were assessed via self-report questionnaires and 433 weekly reflective journals. The results indicated that the cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagement of Chinese college students demonstrated different developmental trends during service-learning process. Subjective task value played an essential role in student engagement in service-learning activities. However, the role of subjective task value varied with different stages. Finally, the implications for implementing service-learning in Chinese education were discussed. PMID:27445919

  19. Should Students Engaged to Their Study? (Academic Burnout and School-Engagement among Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fitri Arlinkasari

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Inability to deal with lectures efficiently leads students vulnerable to academic burnout. Burnout contributes to the high dropout rate among students, and this phenomenon has occurred on several universities in Indonesia. To overcome these problems, students should generate the feelings, attitudes and positive attitude towards the academic demands, or known as school engagement. School involvement is a predictor of students’ dropout rate. This study aims to analyze the dropout problem in many private universities in Jakarta by examining the psychological variables: academic burnout and school engagement. 208 students from some private university in Jakarta participated and fulfilled two questionnaires: academic burnout and school engagement that has been modified to suit the college setting. Correlation of the variables showed r= - 0.399 (p = 0.000. This means that school engagement plays a role in reducing academic burnout among students. These findings contribute a reference for academic counseling to support the decreasing of students’ dropout rate.

  20. The Cognitive Neuroscience of Sign Language: Engaging Undergraduate Students' Critical Thinking Skills Using the Primary Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Courtney

    2015-01-01

    This article presents a modular activity on the neurobiology of sign language that engages undergraduate students in reading and analyzing the primary functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) literature. Drawing on a seed empirical article and subsequently published critique and rebuttal, students are introduced to a scientific debate concerning the functional significance of right-hemisphere recruitment observed in some fMRI studies of sign language processing. The activity requires minimal background knowledge and is not designed to provide students with a specific conclusion regarding the debate. Instead, the activity and set of articles allow students to consider key issues in experimental design and analysis of the primary literature, including critical thinking regarding the cognitive subtractions used in blocked-design fMRI studies, as well as possible confounds in comparing results across different experimental tasks. By presenting articles representing different perspectives, each cogently argued by leading scientists, the readings and activity also model the type of debate and dialogue critical to science, but often invisible to undergraduate science students. Student self-report data indicate that undergraduates find the readings interesting and that the activity enhances their ability to read and interpret primary fMRI articles, including evaluating research design and considering alternate explanations of study results. As a stand-alone activity completed primarily in one 60-minute class block, the activity can be easily incorporated into existing courses, providing students with an introduction both to the analysis of empirical fMRI articles and to the role of debate and critique in the field of neuroscience.

  1. Student Engagement through Digital Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Liz; Meriwether, Jason L.

    2016-01-01

    This chapter suggests strategies and tools for student affairs professionals to leverage digital data to measure student engagement and learning outcomes, and refine programs that enhance institutional reputation and improve student persistence. The construct of student engagement is traced from its theoretical origins to recent research…

  2. Increasing the emotional engagement of first year mature-aged distance students: Interest and belonging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ella Kahu

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This research followed 19 mature-aged distance students through their first semester of undergraduate study. The analysis of interviews and video diaries presented in this paper focuses on two key elements of emotional engagement: interest and belonging. Findings highlight the importance of interest triggered by personal preferences and experiences. Interest led to enjoyment, increased behavioural engagement with greater time and effort expended, and improved cognitive engagement in terms of depth and breadth of learning. In contrast, there was less evidence of the social side of emotional engagement, belonging. Participants felt little connection to the university, but connecting with fellow students through face-to-face courses and online forums was important for some to reduce their sense of isolation. However, distance study was not for all. The findings highlight the need for staff to consider emotional engagement when designing and delivering the curriculum and when interacting with students, particularly in the all-important first year.

  3. Sustaining Student Engagement in Learning Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ateh, Comfort M.; Charpentier, Alicia

    2014-01-01

    Many students perceive science to be a difficult subject and are minimally engaged in learning it. This article describes a lesson that embedded an activity to engage students in learning science. It also identifies features of a science lesson that are likely to enhance students' engagement and learning of science and possibly reverse students'…

  4. I FEEL CONNECTED: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND LECTURERS’ CREDIBILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Padma Pillai

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Communication is essential. Having the ability to communicate thoughts, ideas, and feelings is crucial in all environments. The education industry regards communication as a core business to transfer knowledge. This paper focuses on how two different groups of students at Sunway University, Malaysia, perceived Lecturers’ Credibility (LC in a class that enhances the Students’ Engagement (SE. A group of 50 to 60 students from the Faculty of Arts (FoA and School of Business (SoB completed measures of LC and SE using McCroskey and Teven’s (1999 Source Credibility Questionnaire (SCQ and Students Engagement Survey from Indicators of Positive Development Conference, Child Trends. The variables for LC comprise competence, character and caring (CCC, and the variables for SE consist of cognitive, behaviour and emotion (CBE. The study aims to determine if there are any differences in SE between students from FoA and SoB with their perceived LC. Hopefully, the study sheds some light on the research question: “Are there any differences among Faculty of Arts students and School of Business students in the relationship between lecturers’ credibility and students’ engagement?”

  5. The Relationship between Student Engagement and Professionalism in Pharmacy Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flaherty, Anne Guerin

    2011-01-01

    This study investigates the relationship between student engagement (as measured by the National Survey of Student Engagement benchmarks) and pharmacy student professionalism (as measured by the Pharmacy Professionalism Domain instrument) in first and third year pharmacy students at seven different schools of pharmacy. Engagement provides the…

  6. Engaging Students in Online Activities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Egendal, Jeppe Michael

    This study investegates how the educational design of online study activities affects students’ social and academic engagement in connection to their study? The study uses a hermenutical approach, using recordings of online sessions of student collaborations and interviews with students as methods...... for understanding student engagement...

  7. College student engaging in cyberbullying victimization: cognitive appraisals, coping strategies, and psychological adjustments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Na, Hyunjoo; Dancy, Barbara L; Park, Chang

    2015-06-01

    The study's purpose was to explore whether frequency of cyberbullying victimization, cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies were associated with psychological adjustments among college student cyberbullying victims. A convenience sample of 121 students completed questionnaires. Linear regression analyses found frequency of cyberbullying victimization, cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies respectively explained 30%, 30%, and 27% of the variance in depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. Frequency of cyberbullying victimization and approach and avoidance coping strategies were associated with psychological adjustments, with avoidance coping strategies being associated with all three psychological adjustments. Interventions should focus on teaching cyberbullying victims to not use avoidance coping strategies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Engaging in cultural activities compensates for educational differences in cognitive abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soubelet, Andrea

    2011-09-01

    The goal of the current project was to examine whether engagement in intellectual/cultural activities explains the long-term effects of education on cognitive abilities throughout adulthood, and whether it compensates for educational differences in cognitive abilities throughout adulthood. Participants between 18 and 96 years of age completed a comprehensive questionnaire about intellectual/cultural activities that they participated in and performed a wide variety of cognitive tests. There were no mediation effects of engagement in intellectual/cultural activities on the relationship between education and cognitive functioning. In contrast, engagement in intellectual/cultural activities was found to moderate the relations between education and the level of fluid ability, working memory, speed of processing, and episodic memory. Findings suggest that the risk of cognitive decline in people with less education can be reduced via engagement in intellectual and cultural activities throughout adulthood.

  9. Adding Value: Online Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Everett, Donna R.

    2015-01-01

    This paper seeks to add to the emerging literature related to online student engagement with additional suggestions for instructional strategies. Student engagement is one of the tenets of effective online instruction; as such, particular attention to how it adds value to student learning is crucial and worth the time and effort to enhance…

  10. The Future of Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buskist, William; Groccia, James E.

    2018-01-01

    This chapter underscores the importance of conceptualizing student engagement as a responsibility shared by all members of the academy and describes how Groccia's multidimensional model can serve as blueprint for future thinking and research on student engagement.

  11. Escalas de Envolvimento dos alunos na escola: Estudo da validade externa da escala de engagement usada no PISA e do "Student Engagement School Scale"

    OpenAIRE

    Veiga, Feliciano

    2011-01-01

    Procedeu-se ao estudo da validade externa da Escala de Engagement usada no PISA (unidimensional)e da Student Engament in School Scale (SES)com três factores (envolvimento cognitivo, afectivo e comportamental) This article presents the study of the external validity of Engagement Scale used in PISA (one dimension)and of the Engament in School Scale (SES)with three factores (cognitive, emotional and behavioral involvement)

  12. Evaluating medical student engagement during virtual patient simulations: a sequential, mixed methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCoy, Lise; Pettit, Robin K; Lewis, Joy H; Allgood, J Aaron; Bay, Curt; Schwartz, Frederic N

    2016-01-16

    Student engagement is an important domain for medical education, however, it is difficult to quantify. The goal of this study was to investigate the utility of virtual patient simulations (VPS) for increasing medical student engagement. Our aims were specifically to investigate how and to what extent the VPS foster student engagement. This study took place at A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA), in the USA. First year medical students (n = 108) worked in teams to complete a series of four in-class virtual patient case studies. Student engagement was measured, defined as flow, interest, and relevance. These dimensions were measured using four data collection instruments: researcher observations, classroom photographs, tutor feedback, and an electronic exit survey. Qualitative data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Triangulation of findings between the four data sources indicate that VPS foster engagement in three facets: 1) Flow. In general, students enjoyed the activities, and were absorbed in the task at hand. 2) Interest. Students demonstrated interest in the activities, as evidenced by enjoyment, active discussion, and humor. Students remarked upon elements that caused cognitive dissonance: excessive text and classroom noise generated by multi-media and peer conversations. 3) Relevance. VPS were relevant, in terms of situational clinical practice, exam preparation, and obtaining concrete feedback on clinical decisions. Researchers successfully introduced a new learning platform into the medical school curriculum. The data collected during this study were also used to improve new learning modules and techniques associated with implementing them in the classroom. Results of this study assert that virtual patient simulations foster engagement in terms of flow, relevance, and interest.

  13. A Meta-Analysis of Middle School Science Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aker, Leanna B.

    Researchers and educational practitioners have long been concerned with declines in science engagement reported by students as they transition into the middle school setting. Though the operationalization of engagement is still nascent, an emerging consensus on a three-faceted model of student engagement has recently emerged in the research literature (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Thus, a synthesis of existing primary research of early adolescents' science engagement under this emerging conceptualization was warranted. The results of this meta-analysis indicate that instructional methods, class characteristics and competence predictors had the strongest relationship with self-reported science engagement in early adolescence. These predictors also show the strongest relationship with affective and cognitive engagement sub-types. Though affective and cognitive engagement were well represented in primary studies, behavioral engagement was underrepresented in student self-reports.

  14. Bullying victimization and student engagement in elementary, middle, and high schools: Moderating role of school climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chunyan; Sharkey, Jill D; Reed, Lauren A; Chen, Chun; Dowdy, Erin

    2018-03-01

    Bullying is the most common form of school violence and is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including traumatic responses. This study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the multilevel moderating effects of school climate and school level (i.e., elementary, middle, and high schools) on the association between bullying victimization and student engagement. Participants included 25,896 students in 4th to 12th grades from 114 schools. Results indicated that, after controlling for student and school demographic factors, positive school climate was associated with higher behavioral/cognitive and emotional engagement of students across all grades. This highlights the critical and fundamental role of positive school climate in bullying prevention and intervention, among students across all grade levels, including those with frequent bullying victimization experience. Results also showed that negative associations between student-level bullying victimization and engagement were intensified in more positive school climates. This finding suggests that, in comparison with students in schools with less positive school climates, the engagement of bullying victims in schools with a more positive school climate might be more negatively influenced by their victimization experience. Additionally, the relation between student-level bullying victimization and emotional engagement was significantly different across middle and high schools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Blended learning: how can we optimise undergraduate student engagement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Caroline E; Saleh, Sohag N; Smith, Susan F; Hemani, Ashish; Ameen, Akram; Bennie, Taylor D; Toro-Troconis, Maria

    2016-08-04

    Blended learning is a combination of online and face-to-face learning and is increasingly of interest for use in undergraduate medical education. It has been used to teach clinical post-graduate students pharmacology but needs evaluation for its use in teaching pharmacology to undergraduate medical students, which represent a different group of students with different learning needs. An existing BSc-level module on neuropharmacology was redesigned using the Blended Learning Design Tool (BLEnDT), a tool which uses learning domains (psychomotor, cognitive and affective) to classify learning outcomes into those taught best by self-directed learning (online) or by collaborative learning (face-to-face). Two online courses were developed, one on Neurotransmitters and the other on Neurodegenerative Conditions. These were supported with face-to-face tutorials. Undergraduate students' engagement with blended learning was explored by the means of three focus groups, the data from which were analysed thematically. Five major themes emerged from the data 1) Purpose and Acceptability 2) Structure, Focus and Consolidation 3) Preparation and workload 4) Engagement with e-learning component 5) Future Medical Education. Blended learning was acceptable and of interest to undergraduate students learning this subject. They expressed a desire for more blended learning in their courses, but only if it was highly structured, of high quality and supported by tutorials. Students identified that the 'blend' was beneficial rather than purely online learning.

  16. Comparing Community College Student and Faculty Perceptions of Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senn-Carter, Darian

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare faculty and student perceptions of "student engagement" at a mid-Atlantic community college to determine the level of correlation between student experiences and faculty practices in five benchmark areas of student engagement: "academic challenge, student-faculty interaction,…

  17. Classroom-based physical activity breaks and children’s attention: cognitive engagement works!

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirko Schmidt

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Classroom-based physical activity breaks are postulated to positively impact children’s attention during their school day. However, empirical evidence for this claim is scarce and the role of cognitive engagement in enhancing children’s attentional performance is unexplored in studies on physical activity breaks. The aim of the present study was therefore to disentangle the separate and/or combined effects of physical exertion and cognitive engagement induced by physical activity breaks on primary school children’s attention. In addition, the role of children’s affective reactions to acute interventions at school was investigated. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design, 92 children between the ages of 11 and 12 years (M = 11.77, SD = 0.41 were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: (1 combo group (physical activity with high cognitive demands, (2 cognition group (sedentary with high cognitive demands, (3 physical group (physical activity with low cognitive demands, and (4 control group (sedentary with low cognitive demands. Attention and affect were measured before and immediately after a 10-minute intervention. ANCOVAs revealed that whereas physical exertion had no effect on any measure of children’s attentional performance, cognitive engagement was the crucial factor leading to increased focused attention and enhanced processing speed. Mediational analyses showed that changes in positive affect during the interventions mediated the effect between cognitive engagement and focused attention as well as between cognitive engagement and processing speed. These surprising results are discussed in the light of theories predicting both facilitating and deteriorative effects of positive affect on cognitive performance.

  18. Student Engagement: Rhetoric and Reality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baron, Paula; Corbin, Lillian

    2012-01-01

    Recently, there has been much interest in higher education literature and policy on the concepts of student engagement and disengagement. While most academic writings recognise the significance of student engagement, they have tended to concentrate on it in relation to academic activities. Increasingly, universities are "cascading" down…

  19. Mapping cognitive structures of community college students engaged in basic electrostatics laboratories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haggerty, Dennis Charles

    Community college students need to be abstract thinkers in order to be successful in the introductory Physics curriculum. The purpose of this dissertation is to map the abstract thinking of community college Physics students. The laboratory environment was used as a vehicle for the mapping. Three laboratory experiments were encountered. One laboratory was based on the classic Piagetian task, the centripetal motion (CM) problem. The other two laboratories were introductory electrostatic Physics experiments, Resistance (RES) and Capacitance (CAP). The students performed all laboratories using the thinking-aloud technique. The researcher collected their verbal protocols using audiotapes. The audiotaped data was quantified by comparing it to a scoring matrix based on the Piagetian logical operators (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958) for abstract thinking. The students received scores for each laboratory experiment. These scores were compared to a reliable test of intellectual functioning, the Shipley Institute of Living Scale (SILS). Spearman rank correlation coefficients (SRCC) were obtained for SILS versus CM; SILS versus RES; and SILS versus CAP. Statistically significant results were obtained for SILS versus CM and SILS versus RES at the p < 0.05 level. When an outlier to the data was considered and suppressed, the SILS versus CAP was also statistically significant at the p < 0.05 level. The scoring matrix permits a bridge from the qualitative Piagetian level of cognitive development to a quantified, mapped level of cognitive development. The ability to quantify student abstract thinking in Physics education provides a means to adjust an instructional approach. This approach could lead to a proper state of Physics education.

  20. Physics students' approaches to learning and cognitive processes in solving physics problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouchard, Josee

    This study examined traditional instruction and problem-based learning (PBL) approaches to teaching and the extent to which they foster the development of desirable cognitive processes, including metacognition, critical thinking, physical intuition, and problem solving among undergraduate physics students. The study also examined students' approaches to learning and their perceived role as physics students. The research took place in the context of advanced courses of electromagnetism at a Canadian research university. The cognitive science, expertise, physics and science education, instructional psychology, and discourse processes literature provided the framework and background to conceptualize and structure this study. A within-stage mixed-model design was used and a number of instruments, including a survey, observation grids, and problem sets were developed specifically for this study. A special one-week long problem-based learning (PBL) intervention was also designed. Interviews with the instructors participating in the study provided complementary data. Findings include evidence that students in general engage in metacognitive processes in the organization of their personal study time. However, this potential, including the development of other cognitive processes, might not be stimulated as much as it could in the traditional lecture instructional context. The PBL approach was deemed as more empowering for the students. An unexpected finding came from the realisation that a simple exposure to a structured exercise of problem-solving (pre-test) was sufficient to produce superior planning and solving strategies on a second exposure (post-test) even for the students who had not been exposed to any special treatment. Maturation was ruled out as a potential threat to the validity of this finding. Another promising finding appears to be that the problem-based learning (PBL) intervention tends to foster the development of cognitive competencies, particularly

  1. Improving Student Engagement in Veterinary Business Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armitage-Chan, Elizabeth; Jackson, Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    Improving Student Engagement in Veterinary Business StudiesIn a densely packed veterinary curriculum, students may find it particularly challenging to engage in the less overtly clinical subjects, yet pressure from industry and an increasingly competitive employment market necessitate improved veterinary student education in business and management skills. We describe a curriculum intervention (formative reflective assignment) that optimizes workplace learning opportunities and aims to provide better student scaffolding for their in-context business learning. Students were asked to analyze a business practice they experienced during a period of extra-mural studies (external work placement). Following return to the college, they were then instructed to discuss their findings in their study group, and produce a group reflection on their learning. To better understand student engagement in this area, we analyzed individual and group components of the assignment. Thematic analysis revealed evidence of various depths of student engagement, and provided indications of the behaviors they used when engaging at different levels. Interactive and social practices (discussing business strategies with veterinary employees and student peers) appeared to facilitate student engagement, assist the perception of relevance of these skills, and encourage integration with other curriculum elements such as communication skills and clinical problem solving.

  2. Software support for students engaging in scientific activity and scientific controversy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavalli-Sforza, Violetta; Weiner, Arlene W.; Lesgold, Alan M.

    Computer environments could support students in engaging in cognitive activities that are essential to scientific practice and to the understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge, but that are difficult to manage in science classrooms. The authors describe a design for a computer-based environment to assist students in conducting dialectical activities of constructing, comparing, and evaluating arguments for competing scientific theories. Their choice of activities and their design respond to educators' and theorists' criticisms of current science curricula. They give detailed specifications of portions of the environment.

  3. What Is Student Engagement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groccia, James E.

    2018-01-01

    This chapter reviews the history and various definitions of student engagement and proposes a multidimensional model from which one can develop a variety of engagement opportunities that lead to a rich and challenging higher education experience.

  4. Institutional Level Student Engagement and Organisational Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Velden, Gwen

    2012-01-01

    Driven by the growing presence of market forces within higher education worldwide, universities are changing the way they engage with students. This article explores how a university's internal culture relates to engagement with students and their views. It builds on wider research into student engagement and organisational cultures. The…

  5. Engaging students, shaping services: the changing face of student engagement at The Hive

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Pittaway

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Library roles with a unique focus on student or customer engagement are relatively new in the sector and Worcester is one of the first universities to recruit to this area. Rather than focusing on the relationship between engagement and learning, this role seeks to engage with students as partners and agents for change who are actively involved in evaluating, developing and delivering our library service. This article outlines some of our initial successes and impacts, which are already changing the way we interact with our student population. It will also cover some of the challenges faced along the way, particularly in delivering service change in the context of the radical new service model of The Hive. 'Based on a breakout session presented at the 39th UKSG Annual Conference, Bournemouth, April 2016 '

  6. Engagement in Classroom Learning: Creating Temporal Participation Incentives for Extrinsically Motivated Students through Bonus Credits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rassuli, Ali

    2012-01-01

    Extrinsic inducements to adjust students' learning motivations have evolved within 2 opposing paradigms. Cognitive evaluation theories claim that controlling factors embedded in extrinsic rewards dissipate intrinsic aspirations. Behavioral theorists contend that if engagement is voluntary, extrinsic reinforcements enhance learning without ill…

  7. Students Individual Engagement in GIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madsen, Lene Møller; Christiansen, Frederik; Rump, Camilla

    2014-01-01

    This paper develops two sets of concepts to theorize why students engage differently in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). These theoretical concepts are used as an analytical lens to explore empirical data on the experiences and engagement of students enrolled in an undergraduate GIS course in planning and management. The analysis shows that…

  8. Broadening the Definition of Engagement for Students with Severe Disabilities: A Phenomenological Study of the Experts in the Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingshead, Aleksandra K.

    2013-01-01

    While a great deal has been written about the complexities of engagement for learners without severe disabilities, there is less for students with severe disabilities. Engagement as a complex construct, consisting of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components (Finn & Zimmer, 2012; Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004; Skinner &…

  9. Engagement of Students Teaching Assistants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schlichter, Bjarne Rerup; Brandt, Charlotte J.

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports from five years experiences of engaging young student teaching assistants into the continuously development of a course by involving them in research on pedagogical as well as other themes from the course. The purpose of the paper is to pave the road for a more engaged and inte......This paper reports from five years experiences of engaging young student teaching assistants into the continuously development of a course by involving them in research on pedagogical as well as other themes from the course. The purpose of the paper is to pave the road for a more engaged...... are identified accompanied with suggestions for further research....

  10. The Positive Impact of Creative Activity: Effects of Creative Task Engagement and Motivational Focus on College Students' Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conti, Regina; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Assessed effectiveness of engaging students in a creative activity on a topic as a means of encouraging an active cognitive set toward learning that topic area. Creative task engagement was found to be an effective means of enhancing creativity (in the absence of evaluation expectation), intrinsic motivation, and long-term retention. (JBJ)

  11. Understanding and Measuring Student Engagement in School: The Results of an International Study from 12 Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Shui-fong; Jimerson, Shane; Wong, Bernard P. H.; Kikas, Eve; Shin, Hyeonsook; Veiga, Feliciano H.; Hatzichristou, Chryse; Polychroni, Fotini; Cefai, Carmel; Negovan, Valeria; Stanculescu, Elena; Yang, Hongfei; Liu, Yi; Basnett, Julie; Duck, Robert; Farrell, Peter; Nelson, Brett; Zollneritsch, Josef

    2014-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to develop a scale that is appropriate for use internationally to measure affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions of student engagement. Psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data of 3,420 students (7th, 8th, and 9th grade) from 12 countries (Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia,…

  12. Enhancing Student Engagement in One Institution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leach, Linda

    2016-01-01

    Student engagement is important to further and higher education institutions: it is understood to be a proxy for quality teaching and governments attach a proportion of funding to student retention and completion. Many institutions are taking part in student engagement surveys, using the data generated to initiate changes to policies and practice.…

  13. Engaging students in blended and online collaborative courses at university level through Second Life: comparative perspectives and instructional affordances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pellas, Nikolaos; kazanidis, Ioannis

    2014-04-01

    Students' opinions about the degree of impact, status, and socio-cognitive viability with the utilization of the emerging three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated technologies may vary. Indisputably, 3D technology-enhanced environments have provided considerable benefits and affordances to the contemporary e-Education. In these circumstances, virtual worlds (VWs) like second life (SL) have generally intensified with an extensive perpetuation and penetration of innovative performances that encapsulated or enacted from the vast majority of higher education fields. At the same time, there is growing widespread recognition of reasons affecting the high or low degree of students' engagement in online and blended course delivery methods held in 3D VWs. Notwithstanding that most notable studies have disclosed SL functional capabilities from a plethora of pilot case studies, however, it is still lacking an experiential-based research approach to determine the degree of students' engagement in blended and online courses at university level through SL. The present comparative study explores students' engagement overall as a multidimensional construct consisting of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive factors. One hundred and thirty-five undergraduate and postgraduate students in almost identical blended and online instructional conditions held in SL took part in this project. Preliminary results have decoded students' satisfaction for both methods, despite the fact that the voluntary sample composed of different educational disciplines. The quantitative analysis showed that postgraduate students of the online course had more positive results and the degree of engagement significantly increased compared to those who enrolled with the blended course delivery method. The instructional affordances from the utilization of SL were the collaborative climate between users (instructor and students) who eliminated various intractable boundaries which were predominantly observed by

  14. An experimental study on the effects of a simulation game on students' clinical cognitive skills and motivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dankbaar, Mary E W; Alsma, Jelmer; Jansen, Els E H; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J G; van Saase, Jan L C M; Schuit, Stephanie C E

    2016-08-01

    Simulation games are becoming increasingly popular in education, but more insight in their critical design features is needed. This study investigated the effects of fidelity of open patient cases in adjunct to an instructional e-module on students' cognitive skills and motivation. We set up a three-group randomized post-test-only design: a control group working on an e-module; a cases group, combining the e-module with low-fidelity text-based patient cases, and a game group, combining the e-module with a high-fidelity simulation game with the same cases. Participants completed questionnaires on cognitive load and motivation. After a 4-week study period, blinded assessors rated students' cognitive emergency care skills in two mannequin-based scenarios. In total 61 students participated and were assessed; 16 control group students, 20 cases students and 25 game students. Learning time was 2 h longer for the cases and game groups than for the control group. Acquired cognitive skills did not differ between groups. The game group experienced higher intrinsic and germane cognitive load than the cases group (p = 0.03 and 0.01) and felt more engaged (p study longer. The e-module appeared to be very effective, while the high-fidelity game, although engaging, probably distracted students and impeded learning. Medical educators designing motivating and effective skills training for novices should align case complexity and fidelity with students' proficiency level. The relation between case-fidelity, motivation and skills development is an important field for further study.

  15. Is It More Feeling or Thinking? The Influence of Affective and Cognitive Attitude on Adolescents' Intention to Engage in Binge Drinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boers, Elroy; Zebregs, Simon; Hendriks, Hanneke; Van Den Putte, Bas

    2018-04-25

    Previous work has revealed that interventions aiming to reduce adolescent binge drinking commonly focus on cognitive attitudes, but are insufficiently effective in changing binge-drinking intentions. The focus on these cognitive attitudes might be the reason for this insufficient success. That is, other work has revealed that affective attitudes have a stronger influence on binge-drinking intention than cognitive attitudes. However, this relation has so far only been found among traditional college students and pre-vocational school students, therewith neglecting another important population at risk, namely vocational community college students. This study examines whether affective attitudes are also significantly stronger influencers of binge-drinking intentions among vocational community college students. Using a sample of 298 vocational community college students (M age  = 17.63), the current study shows that affective attitudes were more strongly related to vocational community college students' intention to engage in binge drinking than cognitive attitudes. This finding indicates that the effectiveness of interventions targeting adolescent binge drinking can be improved by incorporating content elements concerning affective attitudes.

  16. Student Engagement in the Classroom: The Impact of Classroom, Teacher, and Student Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dykstra Steinbrenner, Jessica R; Watson, Linda R

    2015-08-01

    Researchers have highlighted engagement as a critical component of effective interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet there is limited research related to engagement in school-age children with ASD. This descriptive study was designed to examine joint engagement and its relationship with classroom factors and student characteristics. The sample included 25 elementary and middle school students with ASD. Mixed level modeling was used to examine relationships between joint engagement and classroom factors and student characteristics. Joint engagement was significantly related to group size, use of student-directed practices, autism severity, and expressive communication skills. These findings have important implications for educational policies and practices and future research related to engagement and effective interventions for students with ASD.

  17. Identifying Teaching Methods that Engage Entrepreneurship Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balan, Peter; Metcalfe, Mike

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Entrepreneurship education particularly requires student engagement because of the complexity of the entrepreneurship process. The purpose of this paper is to describe how an established measure of engagement can be used to identify relevant teaching methods that could be used to engage any group of entrepreneurship students.…

  18. Practical Insights for the Pharmacist Educator on Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanelli, Frank; Piascik, Peggy; Cain, Jeff

    2016-01-01

    Student engagement continues to be a point of emphasis in pharmacy education, yet there remains little data on tangible means to increase organic student engagement. This review attempts to better define student engagement, draws from educational theorists to emphasize the importance of student engagement, and provides the reader with practice philosophies that can be used across of variety of teaching settings to help develop an engaging learning environment. PMID:27899839

  19. Creating an engaging and stimulating anatomy lecture environment using the Cognitive Load Theory-based Lecture Model: Students' experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti N.H. Hadie, PhD

    2018-04-01

    بير في نطاق التحفيز الذاتي. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، لمست مجموعة التدخل تجربة تعلم جيدة من المحاضرات. الاستنتاجات: حفزت القواعد الإرشادية بنجاح المشاركة المعرفية للطلبة وخبرة التعلم، مما يدل على التحفيز الناجح للموارد ذات الصلة للطلبة. تحفيز هذه الموارد المعرفية ضروري لنجاح المعالجة المعرفية خصوصا عند تعلم موضوع صعب كعلم التشريح. Abstract: Objective: There is a need to create a standard interactive anatomy lecture that can engage students in their learning process. This study investigated the impact of a new lecturing guideline, the Cognitive Load Theory-based Lecture Model (CLT-bLM, on students' cognitive engagement and motivation. Methods: A randomised controlled trial involving 197 participants from three institutions was conducted. The control group attended a freestyle lecture on the gross anatomy of the heart, delivered by a qualified anatomist from each institution. The intervention group attended a CLT-bLM-based lecture on a similar topic, delivered by the same lecturer, three weeks thereafter. The lecturers had attended a CLT-bLM workshop that allowed them to prepare for the CLT-bLM-based lecture over the course of three weeks. The students' ratings on their cognitive engagement and internal motivation were evaluated immediately after the lecture using a validated Learners' Engagement and Motivation Questionnaire. The differences between variables were analysed and the results were triangulated with the focus group discussion findings that explored students' experience while attending the lecture. Results: The intervention group has a significantly higher level of cognitive engagement than the control group; however, no significant difference in internal motivation score was found. In addition, the

  20. Considering the Role of Tutoring in Student Engagement ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Student engagement has been defined as the extent to which students are engaged in activities that higher education research has shown to be linked with high-quality learning outcomes. The ubiquitous influence of the term 'student engagement' has been felt throughout the higher education landscape. This is especially ...

  1. The effect of emotions, promotion vs. prevention focus, and feedback on cognitive engagement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wytykowska Agata

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to explore the role of emotions, promotion-prevention orientation and feedback on cognitive engagement. In the experiment participants had the possibility to engage in a categorization task thrice. After the first categorization all participants were informed that around 75% of their answers were correct. After the second categorization, depending on the experimental condition, participants received feedback either about success or failure. Involvement in the third categorization was depended on participants’ decision whether to take part in it or not. Each time, before and after categorization, the emotional state was assessed. Results showed that promotion orientation predicted experiencing curiosity before the task, which in turn led to a higher cognitive engagement in the first categorization. Promotion and prevention orientation moderated the type of emotional response to positive feedback. Promotion orientation also predicted cognitive engagement after the feedback of success was provided. Generally results confirmed the positive effect of positive emotions as well as promotion orientation on cognitive engagement.

  2. Adventures from Justin's Life: Engaging Your Physics Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridgley, James A.; Herron, Sherry S.

    2018-03-01

    Many teachers have had students ask the proverbial question, "When will I ever use this in my life?" In the sciences, especially physics, teachers seem to battle this torrent of indifference continually. Although many areas of our students' lives can distract them from their academic pursuits, we as teachers must be introspective in order to prevent our teaching style from becoming one of our students' potential distractions. For example, a problem source with teaching physics may be an inability to successfully pique students' interest in our lessons. According to Barrett, student engagement is critical in order for learning to occur. Student engagement is so crucially important that researchers from across the globe attempt to assist teachers in the careful construction of pedagogical "hooks" whereby they can actively engage their students. A student who is not academically engaged may find little use for what is presented and may be bored stiff during the lesson. Regardless of your theoretical perspectives on learning, constructivists to traditionalists alike have no excuse to be boring, and therefore should engage their students before presenting physics concepts.

  3. Interactive Pre-Simulation Strategies: Engaging Students in Experiential Learning from the Start

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beverly J. D. Bye

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Decrease in clinical nursing facilities created a need to develop supplemental real-life patient scenarios outside of the traditional nursing units. Over the past five years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of simulation exercises integrated into the clinical and classroom aspect of nursing education. However, many students are not engaged and are not effectively participating in the simulation. Many students state they are perplexed and do not understand the purpose and roles of simulation, and often do not take it seriously. The challenge to nurse educators is to develop realistic goals and objectives with a variety of activities that occur prior to the actual simulation experience Debriefing is one of the most important aspects of the simulation activity, but if students are not participating, then the learning is not occurring. The key with simulation is to engage students through the use of various strategies that incorporate visual, auditory, tactile, and cognitive learning prior to the simulation experience. This study investigated the use of interactive pre-simulation strategies such as concept mapping, group discussion, teaching, and body mapping prior to the simulation experience. The focus of this research was on student success and knowledge acquisition. The most important overall goal is to engage students prior to the simulation experience in a safe, nonthreatening learning environment in order to allay students' fear of failure and ultimately increase knowledge, retention, and critical thinking. Results of the study have implications on the development and integration of innovative teaching pedagogies.

  4. Study engagement and burnout profiles among Finnish higher education students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katariina Salmela-Aro

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available A person-oriented approach was applied to identify profiles of study engagement and burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, inadequacy in higher education in a large and representative sample of 12,394 higher education students at different phases of their studies in universities and polytechnics in Finland. Four profiles were identified: Engaged (44%, engaged-exhausted (30% inefficacious (19% and burned-out (7%. The engaged students had the most positive engagement accompanied with the least burnout symptoms compared to other groups. The engaged-exhausted students experienced emotional exhaustion simultaneously with academic engagement. The inefficacious group had heightened experience of inadequacy as a student. The burned-out students showed very high cynicism and inadequacy and very low academic engagement compared to the other groups. Of these groups, the engaged students tended to be in the earlier stages in their studies, whereas the burned-out and inefficacious students had been studying the longest. The pattern suggests that students starting out with high engagement and that burnout becomes more common later in the academic career. Supporting demands-resources model, the covariates reflecting the demands were higher and those reflecting resources were lower among the burned-out and inefficacious students compared to the engaged students.

  5. Measuring student engagement in science classrooms: An investigation of the contextual factors and longitudinal outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spicer, Justina Judy

    using the results for chapters two and three to identify aspects of engagement and learning in science. These findings motivate a set of variables and analytic approach that is undertaken in chapter four. Specifically, the questions how engagement influences experiences in ninth grade science and students' interest in pursuing a career in STEM using the HSLS:09 data. This multifaceted study contributes to the conceptualization of student engagement, and will help bring clarity to the relationship among engagement, context, and long-term outcomes in science. Engagement is more than being on-task or paying attention, but is a condition influenced by many factors including student background, the learning context of the classroom, teacher characteristics, and the features of instruction. Understanding this relationship between engagement and contextual factors is helpful in uncovering teacher actions and instructional activities that may elicit higher engagement in science classes. These findings highlight the importance of science instruction using more cognitively-demanding activities, such as problem-based learning.

  6. Selected engagement factors and academic learning outcomes of undergraduate engineering students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Justice, Patricia J.

    The concept of student engagement and its relationship to successful student performance and learning outcomes has a long history in higher education (Kuh, 2007). Attention to faculty and student engagement has only recently become of interest to the engineering education community. This interest can be attributed to long-standing research by George Kuh's, National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. In addition, research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Academic Pathway Study (APS) at the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE) and the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE), Measuring Student and Faculty Engagement in Engineering Education, at the National Academy of Engineering. These research studies utilized the framework and data from the Engineering Change study by the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State, that evaluated the impact of the new Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) EC2000 "3a through k" criteria identify 11 learning outcomes expected of engineering graduates. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent selected engagement factors of 1. institution, 2. social, 3. cognitive, 4. finance, and 5. technology influence undergraduate engineering students and quality student learning outcomes. Through the descriptive statistical analysis indicates that there maybe problems in the engineering program. This researcher would have expected at least 50% of the students to fall in the Strongly Agree and Agree categories. The data indicated that the there maybe problems in the engineering program problems in the data. The problems found ranked in this order: 1). Dissatisfaction with faculty instruction methods and quality of instruction and not a clear understanding of engineering majors , 2). inadequate Engineering faculty and advisors availability especially applicable

  7. Taking Advantage of Student Engagement Results in Student Affairs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinzie, Jillian; Hurtado, Sarah S.

    2017-01-01

    This chapter urges student affairs professionals committed to enhancing student success through data-informed decision making to take full advantage of opportunities to apply and use student engagement results.

  8. Inviting Student Engagement with Questioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caram, Chris A.; Davis, Patsy B.

    2005-01-01

    Teaching is about designing, creating, and inventing intellectually challenging work for students--work that engages students and is so compelling that students persist when they experience difficulty and feel satisfaction, indeed delight, when they successfully accomplish the challenge (Schlechty 1997). Whether thinking skills are taught…

  9. Staff and Student Experiences of Dialogue Days, a Student Engagement Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asghar, Mandy

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports the findings from a descriptive phenomenological exploration of the lived experience of dialogue days, a student engagement activity, from the perspectives of staff and students. I suggest that dialogue days enhance the relational and emotional aspects of learning with the potential to impact on future student engagement and…

  10. Typical intellectual engagement and cognition in old age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dellenbach, Myriam; Zimprich, Daniel

    2008-03-01

    Typical Intellectual Engagement (TIE) comprises the preference to engage in cognitively demanding activities and has been proposed as a potential explanatory variable of individual differences in cognitive abilities. Little is known, however, about the factorial structure of TIE, its relations to socio-demographic variables, and its influence on intellectual functioning in old age. In the present study, data of 364 adults (65-81 years) from the Zurich Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging (ZULU) were used to investigate the factorial structure of TIE and to examine the hypothesis that TIE is associated more strongly with crystallized intelligence than with fluid intelligence in old age. A measurement model of a second order factor based on a structure of four correlated first order factors (Reading, Problem Solving, Abstract Thinking, and Intellectual Curiosity) evinced an excellent fit. After controlling for age, sex, and formal education, TIE was more strongly associated with crystallized intelligence than with fluid intelligence, comparable to results in younger persons. More detailed analyses showed that this association is mostly defined via Reading and Intellectual Curiosity.

  11. Teacher Narratives and Student Engagement: Testing Narrative Engagement Theory in Drug Prevention Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller-Day, Michelle; Hecht, Michael L.; Krieger, Janice L.; Pettigrew, Jonathan; Shin, YoungJu; Graham, John

    2015-01-01

    Testing narrative engagement theory, this study examines student engagement and teachers’ spontaneous narratives told in a narrative-based drug prevention curriculum. The study describes the extent to which teachers share their own narratives in a narrative-based curriculum, identifies dominant narrative elements, forms and functions, and assesses the relationships among teacher narratives, overall lesson narrative quality, and student engagement. One hundred videotaped lessons of the keepin’ it REAL drug prevention curriculum were coded and the results supported the claim that increased narrative quality of a prevention lesson would be associated with increased student engagement. The quality of narrativity, however, varied widely. Implications of these results for narrative-based prevention interventions and narrative pedagogy are discussed. PMID:26690668

  12. Individual and Instructional Determinants of Student Engagement in Physical Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bevans, Katherine; Fitzpatrick, Leslie-Anne; Sanchez, Betty; Forrest, Christopher B.

    2012-01-01

    This study was conducted to identify student characteristics and instructional factors that impact student engagement in physical education (PE). Data were derived from the systematic observation of 124 sessions taught by 31 physical educators and the administration of health and PE engagement questionnaires to 2,018 students in grades 5–8. Physical activity was directly affected by student engagement and perceived competence in PE and indirectly affected by students’ body image through its association with PE engagement. Multilevel analyses revealed that the proportion of class time devoted to game play was negatively associated with student engagement in PE. Although less frequently used during PE sessions, skill practice was positively associated with student engagement and inactive instruction was negatively associated with student engagement. These effects were particularly pronounced among students with poor competence beliefs. Implications for PE instructional practice and future research are presented. PMID:22844176

  13. Engaging Students with Audio Feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cann, Alan

    2014-01-01

    Students express widespread dissatisfaction with academic feedback. Teaching staff perceive a frequent lack of student engagement with written feedback, much of which goes uncollected or unread. Published evidence shows that audio feedback is highly acceptable to students but is underused. This paper explores methods to produce and deliver audio…

  14. High school students' work engagement in practical teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milanović-Dobrota Biljana Z.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The current interest in introducing the dual education system into Serbian secondary education has drawn our attention to the question of students' self-perception in the process of practical teaching. The idea that underpins this paper is the supposition that students are affectively engaged with the work activities they perform. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES (Schaufeli et al., 2002 has been used for assessing students' work engagement in practical teaching. A study was conducted to examine the differences between high school students with mild intellectual disabilities and those with typical development with regard to aspects of work engagement defined as Energy, Commitment and Absorption. The sample was comprised of 248 students of vocational high schools in Serbia of both genders, of whom 111 with intellectual disabilities and 137 with typical development. The findings indicate that students with mild intellectual disabilities tend to rate their engagement in practical teaching more positively (t=7,457; p=0,001 than students with typical development. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the pedagogical implications of these findings and also outlines the limitations of the study, thus pointing the way for future research on this or related issues.

  15. How Motivation Influences Student Engagement: A Qualitative Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saeed, Sitwat; Zyngier, David

    2012-01-01

    The authors use Ryan and Deci's (2000) Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to better understand how student motivation and engagement are linked combined with Schlechty's Student Engagement Continuum to analyse the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on students' different engagement types. The study seeks to understand which type of…

  16. UNDERSTANDING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT WITH SCHOOL: A LITERATURE REVIEW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viorel ROBU

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature on student engagement with school. There is a large agreement on the predictive role that individual differences in student engagement with school plays in relation to a wide range of educational outcomes and to general adjustment. Numerous empirical studies have attempted to explain how individual characteristics of students (e.g., gender, academic motivation, school-related self-efficacy etc., family environment (e.g., parent social support, aspirations of parents concerning the adolescents’ school trajectory or quality of adolescent-parents relationship, and the school/classroom climate (e.g., social support from teachers and peers, autonomy granted to students, quality of instructional practices etc. impact student engagement with school and the academic achievement/performance. This paper summarizes the existing literature on antecedents and positive outcomes of student engagement with school. The implications for educational practice and policy makers are discussed.

  17. Engaging Conversationally: A Method for Engaging Students in Their Learning and Examining Instruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Kiener

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Under the principles of the scholarship of teaching and learning and action research this study sought to examine how an instructor created and facilitated engagement in his students. The research was primarily undertaken to further define the middle range theory of mutual engagement. Theoretical sampling was used to analyze approximately 100 pieces of data that included instructor notes, teaching observations, feedback from conference presentations, student assessments, and end of semester student evaluations. Engaging conversationally (EC emerged as the phenomenon that described the instructor’s engagement in the learning process. EC was an ongoing cyclical pattern of inquiry that included preparing, reflecting and modeling. Interconnected in the pattern of inquiry were personality traits, counselor education, and teaching philosophy.

  18. Asian American Student Engagement in Student Leadership and Activism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzano, Lester J.; Poon, OiYan A.; Na, Vanessa S.

    2017-01-01

    Conceptual models for understanding the ways in which Asian American students engage in leadership and activism are interrogated. The chapter provides a discussion of implications for student affairs professionals working with Asian American student leaders and activists.

  19. High school students' work engagement in practical teaching

    OpenAIRE

    Milanović-Dobrota Biljana Z.; Radić-Šestić Marina N.

    2017-01-01

    The current interest in introducing the dual education system into Serbian secondary education has drawn our attention to the question of students' self-perception in the process of practical teaching. The idea that underpins this paper is the supposition that students are affectively engaged with the work activities they perform. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) (Schaufeli et al., 2002) has been used for assessing students' work engagement in practical teaching. A study was conducted...

  20. Student Engagement in Inclusive Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangvid, Beatrice Schindler

    2018-01-01

    Using large scale survey data, I document substantial differences in behavioural engagement (defined as involvement in academic and social activities, cooperative participation in learning, and motivation and effort) and emotional engagement levels (defined as a sense of belonging and well-being at school) between students with and without special…

  1. Engaging Students in Quality Games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henninger, Mary L.; Richardson, Karen Pagnano

    2016-01-01

    Promoting student engagement for all students in physical education, and specifically in game play, is a challenge faced by many middle and high school physical education teachers. Often, the games we play in physical education are not "good games" because, as early as middle school, some students are already resistant to playing…

  2. Student Engagement: Developing a Conceptual Framework and Survey Instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burch, Gerald F.; Heller, Nathan A.; Burch, Jana J.; Freed, Rusty; Steed, Steve A.

    2015-01-01

    Student engagement is considered to be among the better predictors of learning, yet there is growing concern that there is no consensus on the conceptual foundation. The authors propose a conceptualization of student engagement grounded in A. W. Astin's (1984) Student Involvement Theory and W. A. Kahn's (1990) employee engagement research where…

  3. Career/Education Plans and Student Engagement in Secondary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plasman, Jay Stratte

    2018-01-01

    Student engagement in education is key to ensuring successful learning. Engagement becomes crucial as students progress through high school and transition into young adulthood; however, engaging them in high school can be an arduous task. A career/education plan can help students make strong connections between their work in high school and their…

  4. What Future for Student Engagement in Neo-Liberal Times?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zepke, Nick

    2015-01-01

    The paper first examines the context that has given student engagement a very strong profile in higher education. It identifies neo-liberalism as the driving force in the present higher education context and argues that student engagement enjoys an elective affinity with it. While neo-liberalism is dominant, student engagement will be strong. But…

  5. Training versus Engagement as Paths to Cognitive Enrichment with Aging

    OpenAIRE

    Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A. L.; Payne, Brennan R.; Roberts, Brent W.; Kramer, Arthur F.; Morrow, Daniel G.; Payne, Laura; Hill, Patrick L.; Jackson, Joshua J.; Gao, Xuefei; Noh, Soo Rim; Janke, Megan C.; Parisi, Jeanine M.

    2014-01-01

    While a training model of cognitive intervention targets the improvement of particular skills through instruction and practice, an engagement model is based on the idea that being embedded in an intellectually and socially complex environment can impact cognition, perhaps even broadly, without explicit instruction. We contrasted these two models of cognitive enrichment by randomly assigning healthy older adults to a home-based inductive reasoning training program, a team-based competitive pro...

  6. Increasing Student Engagement in Online Educational Leadership Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deschaine, Mark E.; Whale, David E.

    2017-01-01

    Utilization of online instruction continues to increase at universities, placing more emphasis on the exploration of issues related to adult graduate student engagement. This reflective case study reviews nontraditional student engagement in online courses. The goals of the study are to enhance student focus, attention, and interaction. Findings…

  7. Encouraging engagement in enabling programs: The students’ perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suzi Hellmundt

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Student retention is a key concern in tertiary education enabling programs with research showing that early engagement leads to higher completion rates (Hodges et al., 2013. But how do students new to university education learn how to engage effectively? This article outlines an engagement framework that foregrounds Guidance, Encouragement, Modelling and Structure (GEMS as a holistic approach to facilitating effective student engagement. This framework was developed from qualitative data gleaned from students enrolled in the Preparing for Success Program at Southern Cross University, New South Wales, Australia. The findings from the students indicate that the GEMS framework activates student potential and enables them to use existing knowledge and experience to not only deepen and broaden their learning but also successfully prepare for further study.

  8. The Relationship between Student Motivation and Class Engagement Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nayir, Funda

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Student engagement and interest in class are important conditions for active learning. For this they must be highly motivated. In other words, students who have high motivation make an effort to be engaged in class. Thus, knowing students' motivation level is important for active engagement in class. The aim of the present study is to…

  9. Student Engagement and Classroom Variables in Improving Mathematics Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, So-Young

    2005-01-01

    The study explored how much student engagement and classroom variables predicted student achievement in mathematics. Since students were nested within a classroom, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was employed for the analysis. The results indicated that student engagement had positive effects on student academic growth per month in math after…

  10. An assessment of the impact of demographic, cognitive, and non-cognitive variables on student success in a community college science course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackey, Audrey Leroy

    The impact of demographic, cognitive, and non-cognitive variables on academic success among community college science students was studied. Demographic variables included gender, employment status, and ethnicity. Cognitive variables included college grade point average, assessment status, course prerequisites, college course success ratios, final course grade, withdrawal patterns, and curriculum format. Non-cognitive variables included enrollment status, educational objectives, academic expectations, and career goals. The sample population included students enrolled in human anatomy courses (N = 191) at a large metropolitan community college located in central Texas. Variables that potentially influence attrition and achievement in college level science courses were examined. Final course grade and withdrawal phenomena were treated as dependent variables, while all other variables were treated as independent variables. No significant differences were found to exist between any of the demographic variables studied and the numbers of students who withdrew passing or failing. A difference was shown to be associated with the ethnicity variable and achievement levels. Educational objectives and career goals were shown to have an impact on the number of students who withdrew failing. The career goals variable and the academic expectations variable were shown to have an impact on achievement among daytime and evening students. College grade point average and course success ratios were shown to make a difference among students who withdrew passing. None of the other cognitive variables studied were shown to influence the numbers of students who withdrew passing or failing. College grade point average and course prerequisites, however, were shown to make a difference in achievement. The collaborative learning instructional format was found to have no impact on attrition or achievement, however, mean scores earned by students experiencing the collaborative learning format

  11. A Reconceptualization of CCSSE's Benchmarks of Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nora, Amaury; Crisp, Gloria; Matthews, Cissy

    2011-01-01

    As a great deal of importance is now placed on student engagement, it is just as imperative to establish the soundness of constructs underlying those survey instruments and benchmarks used in providing indicators of such. This study investigates the dimensionalities of student engagement among community college students as measured by the…

  12. Engaged Cohorts: Can Gamification Engage All College Students in Class?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Donglei; Ju, Ping; Xu, Hao

    2017-01-01

    Many gamification designs in education do effectively mobilize students to some extent. Yet, there is still very little research to account for the specific influence on each student. It is essential to determine whether the students can be engaged by gamification in terms of various psychological factors. In this paper, the game element point was…

  13. A Student-Centered Guest Lecturing: A Constructivism Approach to Promote Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lei; Guo, Rong

    2015-01-01

    Student engagement has become a big challenge in higher education, especially when distance learning is getting more and more popular. Guest lecturing is a popular method to bring relevance to the classroom and engage in students. Ground on the theory of constructivism, this paper introduces a student-centered guest lecturing that allows students…

  14. ENGAGEMENT AND BURNOUT AMONG NURSING AND PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS IN SLOVAKIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuzana Škodová

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of the study was to examine the differences in engagement and burnout syndrome in students of nursing/midwifery and psychology in Slovakia. Design: A cross-sectional design was used. Methods: 171 university students on a baccalaureate program participated in the research (90.9% females; age 20.6 ± 1.3; 80 psychology students, 91 nursing/midwifery students. The School Burnout Inventory (SBI and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES were employed as measurement methods. Results: A significant negative association between levels of burnout and engagement (R = 0.42; p < 0.01 was found. A linear regression model showed a significant effect of engagement on burnout (β = -0.34; 95% CI: -0.50; -0.19. However, the total explained variance was only 19.4%. Students of psychology scored higher in engagement compared to nursing and midwifery students (t = 6.89; p < 0.001. Conversely, midwifery and nursing students had higher levels of burnout compared to the group of psychology students (t = -4.55; p < 0,001. Conclusion: Nursing is considered to be a high risk profession in terms of development of burnout, which was demonstrated in this study by the higher burnout, and lower engagement levels in nursing and midwifery students. Higher attention to coping mechanisms for stress and burnout symptoms among students of healthcare professions is required in the school curriculum, especially in nursing programs. Keywords: burnout syndrome, engagement, students of nursing, midwifery, students of psychology, School Burnout Inventory (SBI, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES.

  15. Engagement in Digital Lecture Halls: A Study of Student Course Engagement and Mobile Device use During Lecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gwendolyn Witecki

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Universities have experienced increases in technology ownership and usage amongst students entering undergraduate programs. Almost all students report owning a mobile phone and many students view laptops and tablets as educational tools, though they also report using them for non-academic activities during lectures. We explored the relationship between student course engagement and the use of smartphones, laptops, cell phones, and tablets during lecture. Undergraduate students responded to an online survey asking about both course engagement and mobile device habits. Results show that smartphone use was most strongly related to lowered course engagement and while laptop use was related to lowered engagement, it was to a lesser extent. In contrast, overall engagement of students using tablets or cell phones was not significantly different than those who did not.

  16. Beyond marks: new tools to visualise student engagement via social networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanne L. Badge

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Evidence shows that engaged students perform better academically than disinterested students. Measurement of engagement with education is difficult and imprecise, especially in large student cohorts. Traditional measurements such as summary statistics derived from assessment are crude secondary measures of engagement at best and do not provide much support for educators to work with students and curate engagement during teaching periods. We have used academic-related student contributions to a public social network as a proxy for engagement. Statistical summaries and novel data visualisation tools provide subtle and powerful insights into online student peer networks. Analysis of data collected shows that network visualisation can be an important curation tool for educators interested in cultivating student engagement.

  17. Reflectiveness, Adaptivity, and Support: How Teacher Agency Promotes Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Kristy S.; Kintz, Tara; Miness, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    We examine how teachers whom students identified as being relatively more or less engaging spoke differently about how they use information on student engagement to inform their teaching. Using 3 years of data from teacher focus groups in which 21 teachers discussed their perceptions of student engagement and reactions to annual student surveys,…

  18. Exploring Discipline Differences in Student Engagement in One Institution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leach, Linda

    2016-01-01

    Student engagement has become increasingly important in higher education in recent years. Influenced internationally by government drivers to improve student outcomes, many countries and institutions have participated in surveys such as the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its progeny, the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement…

  19. Increasing Student Engagement through Paired Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basko, Lynn; Hartman, Jillian

    2017-01-01

    This article highlights efficient ways to combine tech tools, such as Remind and video conferencing, to increase student engagement and faculty/student communication. Using Remind is a great way to provide information to students outside of LoudCloud, and video conferencing is a tool for having synchronous meetings and conferences with students.…

  20. [Academic achievement, engagement and burnout among first year medical students].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez H, Paula; Pérez V, Cristhian; Parra P, Paula; Ortiz M, Liliana; Matus B, Olga; McColl C, Peter; Torres A, Graciela; Meyer K, Andrea

    2015-07-01

    Stress may affect the sense of wellbeing and academic achievement of university students. To assess the relationship of academic engagement and burnout with academic achievement among first year medical students. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student and Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS) were applied to 277 first year medical students of four universities. Their results were correlated with the grades obtained in the different courses. Moderately high engagement and low burnout levels were detected. There was a high level of satisfaction with studies and a moderate exhaustion level. Academic achievement was associated with the degree of engagement with studies but not with burnout. Conglomerate analysis detected a group of students with high levels of wellbeing, characterized by high levels of academic engagement and low burnout. Other group had moderate levels of engagement and lack of personal fulfilment. Other group, identified as extenuated, had high levels of personal exhaustion and depersonalization. Finally the disassociated group had a low academic engagement, low emotional exhaustion, high levels of depersonalization and lack of personal fulfillment. Academic achievement is associated with the level of engagement with studies but not with burnout.

  1. Engagement with the auditory processing system during targeted auditory cognitive training mediates changes in cognitive outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biagianti, Bruno; Fisher, Melissa; Neilands, Torsten B; Loewy, Rachel; Vinogradov, Sophia

    2016-11-01

    Individuals with schizophrenia who engage in targeted cognitive training (TCT) of the auditory system show generalized cognitive improvements. The high degree of variability in cognitive gains maybe due to individual differences in the level of engagement of the underlying neural system target. 131 individuals with schizophrenia underwent 40 hours of TCT. We identified target engagement of auditory system processing efficiency by modeling subject-specific trajectories of auditory processing speed (APS) over time. Lowess analysis, mixed models repeated measures analysis, and latent growth curve modeling were used to examine whether APS trajectories were moderated by age and illness duration, and mediated improvements in cognitive outcome measures. We observed significant improvements in APS from baseline to 20 hours of training (initial change), followed by a flat APS trajectory (plateau) at subsequent time-points. Participants showed interindividual variability in the steepness of the initial APS change and in the APS plateau achieved and sustained between 20 and 40 hours. We found that participants who achieved the fastest APS plateau, showed the greatest transfer effects to untrained cognitive domains. There is a significant association between an individual's ability to generate and sustain auditory processing efficiency and their degree of cognitive improvement after TCT, independent of baseline neurocognition. APS plateau may therefore represent a behavioral measure of target engagement mediating treatment response. Future studies should examine the optimal plateau of auditory processing efficiency required to induce significant cognitive improvements, in the context of interindividual differences in neural plasticity and sensory system efficiency that characterize schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. A Call for Expanding Inclusive Student Engagement in SoTL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Felten

    2013-09-01

    of student-faculty partnerships focused on inquiry into teaching and learning. However, some students tend to be privileged in SoTL initiatives while others are discouraged, implicitly or explicitly, from engaging in this work. In this paper, we consider why certain students tend to be excluded from SoTL, summarize the possible developmental gains made by students and faculty when diverse student voices are included, and highlight strategies for generating a more inclusive SoTL. We call for expanding student engagement in SoTL by encouraging a diversity of student voices to engage in co-inquiry with faculty. Inclusive engagement has tremendous potential to enhance student and faculty learning, to deepen SoTL initiatives, and to help redress the exclusionary practices that too often occur in higher education.

  3. Future Time Orientation Predicts Academic Engagement among First-Year University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horstmanshof, Louise; Zimitat, Craig

    2007-01-01

    Background: Enhancing student engagement is considered an important strategy for improving retention. Students' Time Perspective is an under-researched factor that may significantly influence student engagement. Aims: This study examines interrelationships between elements of student engagement and relationship with Time Perspective. We propose…

  4. Engagement states and learning from educational games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Chang, Mido; Evans, Michael E

    2013-01-01

    Children's and adolescents' cognitive, affective, and behavioral states of engagement enhance or impede enjoyment of, and performance with, educational games. We propose a comprehensive model of engagement states and apply it to research on educational game development and research on the role of various aspects of engagement on game play and learning. Emphasis is placed on individual differences in attention, memory, motor speed and control, persistence, and positive and negative affect (approach/avoidance), and how these pertain to social cognitions regarding mathematics achievement. Our challenge is to develop educational games that are effective for a wide variety of student engagement states. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

  5. Social Networks, Engagement and Resilience in University Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Martínez, Elena; Andina-Díaz, Elena; Fernández-Peña, Rosario; García-López, Rosa; Fulgueiras-Carril, Iván; Liébana-Presa, Cristina

    2017-12-01

    Analysis of social networks may be a useful tool for understanding the relationship between resilience and engagement, and this could be applied to educational methodologies, not only to improve academic performance, but also to create emotionally sustainable networks. This descriptive study was carried out on 134 university students. We collected the network structural variables, degree of resilience (CD-RISC 10), and engagement (UWES-S). The computer programs used were excel, UCINET for network analysis, and SPSS for statistical analysis. The analysis revealed results of means of 28.61 for resilience, 2.98 for absorption, 4.82 for dedication, and 3.13 for vigour. The students had two preferred places for sharing information: the classroom and WhatsApp. The greater the value for engagement, the greater the degree of centrality in the friendship network among students who are beginning their university studies. This relationship becomes reversed as the students move to later academic years. In terms of resilience, the highest values correspond to greater centrality in the friendship networks. The variables of engagement and resilience influenced the university students' support networks.

  6. A Comparative Study of Student Engagement, Satisfaction, and Academic Success among International and American Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korobova, Nadia; Starobin, Soko S.

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the relationship between student engagement, student satisfaction, and the academic success of international and American students using 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data. It was found that international students scored slightly higher than American students on enriching educational experiences and…

  7. Predictors of burnout and engagement of university students / Olwage D.

    OpenAIRE

    Olwage, Danél.

    2012-01-01

    Student burnout and engagement have become more evident as a problem among students in higher education institutions. It is therefore very important to determine the various predictors that could cause students to experience burnout and engagement. The aim of this study is to establish whether core self–evaluation traits, career decision–making difficulty and social support have an impact on burnout and engagement of students. A limited number of research has been done on student burnout and ...

  8. Students in Action: Engaging Students with Destination Stakeholders

    OpenAIRE

    Craggs, Ruth; Gorman, Catherine; Griffin, Kevin; mottiar, ziene; Quinn, Deirdre; Quinn, Bernadette; Ryan, Theresa

    2015-01-01

    The Students in Action Project in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism was established in 2012 as a way of engaging students and working with stakeholders in a destination. The overall aim of the project was to immerse students in an active collaborative learning environment within the destination to identify ways in which tourism could be enhanced. In the 2014/2015 academic year the project involved over 300 students from a variety of programmes and modules working with local sta...

  9. Measuring Cognitive Engagement with Self-Report Scales: Reflections from over 20 Years of Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greene, Barbara A.

    2015-01-01

    Research spanning 20 years is reviewed as it relates to the measurement of cognitive engagement using self-report scales. The author's research program is at the forefront of the review, although the review is couched within the broader context of the research on motivation and cognitive engagement that began in the early 1990s. The…

  10. Using Facebook to Engage Microbiology Students Outside of Class Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blaine A. Legaree

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Numerous usage studies show that a high percentage of college age students are subscribers of the social media service Facebook.  Modern teaching methods have a high emphasis on student engagement in the classroom, however, not all students participate equally and therefore it is important to find alternate methods for student engagement.  The popularity of social media services and the wealth of online biology resources therefore seem like an obvious way to additionally engage students, particularly non-traditional students who may be less likely to participate in class discussions.  In order to investigate how to engage students using this tool, I set up a Facebook group for my medical microbiology class over two semesters.  Afterwards I surveyed students on its usefulness.  The feedback was mostly positive, and of the resources shared with students, they were most likely to view online videos.  Students also found it helpful to have an alternate means of interacting with the instructor and their peers.

  11. Fostering Student Engagement through a Multi-Day Industry Tour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Lorraine L.; Hartman, Cindy L.; Baldwin, Elizabeth D.

    2015-01-01

    Student engagement may be enhanced by providing educationally purposeful activities outside of the classroom. This study considers the influence of a multi-day industry tour on student engagement for undergraduates majoring in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. Data were collected from students' reflections in journal entries focused on an…

  12. Variation in behavioral engagement during an active learning activity leads to differential knowledge gains in college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaDage, Lara D; Tornello, Samantha L; Vallejera, Jennilyn M; Baker, Emily E; Yan, Yue; Chowdhury, Anik

    2018-03-01

    There are many pedagogical techniques used by educators in higher education; however, some techniques and activities have been shown to be more beneficial to student learning than others. Research has demonstrated that active learning and learning in which students cognitively engage with the material in a multitude of ways result in better understanding and retention. The aim of the present study was to determine which of three pedagogical techniques led to improvement in learning and retention in undergraduate college students. Subjects partook in one of three different types of pedagogical engagement: hands-on learning with a model, observing someone else manipulate the model, and traditional lecture-based presentation. Students were then asked to take an online quiz that tested their knowledge of the new material, both immediately after learning the material and 2 wk later. Students who engaged in direct manipulation of the model scored higher on the assessment immediately after learning the material compared with the other two groups. However, there were no differences among the three groups when assessed after a 2-wk retention interval. Thus active learning techniques that involve direct interaction with the material can lead to learning benefits; however, how these techniques benefit long-term retention of the information is equivocal.

  13. Evidence from Student-Community Engagement in Ghana

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2017-05-01

    TTFPP), where .... Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) which was developed in the 1980s. PRA gives local people the opportunity "to share, enhance and analyse their ... Then, cognitive engagement draws on the idea of ...

  14. Enhancing Student Engagement through Simulation in Programming Sessions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isiaq, Sakirulai Olufemi; Jamil, Md Golam

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a simulator for teaching programming to foster student engagement and meaningful learning. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory mixed-method research approach was adopted in a classroom-based environment at a UK university. A rich account of student engagement dimensions…

  15. Effects of physical activity and breaks on mathematics engagement in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owen, Katherine B; Parker, Philip D; Astell-Burt, Thomas; Lonsdale, Chris

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether physical activity has a positive relationship with school engagement regardless of the presence or absence of a recess or lunch break before the classroom lesson. Data were collected over three ten-week periods: January-April 2014 (Time 1), October-December 2014 (Time 2), and April-June 2015 (Time 3). A cohort of 2194 adolescents (mean age=13.40years, SD=.73) wore an accelerometer during the hour before a mathematics lesson and completed a questionnaire following the mathematics lesson to assess school engagement in that lesson. Linear mixed models indicated that moderate-intensity activity before a mathematics lesson had a positive linear relationship with cognitive engagement (β=.40, pmathematics lesson had a negative relationship with overall, behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement (β=-.18, pmathematics lessons could improve students' cognitive engagement. Educators should be aware that students tend to demonstrate the lowest levels of school engagement after recess breaks. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. New Postgraduate Student Experience and Engagement in Human Communication Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steele, Godfrey A.

    2015-01-01

    New postgraduate students' feedback on their learning offers insights into engagement. Student feedback to students and teachers can contribute to teacher feedback to students. When this happens, students can feel engaged or connected to their learning experiences. Adopting a more inclusive notion of feedback on learning, this paper explores the…

  17. To Engage Students, Give Them Meaningful Choices in the Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Frieda; Novak, Jodie; Bartell, Tonya

    2017-01-01

    Providing students with choice can be a powerful means of supporting student engagement. However, not all choice opportunities lead to improved student engagement. Teachers can increase the likelihood that students will value choice by analyzing how students associate feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with the choice provided them.…

  18. Bullying climate and school engagement in ninth-grade students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, Sharmila B; Cornell, Dewey; Fan, Xitao; Gregory, Anne

    2013-01-01

    Many authorities agree that bullying has a widespread impact on school climate, affecting bystanders as well as victims. This study tested the contention that a climate of bullying can have a schoolwide impact on student engagement in school. Hierarchical linear modeling assessed the relations between student perception of bullying climate and student engagement at the individual and school level in a statewide sample of 7058 ninth graders randomly selected from 289 schools participating in the Virginia High School Safety Study. Student engagement was assessed by self-report scales measuring commitment to school and involvement in school activities. Individual differences in perception of school climate characterized by bullying were associated with lower commitment to school, but not less involvement in school activities. School-level differences in student perceptions of bullying climate were associated with both lower commitment to school and less involvement in school activities, after controlling for the effects of gender, race, school size, proportion of ethnic minority students in the school, and individual-level perception of bullying climate. Efforts to improve student engagement should consider the schoolwide impact of bullying on all students. © 2013, American School Health Association.

  19. Student engagement in interprofessional working in practice placement settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollard, Katherine

    2009-10-01

    . To investigate the nature of student engagement in interprofessional interaction while on placement. Due to continuing emphasis on improving interprofessional collaboration, UK educational establishments are required to offer pre-qualifying health and social care students interprofessional education in order that they acquire relevant competencies. However, few formal interprofessional education initiatives occur in practice settings and little is known about pre-qualifying students' non-formal learning about interprofessional issues while on placement. From 2003-2005 an English Faculty of Health and Social Care conducted a qualitative study to explore opportunities for interprofessional learning and working available to students in practice placement settings. Case studies were conducted in a coronary care ward, a medical ward for older patients, a maternity unit, a paediatric unit, an integrated community learning disabilities team and a residential facility for adults with challenging behaviour. Gaining access was complex, due to variable student timetables and UK research governance requirements. Sites were therefore selected according to geographical area and timing of student placements. Details of interprofessional interaction (formal and informal) were observed and recorded. Interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 20 practitioners and 15 students. Data were analysed thematically. Student experience varied considerably. Contributing factors included the influence of doctors and differing professional cultures; mentors' support for student engagement in interprofessional working; and individual students' confidence levels. Most sites were managed by nurses and some senior nurses were proactive in involving students interprofessionally. However, many students lacked systematic support for interprofessional engagement. Students lack parity of experience concerning interprofessional activity on placement. Where they do not have systematic

  20. IEngage: Using Technology to Enhance Students' Engagement in a Large Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawang, Sukanlaya; O'Connor, Peter; Ali, Muhammad

    2017-01-01

    This paper aims to answer how we can increase students' engagement in a large class. We hypothesised that the use of KeyPad, an interactive student response system, can lead to enhanced student engagement in a large classroom. We tested a model of classroom technology integration enhancing the students' engagement among first year undergraduate…

  1. Engaging Foster Parents in Treatment: A Randomized Trial of Supplementing Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Evidence-based Engagement Strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Dorsey, Shannon; Pullmann, Michael D.; Berliner, Lucy; Koschmann, Elizabeth; McKay, Mary; Deblinger, Esther

    2014-01-01

    The goal of this study was to examine the impact of supplementing Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen, Mannarino, & Deblinger, 2006) with evidence-based engagement strategies on foster parent and foster youth engagement in treatment, given challenges engaging foster parents in treatment. A randomized controlled trial of TF-CBT standard delivery compared to TF-CBT plus evidence-based engagement strategies was conducted with 47 children and adolescents in foster care and ...

  2. Student Engagement and Neoliberalism: Mapping an Elective Affinity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zepke, Nick

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to argue that student engagement, an important area for research about learning and teaching in formal higher education, has an elective affinity with neoliberalism, a hegemonic ideology in many countries of the developed world. The paper first surveys an extensive research literature examining student engagement and…

  3. Social Networks, Engagement and Resilience in University Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Fernández-Martínez

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Analysis of social networks may be a useful tool for understanding the relationship between resilience and engagement, and this could be applied to educational methodologies, not only to improve academic performance, but also to create emotionally sustainable networks. This descriptive study was carried out on 134 university students. We collected the network structural variables, degree of resilience (CD-RISC 10, and engagement (UWES-S. The computer programs used were excel, UCINET for network analysis, and SPSS for statistical analysis. The analysis revealed results of means of 28.61 for resilience, 2.98 for absorption, 4.82 for dedication, and 3.13 for vigour. The students had two preferred places for sharing information: the classroom and WhatsApp. The greater the value for engagement, the greater the degree of centrality in the friendship network among students who are beginning their university studies. This relationship becomes reversed as the students move to later academic years. In terms of resilience, the highest values correspond to greater centrality in the friendship networks. The variables of engagement and resilience influenced the university students’ support networks.

  4. Beyond Marks: New Tools to Visualise Student Engagement via Social Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badge, Joanne L.; Saunders, Neil F. W.; Cann, Alan J.

    2012-01-01

    Evidence shows that engaged students perform better academically than disinterested students. Measurement of engagement with education is difficult and imprecise, especially in large student cohorts. Traditional measurements such as summary statistics derived from assessment are crude secondary measures of engagement at best and do not provide…

  5. Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese Version of the Student Engagement Instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreira, Paulo A. S.; Machado Vaz, Filipa; Dias, Paulo C.; Petracchi, Paulo

    2009-01-01

    Student engagement is an emergent research domain in educational psychology, as research increasingly supports the connection between academic achievement, school-related behaviours, and student engagement. In spite of the important role of student engagement in academic achievement across cultures, little is known about the cross-cultural…

  6. Digital Natives: Fifth-Grade Students' Authentic and Ritualistic Engagement with Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietrich, Trevor; Balli, Sandra J.

    2014-01-01

    Thirty four fifth-grade students were interviewed about classroom learning and technology. Interview data were considered through Schlechty's (2002) levels of engagement framework to explore students' authentic or ritualistic engagement during technology supported lessons. Student engagement is defined as interest in and commitment to learning.…

  7. Taking the Scientist's Perspective - The Nonfiction Narrative Engages Episodic Memory to Enhance Students' Understanding of Scientists and Their Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larison, Karen D.

    2018-03-01

    The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013) mandates that schools provide students an understanding of the skills and knowledge that scientists use to engage in scientific practices. In this article, I argue that one of the best ways to accomplish this goal is to have students take the perspective of the scientist by reading nonfiction narratives written by scientists and science writers. I explore the anthropological and neurological evidence that suggests that perspective-taking is an essential component in the learning process. It has been shown that by around age 4, the human child begins to be able to take the perspective of others—a process that neuroscientists have shown engages episodic memory, a memory type that some neurocognitive scientists believe is central in organizing human cognition. Neuroscientists have shown that the brain regions in which episodic memory resides undergo pronounced anatomical changes during adolescence, suggesting that perspective-taking assumes an even greater role in cognition during adolescence and young adulthood. Moreover, I argue that the practice of science itself is narrative in nature. With each new observation and experiment, the scientist is acting to reveal an emerging story. It is the story-like nature of science that motivates the scientist to push onward with new experiments and new observations. It is also the story-like nature of the practice of science that can potentially engage the student. The classroom studies that I review here confirm the power of the narrative in increasing students' understanding of science.

  8. Taking the Scientist's Perspective. The Nonfiction Narrative Engages Episodic Memory to Enhance Students' Understanding of Scientists and Their Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larison, Karen D.

    2018-03-01

    The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013) mandates that schools provide students an understanding of the skills and knowledge that scientists use to engage in scientific practices. In this article, I argue that one of the best ways to accomplish this goal is to have students take the perspective of the scientist by reading nonfiction narratives written by scientists and science writers. I explore the anthropological and neurological evidence that suggests that perspective-taking is an essential component in the learning process. It has been shown that by around age 4, the human child begins to be able to take the perspective of others—a process that neuroscientists have shown engages episodic memory, a memory type that some neurocognitive scientists believe is central in organizing human cognition. Neuroscientists have shown that the brain regions in which episodic memory resides undergo pronounced anatomical changes during adolescence, suggesting that perspective-taking assumes an even greater role in cognition during adolescence and young adulthood. Moreover, I argue that the practice of science itself is narrative in nature. With each new observation and experiment, the scientist is acting to reveal an emerging story. It is the story-like nature of science that motivates the scientist to push onward with new experiments and new observations. It is also the story-like nature of the practice of science that can potentially engage the student. The classroom studies that I review here confirm the power of the narrative in increasing students' understanding of science.

  9. Engaging At-Risk Students with Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duttweiler, Patricia Cloud

    1992-01-01

    Educational technology can be used to engage students in interesting activities through which teachers can present skills, concepts, and problems to be solved. At-risk students benefit from the investigation of relevant real world problems and the immediate feedback and privacy that technology affords. (EA)

  10. Black, White, and Biracial Students' Engagement at Differing Institutional Types

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Jessica C.; BrckaLorenz, Allison

    2017-01-01

    Within this study, the authors are interested in engagement practices for Black students, White students, and the mixed-race college student population at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and non-HBCUs. The authors asked the following research questions: How does engagement compare for Black, White, and biracial students with…

  11. Engaging Students' Learning Through Active Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret Fitzsimons

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses a project carried out with thirty six final year undergraduate students, studying the Bachelor of Science in Business and Management and taking the module Small Business Management during the academic year 2012 and 2013 in Dublin Institute of Technology. The research had two separate objectives, 1 to engage in active learning by having students work on a consulting project in groups for a real life business and 2 to improve student learning. The Small Business Management previously had a group assignment that was to choose an article related to entrepreneurship and critic it and present it to the class. Anecdotally, from student feedback, it was felt that this process did not engage students and also did not contribute to the key competencies necessary in order to be an entrepreneur. The desire was for students on successful completion of this module to have better understood how business is conducted and equip them with core skills such as innovation, critical thinking, problem solving and decision making .Student buy in was achieved by getting the students to select their own groups and also work out between each group from a one page brief provided by the businesses which business they would like to work with. It was important for the businesses to also feel their time spent with students was worthwhile so they were presented with a report from the students at the end of the twelve weeks and invited into the College to hear the presentations from students. Students were asked to provide a reflection on their three key learning points from the assignment and to answer specific questions designed to understand what they learnt and how and their strengths and weaknesses. A survey was sent to the businesses that took part to understand their experiences. The results were positive with student engagement and learning rating very highly and feedback from the businesses demonstrated an appreciation of having a different

  12. Engaging undergraduate nursing students in face-to-face tutorials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elder, Ruth L; Lewis, Peter A; Windsor, Carol A; Wheeler, Margaret; Forster, Elizabeth; Foster, Joanne; Chapman, Helen

    2011-09-01

    Chronic nursing shortages have placed increasing pressure on many nursing schools to recruit greater numbers of students with the consequence of larger class sizes. Larger class sizes have the potential to lead to student disengagement. This paper describes a case study that examined the strategies used by a group of nursing lecturers to engage students and to overcome passivity in a Bachelor of Nursing programme. A non-participant observer attended 20 tutorials to observe five academics deliver four tutorials each. Academics were interviewed both individually and as a group following the completion of all tutorial observations. All observations, field notes, interviews and focus groups were coded separately and major themes identified. From this analysis two broad categories emerged: getting students involved; and engagement as a struggle. Academics used a wide variety of techniques to interest and involve students. Additionally, academics desired an equal relationship with students. They believed that both they and the students had some power to influence the dynamics of tutorials and that neither party had ultimate power. The findings of this study serve to re-emphasise past literature which suggests that to engage students, the academics must also engage. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Using situated cognition theory in researching student experience of the workplace

    Science.gov (United States)

    Case, Jennifer; Jawitz, Jeff

    2004-05-01

    It has been proposed that situated cognition theory, in which learning is conceptualized as induction into a community of practice through the activity of legitimate peripheral participation, offers an appropriate theoretical perspective for examining issues of gender in science education. This study critically engages with this proposal by means of an investigation of the vacation work experiences of a group of South African final-year civil and chemical engineering students. Issues of race and gender appeared prominently and spontaneously in focus group and interview data. An analysis of these data using the situated cognition framework allowed for a deeper understanding of these issues and their impact on learning. It was found that access to legitimate peripheral participation was critical for good learning outcomes (associated with positive identity formation) while denial of this access (as sometimes experienced by black and female students) appeared to be related to less effective learning and poor feelings of self-worth.

  14. Undergraduate Research as Engaged Student Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Lorraine W.

    2018-01-01

    This chapter discusses the impact of undergraduate research as a form of engaged student learning. It summarizes the gains reported in post-fellowship assessment essays acquired from students participating in the Auburn University Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. The chapter also discusses the program's efforts to increase opportunities…

  15. Developing Employability Skills via Extra-Curricular Activities in Vietnamese Universities: Student Engagement and Inhibitors of Their Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Le Huu Nghia

    2017-01-01

    This article reports a study that investigated student engagement and inhibitors of their engagement with developing employability skills via extra-curricular activities in Vietnamese universities. Content analysis of 18 interviews with students and statistical analysis of 423 students' responses to a paper-based survey showed that despite a…

  16. The association between academic engagement and achievement in health sciences students

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Educational institutions play an important role in encouraging student engagement, being necessary to know how engaged are students at university and if this factor is involved in student success point and followed. To explore the association between academic engagement and achievement. Methods Cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 304 students of Health Sciences. They were asked to fill out an on-line questionnaire. Academic achievements were calculated using three types of measurement. Results Positive correlations were found in all cases. Grade point average was the academic rate most strongly associated with engagement dimensions and this association is different for male and female students. The independent variables could explain between 18.9 and 23.9% of the variance (p < 0.05) in the population of university students being analyzed. Conclusions Engagement has been shown to be one of the many factors, which are positively involved, in the academic achievements of college students. PMID:23446005

  17. Sources of student engagement in Introductory Physics for Life Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geller, Benjamin D.; Turpen, Chandra; Crouch, Catherine H.

    2018-06-01

    We explore the sources of student engagement with curricular content in an Introductory Physics for Life Science (IPLS) course at Swarthmore College. Do IPLS students find some life-science contexts more interesting than others, and, if so, what are the sources of these differences? We draw on three sources of student data to answer this question: (1) quantitative survey data illustrating how interested students were in particular contexts from the curriculum, (2) qualitative survey data in which students describe the source of their interest in these particular contexts, and (3) interview data in which students reflect on the contexts that were and were not of interest to them. We find that examples that make interdisciplinary connections with students' other coursework in biology and chemistry, and examples that make connections to what students perceive to be the "real world," are particularly effective at fostering interest. More generally, students describe being deeply engaged with contexts that foster a sense of coherence or have personal meaning to them. We identify various "engagement pathways" by which different life-science students engage with IPLS content, and suggest that a curriculum needs to be flexible enough to facilitate these different pathways.

  18. Teacher recommended academic and student engagement strategies for learning disabled students: A qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nwachukwu, Bethel C.

    There has been a push towards the education of students with Learning Disabilities in inclusive educational settings with their non-disabled peers. Zigmond (2003) stated that it is not the placement of students with disabilities in general education setting alone that would guarantee their successes; instead, the strategies teachers use to ensure that these children are being engaged and learning will enable them become successful. Despite the fact that there are several bodies of research on effective teaching of students with learning disabilities, special education teachers continue to have difficulties concerning the appropriate strategies for promoting student engagement and improving learning for students with learning disabilities placed in inclusive educational settings (Zigmond, 2003). This qualitative study interviewed and collected data from fifteen high performing special education teachers who were employed in a Southern state elementary school district to uncover the strategies they have found useful in their attempts to promote student engagement and attempts to improve student achievement for students with learning disabilities placed in inclusive educational settings. The study uncovered strategies for promoting engagement and improving learning outcomes for students with learning disabilities placed in inclusive classrooms. The findings showed that in order to actually reach the students with learning disabilities, special education teachers must go the extra miles by building rapport with the school communities, possess good classroom management skills, and become student advocates.

  19. Honors and Non-Honors Student Engagement: A Model of Student, Curricular, and Institutional Characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Ellen; Shores, Melanie; Sloane, Michael; Dantzler, John; Shields, Catherine; Shader, Karen; Newcomer, Bradley

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to apply several measures of learning and engagement to a comparable cohort of honors and non-honors students in order to generate a preliminary model of student engagement. Specific purposes were the following: (1) to determine the feasibility for use of several measures of student characteristics that may affect…

  20. Getting Students Outside: Using Technology as a Way to Stimulate Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyce, Carrie J.; Mishra, Chandrani; Halverson, Kristy L.; Thomas, Aimée K.

    2014-12-01

    Informal environments provide students with unique experiences that allow them to actively participate in activities while promoting a positive attitude toward and an increased interest in science. One way to enhance informal science experiences is through the integration of mobile technologies. This integration is particularly useful in engaging underrepresented students in learning science. Our informal environmental science program engages underrepresented, fifth-grade students in an informal learning environment supplemented with mobile tablet technology (iPads). The purpose of this study was to explore how fifth-grade students interacted with nature using mobile technology during a nature hike series. Participants included 55 fifth-grade students from two low-income schools. We found that students used the mobile technology to explore nature and stay engaged throughout the hike. The iPads were used as references, data collectors, and engagement tools. Students had an intense desire in returning to the site and responded positively toward interacting with nature. Prior research has indicated that students in this age group are likely to lose interest in science and the incorporation of field-friendly technology that engages students with nature, not technology alone, is a useful tool for keeping students interested in science.

  1. Utilising a Collaborative Macro-Script to Enhance Student Engagement: A Mixed Method Study in a 3D Virtual Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouta, Hara; Retalis, Symeon; Paraskeva, Fotini

    2012-01-01

    This study examines the effect of using an online 3D virtual environment in teaching Mathematics in Primary Education. In particular, it explores the extent to which student engagement--behavioral, affective and cognitive--is fostered by such tools in order to enhance collaborative learning. For the study we used a purpose-created 3D virtual…

  2. Bike Desks in the Office: Physical Health, Cognitive Function, Work Engagement, and Work Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torbeyns, Tine; de Geus, Bas; Bailey, Stephen; De Pauw, Kevin; Decroix, Lieselot; Van Cutsem, Jeroen; Meeusen, Romain

    2016-12-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal effect of implementing bike desks in an office setting on physical health, cognition, and work parameters. Physical health, cognitive function, work engagement, and work performance measured before (T0) and after (T2) the intervention period were compared between office workers who used the bike desk (IG, n = 22) and those who did not (CG, n = 16). The IG cycled approximately 98 minutes/week. The IG showed a significantly lower fat percentage and a trend toward a higher work engagement at T2 relative to T0, while this was not different for the CG. No effects on other parameters of health, cognition, or work performance were found. Providing bike desks in the office positively influences employees' fat percentage and could positively influence work engagement without compromising work performance.

  3. A Role for Technology in Enhancing Students' Engagement with Feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parkin, Helen J.; Hepplestone, Stuart; Holden, Graham; Irwin, Brian; Thorpe, Louise

    2012-01-01

    This paper explores the potential of technology-enabled feedback to improve student learning. "Technology, Feedback, Action!: The impact of learning technology upon students' engagement with their feedback" aimed to evaluate how a range of technical interventions might encourage students to engage with feedback and formulate actions to…

  4. Informing Educational Psychology Training with Students' Community Engagement Experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebersohn, Liesel; Bender, C. J. Gerda; Carvalho-Malekane, Wendy M.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this article was to describe students' experiences of community engagement in an Educational Psychology practicum in order to inform relevant educational psychology training literature with experiences of students' community engagement. Experiential learning served as our theoretical framework and we employed an instrumental case…

  5. Exploring Language Awareness through Students' Engagement in Language Play

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, So-Yeon

    2016-01-01

    The present study explores Korean students' demonstration of language awareness through their engagement in language play. Grounded in the understanding of the relationship between language play and an "engagement with language" (EWL) perspective, this ethnographic and discourse analytic study investigates how Korean students aged 11-15…

  6. Engaging students: The role of teacher beliefs and interpersonal teacher behavior in fostering student engagement in vocational education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Uden, Jolien M.; Ritzen, Henk; Pieters, Julius Marie

    2014-01-01

    Student engagement is an important precursor for learning. In this study we used teacher (N = 200) and student (N = 2288) questionnaires to investigate whether perceived interpersonal teacher behavior and teacher beliefs concerning motives for being a teacher, attitudes toward teacher knowledge

  7. Measuring a state of mind indicative of thriving using the Student Pharmacist Inventory of Professional Engagement (S-PIPE).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aronson, Benjamin D; Janke, Kristin K

    2017-08-12

    Professional engagement has importance to the professional of pharmacy, and in particular the growth of student pharmacists. Measurement of this construct would allow investigation of factors that may increase or decrease professional engagement. To describe the development of the Student Pharmacist Inventory of Professional Engagement (S-PIPE), assess the factor structure and convergent validity, and test for differences in professional engagement based upon demographic and background factors. Potential items for the S-PIPE were developed iteratively through inductive and deductive item-writing, 2 pilot administrations, expert review of items, and assessment of the content validity index, and cognitive interviews with students. The S-PIPE was administered to a cohort of 164 first year student pharmacists at University of Minnesota, along with items querying types and level of involvement in professional experiences and activities. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted using principal axis factoring extraction and Promax rotation. The number of factors to retain was based upon eigenvalues, examination of the scree plot, and a parallel analysis. Factors of the S-PIPE were compared to self-rated level of involvement and other demographic factors. Three factors were retained accounting for 70.7% of the variance, and named Belonging (α = 0.942, 9 items), Connectedness (α = 0.864, 3 items), and Meaningful Experience (α = 0.760, 4 items). All 3 factors were significantly correlated to self-rated involvement (r = 0.291 to 0.370). Level of professional engagement differed in this study by gender, and pharmacy work experience. This study lays the foundation for quantitative research in professional engagement among student pharmacists. Future work is needed to further validate and extend these findings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Flipped versus Traditional Classroom Information Literacy Sessions: Student Perceptions and Cognitions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Torstein Låg

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Teaching effectively with limited classroom time is a challenge for information literacy teachers. In the flipped classroom (FC teaching model, information transmission teaching is delivered outside of class, freeing up class time for learning activities. I adopted the FC model in sessions that were previously taught using a traditional classroom (TC model. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the FC model's relative impact on (1 student perceptions of usefulness and quality, and (2 student cognitions about the IL sessions. Responses to evaluation forms from the TC model (N = 65, were compared to those from FC model (N = 78. Students judged usefulness and quality on two 4-point rating scales. Student cognitions were elicited with an open-ended question asking for suggestions for improvement and other comments. Responses to the latter were coded by an assistant blind to the conditions. Ratings were near ceiling and similar for both conditions. Responses to the open-ended question revealed interesting trends. Students in the FC condition provided wordier comments, were more concerned with what they themselves did and could do, and with the subject matter of the session. Students in the TC condition were more concerned with how information was presented to them. Results indicate that the FC teaching model is a viable alternative for IL sessions, and that it may encourage students to engage more with IL and their own learning process.

  9. An Analysis of White Student Engagement at Public HBCUs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Joelle Davis; Fountaine, Tiffany Patrice

    2012-01-01

    The steady increase of White undergraduates attending public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) compels educators to better understand White students' collegiate experiences at HBCUs. One lens to assess these experiences is through examining their engagement on campus. Student engagement is defined as the amount of time and…

  10. Harnessing Facebook for Student Engagement in Accounting Education: Guiding Principles for Accounting Students and Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Gerard; Fiedler, Brenton Andrew; Kandunias, Chris

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes principles to guide accounting students' and accounting educators' use of Facebook as an educational resource to engage students with their learning. A body of cross-disciplinary research has investigated potential applications of Facebook to invigorate student engagement. Generic guidelines for educators who are contemplating…

  11. Toward Understanding Business Student Professional Development Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blau, Gary; Blessley, Misty; Kunkle, Matthew; Schirmer, Michael; Regan, Laureen

    2017-01-01

    Professional development engagement (PDE) is defined as the level of perceived undergraduate engagement in professional development activities. An 11-item measure of PDE exhibited a good reliability. Using a complete data sample of 467 graduating business undergraduates, four variable sets (student background or precollege variables,…

  12. Student Engagement and Blended Learning: Making the Assessment Connection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, Norman

    2014-01-01

    There is an increased focus on student engagement and blended approaches to learning in higher education. This article demonstrates how collaborative learning applications and a blended approach to learning can be used to design and support assessment activities that increase levels of student engagement with course concepts, their peers, faculty…

  13. Student Engagement with Computer-Generated Feedback: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhe

    2017-01-01

    In order to benefit from feedback on their writing, students need to engage effectively with it. This article reports a case study on student engagement with computer-generated feedback, known as automated writing evaluation (AWE) feedback, in an EFL context. Differing from previous studies that explored commercially available AWE programs, this…

  14. Students' Problem Solving as Mediated by Their Cognitive Tool Use: A Study of Tool Use Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, M.; Horton, L. R.; Corliss, S. B.; Svinicki, M. D.; Bogard, T.; Kim, J.; Chang, M.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to use multiple data sources, both objective and subjective, to capture students' thinking processes as they were engaged in problem solving, examine the cognitive tool use patterns, and understand what tools were used and why they were used. The findings of this study confirmed previous research and provided clear…

  15. Civic Engagement Patterns of Undocumented Mexican Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, William; Espinoza, Roberta; Ramos, Karina; Coronado, Heidi; Cortes, Richard

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the civic engagement of undocumented Mexican students. Civic engagement was defined as providing a social service, activism, tutoring, and functionary work. Survey data results (n = 126) suggest that despite high feelings of rejection because of their undocumented status, part-time employment, and household responsibilities,…

  16. Understanding Students' Experiences in Their Own Words: Moving beyond a Basic Analysis of Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Arch Chee Keen

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the lived experiences of students as expressed in their reflections on their experiences of learning at Ambrose University in Calgary. It uses quantitative outcomes-related data from the National Survey of Student Engagement and the Theological School Survey of Student Engagement to illuminate qualitative data obtained through…

  17. The Effects of Autonomy Support on Student Engagement in Peer Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Jiangmei; Kim, ChanMin

    2018-01-01

    Although peer assessment is widely implemented in higher education, not all students are highly engaged in it. To enhance student engagement in peer assessment, we designed and developed a web-based tool, autonomy-supportive peer assessment (ASPA), to support students' need for autonomy when they conducted peer assessment. Students' sense of…

  18. Identifying Keys to Success in Innovative Teaching: Student Engagement and Instructional Practices as Predictors of Student Learning in a Course Using a Team-Based Learning Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa M. Alvarez-Bell

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available When implementing innovative teaching techniques, instructors often seek to gauge the success of their methods. Proposing one approach to assessing classroom innovation, this study examines the ability of students’ ratings of engagement and instructional practices to predict their learning in a cooperative (team-based framework. After identifying the factor structures underlying measures of student engagement and instructional practices, these factors were used as predictors of self-reported student learning in a general chemistry course delivered using a team-based learning approach. Exploratory factor analyses showed a four-factor structure of engagement: teamwork involvement, investment in the learning process, feelings about team-based learning, level of academic challenge; and a three-factor structure of instructional practices: instructional guidance, fostering self-directed learning skills, and cognitive level. Multiple linear regression revealed that feelings about team-based learning and perceptions of instructional guidance had significant effects on learning, beyond other predictors, while controlling gender, GPA, class level, number of credit hours, whether students began college at their current institution, expected highest level of education, racial or ethnic identification, and parental level of education. These results yield insight into student perceptions about team-based learning, and how to measure learning in a team-based learning framework, with implications for how to evaluate innovative instructional methods.

  19. Student engagement in pharmacology courses using online learning tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karaksha, Abdullah; Grant, Gary; Anoopkumar-Dukie, Shailendra; Nirthanan, S Niru; Davey, Andrew K

    2013-08-12

    To assess factors influencing student engagement with e-tools used as a learning supplement to the standard curriculum in pharmacology courses. A suite of 148 e-tools (interactive online teaching materials encompassing the basic mechanisms of action for different drug classes) were designed and implemented across 2 semesters for third-year pharmacy students. Student engagement and use of this new teaching strategy were assessed using a survey instrument and usage statistics for the material. Use of e-tools during semester 1 was low, a finding attributable to a majority (75%) of students either being unaware of or forgetting about the embedded e-tools and a few (20%) lacking interest in accessing additional learning materials. In contrast to semester 1, e-tool use significantly increased in semester 2 with the use of frequent reminders and announcements (ponline teaching and learning resources were only effective in increasing student engagement after the implementation of a "marketing strategy" that included e-mail reminders and motivation.

  20. Using Games to Engage Students in Inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Martha

    2017-01-01

    This paper discusses the author's experiences of getting advanced undergraduate math students to engage in mathematical inquiry by using games as a vehicle for exploration. The students explored the mathematics behind SET®1, Spot it!®2, Blokus®3, and Six®4. Specifically, we present the experience of the instructor and students and how the games…

  1. Using "Petites Projects" to Further Engage Students in Geography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Richard

    2013-01-01

    The challenge of teaching AP Human Geography to high school students is to make geography relevant, engaging and "real world." Often the pace of teaching AP classes constrains the ability of teachers to do creative projects and truly engage students until after the exam is over in May. In this lesson plan, the author suggests using "Petites…

  2. The Influence of Personal Well-Being on Learning Achievement in University Students Over Time: Mediating or Moderating Effects of Internal and External University Engagement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Yu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The current study examined the relationship between students' personal well-being and their learning achievement during university study, and whether such relationship would be mediated or moderated by university engagement. A total of 434 university students from one public university in Hong Kong participated in the study. The participants completed an online survey consisting of personal well-being (cognitive behavioral competence and general positive youth development, university engagement, and learning achievement measures (personal growth, and accumulated GPA as academic achievement at four time points with a 1-year interval. Results showed that personal well-being measured at the beginning of university study positively predicted students' personal growth and academic achievement after 3 years' study. While the internal dimensions of university engagement (academic challenge and learning with peers showed longitudinal significant mediational effect, the external dimensions (experience with faculty and campus environment did not have significant longitudinal moderating effect. Nevertheless, external dimensions of student engagement also showed direct effect on personal growth and academic achievement. The long-standing positive effects of personal well-being on university engagement and subsequently, learning achievement during university years call for more attention to the promotion of holistic development among university students in Hong Kong.

  3. The Influence of Personal Well-Being on Learning Achievement in University Students Over Time: Mediating or Moderating Effects of Internal and External University Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Lu; Shek, Daniel T. L.; Zhu, Xiaoqin

    2018-01-01

    The current study examined the relationship between students' personal well-being and their learning achievement during university study, and whether such relationship would be mediated or moderated by university engagement. A total of 434 university students from one public university in Hong Kong participated in the study. The participants completed an online survey consisting of personal well-being (cognitive behavioral competence and general positive youth development), university engagement, and learning achievement measures (personal growth, and accumulated GPA as academic achievement) at four time points with a 1-year interval. Results showed that personal well-being measured at the beginning of university study positively predicted students' personal growth and academic achievement after 3 years' study. While the internal dimensions of university engagement (academic challenge and learning with peers) showed longitudinal significant mediational effect, the external dimensions (experience with faculty and campus environment) did not have significant longitudinal moderating effect. Nevertheless, external dimensions of student engagement also showed direct effect on personal growth and academic achievement. The long-standing positive effects of personal well-being on university engagement and subsequently, learning achievement during university years call for more attention to the promotion of holistic development among university students in Hong Kong. PMID:29375421

  4. Engaging Marketing Students: Student Operated Businesses in a Simulated World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell-Bennett, Rebekah; Rundle-Thiele, Sharyn R.; Kuhn, Kerri-Ann

    2010-01-01

    Engaged students are committed and more likely to continue their university studies. Subsequently, they are less resource intensive from a university's perspective. This article details an experiential second-year marketing course that requires students to develop real products and services to sell on two organized market days. In the course,…

  5. [Burnout-engagement and personality factors in medical students at a public university].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Gladys V; D'Urso Villar, Marcela; Fracchia, Liliana N

    2016-09-01

    Medical students can develop burnout syndrome, characterized by exhaustion, cynical attitude towards study and negative consequences on wellbeing and academic performance. Engagement, theoretically syndrome "opposite" to burnout, shows a positive influence on personal and academic performance. To study the association of syndromes burnout and engagement with personality factors in medical students, a longitudinal observational, descriptive study of a cohort follow-up was performed. Three questionnaires were used: reduced inventory NEO Five-Factor (NEO FFI) administered at the beginning of the sixth year; the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, applied at the end of the seventh year. 120 students participated. The chance of presenting burnout was 3 times higher when the student had 0.26 times higher neuroticism and high extraversion lower when presented. The chance to present engagement was 10 times higher in students who had high extraversion (Multilevel logistic regression model, pburnout and engagement syndromes, and carry out strategies to prevent the consequences of academic stress on the most vulnerable students.

  6. Triumph or Tragedy: Comparing Student Engagement Levels of Members of Greek-Letter Organizations and Other Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayek, John C.; Carini, Robert M.; O'Day, Patrick T.; Kuh, George D.

    2002-01-01

    This study compared the levels of student engagement between fraternity and sorority members and other undergraduate students. After controls, Greek members appeared to be equally and sometimes more engaged in academically challenging tasks, active learning, student-faculty interaction, community service, diversity, satisfaction, and on learning…

  7. Assessment of cognitive factors that impact on student knowledge of genetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerow, Tracy Nelson

    1999-12-01

    Attaining an understanding of basic principles of inheritance and their implications is crucial for all people as society is confronted with a variety of ethical, sociological and ecological questions generated by the rapid growth of genetic knowledge. College level students are burdened by terminology, have difficulty making associations among related ideas, and often possess misconceptions or fragmented ideas about how traits are inherited. Subject comprehension is evaluated mostly with objective testing techniques that don't show how well students truly understand concepts. This research was done to determine how prior subject knowledge in biology and general cognitive ability affected community college students' understanding of several genetic principles both before and after completing a one-semester college biology course. Understanding of genetic principles was determined with a videotape assessment that evaluated student written explanations of experimental events. The evaluations were then used to place students into three categories: descriptive, transitional, and relational type learners. A subset of students was interviewed to better determine how thoroughly genetic concepts depicted in the videotape program were understood. Prior subject matter knowledge and cognitive level were discovered to be moderately correlated with ability to explain genetic phenomena. Most students in this study were categorized as either descriptive or transitional learners. Descriptive type students gave less detailed explanations, employed less successful problem solving methods, had more misconceptions and used feedback less effectively than did transitional type learners. The study results show that science teachers need to be aware of the heterogeneity existing in their students' background knowledge and cognitive skills. It demonstrated that a large contingency of students, descriptive learners, lack a framework of knowledge upon which to build new concepts or change

  8. School Engagement for Academically At-Risk Students: A Participatory Research Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Toole, Nadia; Due, Clemence

    2015-01-01

    While past literature has explored school engagement in older students, there is less research for younger children specifically, and very little which engages children themselves in the research process. This paper provides insight into school engagement for academically at-risk students in the second year of school through a participatory…

  9. Does the amount of school choice matter for student engagement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughn, Michael G.; Witko, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    School choice may increase student engagement by enabling students to attend schools that more closely match their needs and preferences. But this effect on engagement may depend on the characteristics of the choices available. Therefore, we consider how the amount of educational choice of different types in a local educational marketplace affects student engagement using a large, national population of 8th grade students. We find that more choice of regular public schools in the elementary and middle school years is associated with a lower likelihood that students will be severely disengaged in eighth grade, and more choices of public schools of choice has a similar effect but only in urban areas. In contrast, more private sector choice does not have such a general beneficial effect. PMID:23682202

  10. Elementary students' engagement in failure-prone engineering design tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Chelsea Joy

    Although engineering education has been practiced at the undergraduate level for over a century, only fairly recently has the field broadened to include the elementary level; the pre-college division of the American Society of Engineering Education was established in 2003. As a result, while recent education standards require engineering in elementary schools, current studies are still filling in basic research on how best to design and implement elementary engineering activities. One area in need of investigation is how students engage with physical failure in design tasks. In this dissertation, I explore how upper elementary students engage in failure-prone engineering design tasks in an out-of-school environment. In a series of three empirical case studies, I look closely at how students evaluate failed tests and decide on changes to their design constructions, how their reasoning evolves as they repeatedly encounter physical failure, and how students and facilitators co-construct testing norms where repetitive failure is manageable. I also briefly investigate how students' engagement differs in a task that features near-immediate success. By closely examining student groups' discourse and their interactions with their design constructions, I found that these students: are able to engage in iteration and see failure-as-feedback with minimal externally-imposed structure; seem to be designing in a more sophisticated manner, attending to multiple causal factors, after experiencing repetitive failure; and are able to manage the stress and frustration of repetitive failure, provided the co-constructed testing norms of the workshop environment are supportive of failure management. These results have both pedagogical implications, in terms of how to create and facilitate design tasks, and methodological implications--namely, I highlight the particular insights afforded by a case study approach for analyzing engagement in design tasks.

  11. Student Engagement in the Classroom: The Impact of Classroom, Teacher, and Student Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dykstra Steinbrenner, Jessica R.; Watson, Linda R.

    2015-01-01

    Researchers have highlighted engagement as a critical component of effective interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet there is limited research related to engagement in school-age children with ASD. This descriptive study was designed to examine joint engagement and its relationship with classroom factors and student…

  12. The Fear of Being Assessed: An Auto-Ethnographic Case Study on Attempts to Engage and Motivate an Individual Disaffected Access Student

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lebor, Merv

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores how a tutor engaged an individual student who was abusive to teachers and would not carry out coursework assessments which tutors had set him in the Lifelong Learning Sector. It offers strategies to overcome barriers to achievement, particularly where a student resists carrying out required assessment tasks. It is a self-reflexive, auto-ethnographic case study. The research is based on observation, interview and a narratology of the researcher’s own involvement in the situation. It is concerned with strategies that worked with this particular student. It argues a case for personal engagement, solution-focused and cognitive behavioural strategies in the teaching/learning situation and offers an overall humanist approach. It ultimately argues for the complexity of understanding the key relationship between teacher and student. It is also concerned with ‘improving practice’ which is the central agenda of this journal.

  13. Digital Technology and Student Cognitive Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavanaugh, J. Michael; Giapponi, Catherine C.; Golden, Timothy D.

    2016-01-01

    Digital technology has proven a beguiling, some even venture addictive, presence in the lives of our 21st century (millennial) students. And while screen technology may offer select cognitive benefits, there is mounting evidence in the cognitive neuroscience literature that digital technology is restructuring the way our students read and think,…

  14. Using Reading Times and Eye-Movements to Measure Cognitive Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Brian W.

    2015-01-01

    Self-paced reading and eye-tracking can be used to measure microlevel student engagement during science instruction. These methods imply a definition of engagement as the quantity and quality of mental resources directed at an object and the emotions and behaviors entailed. This definition is theoretically supported by models of reading…

  15. Social cognition in schizophrenia: from social stimuli processing to social engagement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo eBilleke

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Social cognition consists of several skills which allow us to interact with other humans. These skills include social stimuli processing, drawing inferences about others' mental states, and engaging in social interactions. In recent years, there has been growing evidence of social cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia. Apparently, these impairments are separable from general neurocognitive impairments, such as attention, memory and executive functioning. Moreover, social cognition seems to be a main determinant of functional outcome and could be used as a guide to elaborate new pharmacological and psychological treatments. However, most of these studies focus on individual mechanisms and observational perspectives; only few of them study schizophrenic patients during interactive situations. We first review evidences of social cognitive impairments both in social stimuli processing and in mental state attribution. We focus on the relationship between these functions and both general cognitive impairments and functional outcome. We next review recent game theory approaches to the study of how social engagement occurs in schizophrenic patients. The advantage of using game theory is that game-oriented tasks can assess social decision-making in an interactive everyday situation model. Finally, we review proposed theoretical models used to explain social alterations and their underlying biological mechanisms. Based on interactive studies, we propose a framework which takes into account the dynamic nature of social processes. Thus, understanding social skills as a result of dynamical systems could facilitate the development of both basic research and clinical applications oriented to psychiatric populations.

  16. Using data mining on student behavior and cognitive style data for improving e-learning systems: a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milos Jovanovic

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In this research we applied classification models for prediction of studentsarsquo; performance, and cluster models for grouping students based on their cognitive styles in e-learning environment. Classification models described in this paper should help: teachers, students and business people, for early engaging with students who are likely to become excellent on a selected topic. Clustering students based on cognitive styles and their overall performance should enable better adaption of the learning materials with respect to their learning styles. The approach is tested using well-established data mining algorithms, and evaluated by several evaluation measures. Model building process included data preprocessing, parameter optimization and attribute selection steps, which enhanced the overall performance. Additionally we propose a Moodle module that allows automatic extraction of data needed for educational data mining analysis and deploys models developed in this study.

  17. Exploring the Relationship between Student Engagement, Twitter, and a Learning Management System: A Study of Undergraduate Marketing Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, David; Whiting, Anita

    2016-01-01

    Because student engagement is believed to be a predictor of academic achievement, there is significant interest in discovering methods that will improve and increase student engagement at all levels of education. This study investigated the relationship between digital and social media usage and student engagement. In particular, this study sought…

  18. ENGAGEMENT AND BURNOUT AMONG NURSING AND PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS IN SLOVAKIA

    OpenAIRE

    Zuzana Škodová; Ľubica Bánovčinová; Petra Lajčiaková

    2017-01-01

    Aim: The aim of the study was to examine the differences in engagement and burnout syndrome in students of nursing/midwifery and psychology in Slovakia. Design: A cross-sectional design was used. Methods: 171 university students on a baccalaureate program participated in the research (90.9% females; age 20.6 ± 1.3; 80 psychology students, 91 nursing/midwifery students). The School Burnout Inventory (SBI) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) were employed as measurement methods. Results: A...

  19. Student Perceptions of Classroom Engagement and Learning using iPads

    OpenAIRE

    Jefferson W. Streepey; Eugenia Fernandez; Timothy T. Diemer

    2013-01-01

    Many colleges and universities have launched iPad initiatives in an effort to enhance student learning. Despite their rapid adoption, the extent to which iPads increase student engagement and learning is not well understood. This paper reports on a multidisciplinary assessment of student perceptions of engagement and learning using iPads. Student reactions following single and multiple classroom activities using iPads were measured via a survey asking them to rate their learning and engagemen...

  20. Potential of Social Networking Sites for Distance Education Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Jaime; Perini, Michael

    2010-01-01

    This chapter explores the potential of social networking sites for increasing student engagement for distance education learners. The authors present a modified student engagement model with a focus on the integration of technology, specifically social networking sites for community college distance education learners. The chapter concludes with…

  1. The effects of academic literacy instruction on engagement and conceptual understanding of biology of ninth-grade students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Susan C.

    measure cognitive and emotional states, revealing patterns of engagement, quality of experience, and flow over the course of the instructional unit. Conceptual understanding was measured using the state persuasive writing rubric to analyze science essays in which students supported a claim with scientific evidence. The study contributes an Engagement Model of Academic Literacy for Learning (EngageALL), a Rubric for Academic Persuasive Writing (RAPW), a unique classification system for analyzing academic vocabulary, and suggestions for situated professional development around a research-based planning framework. A discussion addresses a new direction for future research that explores academic identity development.

  2. What Secondary Teachers Think and Do about Student Engagement in Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skilling, Karen; Bobis, Janette; Martin, Andrew J.; Anderson, Judy; Way, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    What teachers' think about student engagement influences the teaching practices they adopt, their responses to students and the efforts they make in the classroom. Interviews were conducted with 31 mathematics teachers from ten high schools to investigate their perceptions and beliefs about student engagement in mathematics. Teachers also reported…

  3. An Examination of Student- and Across-Level Mediation Mechanisms Accounting for Gender Differences in Reading Performance: A Multilevel Analysis of Reading Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mak, Soi-kei; Cheung, Kwok-cheung; Soh, Kaycheng; Sit, Pou-seong; Ieong, Man-kai

    2017-01-01

    Enjoyment of reading, diversity of reading and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies are cognitive and affective variables pertaining to three facets of reading engagement for students to read happily, widely and skilfully. These have been found to be related to effectiveness in reading instruction. They together form a focus for this…

  4. Promoting tolerance and moral engagement through peer modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAlister, A L; Ama, E; Barroso, C; Peters, R J; Kelder, S

    2000-11-01

    Behavioral journalism influences audiences by presenting peer modeling for cognitive processes that lead to behavior change. This technique was used in student newsletters promoting intergroup tolerance and moral engagement in a Houston high school with a diverse ethnic composition. Pretest (N = 393) and posttest (N = 363) cross-sectional comparisons of the student population in that school provided evidence of short-term (6 month) communication effects on attitudes and behavior. Tolerance and moral engagement increased among students in the school where behavioral journalism newsletters were distributed, and there was a corresponding reduction in hostile behavioral intentions and in reports of verbal aggression.

  5. Data-informed nudges for student engagement and success

    OpenAIRE

    Stephens, Jason; Leichtweis, Steve; Liu, Danny; Blumenstein, Marion; Richards, Deborah

    2018-01-01

    Student engagement has never mattered more in college and university education. While the problem of low engagement and underachievement may differ greatly depending on learning contexts their relationship is well-established. Increasingly, digital technologies have allowed teachers to utilize actionable insights gleaned from data about learner engagement and performance to influence students’ choices on regulating their learning behaviour towards academic success. In this context, we apply t...

  6. Student Engagement in the Scottish Quality Enhancement Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gvaramadze, Irakli

    2011-01-01

    The research addressed the interplay of student engagement and quality enhancement mechanisms in the Scottish higher education system. The paper demonstrates increasing focus on student learning, learning experience and high-quality learning in the current quality enhancement approaches. The student-university coproduction model is used to…

  7. Relationship Model of Personality, Communication, Student Engagement, and Learning Satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorothea Ariani

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to examine the engagement as a mediating variable of the relationship between personality and communication with satisfaction. This study was conducted at business school in Indonesia with 307 students who are still active as a respondent. Survey research was conducted over four months by questionnaire that has been well-established that was taken and modified from previous studies. The results of this study indicate that student engagement mediates the relationship between personality and communication as independent variables and satisfaction as the dependent variable. Extroversion personality and communication significantly positive effect on student engagement in all three dimensions (vigor, dedication, and absorption. In addition, this study also showed that engagement and satisfaction are two different variables, but correlated, and there was no difference in terms of gender differences involvement.

  8. A Typology of International Student Community Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischman, David; Raciti, Maria; Lawley, Meredith

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents an empirical study undertaken to develop a typology of international student community engagement activities that incorporates the perceptions of three key stakeholder groups--the international students, the community and the university. Framed by the notion of value co-creation, our exploratory study was undertaken at a…

  9. Interteach and Student Engagement in Political Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slagter, Tracy H.; Scribner, Druscilla L.

    2014-01-01

    "Interteach" is a method of guided discussion and feedback developed by Thomas Boyce and Philip Hineline in 2002. This method, primarily used in the psychology classroom, encourages greater student engagement and responsibility for learning by requiring extensive student preparation, peer-to-peer instruction, and peer evaluation. How can…

  10. A Program to Improve Student Engagement at Research-Focused Universities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whillans, Ashley V.; Hope, Sally E.; Wylie, Lauren J.; Zhao, Bob; Souza, Michael J.

    2018-01-01

    Promoting undergraduate engagement is an important and challenging obstacle at large research-focused universities. Thus, the current study evaluated whether a peer-led program of student-geared events could improve engagement among a diverse group of psychology students early on in their degrees. We randomly assigned interested second-year…

  11. Considering the Role of Tutoring in Student Engagement: Reflections from a South African University

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faroa Brendon Duran

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Student engagement has been defined as the extent to which students are engaged in activities that higher education research has shown to be linked with high-quality learning outcomes. The ubiquitous influence of the term ‘student engagement’ has been felt throughout the higher education landscape.  This is especially true for South African higher education where student success has been poor. South African universities have been tasked to improve the student learning experience as a component of improving success. Some of the innovative teaching and learning practices often highlighted by research which are thought to improve student engagement include: having students adopt teaching roles such as peer assessment, tutoring and mentoring. These practices are thought to promote student engagement, leading to greater student academic success. Tutoring can therefore be seen as one of the key strategies to facilitate student engagement in order to achieve academic success. The following paper considers the role of tutoring in student engagement while reflecting on strategies used at a South African university to address the challenges associated with student success.

  12. Understanding Student Cognition about Complex Earth System Processes Related to Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeal, K. S.; Libarkin, J.; Ledley, T. S.; Dutta, S.; Templeton, M. C.; Geroux, J.; Blakeney, G. A.

    2011-12-01

    The Earth's climate system includes complex behavior and interconnections with other Earth spheres that present challenges to student learning. To better understand these unique challenges, we have conducted experiments with high-school and introductory level college students to determine how information pertaining to the connections between the Earth's atmospheric system and the other Earth spheres (e.g., hydrosphere and cryosphere) are processed. Specifically, we include psychomotor tests (e.g., eye-tracking) and open-ended questionnaires in this research study, where participants were provided scientific images of the Earth (e.g., global precipitation and ocean and atmospheric currents), eye-tracked, and asked to provide causal or relational explanations about the viewed images. In addition, the students engaged in on-line modules (http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/climate/index.html) focused on Earth system science as training activities to address potential cognitive barriers. The developed modules included interactive media, hands-on lessons, links to outside resources, and formative assessment questions to promote a supportive and data-rich learning environment. Student eye movements were tracked during engagement with the materials to determine the role of perception and attention on understanding. Students also completed a conceptual questionnaire pre-post to determine if these on-line curriculum materials assisted in their development of connections between Earth's atmospheric system and the other Earth systems. The pre-post results of students' thinking about climate change concepts, as well as eye-tracking results, will be presented.

  13. Cognitive Load and Self-Determination Theories Applied to E-Learning: Impact on Students' Participation and Academic Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Araujo Guerra Grangeia, Tiago; de Jorge, Bruno; Franci, Daniel; Martins Santos, Thiago; Vellutini Setubal, Maria Silvia; Schweller, Marcelo; de Carvalho-Filho, Marco Antonio

    2016-01-01

    Emergency clerkships expose students to a stressful environment that require multiple tasks, which may have a direct impact on cognitive load and motivation for learning. To address this challenge, Cognitive Load Theory and Self Determination Theory provided the conceptual frameworks to the development of a Moodle-based online Emergency Medicine course, inspired by real clinical cases. Three consecutive classes (2013-2015) of sixth-year medical students (n = 304) participated in the course, during a curricular and essentially practical emergency rotation. "Virtual Rounds" provided weekly virtual patients in narrative format and meaningful schemata to chief complaints, in order to simulate real rounds at Emergency Unit. Additional activities such as Extreme Decisions, Emergency Quiz and Electrocardiographic challenge offered different views of emergency care. Authors assessed student´s participation and its correlation with their academic performance. A survey evaluated students´ opinions. Students graduating in 2015 answered an online questionnaire to investigate cognitive load and motivation. Each student produced 1965 pageviews and spent 72 hours logged on. Although Clinical Emergency rotation has two months long, students accessed the online course during an average of 5.3 months. Virtual Rounds was the most accessed activity, and there was positive correlations between the number of hours logged on the platform and final grades on Emergency Medicine. Over 90% of students felt an improvement in their clinical reasoning and considered themselves better prepared for rendering Emergency care. Considering a Likert scale from 1 (minimum load) to 7 (maximum load), the scores for total cognitive load were 4.79±2.2 for Virtual Rounds and 5.56±1.96 for real medical rounds(pcognitive and motivational conceptual frameworks, seems to be a strong tool to engage students in learning. It may support them to manage the cognitive challenges involved in clinical care and

  14. Burnout and study engagement among medical students at Sun Yat-sen University, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hongchun; Yansane, Alfa Ibrahim; Zhang, Yurong; Fu, Haijun; Hong, Nanrui; Kalenderian, Elsbeth

    2018-01-01

    Abstract This study aims to investigate burnout and study engagement among medical students at Sun Yat-sen University, China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students of Sun Yat-sen University, China. A total of 453 undergraduate students completed a self-administered, structured questionnaire between January and February, 2016. Burnout and study engagement were measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and the UTRECHT Work Engagement Scale-Students (UWES-S), respectively. Subjects who scored high in emotional exhaustion subscale, high in cynicism subscale, and low in professional efficacy subscale simultaneously were graded as having high risk of burnout. Independent sample t tests and chi-square tests were used to compare the differences in burnout and work engagement between genders, majors, and grade levels. The means (standard deviations) of the MBI-SS subscales were 3.42 (1.45) for emotional exhaustion, 2.34 (1.64) for cynicism, and 3.04 (1.30) for professional efficacy. The means (standard deviations) of the UWES-S subscales were 3.13 (1.49) for vigor, 3.44 (1.47) for dedication and 3.00 (1.51) for absorption. Approximately 1 in 11 students experienced a high risk of burnout. There were no statistically significant gender differences in burnout and study engagement. There were also no statistically significant differences in burnout and study engagement subscales according to student major. Students in higher grades displayed increased burnout risk, higher mean burnout subscale score of cynicism, lower mean burnout subscale score of professional efficacy, and decreased mean study engagement subscale scores of dedication and absorption. There were strong correlations within study engagement subscales. Chinese medical students in this university experience a high level of burnout. Students at higher-grade level experience more burnout and decreased study engagement compared with students in lower

  15. The decision to engage cognitive control is driven by expected reward-value: neural and behavioral evidence.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew L Dixon

    Full Text Available Cognitive control is a fundamental skill reflecting the active use of task-rules to guide behavior and suppress inappropriate automatic responses. Prior work has traditionally used paradigms in which subjects are told when to engage cognitive control. Thus, surprisingly little is known about the factors that influence individuals' initial decision of whether or not to act in a reflective, rule-based manner. To examine this, we took three classic cognitive control tasks (Stroop, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, Go/No-Go task and created novel 'free-choice' versions in which human subjects were free to select an automatic, pre-potent action, or an action requiring rule-based cognitive control, and earned varying amounts of money based on their choices. Our findings demonstrated that subjects' decision to engage cognitive control was driven by an explicit representation of monetary rewards expected to be obtained from rule-use. Subjects rarely engaged cognitive control when the expected outcome was of equal or lesser value as compared to the value of the automatic response, but frequently engaged cognitive control when it was expected to yield a larger monetary outcome. Additionally, we exploited fMRI-adaptation to show that the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC represents associations between rules and expected reward outcomes. Together, these findings suggest that individuals are more likely to act in a reflective, rule-based manner when they expect that it will result in a desired outcome. Thus, choosing to exert cognitive control is not simply a matter of reason and willpower, but rather, conforms to standard mechanisms of value-based decision making. Finally, in contrast to current models of LPFC function, our results suggest that the LPFC plays a direct role in representing motivational incentives.

  16. Creating Student Engagement: The Kickstarter Active Learning Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzon, Elliott

    2017-01-01

    Students can become disengaged from marketing material if they cannot see the direct application. Marketing material needs to be applied to a meaningful business task to engage and motivate students. This article introduces the Kickstarter Active Learning Project--an innovative semester-long project in which students create a Kickstarter…

  17. Student Engagement in Pharmacology Courses Using Online Learning Tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karaksha, Abdullah; Grant, Gary; Anoopkumar-Dukie, Shailendra; Nirthanan, S. Niru

    2013-01-01

    Objective. To assess factors influencing student engagement with e-tools used as a learning supplement to the standard curriculum in pharmacology courses. Design. A suite of 148 e-tools (interactive online teaching materials encompassing the basic mechanisms of action for different drug classes) were designed and implemented across 2 semesters for third-year pharmacy students. Assessment. Student engagement and use of this new teaching strategy were assessed using a survey instrument and usage statistics for the material. Use of e-tools during semester 1 was low, a finding attributable to a majority (75%) of students either being unaware of or forgetting about the embedded e-tools and a few (20%) lacking interest in accessing additional learning materials. In contrast to semester 1, e-tool use significantly increased in semester 2 with the use of frequent reminders and announcements (pstudent engagement after the implementation of a “marketing strategy” that included e-mail reminders and motivation. PMID:23966728

  18. Use it or lose it: engaged lifestyle as a buffer of cognitive decline in aging?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hultsch, D F; Hertzog, C; Small, B J; Dixon, R A

    1999-06-01

    Data from the Victoria Longitudinal Study were used to examine the hypothesis that maintaining intellectual engagement through participation in everyday activities buffers individuals against cognitive decline in later life. The sample consisted of 250 middle-aged and older adults tested 3 times over 6 years. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine the relationships among changes in lifestyle variables and an array of cognitive variables. There was a relationship between changes in intellectually related activities and changes in cognitive functioning. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that intellectually engaging activities serve to buffer individuals against decline. However, an alternative model suggested the findings were also consistent with the hypothesis that high-ability individuals lead intellectually active lives until cognitive decline in old age limits their activities.

  19. Teacher performance goal practices and elementary students' behavioral engagement: a developmental perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Jan N; Wu, Wei; West, Stephen G

    2011-02-01

    We investigated growth trajectories for classroom performance goal practices and for student behavioral engagement across grades 2 to 5 for 497 academically at-risk elementary students. This study is the first longitudinal investigation of performance goal practices in the early elementary years. On average, teacher use of performance goal practices increased and students' behavioral engagement declined across the four years. Using autoregressive latent trajectory (ALT) models, we examined the synchronous relations between teacher-reported performance goal practices and teacher-reported student behavioral engagement. As expected, as students move into classrooms with a new teacher with less emphasis on performance goal practices, they become more behaviorally engaged in school. Gender did not moderate these results. Implications for teacher professional development are discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Engaging Students in Large Health Classes with Active Learning Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Steven; Combs, Sue; Huelskamp, Amelia; Hritz, Nancy

    2017-01-01

    Creative K-12 health teachers can engage students in large classes by utilizing active learning strategies. Active learning involves engaging students in higher-order tasks, such as analysis and synthesis, which is a crucial element of the movement toward what is commonly called "learner-centered" teaching. Health education teachers who…

  1. Flipping College Algebra: Effects on Student Engagement and Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichinose, Cherie; Clinkenbeard, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    This study compared student engagement and achievement levels between students enrolled in a traditional college algebra lecture course and students enrolled in a "flipped" course. Results showed that students in the flipped class had consistently higher levels of achievement throughout the course than did students in the traditional…

  2. Cognitive performance and engagement in physical, social and intellectual activities in older adults: The FIBRA study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovana Sposito

    Full Text Available Cognitive decline in aging can negatively impact quality of life in the elderly. However, studies have shown that elderly engaged in advanced activities of daily living (AADLs can maintain or enhance global cognitive function or specific domains.Objective:To investigate the relationship between engagement in AADLs and domains of cognition in elderly from seven different locations in Brazil.Methods:A cross-sectional study involving 2,549 elderly without cognitive deficits suggestive of dementia was conducted. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, health status, the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE by subdomain (orientation, memory, attention/calculus, language and constructional praxis, and engagement in AADL grouped under physical, social and intellectual activities.Results:Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed an association, albeit modest, between intellectual AADLs and the domains orientation, attention/calculus, language and constructional praxis (R2=0.005, 0.008, 0.021, and 0.021 respectively. Social AADLs were correlated with memory (R2=0.002 and language (R2=0.004 domains. No association was found between physical AADLs and MMSE domains. Schooling and family income were the sociodemographic variables exhibiting the strongest relationship with cognitive domains.Conclusion:The study found associations between intellectual and social AADLs with higher cognitive performance, suggesting that active aging can provide opportunities to attenuate cognitive decline in aging.

  3. Using collective argumentation to engage students in a primary mathematics classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Raymond

    2017-02-01

    This article focuses on using sociocultural theory to support student engagement with mathematics. The sociocultural approach used, collective argumentation (CA), is based on interactive principles necessary for coordinating student engagement in the discourse of the classroom. A goal of the research was to explore the affordances and constraints of using CA to enrich student engagement with mathematics. The design of the research was based on a teaching experiment that sought to capture the influence of social and cultural processes on learning and development. Participants included primary and secondary school teachers and their mathematics classes. This article focuses on the practice of one female primary school teacher. Data sources included interview transcripts, report writings, journal entries and observational records. Data were analysed using a participation framework. Findings suggest that aspects of CA such as students explaining and justifying ideas and presenting ideas to the whole class can be used by teachers to promote student engagement with mathematics.

  4. Engaging EFL Students in E-Books Using Reader-Response Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, I-Chia

    2015-01-01

    E-book reading is generally considered suboptimal because people engaging in e-book reading tend to browse through digital texts. As a result, studies concerning students' e-book preference in academic contexts have shown that students less prefer using e-books than hardcopy books when engaging in academic reading which is considered intensive…

  5. Science and Community Engagement: Connecting Science Students with the Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lancor, Rachael; Schiebel, Amy

    2018-01-01

    In this article we describe a course on science outreach that was developed as part of our college's goal that all students participate in a meaningful community engagement experience. The Science & Community Engagement course provides a way for students with science or science-related majors to learn how to effectively communicate scientific…

  6. To What Extent Do Teacher-Student Interaction Quality and Student Gender Contribute to Fifth Graders' Engagement in Mathematics Learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E.; Baroody, Alison E.; Larsen, Ross A. A.; Curby, Timothy W.; Abry, Tashia

    2015-01-01

    This study examines concurrent teacher-student interaction quality and 5th graders' (n = 387) engagement in mathematics classrooms (n = 63) and considers how teacher-student interaction quality relates to engagement differently for boys and girls. Three approaches were used to measure student engagement in mathematics: Research assistants observed…

  7. Aspects of science engagement, student background, and school characteristics: Impacts on science achievement of U.S. students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grabau, Larry J.

    Science achievement of U.S. students has lagged significantly behind other nations; educational reformers have suggested science engagement may enhance this critical measure. The 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was science-focused and measured science achievement along with nine aspects of science engagement: science self-efficacy, science self-concept, enjoyment of science, general interest in learning science, instrumental motivation for science, future-oriented science motivation, general value of science, personal value of science, and science-related activities. I used multilevel modeling techniques to address both aspects of science engagement and science achievement as outcome variables in the context of student background and school characteristics. Treating aspects of science engagement as outcome variables provided tests for approaches for their enhancement; meanwhile, treating science achievement as the outcome variable provided tests for the influence of the aspects of science engagement on science achievement under appropriate controls. When aspects of science engagement were treated as outcome variables, gender and father's SES had frequent (significant) influences, as did science teaching strategies which focused on applications or models and hands-on activities over-and-above influences of student background and other school characteristics. When science achievement was treated as the outcome variable, each aspect of science engagement was significant, and eight had medium or large effect sizes (future-oriented science motivation was the exception). The science teaching strategy which involved hands-on activities frequently enhanced science achievement over-and-above influences of student background and other school characteristics. Policy recommendations for U.S. science educators included enhancing eight aspects of science engagement and implementing two specific science teaching strategies (focus on applications or models

  8. Cognitive and Social Aspects of Engagement in Active Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koretsky, Milo

    2017-01-01

    This article reports analysis of students' written reflections as to what helps them learn in an active learning environment. Eight hundred and twenty seven responses from 403 students in four different studio courses over two years were analyzed. An emergent coding scheme identified 55% of the responses as associated with cognitive processes…

  9. Do student self-efficacy and teacher-student interaction quality contribute to emotional and social engagement in fifth grade math?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Daniel P; Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E

    2015-10-01

    This study examined (a) the contribution of math self-efficacy to students' perception of their emotional and social engagement in fifth grade math classes, and (b) the extent to which high quality teacher-student interactions compensated for students' low math self-efficacy in contributing to engagement. Teachers (n = 73) were observed three times during the year during math to measure the quality of teacher-student interactions (emotional, organizational, and instructional support). Fifth graders (n = 387) reported on their math self-efficacy at the beginning of the school year and then were surveyed about their feelings of engagement in math class three times during the year immediately after the lessons during which teachers were observed. Results of multi-level models indicated that students initially lower in math self-efficacy reported lower emotional and social engagement during math class than students with higher self-efficacy. However, in classrooms with high levels of teacher emotional support, students reported similar levels of both emotional and social engagement, regardless of their self-efficacy. No comparable findings emerged for organizational and instructional support. The discussion considers the significance of students' own feelings about math in relation to their engagement, as well as the ways in which teacher and classroom supports can compensate for students lack of agency. The work has implications for school psychologists and teachers eager to boost students' engagement in math class. Copyright © 2015 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Cognitive Load and Self-Determination Theories Applied to E-Learning: Impact on Students' Participation and Academic Performance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiago de Araujo Guerra Grangeia

    Full Text Available Emergency clerkships expose students to a stressful environment that require multiple tasks, which may have a direct impact on cognitive load and motivation for learning. To address this challenge, Cognitive Load Theory and Self Determination Theory provided the conceptual frameworks to the development of a Moodle-based online Emergency Medicine course, inspired by real clinical cases.Three consecutive classes (2013-2015 of sixth-year medical students (n = 304 participated in the course, during a curricular and essentially practical emergency rotation. "Virtual Rounds" provided weekly virtual patients in narrative format and meaningful schemata to chief complaints, in order to simulate real rounds at Emergency Unit. Additional activities such as Extreme Decisions, Emergency Quiz and Electrocardiographic challenge offered different views of emergency care. Authors assessed student´s participation and its correlation with their academic performance. A survey evaluated students´ opinions. Students graduating in 2015 answered an online questionnaire to investigate cognitive load and motivation.Each student produced 1965 pageviews and spent 72 hours logged on. Although Clinical Emergency rotation has two months long, students accessed the online course during an average of 5.3 months. Virtual Rounds was the most accessed activity, and there was positive correlations between the number of hours logged on the platform and final grades on Emergency Medicine. Over 90% of students felt an improvement in their clinical reasoning and considered themselves better prepared for rendering Emergency care. Considering a Likert scale from 1 (minimum load to 7 (maximum load, the scores for total cognitive load were 4.79±2.2 for Virtual Rounds and 5.56±1.96 for real medical rounds(p<0,01.A real-world inspired online course, based on cognitive and motivational conceptual frameworks, seems to be a strong tool to engage students in learning. It may support them to

  11. Cognitive, Not Physical, Engagement in Video Gaming Influences Executive Functioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flynn, Rachel M.; Richert, Rebekah A.

    2018-01-01

    Physically active video games (i.e., exergames), which are a prevalent and popular childhood activity, may have benefits to executive-functioning (EF) skills, as they incorporate both cognitive engagement and physical activity. Acute EF change in 147 7- to 12-year-olds was assessed after participation in a 20-min activity. The between-subjects…

  12. Problematizing a general physics class: Understanding student engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaid, Mark Randall

    This research paper describes the problems in democratizing a high school physics course and the disparate engagement students during class activities that promote scientific inquiry. Results from the Learning Orientation Questionnaire (Martinez, 2000) guide the participant observations and semi-formal interviews. Approximately 60% of the participants self-report a "resistant" or "conforming" approach to learning science; they expect to receive science knowledge from the teacher, and their engagement is influenced by affective and conative factors. These surface learners exhibit second order thinking (Kegan, 1994), do not understand abstract science concepts, and learn best from structured inquiry. To sustain engagement, conforming learners require motivational and instructional discourse from their teacher and peers. Resisting learners do not value learning and do not engage in most science class activities. The "performing" learners are able to deal with abstractions and can see relationships between lessons and activities, but they do not usually self-reflect or think critically (they are between Kegan's second order and third order thinking). They may select a deeper learning strategy if they value the knowledge for a future goal; however, they are oriented toward assessment and rely on the science teacher as an authority. They are influenced by affective and conative factors during structured and guided inquiry-based teaching, and benefit from motivational discourse and sustain engagement if they are interested in the topic. The transforming learners are more independent, self-assessing and self-directed. These students are third order thinkers (Kegan, 1994) who hold a sophisticated epistemology that includes critical thinking and reflection. These students select deep learning strategies without regard to affective and conative factors. They value instructional discourse from the teacher, but prefer less structured inquiry activities. Although specific

  13. Motivation and engagement in mathematics: a qualitative framework for teacher-student interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durksen, Tracy L.; Way, Jennifer; Bobis, Janette; Anderson, Judy; Skilling, Karen; Martin, Andrew J.

    2017-02-01

    We started with a classic research question (How do teachers motivate and engage middle year students in mathematics?) that is solidly underpinned and guided by an integration of two theoretical and multidimensional models. In particular, the current study illustrates how theory is important for guiding qualitative analytical approaches to motivation and engagement in mathematics. With little research on how teachers of mathematics are able to maintain high levels of student motivation and engagement, we focused on developing a qualitative framework that highlights the influence of teacher-student interactions. Participants were six teachers (upper primary and secondary) that taught students with higher-than-average levels of motivation and engagement in mathematics. Data sources included one video-recorded lesson and associated transcripts from pre- and post-lesson interviews with each teacher. Overall, effective classroom organisation stood out as a priority when promoting motivation and engagement in mathematics. Results on classroom organisation revealed four key indicators within teacher-student interactions deemed important for motivation and engagement in mathematics—confidence, climate, contact, and connection. Since much of the effect of teachers on student learning relies on interactions, and given the universal trend of declining mathematical performance during the middle years of schooling, future research and intervention studies might be assisted by our qualitative framework.

  14. Student Engagement and Academic Performance in the Colombian University Context.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pineda-Báez, Clelia

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Despite the increase in Latin America of Higher Education coverage, grave dropout problems persist that question the role of educational experiences to foster students’ academic engagement. This study was carried out in Colombia and sought to establish the relationship between the five benchmarks that compose academic engagement and the academic performance of a group of Colombian university students. The transversal and correlational study used the Spanish version of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE that measures students’ level of participation in five dimensions: Academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environment and its relationship to academic performance. The findings of 1906 students from 7 universities indicate that there are statistically significant, but weak correlations between the items that compose the benchmarks and students’ academic performance, which lead to reflect upon key aspects to strengthen the education experiences offered to university students.

  15. Student Engagement: Stakeholder Perspectives on Course Representation in University Governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Philip

    2013-01-01

    Student engagement has become a key feature of UK higher education policy and analysis. At the core of this is a notion of engagement characterised by dialogue and joint venture. The article explores this by considering the role of student representation in university governance. It focuses on the system of course representation that is a feature…

  16. Student Engagement in an Independent Research Project: The Influence of Cohort Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, Jerusha O.

    2009-01-01

    Student engagement is widely viewed as an important antecedent to learning and achievement; however, research finds that engagement declines sharply as students advance through school. This article uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the engagement of high school seniors working on the IB Diploma Program's extended essay. Average engagement…

  17. Citizenship Engagement: Responses from High School Students

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    Martin, Leisa A.

    2017-01-01

    In the United States, the main mission of social studies education is to prepare students for citizenship. With this in mind, the following study examined 191 high school students’ views on how they demonstrated citizenship. Traditionally with this age group, personally responsible citizenship has been a common form of self-reported citizenship engagement. However, in this study, the students seemed to conceptualize citizenship differently. With the Akwesasne Mohawk students, the European Ame...

  18. Engaging Math-Avoidant College Students

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    M. Paul Latiolais

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper is an informal, personal account of how we, as two college teachers, became interested in math anxiety, decided to explore it amongst students at our institution in order to inform our teaching, and became convinced that the massive problem is math avoidance. We tried discussion groups, but few students attended, although those that did made useful suggestions. Thus informed, we designed an innovative course, Confronting College Mathematics as a Humanities course with the possibility of credit toward the math requirement, but it was undersubscribed in its first offering and had to be canceled. How can we get college students who avoid math to break through the barrier of math avoidance? We have now begun to explore a new approach: Second Life, where students can engage math—and quantitative literacy—virtually, and anonymously.

  19. Developing a Conceptual Framework for Student Learning during International Community Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pink, Matthew A.; Taouk, Youssef; Guinea, Stephen; Bunch, Katie; Flowers, Karen; Nightingale, Karen

    2016-01-01

    University-community engagement often involves students engaging with people who experience multiple forms of disadvantage or marginalization. This is particularly true when universities work with communities in developing nations. Participation in these projects can be challenging for students. Assumptions about themselves, their professional…

  20. "It's More Than a Class": Leisure Education's Influence on College Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Kate E.; Hartman, Cindy L.; Anderson, Denise M.

    2013-01-01

    As universities and colleges continue to seek out ways to improve student engagement on their campuses, attention has been given to the role that on-campus leisure opportunities can play in developing this engagement. Yet, little research has analyzed the influence of leisure education on student engagement in the higher education setting. The…

  1. Searching for Socrates: How to Engage Online Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William Swart

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Our university enrolls over 500 students in its online Master of Business Administration (MBA program. In this paper we present tools that were developed to better engage students with their online learning environment. Over 85% of our students reported that individually and collectively these tools were more effective in helping them to understand the material.

  2. Student Engagement at a Large Suburban Community College: Gender and Race Differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sontam, Varalakshmi; Gabriel, George

    2012-01-01

    Previous research shows that there are individual differences in academic achievement associated with gender and race. Research also suggests that student engagement is an important determinant of student outcomes/achievement. The present study explored student engagement at an extra-large community college. It specifically investigated possible…

  3. An Exploration Of Engagement, Motiviation And Student-Centered Learning In Physical Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara WARNER

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This author examines the discrepancy between the known benefits of physical activity and the startling statistics of obesity in children between the ages of 12 and 17. She queries if it is time to look at educators as contributing to this problem and questions if our current teaching styles and curriculum are working for students. In addition, the author explores the question if by allowing our students autonomy, will this equate to engagement and motivation to continue to participate in physical activities? Through a discussion of her personal experiences and a literature review focusing on the areas of autonomy, engagement and motivation, the author shares input into how and why some students experience physical education in a negative manner, and some things that educators can do to improve student engagement and motivation. Her argument demonstrates that an autonomous, student-centered teaching approach will positively affect student engagement, which in turn causes motivation and a desire to participate in life-long physical activity.

  4. Teacher Practices: How They Promote or Hinder Student Engagement in Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skilling, Karen

    2014-01-01

    With persistent concerns about student engagement, interest and participation in mathematics, this research investigated the range of practices 31 Year 7 mathematics teachers reported using and how they perceived these practices influenced student engagement in mathematics. In-depth interviews revealed similarities in teachers' perceptions of…

  5. Metacognitive ability of male students: difference impulsive-reflective cognitive style

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhtarom; Sugiyanti; Utami, R. E.; Indriana, K.

    2018-03-01

    This study revealed the metacognitive activity of male students in impulsive cognitive and reflective cognitive style in solving mathematical problems, especially in the material of plane. One student of impulsive cognitive style and one student of reflective cognitive-style were selected to be the subjects of the study. Data were collected by giving written test of problem solving and interview. Data analysis was done through data reduction, data presentation, data interpretation and conclusion. The results showed that male student of reflective cognitive style was meticulous and careful in solving the problem so as to obtain correct answers, while the impulsive cognitive style student had the characteristics of using a short time in solving the problem, but less careful so that the answers tended to be wrong

  6. Thinking through Quality Questioning: Deepening Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Jackie Acree; Sattes, Beth Dankert

    2011-01-01

    This groundbreaking book provides teachers with an accessible, research-based blueprint for developing student metacognitive skills and ensuring that students take responsibility for their own learning. The authors use the findings of cognitive scientists to highlight quality questioning behaviors and explain how to apply them for improved student…

  7. Student engagement and foreign language learning through online social networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Akbari, E.; Naderi, A.; Simons, P.R.J.; Pilot, A.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Nowadays, one of the most important questions in teaching and learning involves increasing the degree of students’ engagement in learning. According to Astin’s Theory of Student engagement, the best learning environment is one in which it is possible to increase students’ engagement.

  8. The Developmental Characteristics of Engagement in Service-Learning for Chinese College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Fangfang; Yao, Meilin; Zong, Xiaoli; Yan, Wenfan

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the development characteristics of Chinese college students' engagement during a service-learning project with a case study method: 273 reflective journals from 31 college students who participated in service-learning were analyzed. Results indicated that students' overall engagement showed 4…

  9. School Engagement and Civic Engagement as Predictors for the Future Political Participation of Ethnic Chinese and South Asian Adolescents in Hong Kong

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    Celeste Y. M. Yuen

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the findings of a large study on the relationship between school and civic engagement and the self-perceived participation in political activities of ethnic Chinese and South Asian immigrant students in Hong Kong. Data was col¬lected from a sample of 5,574 6th – 11th graders aged 12−19. The nature of school engagement was assessed by a self-rated questionnaire against the affective, behavioral and cognitive domains. Students’ civic engagement was measured by the ICCS student questionnaire (Schulz et al., 2009. Before running the regression analyses, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA was performed and the results showed that both instruments had good construct validity and internal consistency. Consistent with the primary aim of this study, MANOVA analyses indicate significant student group differences in school engagement, and civic related self-belief and behaviours. Our findings showed that non-Chinese speaking South Asian students (NCS scored higher than their mainstream Chinese and newly arrived students from Mainland China (NAS counterparts across the dimensions of both instruments. Results of hierarchical regressions confirmed that school engagement was significant in pre¬dicting expected political participation in the future. The effects of school and civic engagement on future political participation varied significantly between all studied groups.

  10. Civic Engagement and Organizational Learning Strategies for Student Success

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Tami L.; Mendez, Jesse P.

    2014-01-01

    Students succeed in college by engaging with faculty, peers, and the community. Institutional leaders can utilize organizational learning strategies to learn what works to support civic learning outcomes and student success.

  11. Student Engagement and Completion in Precalculus Precalculus Mega Section: Efficiently Assisting Student Engagement and Completion with Communications and Information Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brusi, Rima; Portnoy, Arturo; Toro, Nilsa

    2013-01-01

    The Precalculus Mega Section project was developed with the main purpose of improving the overall performance of the student body in Precalculus, an important gatekeeper course that affects student engagement and completion, with typical drop/failure rates of over 50 percent. Strategies such as integration of technology and additional practice…

  12. Using discrepant events in science demonstrations to promote student engagement in scientific investigations: An action research study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mancuso, Vincent J.

    Students' scientific investigations have been identified in national standards and related reform documents as a critical component of students' learning experiences in school, yet it is not easy to implement them in science classrooms. Could science demonstrations help science teachers put this recommendation into practice? While demonstrations are a common practice in the science classroom and research has documented some positive effects in terms of student motivation and engagement from their use, the literature also shows that, as traditionally presented, science demonstrations do not always achieve their intended outcomes. This, in turn, suggested the value of investigating what design elements of demonstrations could be used to promote specific instructional goals. Employing action research as a methodology, the proposed study was developed to explore how science demonstrations can be designed so as to most effectively promote student engagement in scientific investigations. More specifically, I was interested in examining the effects of using a discrepant event as part of the demonstration, as a way to create cognitive conflict and, thus, increase interest and engagement. I also investigated the relative merit of the well-researched POE (Predict, Observe, Explain) design versus employing demonstrations that appear to the student to be unplanned (what I will refer to as NOE, or a Naturally Occurring Experience). This study was informed by Constructivism, Situated Cognition and Conceptual Change as theoretical frameworks. The project included the design, implementation and study of an intervention consisting of three instructional units designed to support students' learning of the concepts of density, molecular arrangement of gas particles, and cohesion, respectively. In each of these units, lasting a total of two 80-minute class periods, students were asked to design and conduct an investigation to gain a better understanding of the concept under study. In

  13. Maternal Prenatal Psychological Distress and Preschool Cognitive Functioning: the Protective Role of Positive Parental Engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schechter, Julia C; Brennan, Patricia A; Smith, Alicia K; Stowe, Zachary N; Newport, D Jeffrey; Johnson, Katrina C

    2017-02-01

    Considerable animal research and available human studies suggest that psychological distress experienced by mothers during gestation is associated with later neurodevelopmental deficits in offspring; however, little research has examined potential protective factors that might mitigate this risk. The current study examined the impact of maternal prenatal psychological distress during pregnancy on cognitive outcomes in preschoolers (ages 2.5-5 years) and positive parenting as a potential protective factor. Mother-child dyads (N = 162, mean child age = 44 months, 49 % female) were recruited from a longitudinal cohort of women who had previously participated in a study of maternal mood disorders during pregnancy. Maternal prenatal distress was assessed with multiple measures collected throughout pregnancy. During a follow-up visit, mothers were interviewed about their psychological symptoms since the birth of the child, parenting behaviors were recorded during a parent-child interaction, and children's cognitive abilities were measured using the Differential Ability Scales, 2nd Edition. Maternal prenatal distress significantly predicted lower general cognitive abilities; however, this relationship was strongest for children whose mothers exhibited low levels of positive engagement and not significant when mothers exhibited high levels of positive engagement. Results suggest that positive parental engagement can protect against the detrimental effects of maternal prenatal distress on preschoolers' cognitive abilities.

  14. The role of genes, intelligence, personality, and social engagement in cognitive performance in Klinefelter syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skakkebæk, Anne; Moore, Philip J; Pedersen, Anders Degn; Bojesen, Anders; Kristensen, Maria Krarup; Fedder, Jens; Laurberg, Peter; Hertz, Jens Michael; Østergaard, John Rosendahl; Wallentin, Mikkel; Gravholt, Claus Højbjerg

    2017-03-01

    The determinants of cognitive deficits among individuals with Klinefelter syndrome (KS) are not well understood. This study was conducted to assess the impact of general intelligence, personality, and social engagement on cognitive performance among patients with KS and a group of controls matched for age and years of education. Sixty-nine patients with KS and 69 controls were assessed in terms of IQ, NEO personality inventory, the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scale, and measures of cognitive performance reflecting working memory and executive function. Patients with KS performed more poorly on memory and executive-function tasks. Patients with KS also exhibited greater neuroticism and less extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness than controls. Memory deficits among patients with KS were associated with lower intelligence, while diminished executive functioning was mediated by both lower intelligence and less social engagement. Our results suggest that among patients with KS, memory deficits are principally a function of lower general intelligence, while executive-function deficits are associated with both lower intelligence and poorer social skills. This suggests a potential influence of social engagement on executive cognitive functioning (and/or vice-versa) among individuals with KS, and perhaps those with other genetic disorders. Future longitudinal research would be important to further clarify this and other issues discussed in this research.

  15. Using Collective Argumentation to Engage Students in a Primary Mathematics Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Raymond

    2017-01-01

    This article focuses on using sociocultural theory to support student engagement with mathematics. The sociocultural approach used, collective argumentation (CA), is based on interactive principles necessary for coordinating student engagement in the discourse of the classroom. A goal of the research was to explore the affordances and constraints…

  16. Linking Classroom Environment with At-Risk Engagement in Science: A Mixed Method Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Stephen Craig

    This explanatory sequential mixed-method study analyzed how the teacher created learning environment links to student engagement for students at-risk across five science classroom settings. The learning environment includes instructional strategies, differentiated instruction, positive learning environment, and an academically challenging environment. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered in the form of self-reporting surveys and a follow-up interview. The researcher aimed to use the qualitative results to explain the quantitative data. The general research question was "What are the factors of the teacher-created learning environment that were best suited to maximize engagement of students at-risk?" Specifically explaining, (1) How do the measured level of teacher created learning environment link to the engagement level of students at-risk in science class? and (2) What relationship exists between the student perception of the science classroom environment and the level of behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social engagement for students at-risk in science class? This study took place within a large school system with more than 20 high schools, most having 2000-3000 students. Participating students were sent to a panel hearing that determined them unfit for the regular educational setting, and were given the option of attending one of the two alternative schools within the county. Students in this alternative school were considered at-risk due to the fact that 98% received free and reduced lunch, 97% were minority population, and all have been suspended from the regular educational setting. Pairwise comparisons of the SPS questions between teachers using t-test from 107 students at-risk and 40 interviews suggest that each category of the learning environment affects the level of behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social engagement in science class for students at-risk in an alternative school setting. Teachers with higher student perceptions of

  17. BOOSTING STUDENT LIFE SATISFACTION AND ENGAGEMENT TO IMPROVE ONLINE STUDENT RETENTION

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Slavensky, Henning; Hansen, Hans Jørgen; Knudsen, Mikael Bergholz

    2017-01-01

    ’ decisions to drop out is their full-time job; having a full-time job while studying full time is very time-consuming. Another reason for the student dropout is a feeling of disconnection with their fellow students and the campus environment. Consequently, various strategies to motivate and retain...... to the students what is expected of them. In addition, we have seen a decrease in students with fulltime jobs who, thus, are able to join the teaching synchronously, engaging them much more directly. This, combined with a new strategy of forming mixed teams of online and on-campus students, has boosted...

  18. Engaging Nursing Students: Integrating Evidence-Based Inquiry, Informatics, and Clinical Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keiffer, Melanie R

    2017-12-05

    The nursing research class requires faculty to create a spirit of inquiry while integrating technology, flexibility, and responsiveness to student needs. This article discusses new pedagogies to actively engage students in the evidence-based nursing process and the achievement of course learning outcomes. Through course exemplar, the author demonstrates a creative method to engage traditional baccalaureate nursing students in a nursing project that links evidence to improved patient outcomes.

  19. Engaging students in a community of learning: Renegotiating the learning environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theobald, Karen A; Windsor, Carol A; Forster, Elizabeth M

    2018-03-01

    Promoting student engagement in a student led environment can be challenging. This article reports on the process of design, implementation and evaluation of a student led learning approach in a small group tutorial environment in a three year Bachelor of Nursing program at an Australian university. The research employed three phases of data collection. The first phase explored student perceptions of learning and engagement in tutorials. The results informed the development of a web based learning resource. Phase two centred on implementation of a community of learning approach where students were supported to lead tutorial learning with peers. The final phase constituted an evaluation of the new approach. Findings suggest that students have the capacity to lead and engage in a community of learning and to assume greater ownership and responsibility where scaffolding is provided. Nonetheless, an ongoing whole of course approach to pedagogical change would better support this form of teaching and learning innovation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Using Augmented Reality to engage STEM students with an authentic curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Hobbs

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on the introduction of a set of 'Augmented Reality' (AR tasks, offering an innovative, real world and problem based set of activities for a group of first year University Gaming and Computer Science students. Our initial research identifies a gap in the perceptions of STEM students between the usefulness of discipline based modules and a compulsory 'Professional Development' module where more ‘employability’ based skills were delivered. It had a history of poor student engagement and attendance, and failed to provide a compelling narrative/links to the outside world. The AR tasks were designed to facilitate group-working and multi-channel communication, and to engage students through the use of a more creative technology. Framed as a rich case study, insights are captured through student blogs, video interviews and a questionnaire. Initial findings indicate higher levels of satisfaction and an appreciation of groupwork tasks, enhanced student engagement and a greater awareness of the value of transferable skills.

  1. The Challenges of Defining and Measuring Student Engagement in Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinatra, Gale M.; Heddy, Benjamin C.; Lombardi, Doug

    2015-01-01

    Engagement is one of the hottest research topics in the field of educational psychology. Research shows that multifarious benefits occur when students are engaged in their own learning, including increased motivation and achievement. However, there is little agreement on a concrete definition and effective measurement of engagement. This special…

  2. The Meaning of Student Engagement and Disengagement in the Classroom Context: Lessons from Organisational Behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balwant, Paul T.

    2018-01-01

    Despite the popularity of student engagement and, by association, student disengagement, the academic literature is unclear about the meaning of these terms. This review extends existing conceptual studies of student engagement by offering clear definitions and conceptualisations of both student engagement and disengagement in the classroom…

  3. Active Learning: Engaging Students to Maximize Learning in an Online Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Arshia; Egbue, Ona; Palkie, Brooke; Madden, Janna

    2017-01-01

    Student engagement is key to successful teaching and learning, irrespective of the content and format of the content delivery mechanism. However, engaging students presents a particular challenge in online learning environments. Unlike face-to-face courses, online courses present a unique challenge as the only social presence between the faculty…

  4. Considering the Role of Tutoring in Student Engagement: Reflections from a South African University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faroa, Brendon Duran

    2017-01-01

    Student engagement has been defined as the extent to which students are engaged in activities that higher education research has shown to be linked with high-quality learning outcomes. The ubiquitous influence of the term "student engagement" has been felt throughout the higher education landscape. This is especially true for South…

  5. Cognitive Engagement Mediates the Relationship between Positive Life Events and Positive Emotionality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Strobel

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Need for Cognition (NFC is conceptualized as an individuals’ tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activity and, thus, captures one’s cognitive engagement. It plays a well-established role in information processing in experimental or academic contexts. However, so far comparably little is known about its consequences for other than purely cognitive or academic outcomes. Indeed, NFC is positively associated with personality traits pertaining to Positive Emotionality (PE and negatively to traits related to Negative Emotionality (NE. Moreover, evidence suggests NFC to be related to an active, problem-focused coping style. We therefore hypothesized NFC to mediate between life events and individual differences in PE and NE. In a sample of N = 202 volunteers from the general population, we observed that the number of past positive and negative life events had direct effects on PE, and NE, respectively, and that for positive life events, a mediating effect on PE via NFC was observed, with a higher number of past positive life events being related to higher NFC that in turn was related to increased PE. Thus, the present results lend support to the notion of NFC as an important factor supporting personal well-being by way of its mediating role between the number of past positive life events and positive affect.

  6. Factors Affecting Student Engagement in HEIs--It is All about Good Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almarghani, Eman M.; Mijatovic, Ivana

    2017-01-01

    The passive role of students in their learning and education and the absence of student engagement in higher education institutions (HEIs) are quite common in many higher education institutions in developing countries. The main objective of the research presented in this paper is to explore the influential factors on student engagement in HEIs in…

  7. Working toward More Engaged and Successful Accounting Students: A Balanced Scorecard Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fredin, Amy; Fuchsteiner, Peter; Portz, Kris

    2015-01-01

    Prior research indicates that student engagement is the key to student success, as measured by college grades, degree completion, and graduate school enrollment. We propose a set of goals and objectives for accounting students, in particular, to help them become engaged not only in the educational process, but also in the accounting profession.…

  8. Teachers and students' divergent perceptions of engagement: recognition of school or work place goals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jonasson, Charlotte

    2012-01-01

    In extant research, the concept of student engagement refers to individual behavioural patterns and traits. Recent research indicates that engagement should not only be related to the individual but also should be anchored in the social context. This ethnographic field study of students...... and teachers in a Danish vocational education and training school responds to the need for more knowledge on this theme by exploring the social dynamics of engagement perceptions. Results show that teachers and students held diverging perceptions of student engagement that rested on educational goals as well...

  9. Exercise Participation Motives and Engaging In Sports Activity among University of Ljubljana Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerar, Katja; Kondrič, Miran; Ochiana, Nicolae; Sindik, Joško

    2017-01-01

    AIM: The main aim of this study was to examine differences in sport participation motives, the frequency of engaging in sports activities according to gender, region and field of study, but also the association between the incidence of engaging in sports activity and the motivation for sports activity of students at the University of Ljubljana. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Five thousand two hundred seventy-one students completed The Exercise Motivations Inventory (EMI-2), with additional questions about 12 socio-demographic parameters. RESULTS: The results reveal that most of the students are engaged in unorganized sports activities. Male students engage in sports activity more often than female students do. For male students, dominant participation motives are enjoyment, challenge, social recognition, affiliation, competition and strength but also endurance, for female students these are: stress and weight management, revitalisation, ill-health avoidance, positive health, appearance and nimbleness. Gender differences in participation motives are partly reflected also in differences according to the field of study. The correlations between the frequency of engaging in sports activity and the participation motives are mainly statistically significant. We did not find any significant differences in participation motives by region. CONCLUSION: In spite of these discouraging findings, increasing physical activity among students continues to be a national priority. PMID:29104693

  10. Satisfaction and Academic Engagement among Undergraduate Students: A Case Study in Istanbul University

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burcu Ozge Özaslan Caliskan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Academic engagement used to refer to the extent to which students identify with and value schooling outcomes, and participate in academic and non-academic school activities. This study aims to investigate the academic engagement and satisfaction from the school among the university students. The data is taken from the undergraduate students in School of Transportation & Logistics in Istanbul University. We used a questionnaire that consisted of two parts. First part of the questionnaire is about to measure the students’ academic engagement that is improved by Schaufeli et al. Second part of the questionnaire is about to measure the students’ satisfaction from the school. K-means cluster analysis is used to determine two groups of students, group the students in to two clusters based on their school satisfaction scores. We named these two groups as “satisfied” and “unsatisfied” students. Secondly we investigate the relationships between the satisfaction scores and the academic engagement. By means of T Test we investigate whether the academic engagement differs between the clusters that are determined according to the students’ satisfaction scores. Finally we found that academic engagement differs according to the identified clusters.

  11. Instructor-Created Activities to Engage Undergraduate Nursing Research Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierce, Linda L; Reuille, Kristina M

    2018-03-01

    In flipped or blended classrooms, instruction intentionally shifts to a student-centered model for a problem-based learning approach, where class time explores topics in greater depth, creating meaningful learning opportunities. This article describes instructor-created activities focused on research processes linked to evidence-based practice that engage undergraduate nursing research students. In the classroom, these activities include individual and team work to foster critical thinking and stimulate student discussion of topic material. Six activities for small and large student groups are related to quantitative, qualitative, and both research processes, as well as applying research evidence to practice. Positive student outcomes included quantitative success on assignments and robust student topic discussions, along with instructor-noted overall group engagement and interest. Using these activities can result in class time for the construction of meaning, rather than primarily information transmission. Instructors may adopt these activities to involve and stimulate students' critical thinking about research and evidence-based practice. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(3):174-177.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

  12. Empowering and Engaging Students in Learning Research Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shuang; Breit, Rhonda

    2013-01-01

    The capacity to conduct research is essential for university graduates to survive and thrive in their future career. However, research methods courses have often been considered by students as "abstract", "uninteresting", and "hard". Thus, motivating students to engage in the process of learning research methods has become a crucial challenge for…

  13. Mask Making in Human Services Education: A Case for Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lashewicz, Bonnie; McGrath, Jenny; Smyth, Maria

    2014-01-01

    This article is an examination of strategies for engaging students in programs of human services education. We describe an in class mask-making activity, used by three human services instructors at an undergraduate university in western Canada, as a means of engaging students to grow in individual and collaborative awareness and skills. We present…

  14. Increasing Student Engagement Using Asynchronous Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Northey, Gavin; Bucic, Tania; Chylinski, Mathew; Govind, Rahul

    2015-01-01

    Student engagement is an ongoing concern for educators because of its positive association with deep learning and educational outcomes. This article tests the use of a social networking site (Facebook) as a tool to facilitate asynchronous learning opportunities that complement face-to-face interactions and thereby enable a stronger learning…

  15. Fostering Student Engagement with the Flip

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Amanda J.; Gillett, Matthew R.; Steele, Michael D.

    2014-01-01

    The Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice (CCSSI 2010) and NCTM's "Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making" (2009) present a vision of high school classrooms in which the majority of the activity involves students working on rich mathematical problems and engaging in mathematical discourse. This model…

  16. A confirmatory factor analysis of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students in a Chinese sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Lina; Jin, Yi

    2017-02-01

    Educational institutions play an important role in encouraging students' engagement with course work. Educators are finding instruments to measure students' engagement in order to develop strategies to improve it. Little is known about the factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students among Chinese nursing students. The aim of this research was to examine the factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students via confirmatory factor analysis. The study used a cross-sectional design. A sample of 480 students from a nursing school in one Chinese university completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. Factor analysis was used to analyze the resulting data. The overall results of internal consistency reliability and confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence supporting the reliability and three-factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. The total internal consistency reliability coefficients were 0.91. Model comparison tests indicated that an oblique factors model that permitted correlations between pairs of error terms fitted the data better than other first-order models. In addition, due to the three strongly intercorrelated factors, a second-order model was found to fit the data well, providing support for the factorial structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. The findings of confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence supporting the reliability and three-factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students when evaluated with a Chinese nursing student sample in this study. Thus, it is appropriate to use The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students in for assessing the engagement among Chinese nursing students. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Cognitive Comparisons of Students' Systems Modeling in Ecology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogan, Kathleen; Thomas, David

    2001-12-01

    This study examined the cognition of five pairs of high school students over time as they built quantitative ecological models using STELLA software. One pair of students emerged as being particularly proficient at learning to model, and was able to use models productively to explore and explain ecological system behaviors. We present detailed contrasts between this and the other pairs of students' cognitive behaviors while modeling, in three areas that were crucial to their modeling productivity: (a) focusing on model output and net interactions versus on model input and individual relationships when building and revising models, (b) exploring the nature and implications of dependencies and feedbacks versus just creating these as properties of complex systems, and (c) using variables versus constants to represent continuous and periodic functions. We then apply theories of the multifaceted nature of cognition to describe object-level, metalevel, and emotional dimensions of cognitive performance that help to explain the observed differences among students' approaches to STELLA modeling. Finally, we suggest pedagogical strategies for supporting all types of students in learning the central scientific practice of model-based quantitative thinking.

  18. Measuring teaching quality and student engagement in South Korea and The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van de Grift, Wim J.C.; Chun, Seyeoung; Maulana, Ridwan; Lee, Okhwa; Helms-Lorenz, Michelle

    2017-01-01

    Six observation scales for measuring the skills of teachers and 1 scale for measuring student engagement, assessed in South Korea and The Netherlands, are sufficiently reliable and offer sufficient predictive value for student engagement. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis shows that the

  19. Motivating teacher and student engagement with the environment through renewable energy education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Nirav Sanat

    Environmental and energy education is focused on fostering environmental behavior. This study investigates empirically if education leads to changes in environmental attitudes and subsequent environmentally significant behavior (ESB). The study contextualizes teachers' and students' motivation to engage in ESB within an environmental educational training framework. The results of structured questionnaires administered in Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwestern K-12 schools (n=214 for teachers and n=1498 for students) reveal that environmental attitudes are not a good predictor of teaching behavior but they do predict students' intent towards ESB. Teachers' energy attitudes are a better predictor in motivating them to teach while students are most responsive to their affective attitudes. The study finds that education does not play a significant role in changing environmental or energy attitudes of teachers and students. The study also advances a methodological tool for data collection that can expand the reach of evaluation instruments and measure learning across formal and informal audiences. It highlights how interactional technology can be readily utilized for future research and outreach in classrooms, nature learning centers, professional training programs, and museums. Overall, the work advances social-psychological understanding of how adults and youth respond to educational programming. It highlights the need to go beyond the cognitive shifts in affecting behavior. Curriculum based on environment might be necessary but is often not sufficient for changing environmental values. Finally, information and knowledge acquired must motivate the teachers' and students' desire and ability to conscientiously act, wherever necessary.

  20. Engaging Millennial Students in Leadership Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arensdorf, Jill R.; Andenoro, Anthony C.

    2009-01-01

    Leadership, regardless of definition, cannot be taught by a textbook alone, and if educators are to embrace the idea of highly engaged, holistic classrooms for Millennials, they must teach students to participate in real changes as both leaders and followers through practice and experiences. As new generations of young people mature and enter…

  1. A Holocaust Exhibit ePortfolio: Actively Engaging Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordine, Melissa

    2015-01-01

    California State University, Fresno is currently considering implementing an ePortfolio requirement for all undergraduate students. The ePortfolio requirement would be introduced primarily to engage students in a HIP (high impact practice) but would also be used for assessment purposes. As a faculty member and a member of the CSU Fresno ePortfolio…

  2. Dynamic Cognitive Tracing: Towards Unified Discovery of Student and Cognitive Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Brenes, Jose P.; Mostow, Jack

    2012-01-01

    This work describes a unified approach to two problems previously addressed separately in Intelligent Tutoring Systems: (i) Cognitive Modeling, which factorizes problem solving steps into the latent set of skills required to perform them; and (ii) Student Modeling, which infers students' learning by observing student performance. The practical…

  3. Weaving Student Engagement into the Core Practices of Schools. A National Dropout Prevention Center/Network Position Paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dary, Teri; Pickeral, Terry; Shumer, Rob; Williams, Anderson

    2016-01-01

    This position paper on student engagement is organized in response to major questions on how student engagement aligns with dropout prevention. Through a set of questions and responses, the "Weaving Student Engagement Into the Core Practices of Schools" position paper on student engagement : (1) defines the term "student…

  4. Cognitive Dissonance or Revenge? Student Grades and Course Evaluations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurer, Trent W.

    2006-01-01

    I tested 2 competing theories to explain the connection between students' expected grades and ratings of instructors: cognitive dissonance and revenge. Cognitive dissonance theory holds that students who expect poor grades rate instructors poorly to minimize ego threat whereas the revenge theory holds that students rate instructors poorly in an…

  5. Science Identity's Influence on Community College Students' Engagement, Persistence, and Performance in Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riccitelli, Melinda

    In the United States (U.S.), student engagement, persistence, and academic performance levels in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs have been unsatisfactory over the last decade. Low student engagement, persistence, and academic performance in STEM disciplines have been identified as major obstacles to U.S. economic goals and U.S. science education objectives. The central and salient science identity a college student claims can influence his engagement, persistence, and academic achievement in college science. While science identity studies have been conducted on four-year college populations there is a gap in the literature concerning community college students' science identity and science performance. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between community college students claimed science identities and engagement, persistence, and academic performance. A census sample of 264 community college students enrolled in biology during the summer of 2015 was used to study this relationship. Science identity and engagement levels were calculated using the Science Identity Centrality Scale and the Biology Motivation Questionnaire II, respectively. Persistence and final grade data were collected from institutional and instructor records. Engagement significantly correlated to, r =.534, p = .01, and varied by science identity, p < .001. Percent final grade also varied by science identity (p < .005), but this relationship was weaker (r = .208, p = .01). Results for science identity and engagement and final grade were consistent with the identity literature. Persistence did not vary by science identity in this student sample (chi2 =2.815, p = .421). This result was inconsistent with the literature on science identity and persistence. Quantitative results from this study present a mixed picture of science identity status at the community college level. It is suggested, based on the findings

  6. Millennial Filipino Student Engagement Analyzer Using Facial Feature Classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manseras, R.; Eugenio, F.; Palaoag, T.

    2018-03-01

    Millennials has been a word of mouth of everybody and a target market of various companies nowadays. In the Philippines, they comprise one third of the total population and most of them are still in school. Having a good education system is important for this generation to prepare them for better careers. And a good education system means having quality instruction as one of the input component indicators. In a classroom environment, teachers use facial features to measure the affect state of the class. Emerging technologies like Affective Computing is one of today’s trends to improve quality instruction delivery. This, together with computer vision, can be used in analyzing affect states of the students and improve quality instruction delivery. This paper proposed a system of classifying student engagement using facial features. Identifying affect state, specifically Millennial Filipino student engagement, is one of the main priorities of every educator and this directed the authors to develop a tool to assess engagement percentage. Multiple face detection framework using Face API was employed to detect as many student faces as possible to gauge current engagement percentage of the whole class. The binary classifier model using Support Vector Machine (SVM) was primarily set in the conceptual framework of this study. To achieve the most accuracy performance of this model, a comparison of SVM to two of the most widely used binary classifiers were tested. Results show that SVM bested RandomForest and Naive Bayesian algorithms in most of the experiments from the different test datasets.

  7. Student as producer: research-engaged teaching, an institutional strategy

    OpenAIRE

    Neary, Mike; Saunders, Gary; Hagyard, Andy; Derricott, Dan

    2014-01-01

    Student as Producer is a curriculum development project that has been ongoing at the University of Lincoln since 2007. The aim of the project has been to promote research-engaged teaching as the organising principle for teaching and learning across all subjects and all levels of taught provision at Lincoln. While there are many examples of research-engaged teaching in higher education what makes the curriculum distinctive at Lincoln is that research-engaged teaching is the default...

  8. The Particular Aspects of Science Museum Exhibits That Encourage Students' Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaby, Neta; Assaraf, Orit Ben-Zvi; Tal, Tali

    2017-06-01

    This research explores learning in science museums through the most common activity in a science museum—interaction with exhibits. The goal of this study was to characterize the learning behaviors exhibited by students as they engage with interactive exhibits in order to draw insight regarding the design of the exhibits. In order to do so, we used a qualitative method of observation as well as the Visitor Engagement Framework (VEF) model, a visitor-based framework for assessing visitors' learning experiences with exhibits in a science center setting. The combined method produced a framework of nine learning behaviors exhibited during the visitors' interaction with the exhibits, grouped into three categories that reflect increasing levels of engagement and depth of the learning experience. Our research participants consisted of a total 1800 students aged 10-12 (4th, 5th, and 6th graders) who came to the museum with their class for a day visit. We observed nine exhibits, each visited by 200 students. Our observations revealed several design elements that contribute to engagement with exhibits in science museums. For example, exhibits that have familiar activation encourage visitors' interaction, exhibits that facilitate social interaction are more likely to increase engagement, and the highest levels of engagement can be found in exhibits that support large groups.

  9. Working and Providing Care: Increasing Student Engagement for Part-Time Community College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leingang, Daniel James

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among external time obligations of work and care giving by part-time students, their participation within structured group learning experiences, and student engagement. The Structured Group Learning Experiences (SGLEs) explored within this study include community college programming…

  10. `Not hard to sway': a case study of student engagement in two large engineering classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shekhar, Prateek; Borrego, Maura

    2018-07-01

    Although engineering education research has empirically validated the effectiveness of active learning in improving student learning over traditional lecture-based methods, the adoption of active learning in classrooms has been slow. One of the greatest reported barriers is student resistance towards engagement in active learning exercises. This paper argues that the level of student engagement in active learning classrooms is an interplay of social and physical classroom characteristics. Using classroom observations and instructor interviews, this study describes the influence of the interaction of student response systems and classroom layout on student engagement in two large active-learning-based engineering classrooms. The findings suggest that the use of different student response systems in combination with cluster-style seating arrangements can increase student engagement in large classrooms.

  11. Engaging foster parents in treatment: a randomized trial of supplementing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy with evidence-based engagement strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorsey, Shannon; Pullmann, Michael D; Berliner, Lucy; Koschmann, Elizabeth; McKay, Mary; Deblinger, Esther

    2014-09-01

    The goal of this study was to examine the impact of supplementing Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen et al., 2006) with evidence-based engagement strategies on foster parent and foster youth engagement in treatment, given challenges engaging foster parents in treatment. A randomized controlled trial of TF-CBT standard delivery compared to TF-CBT plus evidence-based engagement strategies was conducted with 47 children and adolescents in foster care and one of their foster parents. Attendance, engagement, and clinical outcomes were assessed 1 month into treatment, end of treatment, and 3 months post-treatment. Youth and foster parents who received TF-CBT plus evidence-based engagement strategies were more likely to be retained in treatment through four sessions and were less likely to drop out of treatment prematurely. The engagement strategies did not appear to have an effect on the number of canceled or no-show sessions or on treatment satisfaction. Clinical outcomes did not differ by study condition, but exploratory analyses suggest that youth had significant improvements with treatment. Strategies that specifically target engagement may hold promise for increasing access to evidence-based treatments and for increasing likelihood of treatment completion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Life Satisfaction and Student Engagement in Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Ashley D.; Huebner, E. Scott; Malone, Patrick S.; Valois, Robert F.

    2011-01-01

    Situated within a positive psychology perspective, this study explored linkages between adolescent students' positive subjective well-being and their levels of engagement in schooling. Specifically, using structural equation modeling techniques, we evaluated the nature and directionality of longitudinal relationships between life satisfaction and…

  13. Integration of Education: Using Social Media Networks to Engage Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Risa Blair

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Any educator today will tell you that the strategies used in the classroom have evolved and changed with the access everyone has to technology. In a world with constant changes and shifts because of immediate access to information, the way course content is delivered must evolve and adjust to the new ways students learn. Engagement of students in course content and reaching learning objectives are the key elements educators strive for in every course. Enter social media networks and the ability to leverage the user activity with these applications in education. Now, educators can provide content which engages students and meets learning objectives the way students want to learn. By reviewing social media networks: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Blogs, Twitter, and Evernote, educators can position themselves to be as technology-savvy as today's students.

  14. University student social media use and its influence on offline engagement in higher educational communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Sutherland

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Previous research has emphasised social media adoption by students and the implementation of social media by educators, yet few studies have explored whether students are using it to facilitate engagement in offline environments with peers within university communities. Studies suggest engagement in educational communities and extra-curricular activities can reduce student attrition. This study surveyed 106 undergraduate students to investigate whether students using social media to interact online with their university felt: (i connected to the broader university community, and (ii social media helped them engage offline by meeting up with peers and attending university events. The results indicated that the majority (82% never or rarely used the technology to facilitate offline engagement within their academic communities. Fourth year students were most likely to use social media to engage offline (66.7%. However, more than half of students (52.8% felt that university social media profiles helped them to feel part of their academic community.

  15. Cognitive Inhibition in Students with and without Dyslexia and Dyscalculia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Li-Chih; Tasi, Hung-Ju; Yang, Hsien-Ming

    2012-01-01

    The present study presents a comparison of the cognitive inhibition abilities of dyslexic, dyscalculic, and control students. The participants were 45 dyslexic students, 45 dyscalculic students, and 45 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched control students. The major evaluation tools included six cognitive inhibition tasks which were restructured during…

  16. Teacher Morale, Student Engagement, and Student Achievement Growth in Reading: A Correlational Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabin, Jenny T.

    2015-01-01

    This research study explored the current state of teacher morale in fourth and fifth grade classrooms in three low socio-economic schools in North Carolina. Additional research questions address correlational relationships among the variables of teacher morale, student engagement, and student achievement growth as measured by the NC Teacher…

  17. Capturing student mathematical engagement through differently enacted classroom practices: applying a modification of Watson's analytical tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patahuddin, Sitti Maesuri; Puteri, Indira; Lowrie, Tom; Logan, Tracy; Rika, Baiq

    2018-04-01

    This study examined student mathematical engagement through the intended and enacted lessons taught by two teachers in two different middle schools in Indonesia. The intended lesson was developed using the ELPSA learning design to promote mathematical engagement. Based on the premise that students will react to the mathematical tasks in the forms of words and actions, the analysis focused on identifying the types of mathematical engagement promoted through the intended lesson and performed by students during the lesson. Using modified Watson's analytical tool (2007), students' engagement was captured from what the participants' did or said mathematically. We found that teachers' enacted practices had an influence on student mathematical engagement. The teacher who demonstrated content in explicit ways tended to limit the richness of the engagement; whereas the teacher who presented activities in an open-ended manner fostered engagement.

  18. Engaging Students In Modeling Instruction for Introductory Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewe, Eric

    2016-05-01

    Teaching introductory physics is arguably one of the most important things that a physics department does. It is the primary way that students from other science disciplines engage with physics and it is the introduction to physics for majors. Modeling instruction is an active learning strategy for introductory physics built on the premise that science proceeds through the iterative process of model construction, development, deployment, and revision. We describe the role that participating in authentic modeling has in learning and then explore how students engage in this process in the classroom. In this presentation, we provide a theoretical background on models and modeling and describe how these theoretical elements are enacted in the introductory university physics classroom. We provide both quantitative and video data to link the development of a conceptual model to the design of the learning environment and to student outcomes. This work is supported in part by DUE #1140706.

  19. Engaging College Students by Singing the Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard H. Heineman

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Setting scientific ideas to music can increase student engagement and help with memorization. However, some instructors may be intimidated by the thought of performing educational music for their STEM students, or concerned that it is frivolous. To address this issue, I spell out step by step protocols for either writing one’s own parody songs to teach specific concepts, or finding songs online (which can be used directly or modified. I also discuss presentation techniques that help students, such as showing lyrics and adding annotations that clarify or emphasize ideas. A survey suggests that this approach is appreciated and effective.

  20. How can Gamification Improve MOOC Student Engagement?

    OpenAIRE

    Khalil, M.F.D.; Ebner, Martin; Admiraal, Wilfried; Pivec, M.; Grundler, J.

    2017-01-01

    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) require students’ motivation either intrinsically or extrinsically to complete any of its courses. Even though MOOCs enjoy great popularity and bring many benefits to the educational community, some concerns arise with MOOC advancement. In fact, MOOCs are affected by low completion rate and face issues with respect to interactivity and student engagement along MOOC duration, which may convert student excitement to boredom and then drop out at any stage. A k...

  1. Hearing aid use and long-term health outcomes: hearing handicap, mental health, social engagement, cognitive function, physical health and mortality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawes, Piers; Cruickshanks, Karen J.; Fischer, Mary E.; Klein, Barbara E.K.; Klein, Ronald; Nondahl, David M.

    2016-01-01

    Objective To clarify the impact of hearing aids on mental health, social engagement, cognitive function, and physical health outcomes in older adults with hearing impairment. Design We assessed hearing handicap (Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly; HHIE-S), cognition (Mini Mental State Exam, Trail Making, Auditory Verbal Learning, Digit-Symbol Substitution, Verbal Fluency, incidence of cognitive impairment), physical health (SF-12 physical component, basic and instrumental activities of daily living, mortality), social engagement (hours per week spent in solitary activities) and mental health (SF-12 mental component) at baseline, 5 years prior to baseline, and 5 and 11 years after baseline. Study sample Community-dwelling older adults with hearing impairment (N=666) from the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study cohort. Results There were no significant differences between hearing aid users and non-users in cognitive, social engagement or mental health outcomes at any time point. Aided HHIE-S was significantly better than unaided HHIE-S. At 11 years hearing aid users had significantly better SF-12 physical health scores (46.2 versus 41.2; p=0.03). There was no difference in incidence of cognitive impairment or mortality. Conclusion There was no evidence that hearing aids promote cognitive function, mental health, or social engagement. Hearing aids may reduce hearing handicap and promote better physical health. PMID:26140300

  2. I think I can engage my students. Teachers' perceptions of student engagement and their beliefs about being a teacher

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Uden, J.M.; Ritzen, H.; Pieters, Julius Marie

    2013-01-01

    Student engagement is an important condition for positive outcomes at school. This study examined whether teachers' motives for being a teacher, their ratings of the relative importance of different teacher competences, their self-efficacy for teaching, and ratings of their own interpersonal teacher

  3. First year university student engagement using digital curation and career goal setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy Antonio

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The engagement of students is one of the most pressing issues facing higher education in the 21st century. Around the world, participation rates in tertiary education are on the rise and one of the key challenges facing educators is finding ways to engage these students. We present the results of a project that assesses the impact of an engagement strategy in which a cohort of students entering their first year of university (1 establish and maintain a clear goal of their ideal future career and (2 make use of a web-based digital curation tool to research and present their findings. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategy, which could arguably be applied to a broad range of disciplines given that the majority of students today are technologically literate.

  4. Using LectureTools to Enhance Student-Instructor Relations and Student Engagement in the Large Class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Jerie; Kominko, Sofiya; Terrion, Jenepher Lennox

    2015-01-01

    Positive student-instructor relationships are important for student engagement, motivation, retention and achievement. Yet, as class sizes grow, these relationships can be increasingly difficult to develop. This study explores LectureTools--a web-based student response and learning platform that facilitates communication between instructors and…

  5. Engaging Primary School Students in Mathematics: Can iPads Make a Difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilton, Annette

    2018-01-01

    Research on the impact of the integration of technologies such as iPads on primary students' attitudes and engagement in mathematics is limited. Further, there have been claims that teachers' pedagogical choices can strongly influence the effectiveness of iPads for engaging students in mathematics. This paper presents an investigation of the…

  6. Pitching Environmental Science to Business Majors: Engaging Students in Renewable Energy Choices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Vikki L.

    2014-01-01

    This article describes an active learning strategy for engaging undergraduate business students, a group often ignored in scientific pedagogy, in learning about renewable energy technology and associated trade-offs. I designed a small-group activity to appeal to and engage business students, but the exercise could easily be used for a variety of…

  7. More than Winning: When Students become Teachers of Civic Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markham, Paul N.

    2014-01-01

    This essay is an account of student civic engagement in action. It stresses the vital role of environments in which students learn to be civic actors. The student experiences recorded in this account point toward a form of campus politics that places students in a role of coworker and cocreator, where they must negotiate differences and…

  8. Keterlibatan Siswa (Student Engagement sebagai Mediator Kompetensi Emosi dan Prestasi Akademik

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Wayan Dharmayana

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available There is a hypothesis that emotional competencies have indirect effects to the academic achievement through school engagement and a higher Academic success requires higher emotional competencies and school engagement. This study aimed to test the hypothesis. It utilized subjects consisting of 417 excellent students. Psychological scale (emotional competence scale, Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM intelligence test and documen-tations were used for collecting the data. A Structural equation modeling of AMOS 6.0 was applied to analyze the data. The important result of this study supported the hypothesis and affirmed that emotional competence indirectly affects the academic achievement through the school engagement. Based on the result of this research, it was suggested that the efforts and interventions have to include the aspects of emotional competence and school engagement as integral parts of educational program in the school. Keywords: emotional competence, student engagement, academic achievement

  9. Knowledge processing and faculty engagement in multicultural university settings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Selmer, Jan; Jonasson, Charlotte; Lauring, Jakob

    2014-01-01

    In educational studies much attention has been directed to engagement as a precondition for positive student outcomes. Very few studies, however, have focused on the engagement of the faculty members. This is a regrettable omission because engagement has been argued to lead to more satisfied, more...... – and faculty engagement. Our hypotheses are based on social learning theory and social exchange theory predicting that increased knowledge sharing activities could facilitate an environment in which faculty engagement thrives. In order to test our hypotheses we use multiple regression analysis. We assessed...... indicators of behavioural, cognitive and emotional engagement. Results showed consistent positive associations between group knowledge processing and all the studied faculty engagement indicators. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed in detail....

  10. Plastic with personality: Increasing student engagement with manikins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Power, Tamara; Virdun, Claudia; White, Haidee; Hayes, Carolyn; Parker, Nicola; Kelly, Michelle; Disler, Rebecca; Cottle, Amanda

    2016-03-01

    Simulation allows students to practice key psychomotor skills and gain technical proficiency, fostering the development of clinical reasoning and student confidence in a low risk environment. Manikins are a valuable learning tool; yet there is a distinct lack of empirical research investigating how to enhance engagement between nursing students and manikins. To describe student perspectives of a layered, technology enhanced approach to improve the simulation learning experience. Tanner's Model of Clinical Judgment underpins the entire curriculum. This study additionally drew on the principles of narrative pedagogy. Across ten teaching weeks, five separate case studies were introduced to students through short vignettes. Students viewed the vignettes prior to their laboratory class. In the labs, manikins were dressed in the props used in the vignettes. The innovation was trialed in a second year core subject of a Bachelor of Nursing program in a large urban university in the autumn semester of 2014. Following ethics approval, students were emailed a participant information sheet. A focus group of nine students was held. The discussion was digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim prior to being subject to thematic analysis. Students' comments (143) about the vignettes in their standard subject specific student feedback surveys were also considered as data. Four themes were identified: Getting past the plastic; knowing what to say; connecting and caring; and, embracing diversity. The feedback indicated that these measures increased students ability to suspend disbelief, feel connected to, and approach the manikins in a more understanding and empathetic fashion. In addition to achieving increased engagement with manikins, other advantages such as students reflecting on their own values and pre-conceived notions of people from diverse backgrounds were realized. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Teacher’s Autonomy Support and Engagement in Math: Multiple Mediating Roles of Self-efficacy, Intrinsic Value, and Boredom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jia; Liu, Ru-De; Ding, Yi; Xu, Le; Liu, Ying; Zhen, Rui

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have highlighted the impacts of environmental factors (teacher’s autonomy support) and individual factors (self-efficacy, intrinsic value, and boredom) on academic engagement. This study aimed to investigate these variables and examine the relations among them. Three structural equation models tested the multiple mediational roles of self-efficacy, intrinsic value, and boredom in the relation between teacher’s autonomy support and behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, respectively, in math. A total of 637 Chinese middle school students (313 males, 324 females; mean age = 14.82) voluntarily participated in this study. Results revealed that self-efficacy, intrinsic value, and boredom played important and mediating roles between perceived teacher’s autonomy support and student engagement. Specifically, these three individual variables partly mediated the relations between perceived teacher’s autonomy support and behavioral and cognitive engagement, while fully mediating the relation between perceived teacher’s autonomy support and emotional engagement. These findings complement and extend the understanding of factors affecting students’ engagement in math. PMID:28690560

  12. Longitudinal and Contextual Associations between Teacher-Student Relationships and Student Engagement: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quin, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    This systematic review examined multiple indicators of adolescent students' engagement in school, and the indicators' associations with teacher-student relationships (TSRs). Seven psychology, education, and social sciences databases were systematically searched. From this search, 46 published studies (13 longitudinal) were included for detailed…

  13. Making Mathematics Learning More Engaging for Students in Health Schools through the Use of Apps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helen Willacy

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on an aspect of a case study of four 11-to-13-year-old students of a Regional Health School (RHS in New Zealand, using apps on their own mobile devices as part of their mathematics programs. It considers the issue of engaging students in mathematical learning when they are recovering from significant health issues. The paper examines the influence of apps on these students’ engagement with mathematical learning through the facilitation of differentiated learning programs. The research design was a case study with semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and observation used to generate the data. A number of themes arose from the data including both the positive and negative influences of apps on student engagement and the influence of apps on facilitating differentiated learning programs. The results indicated that using apps for mathematics had a positive influence on student engagement for most students. The positive student engagement seemed to be partly due to the apps’ ability to support differentiated learning.

  14. Gamification of the Laboratory Experience to Encourage Student Engagement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin Drace

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The American Society for Microbiology (ASM Task Force on Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology Students published recommendations for introductory microbiology courses that suggest teaching specific skill sets in the laboratory beyond just fundamental knowledge and concepts of microbiology (6; however, students can sometimes view a skills-based laboratory experience as a task list of unrelated assignments to complete for a grade. Therefore, providing explicit connections throughout the lecture and laboratory exercises is critical for a truly integrated learning experience. Several pedagogical techniques can provide a coherent framework throughout a course. For example, case-based studies can connect lecture with laboratory skills and increase student engagement by applying newly developed knowledge and skills to tackle real-world simulations (2, 3. One reason that case-based studies succeed is that they can provide intrinsic motivations and an alternate purpose for students to engage with the material. A more recent trend in pedagogy involves using game design elements to increase student engagement and motivation. Gamification is the application of game design (accruing points or badges, reaching significant levels of accomplishment, or other reward elements in a non-game context to motivate or influence participation (1, 5. A natural extension of both of these methods is to gamify a case-based approach where a fictional scenario is presented for students to role-play as scientists using their developed skills to solve a complex problem. The typical microbiology laboratory, as described by the ASM Task Force, can easily incorporate game design elements without extensive modification of the exercises themselves. Instead, gamification involves structuring the lab in a way that gives the course a coherent and unified purpose. This ultimately allows the student to see how the principles and concepts of lecture and laboratory connect

  15. Student Teachers’ Self-Appraised Problem-Solving Ability and Willingness to Engage in Troubleshooting Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benedict Iorzer Labe

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to determine the extent of student teachers’ willingness to engage in troubleshooting activities and their technological problem-solving self-appraised ability. The study used a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design to collect data from 310 purposively random sampled students from three universities in Northern Nigeria. Results of data analyses indicated that student teachers from the universities surveyed reported a moderate willingness to engage in troubleshooting activities as well as a moderately positive self-appraisal of their problem-solving ability. The student teachers’ willingness to engage in troubleshooting activities was also significantly related to the pattern of their self-appraised problem-solving ability. It was therefore concluded that the findings from this research do not support the pedestrian view that students from Nigerian universities are reluctant to engage in problem-solving activities.

  16. Teachers' Beliefs, Instructional Behaviors, and Students' Engagement in Learning from Texts with Instructional Pictures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeder, Sascha; Richter, Tobias; McElvany, Nele; Hachfeld, Axinja; Baumert, Jurgen; Schnotz, Wolfgang; Horz, Holger; Ullrich, Mark

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the relations between teachers' pedagogical beliefs and students' self-reported engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures. Participants were the biology, geography, and German teachers of 46 classes (Grades 5-8) and their students. Teachers' instructional behaviors and students' engagement in learning…

  17. Moving Social Work Education Forward Through the Application of Neuroscientifically Informed Teaching Practice: A Case Study in Student Engagement Through Art and Multimodal Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Axlyn McLeod

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Modern advances in neuroscience suggest learning occurs through three basic cognition patterns. Higher-level multimodal learning occurs when learning activities contain multiple cognition patterns. This case study details an application of these concepts where fine art, journaling, practicum experiences, and in-class processing were fused to create an active and participatory method of engaging social work students in critical thinking as related to differential impacts of clinical decision-making. The learning activities are described and multimodal learning is explained, along with the findings of a focus group used to assess student feedback. Student experiences and the potential adaptations of this approach are also addressed. The tentative findings of this case study indicate positive learning experiences and suggest a need for further research to explore the opportunities associated with the use of multimodal and art-infused learning techniques in social work courses.

  18. Cognitive constraints on high school students' representations of real environmental problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Ervin Kenneth

    One class of juniors and seniors was studied through one semester in the investigation of how students think about, learn from, and solve real environmental problems. The intention was to listen to student voices while researching the features of their representations of these problems, the beliefs they held (tenets), the cognitive processes they employed, and the principles of science, ecology, problem solving, and ethics they held as tenets. The focus was upon two self-selected groups as they perceived, engaged, analyzed, and proposed solutions for problems. Analysis of the student representations involved interpretation of the features to include both the perspective tenets and the envisioning processes. These processes included the intentive and attentive constraints as tenet acquisition and volitive and agential constraints as tenet affirmation. The perspective tenets included a variety of conceptual (basic science, ecological, ethical, and problem-solving) constraints as well as ontological, epistemological, and other cultural (role, status, power, and community) constraints. The perspective tenets were interpreted thematically including the ways populations of people cause and care about environmental problems, the magnitude of environmental problems and the science involved, the expectations and limitations students perceive for themselves, and the importance of community awareness and cooperation to addressing these problems. Some of these tenets were interpreted to be principles in that they were rules that were accepted by some people as true. The perspective tenets, along with the envisioning processes, were perceived to be the constraints that determined the environmental problems and limited the solution possibilities. The students thought about environmental problems in mature and principled ways using a repertoire of cognitive processes. They learned from them as they acquired and affirmed tenets. They solved them through personal choices and

  19. Selected Screen for Engaging Students in Projectile Motion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dramae, A.; Toedtanya, K.; Wuttiprom, S.

    2017-09-01

    Connecting physics concepts to activities that are interesting to students or what they encounter in everyday life will help students build a strong foundation. When there is an interesting activity for the student, it will result in the student responding, engaging, and enthusiasm in learning. Learning activities that are based on what students are interested in and regularly experience will enable students to understand the long and memorable experience. Both of these will enhance the student’s learning experience. One of the activities that can be described in this research used the learning activity through movies, which is the application of the basic motion projectile for students to understand the characteristics of such movement. It also aims to further develop critical thinking skills of learners.

  20. Focusing on Doctoral Students' Experiences of Engagement in Thesis Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vekkaila, Jenna; Pyhältö, Kirsi; Lonka, Kirsti

    2013-01-01

    Little is known about what inspires students to be involved in their doctoral process and stay persistent when facing challenges. This study explored the nature of students' engagement in the doctoral work. Altogether, 21 behavioural sciences doctoral students from one top-level research community were interviewed. The interview data were…

  1. Engaging Undergraduate Students in Space Weather Research at a 2- Year College

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damas, M. C.

    2017-07-01

    The Queensborough Community College (QCC) of the City University of New York (CUNY), a Hispanic and minority-serving institution, has been very successful at engaging undergraduate students in space weather research for the past ten years. Recently, it received two awards to support student research and education in solar and atmospheric physics under the umbrella discipline of space weather. Through these awards, students receive stipends during the academic year and summer to engage in scientific research. Students also have the opportunity to complete a summer internship at NASA and at other partner institutions. Funding also supports the development of course materials and tools in space weather. Educational materials development and the challenges of engaging students in research as early as their first year will be discussed. Once funding is over, how is the program sustained? Sustaining such a program, as well as how to implement it at other universities will also be discussed.

  2. Mobile Devices: A Distraction, or a Useful Tool to Engage Nursing Students?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallegos, Cara; Nakashima, Hannah

    2018-03-01

    Engaging nursing students in theoretical courses, such as research, can be challenging. Innovative instructional strategies are essential to engage nursing students in theoretical nursing courses. This article describes an educational innovation using technology as a tool in an undergraduate nursing research class. All students in the course received iPads for the semester. Lecture material was presented in class using Nearpod, an interactive presentation embedded with slides, multimedia components, and learning activities. Students reported that using the mobile technology helped them minimize off-task activities, interact more with each other and the instructor, solve problems in the class, and develop skills and confidence related to their career. Allowing device use in the classroom, such as iPads and interactive mobile applications, can be a useful learning tool. Intentional use of technology and pedagogy can increase engagement and interaction with students. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(3):170-173.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

  3. The effects of supplemental online learning aids on student performance and student engagement in Medical Microbiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Kimberly

    The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of online learning aids on student performance and engagement. The thirty-five participants of the current study were students enrolled in two sections of a junior level Medical Microbiology laboratory. The experimental section was required to spend ten minutes each week on an online learning aid. The online program, StudyMate(TM), was used to present text and images in the form of flash cards, multiple choice questions, matching, and crossword puzzles. Both groups completed the Index of Learning Style survey, an initial engagement survey at the start of the course, and a final engagement survey at the end of the course. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between the groups at the start of the course or after the course was completed for learning style, science grade point average, overall grade point average, initial engagement or final engagement. A moderate correlation was found between microbiology course and laboratory grades and a reflective learning style.

  4. E-learning Based Occupational Therapy Education Leads to Engaged Students

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bensen, Maria; Kolbæk, Ditte

    2017-01-01

    students engagement in e-learning based professional bachelor educations such as Occupational Therapy (OT). Research questions The research questions in this paper is: On the basis of the OT-students experiences, how can learning activities be supported in a synchronous, virtual learning environment......-education in Denmark. Providers of similar educations can use the results of this study to form the design of e-learning/blended learning in their programme in order to enhance students’ engagement. It also includes a modified, phenomenological way of using memory-work. Why is this interesting? This paper is unique...

  5. The Effects of Student Engagement, Student Satisfaction, and Perceived Learning in Online Learning Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Julie A.; DiLoreto, Melanie

    2016-01-01

    Studies have shown that course organization and structure, student engagement, learner interaction, and instructor presence have accounted for considerable variance in student satisfaction and perceived learning in online learning environments through a range of pathways, although no research to date has tested the mediational relationship…

  6. Teacher Openness and Prosocial Motivation: Creating an Environment Where Questions Lead to Engaged Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crane, Bret D.

    2017-01-01

    Evidence suggests that student engagement in the classroom leads to improved learning outcomes. As a result, teachers of management have promoted ways to involve students through Socratic teaching methods, case-based pedagogy, and class discussion. These approaches to learning emphasize the use of questions to stimulate student engagement.…

  7. Effect of Cognitive Style and Gender on JSS Students' Academic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated the effects of cognitive style and gender on student's academic achievement in social studies. It was designed to obtain empirical evidence of effects of cognitive style and gender as well as the interaction effects of cognitive style on student's academic achievement in social studies. The subjects of the ...

  8. Engaging Students: The Next Level of Working on the Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlechty, Phillip C.

    2011-01-01

    In Phillip Schlechty's best-selling book "Working on the Work", he outlined a motivational framework for improving student performance by improving the quality of schools designed for students. "Engaging Students" offers a next-step resource in which Schlechty incorporates what he's learned from the field and from the hundreds of workshops he and…

  9. Student Engagement as a General Factor of Classroom Experience: Associations with Student Practices and Educational Outcomes in a University Gateway Course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shernof, David J; Ruzek, Erik A; Sannella, Alexander J; Schorr, Roberta Y; Sanchez-Wall, Lina; Bressler, Denise M

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate a model for considering general and specific elements of student experience in a gateway course in undergraduate Financial Accounting in a large university on the East Coast, USA. Specifically, the study evaluated a bifactor analytic strategy including a general factor of student classroom experience, conceptualized as student engagement as rooted in flow theory, as well as factors representing specific dimensions of experience. The study further evaluated the association between these general and specific factors and both student classroom practices and educational outcomes. The sample of students ( N = 407) in two cohorts of the undergraduate financial accounting course participated in the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) measuring students' classroom practices, perceptions, engagement, and perceived learning throughout the one-semester course. Course grade information was also collected. Results showed that a two-level bifactor model fit the data better than two traditional (i.e., non-bifactor) models and also avoided significant multicollinearity of the traditional models. In addition to student engagement (general factor), specific dimensions of classroom experience in the bifactor model at the within-student level included intrinsic motivation, academic intensity, salience, and classroom self-esteem. At the between-student level, specific aspects included work orientation, learning orientation, classroom self-esteem, and disengagement. Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM) demonstrated that sitting in the front of the classroom (compared to the sitting in the back), taking notes, active listening, and working on problems during class had a positive effect on within-student variation in student engagement and attention. Engagement, in turn, predicted perceived learning. With respect to between-student effects, the tendency to sit in front seats had a significant effect on student engagement, which in turn had

  10. Student Engagement as a General Factor of Classroom Experience: Associations with Student Practices and Educational Outcomes in a University Gateway Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David J. Shernof

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate a model for considering general and specific elements of student experience in a gateway course in undergraduate Financial Accounting in a large university on the East Coast, USA. Specifically, the study evaluated a bifactor analytic strategy including a general factor of student classroom experience, conceptualized as student engagement as rooted in flow theory, as well as factors representing specific dimensions of experience. The study further evaluated the association between these general and specific factors and both student classroom practices and educational outcomes. The sample of students (N = 407 in two cohorts of the undergraduate financial accounting course participated in the Experience Sampling Method (ESM measuring students' classroom practices, perceptions, engagement, and perceived learning throughout the one-semester course. Course grade information was also collected. Results showed that a two-level bifactor model fit the data better than two traditional (i.e., non-bifactor models and also avoided significant multicollinearity of the traditional models. In addition to student engagement (general factor, specific dimensions of classroom experience in the bifactor model at the within-student level included intrinsic motivation, academic intensity, salience, and classroom self-esteem. At the between-student level, specific aspects included work orientation, learning orientation, classroom self-esteem, and disengagement. Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM demonstrated that sitting in the front of the classroom (compared to the sitting in the back, taking notes, active listening, and working on problems during class had a positive effect on within-student variation in student engagement and attention. Engagement, in turn, predicted perceived learning. With respect to between-student effects, the tendency to sit in front seats had a significant effect on student engagement, which

  11. Student Engagement as a General Factor of Classroom Experience: Associations with Student Practices and Educational Outcomes in a University Gateway Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shernof, David J.; Ruzek, Erik A.; Sannella, Alexander J.; Schorr, Roberta Y.; Sanchez-Wall, Lina; Bressler, Denise M.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate a model for considering general and specific elements of student experience in a gateway course in undergraduate Financial Accounting in a large university on the East Coast, USA. Specifically, the study evaluated a bifactor analytic strategy including a general factor of student classroom experience, conceptualized as student engagement as rooted in flow theory, as well as factors representing specific dimensions of experience. The study further evaluated the association between these general and specific factors and both student classroom practices and educational outcomes. The sample of students (N = 407) in two cohorts of the undergraduate financial accounting course participated in the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) measuring students' classroom practices, perceptions, engagement, and perceived learning throughout the one-semester course. Course grade information was also collected. Results showed that a two-level bifactor model fit the data better than two traditional (i.e., non-bifactor) models and also avoided significant multicollinearity of the traditional models. In addition to student engagement (general factor), specific dimensions of classroom experience in the bifactor model at the within-student level included intrinsic motivation, academic intensity, salience, and classroom self-esteem. At the between-student level, specific aspects included work orientation, learning orientation, classroom self-esteem, and disengagement. Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM) demonstrated that sitting in the front of the classroom (compared to the sitting in the back), taking notes, active listening, and working on problems during class had a positive effect on within-student variation in student engagement and attention. Engagement, in turn, predicted perceived learning. With respect to between-student effects, the tendency to sit in front seats had a significant effect on student engagement, which in turn had a

  12. The Role of Student-Teacher Ratio in Parents' Perceptions of Schools' Engagement Efforts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Raymond J.; Elbaum, Batya

    2014-01-01

    Research suggests a positive relationship between schools' efforts to engage parents and parents' involvement in their child's education. The authors investigated school socioeconomic status, school size, grade level, and student-teacher ratio as predictors of schools' efforts to engage parents of students receiving special education services. The…

  13. Student Engagement and Leadership of the Transition Planning Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, James E.; Williams-Diehm, Kendra

    2013-01-01

    The Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT) has been a longstanding leader and advocate in the field of secondary education for students with disabilities. This paper traces the history of student engagement in transition planning primarily through the lens of DCDT's journal "Career…

  14. Research on Model of Student Engagement in Online Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Wang

    2017-01-01

    In this study, online learning refers students under the guidance of teachers through the online learning platform for organized learning. Based on the analysis of related research results, considering the existing problems, the main contents of this paper include the following aspects: (1) Analyze and study the current student engagement model.…

  15. Research and Teaching: A New Tool for Measuring Student Behavioral Engagement in Large University Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, Erin S.; Harris, Sara E.

    2015-01-01

    The authors developed a classroom observation protocol for quantitatively measuring student engagement in large university classes. The Behavioral Engagement Related to instruction (BERI) protocol can be used to provide timely feedback to instructors as to how they can improve student engagement in their classrooms.

  16. The Storytelling Project: Innovating to Engage Students in Their Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miley, Frances

    2009-01-01

    This research explores the development of issues surrounding and reactions to the use of non-accounting stories in accounting to engage and motivate first-year students. The stories were drawn from the students' main areas of study. Students were challenged to draw analogies between a story and accounting. This process allowed them to create…

  17. Examining the Relations among Student Motivation, Engagement, and Retention in a MOOC: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yao Xiong

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Students who are enrolled in MOOCs tend to have different motivational patterns than fee-paying college students. A majority of MOOC students demonstrate characteristics akin more to "tourists" than formal learners. As a consequence, MOOC students’ completion rate is usually very low. The current study examines the relations among student motivation, engagement, and retention using structural equation modeling and data from a Penn State University MOOC. Three distinct types of motivation are examined: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and social motivation. Two main hypotheses are tested: (a motivation predicts student course engagement; and (b student engagement predicts their retention in the course. The results show that motivation is significantly predictive of student course engagement. Furthermore, engagement is a strong predictor of retention. The findings suggest that promoting student motivation and monitoring individual students’ online activities might improve course retention

  18. Autonomy and career management skills in the context of lifelong learning : cognitive coping strategies of the teachers and effects in work burnout and work engagement

    OpenAIRE

    Prieto, M.; Bermejo, L.; Hernández, V.; Cagigal, V.; García-Mina, A.; Gismero, E.

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this work is analysing cognitive coping strategies used by a sample of 385 teachers from Madrid (Spain) to face three different stressful situations: role conflict and role ambiguity, students challenging behaviours and work overload. Moreover, it has been studied the relationships between those personal coping resources and two teachers´ well-being measures: work burnout and work engagement. The assessment was carried out through Brief COPE and another items designed ad hoc. The M...

  19. The adolescents’ school engagement: Assessment of its dimensions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Manuel TOMÁS

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A topic that in the last years is getting relevance in school and students research is school engagement. This topic has been related, among other important constructs, with burnout of teachers and students, school performance, satisfaction with the school, behavioral disruption, goal orientation and motivational climate in the classroom, students-teachers relationships, and life satisfaction of the students. School engagement may be defined as the participation of the student in academic achievements, and it is understood as a multidimensional construct. The most repeated typology of dimensions recognizes three specific and overlapping dimensions: cognitive, behavioral, and emotional (affective. Frequently, education professionals have reported the lack of instruments to measure some students’ characteristics and psychosocial and behavioral variables in the classroom, as it is the case of school engagement. Recently, a fourth new dimension, personal agency, has been proposed (Reeve and Tseng, 2011. Veiga (2013 has been the first to present a self-report instrument, in Portuguese, to measure these four components, the Student Engagement Scale-4 dimensions (ses-4ds. Taken all this into account, the aim of this research was to study the reliability and validity of the aforementioned scale in two versions, Spanish and Portuguese, in large samples from the Dominican Republic and Angola. Results have shown a clear factor structure (after deleting two items, and adequate criterion-related and nomological validity. Accordingly, the ses-4d scale was considered a valid instrument to be applied in studies measuring school engagement of teenagers. 

  20. An Exploratory Analysis of American Indian Children's Cultural Engagement, Fluid Cognitive Skills, and Standardized Verbal IQ Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsethlikai, Monica

    2011-01-01

    This exploratory cross-sectional study examined fluid cognitive skills and standardized verbal IQ scores in relation to cultural engagement amongst Tohono O'odham children (N = 99; ages 7 to 12 years). Guardians with higher socioeconomic status engaged their children in more cultural activities, and participation in more cultural activities…

  1. Gamification Approach to Enhance Students Engagement in Studying Language course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cahyani Andharini Dwi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Many researchers have attempted to utilize gamification to increase student engagement, motivation and achievement in the classroom with varying degrees of accomplishment. This research attempts to review of existing literature on the subject as well as the implementation of gamification on Language course. It aims to get better understanding of how gamification can efficiently be used in education. This analysis reveals that the underlying fact that make games engaging are already utilized in pedagogical practices. There are two important recommendations from this research. First, use gamified learning scenario as an activity, to encourage students trying new things and avoiding fear to make a mistakes. Secondly, the gamification in education setting needs students to participate deliberately to ensure the gamification retains the game-like nature.

  2. What Drives Student Engagement: Is It Learning Space, Instructor Behavior, or Teaching Philosophy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawers, Kimberly M.; Wicks, David; Mvududu, Nyaradzo; Seeley, Lane; Copeland, Raedene

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates how instructor teaching philosophy (traditional vs. constructivist) and type of learning space (traditional vs. active) influence instructor perceptions of student engagement. In a quasi-experimental study, we found that instructors perceived that students were more engaged in the active learning classroom (ALC) than in the…

  3. Creating Comic Books in Nigeria: International Reflections on Literacy, Creativity, and Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bitz, Michael; Emejulu, Obiajulu

    2016-01-01

    This article is an international reflection on literacy, creativity, and student engagement. The authors collaborated to help Nigerian youths and their teachers develop, design, and share original comic books. By leveraging student engagement for literacy learning, the authors highlighted the crucial role of creativity in the classroom. The…

  4. Supporting cognitive engagement in a learning-by-doing learning environment: Case studies of participant engagement and social configurations in Kitchen Science Investigators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Christina M.

    Learning-by-doing learning environments support a wealth of physical engagement in activities. However, there is also a lot of variability in what participants learn in each enactment of these types of environments. Therefore, it is not always clear how participants are learning in these environments. In order to design technologies to support learning in these environments, we must have a greater understanding of how participants engage in learning activities, their goals for their engagement, and the types of help they need to cognitively engage in learning activities. To gain a greater understanding of participant engagement and factors and circumstances that promote and inhibit engagement, this dissertation explores and answers several questions: What are the types of interactions and experiences that promote and /or inhibit learning and engagement in learning-by-doing learning environments? What are the types of configurations that afford or inhibit these interactions and experiences in learning-by-doing learning environments? I explore answers to these questions through the context of two enactments of Kitchen Science Investigators (KSI), a learning-by-doing learning environment where middle-school aged children learn science through cooking from customizing recipes to their own taste and texture preferences. In small groups, they investigate effects of ingredients through the design of cooking and science experiments, through which they experience and learn about chemical, biological, and physical science phenomena and concepts (Clegg, Gardner, Williams, & Kolodner, 2006). The research reported in this dissertation sheds light on the different ways participant engagement promotes and/or inhibits cognitive engagement in by learning-by-doing learning environments through two case studies. It also provides detailed descriptions of the circumstances (social, material, and physical configurations) that promote and/or inhibit participant engagement in these

  5. An innovative strategy in evaluation: using a student engagement framework to evaluate a role-based simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Morgan; Warland, Jane; Smith, Colleen

    2012-03-01

    Online role-play has the potential to actively engage students in authentic learning experiences and help develop their clinical reasoning skills. However, evaluation of student learning for this kind of simulation focuses mainly on the content and outcome of learning, rather than on the process of learning through student engagement. This article reports on the use of a student engagement framework to evaluate an online role-play offered as part of a course in Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Midwifery programs. Instruments that measure student engagement to date have targeted large numbers of students at program and institutional levels, rather than at the level of a specific learning activity. Although the framework produced some useful findings for evaluation purposes, further refinement of the questions is required to be certain that deep learning results from the engagement that occurs with course-level learning initiatives. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

  6. Enhancing student engagement in pre-vocational and vocational education: a learning history

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Uden, J.M.; Ritzen, H.; Pieters, Julius Marie

    2016-01-01

    Interest in student engagement has increased over the past decade, which has resulted in increased knowledge about this concept and about the aspects that facilitate engagement. However, as yet, only a few studies have focused on engagement from the perspective of the teacher. In this study, we

  7. Exploring Student Engagement in STEM Education: An Examination of STEM Schools, STEM Programs, and Traditional Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franco, M. Suzanne; Patel, Nimisha H.

    2017-01-01

    High school students' perceptions and experiences regarding student engagement were investigated using 32 focus group sessions across 4 different types of STEM education settings in 2 metropolitan areas in the Midwest. Students' understandings and experiences related to student engagement were reflected via 5 categories: students' thinking of…

  8. Using Sleep Interventions to Engage and Treat Heavy-Drinking College Students: A Randomized Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fucito, Lisa M.; DeMartini, Kelly S.; Hanrahan, Tess H.; Yaggi, Henry Klar; Heffern, Christina; Redeker, Nancy S.

    2017-01-01

    Background Continued high alcohol consumption levels by college students highlight the need for more effective alcohol interventions and novel treatment engagement strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate a behavioral sleep intervention as a means to engage heavy-drinking college students in treatment and reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. Methods Heavy-drinking college students (N=42) were assigned to 1 of 2 web-based interventions comprised of 4 modules delivered over 4 weeks. The experimental intervention focused primarily on sleep and included evidence-based sleep content (i.e., stimulus control instructions, sleep scheduling (consistent bed/rise times; ideal sleep duration for adolescents/young adults), sleep hygiene advice, relaxation training, cognitive strategies to target sleep-disruptive beliefs) and alcohol content (i.e., normative and blood alcohol level feedback, moderate drinking guidelines, controlled drinking strategies, effects of alcohol on sleep and the body, advice to moderate drinking for improved sleep) in young adults. The healthy behaviors control condition provided basic advice about nutrition, exercise, sleep (i.e., good sleep hygiene only) and drinking (i.e., effects of alcohol on the body, moderate drinking guidelines, advice to moderate drinking for sleep). Participants in both conditions monitored their sleep using daily web-based diaries and a wrist-worn sleep tracker. Results Recruitment ads targeting college students with sleep concerns effectively identified heavy-drinking students. The program generated a high number of inquiries and treatment completion rates were high. Both interventions significantly reduced typical week drinking and alcohol-related consequences and improved sleep quality and sleep-related impairment ratings. The control condition yielded greater reductions in total drinks in a heaviest drinking week. The effects on drinking were larger than those observed in typical brief

  9. EEG Estimates of Cognitive Workload and Engagement Predict Math Problem Solving Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beal, Carole R.; Galan, Federico Cirett

    2012-01-01

    In the present study, the authors focused on the use of electroencephalography (EEG) data about cognitive workload and sustained attention to predict math problem solving outcomes. EEG data were recorded as students solved a series of easy and difficult math problems. Sequences of attention and cognitive workload estimates derived from the EEG…

  10. Factors Contributing to Student Engagement in an Instructional Facebook Group for Undergraduate Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Peter L.; Gregory, Karen M.; Eddy, Erik R.

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates factors contributing to student engagement in an educational Facebook group. The study is based on survey results of 138 undergraduate mathematics students at a highly diverse urban public university. Survey measures included engagement in the Facebook group, access to Facebook, comfort using technology, and interest in the…

  11. Teachers' Conceptions of Student Engagement in Learning: The Case of Three Urban Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkaoui, Khaled; Barrett, Sarah Elizabeth; Samaroo, Julia; Dahya, Negin; Alidina, Shahnaaz; James, Carl

    2015-01-01

    Although student engagement plays a central role in the education process, defining it is challenging. This study examines teachers' conceptions of the social and cultural dimensions of student engagement in learning at three low-achieving schools located in a low socioeconomic status (SES) urban area. Sixteen teachers and administrators from the…

  12. Using Online Video to Support Student Learning and Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherer, Pamela; Shea, Timothy

    2011-01-01

    Online videos are used increasingly in higher education teaching as part of the explosion of Web 2.0 tools that are now available. YouTube is one popular example of a video-sharing resource that both faculty and students can use effectively, both inside and outside of the classroom, to engage students in their learning, energize classroom…

  13. The Interplay of Students' School Engagement, School Self-Concept and Motivational Relations during Adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakadorova, Olga; Raufelder, Diana

    2017-01-01

    Existing literature evidences the association between adolescents' school self-concept and engagement, both concepts being related to students' perception of teachers and peers as motivators. However, few longitudinal studies explore the interplay of these factors. The present study aims to close this gap, applying latent cross-lagged panel design to two-wave data from German adolescent students [1088 8th grade students at T1 ( M age = 13.7, SD = 0.53; 53.9% girls) and 845 9th grade students at T2 ( M age = 14.86; SD = 0.57; 55% girls) from the initial sample]. Besides direct effects, three cross-lagged over-time paths were found to be significant: students' perception of peers as positive motivators (PPMs) at the beginning of 8th grade (T1) positively predicts their behavioral school engagement at the end of 9th grade (T2), as well as emotional school engagement at the beginning of 8th grade positively predicts students' perception of PPMs 1.5 years later. Furthermore, behavioral school engagement at T1 functions as a predictor of a student's school self-concept at T2.

  14. Inquiry-based learning to improve student engagement in a large first year topic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masha Smallhorn

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Increasing the opportunity for students to be involved in inquiry-based activities can improve engagement with content and assist in the development of analysis and critical thinking skills. The science laboratory has traditionally been used as a platform to apply the content gained through the lecture series. These activities have exposed students to experiments which test the concepts taught but which often result in a predicted outcome. To improve the engagement and learning outcomes of our large first year biology cohort, the laboratories were redeveloped. Superlabs were run with 100 students attending weekly sessions increasing the amount of contact time from previous years. Laboratories were redeveloped into guided-inquiry and educators facilitated teams of students to design and carry out an experiment. To analyse the impact of the redevelopment on student satisfaction and learning outcomes, students were surveyed and multiple choice exam data was compared before and after the redevelopment. Results suggest high levels of student satisfaction and a significant improvement in student learning outcomes. All disciplines should consider including inquiry-based activities as a methodology to improve student engagement and learning outcome as it fosters the development of independent learners. 

  15. Exploring a Middle Ground Engagement with Students in a Social Learning Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Anne M. J.; Campbell, Sonya

    2012-01-01

    The twenty first century student demands more from universities in terms of engagement that is flexible, accessible and immediate. This means universities revisiting their engagement agenda at a time when financial constraints can least afford expensive technologies and resource dependent engagement solutions. Solutions are likely to be varied…

  16. The gender gap in student engagement: The role of teachers' autonomy support, structure, and involvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lietaert, Sofie; Roorda, Debora; Laevers, Ferre; Verschueren, Karine; De Fraine, Bieke

    2015-12-01

    The gender gap in education in favour of girls is a widely known phenomenon. Boys generally have higher dropout rates, obtain lower grades, and show lower engagement. Insight into factors related to these academic outcomes could help to address the gender gap. This study investigated, for Dutch language classes, (1) how boys and girls differ in behavioural engagement, (2) which teacher support dimensions (autonomy support, structure, involvement) may explain gender differences in engagement (mediation hypothesis), and (3) whether and which of these teacher support dimensions matter more for boys' as opposed to girls' engagement (moderation or differential effects hypothesis). A total of 385 Grade 7 students and their 15 language teachers participated in this study. Teacher support was assessed through student reports. Student engagement was measured using student, teacher, and observer reports. By means of structural equation modelling, the mediating role of the teacher support dimensions for gender differences in behavioural engagement was tested. The potential differential role of the teacher support dimensions for boys' and girls' engagement was investigated through multigroup analysis. Boys were less engaged than girls and reported lower support from their teacher. Autonomy support and involvement partially mediated the relationship between gender and behavioural engagement. Autonomy support was demonstrated to be a protective factor for boys' engagement but not for girls'. Structure and involvement contributed equally to engagement for both sexes. Although involvement and autonomy support partly explained the gender gap in engagement (mediation hypothesis), more support was found for differential effects of autonomy support on boys' versus girls' engagement (differential effects hypothesis). © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  17. What Can Secondary School Students Teach Educators and School Nurses about Student Engagement in Health Promotion? A Scoping Review

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    Beck, Amy J.; Reilly, Sandra M.

    2017-01-01

    Student engagement represents a critical component of a comprehensive school health (CSH) approach to health promotion. Nevertheless, questions remain about its implementation. This scoping review updates the field of student engagement in health promotion. Of the 1,388 located articles, 14 qualify for inclusion in this study. An analysis reveals…

  18. Lifestyle Modulators of Neuroplasticity: How Physical Activity, Mental Engagement, and Diet Promote Cognitive Health during Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristy Phillips

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The number of the elderly across the globe will approximate 2.1 billion by 2050. Juxtaposed against this burgeoning segment of the population is evidence that nonpathological aging is associated with an increased risk for cognitive decline in a variety of domains, changes that can cause mild disability even before the onset of dementia. Given that pharmacological treatments that mitigate dementia are still outstanding, alternative therapeutic options are being investigated increasingly. The results from translational studies have shown that modifiable lifestyle factors—including physical activity, cognitive engagement, and diet—are a key strategy for maintaining brain health during aging. Indeed, a multiplicity of studies has demonstrated relationships between lifestyle factors, brain structure and function, and cognitive function in aging adults. For example, physical activity and diet modulate common neuroplasticity substrates (neurotrophic signaling, neurogenesis, inflammation, stress response, and antioxidant defense in the brain whereas cognitive engagement enhances brain and cognitive reserve. The aims of this review are to evaluate the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors, neuroplasticity, and optimal brain health during aging; to identify putative mechanisms that contribute positive brain aging; and to highlight future directions for scientists and clinicians. Undoubtedly, the translation of cutting-edge knowledge derived from the field of cognitive neuroscience will advance our understanding and enhance clinical treatment interventions as we endeavor to promote brain health during aging.

  19. An Activity-based Approach to the Learning and Teaching of Research Methods: Measuring Student Engagement and Learning

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    Eimear Fallon

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses a research project carried out with 82 final and third year undergraduate students, learning Research Methods prior to undertaking an undergraduate thesis during the academic years 2010 and 2011. The research had two separate, linked objectives, (a to develop a Research Methods module that embraces an activity-based approach to learning in a group environment, (b to improve engagement by all students. The Research Methods module was previously taught through a traditional lecture-based format. Anecdotally, it was felt that student engagement was poor and learning was limited. It was believed that successful completion of the development of this Module would equip students with a deeply-learned battery of research skills to take into their further academic and professional careers. Student learning was achieved through completion of a series of activities based on different research methods. In order to encourage student engagement, a wide variety of activities were used. These activities included workshops, brainstorming, mind-mapping, presentations, written submissions, peer critiquing, lecture/seminar, and ‘speed dating’ with more senior students and self reflection. Student engagement was measured through a survey based on a U.S. National Survey of Student Engagement (2000. A questionnaire was devised to establish whether, and to what degree, students were engaged in the material that they were learning, while they were learning it. The results of the questionnaire were very encouraging with between 63% and 96% of students answering positively to a range of questions concerning engagement. In terms of the two objectives set, these were satisfactorily met. The module was successfully developed and continues to be delivered, based upon this new and significant level of student engagement.

  20. An Analysis of the Student Course Engagement Questionnaire (SCEQ) in Large-Section Marketing Principles Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, S. A.; Goodwin, S. A.; Melton, H.; Hunter, G.

    2011-01-01

    Student engagement is a significant challenge facing administrators and faculty at institutions of higher learning (Carle, Jafee, Vaughn, & Eder, 2009). While the research emphasis to this point has been on students' perceptions of overall engagement (macro-engagement) across all of their experiences within a university, the authors assert that it…

  1. Web-based feedback after summative assessment: how do students engage?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Harrison, C.J.; Konings, K.D.; Molyneux, A.; Schuwirth, L.W.; Wass, V.; Vleuten, C.P.M. van der

    2013-01-01

    CONTEXT: There is little research into how to deliver summative assessment student feedback effectively. The main aims of this study were to clarify how students engage with feedback in this context and to explore the roles of learning-related characteristics and previous and current performance.

  2. Burnout and study engagement among medical students at Sun Yat-sen University, China: A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hongchun; Yansane, Alfa Ibrahim; Zhang, Yurong; Fu, Haijun; Hong, Nanrui; Kalenderian, Elsbeth

    2018-04-01

    This study aims to investigate burnout and study engagement among medical students at Sun Yat-sen University, China.A cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students of Sun Yat-sen University, China. A total of 453 undergraduate students completed a self-administered, structured questionnaire between January and February, 2016. Burnout and study engagement were measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and the UTRECHT Work Engagement Scale-Students (UWES-S), respectively. Subjects who scored high in emotional exhaustion subscale, high in cynicism subscale, and low in professional efficacy subscale simultaneously were graded as having high risk of burnout. Independent sample t tests and chi-square tests were used to compare the differences in burnout and work engagement between genders, majors, and grade levels.The means (standard deviations) of the MBI-SS subscales were 3.42 (1.45) for emotional exhaustion, 2.34 (1.64) for cynicism, and 3.04 (1.30) for professional efficacy. The means (standard deviations) of the UWES-S subscales were 3.13 (1.49) for vigor, 3.44 (1.47) for dedication and 3.00 (1.51) for absorption. Approximately 1 in 11 students experienced a high risk of burnout. There were no statistically significant gender differences in burnout and study engagement. There were also no statistically significant differences in burnout and study engagement subscales according to student major. Students in higher grades displayed increased burnout risk, higher mean burnout subscale score of cynicism, lower mean burnout subscale score of professional efficacy, and decreased mean study engagement subscale scores of dedication and absorption. There were strong correlations within study engagement subscales.Chinese medical students in this university experience a high level of burnout. Students at higher-grade level experience more burnout and decreased study engagement compared with students in lower level.

  3. Impact of psychosocial training on burnout, engagement and resilience among students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuzana Škodová

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of psychosocial training, with a focus on increasing social and coping skills, on the levels of burnout and engagement in students in various healthcare professions. Design: A quasi-experimental design was used in the present study. Methods: 97 students (20.2 ‘ 1.49; 95.9% female of psychology, nursing and midwifery participated in the research (50 students in an experimental group receiving psychosocial training, and 47 students in a control group. To measure burnout, the School Burnout Inventory (SBI, Antonovski Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES and Baruth Protective Factors Inventory (BPFI were employed. Data were statistically analyzed using correlation analysis, Student's t-test, and the ANOVA with LSD post hoc tests. Results: A statistically significant decrease in burnout syndrome (95 % CI: 5.26; 11.94, and an increased sense of coherence (95 % CI: -11.48; -3.37 and resilience (95 % CI: -7.92; -1.70 were found in the experimental group of students after psychosocial training, while no significant changes were observed in the control group. Research assumptions regarding engagement were not confirmed. Conclusion: The research study has shown that psychosocial training as a method has a positive effect on burnout syndrome and related personality characteristics among students of the healthcare professions, and is thus a relevant and appropriate method of burnout prevention.

  4. Effectively Using Discussion Boards to Engage Students in Introductory Leadership Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Deborah N.

    2015-01-01

    This article discusses the use of online asynchronous discussion boards as a valuable tool for connecting students to leadership concepts, theories, and models in introductory leadership survey courses. Recommendations are given for designing effective discussion boards that engage students and enhance their learning. Student outcomes include…

  5. Lights! Camera! Action Projects! Engaging Psychopharmacology Students in Service-based Action Projects Focusing on Student Alcohol Abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Susan

    2016-01-01

    Alcohol abuse continues to be an issue of major concern for the health and well-being of college students. Estimates are that over 80% of college students are involved in the campus "alcohol culture." Annually, close to 2000 students die in the United States due to alcohol-related accidents, with another 600,000 sustaining injury due to alcohol-related incidents (NIAAA, 2013). Students enrolled in a Psychopharmacology course engaged in action projects (community outreach) focused on alcohol abuse on our campus. Research has indicated that these types of projects can increase student engagement in course material and foster important skills, including working with peers and developing involvement in one's community. This paper describes the structure and requirements of five student outreach projects and the final projects designed by the students, summarizes the grading and assessment of the projects, and discusses the rewards and challenges of incorporating such projects into a course.

  6. High school dropouts: interactions between social context, self-perceptions, school engagement, and student dropout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fall, Anna-Mária; Roberts, Greg

    2012-08-01

    Research suggests that contextual, self-system, and school engagement variables influence dropping out from school. However, it is not clear how different types of contextual and self-system variables interact to affect students' engagement or contribute to decisions to dropout from high school. The self-system model of motivational development represents a promising theory for understanding this complex phenomenon. The self-system model acknowledges the interactive and iterative roles of social context, self-perceptions, school engagement, and academic achievement as antecedents to the decision to dropout of school. We analyzed data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002-2004 in the context of the self-system model, finding that perception of social context (teacher support and parent support) predicts students' self-perceptions (perception of control and identification with school), which in turn predict students' academic and behavioral engagement, and academic achievement. Further, students' academic and behavioral engagement and achievement in 10th grade were associated with decreased likelihood of dropping out of school in 12th grade. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. A + (B[subscript 1]) Professor--student Rapport + (B[subscript 2]) Humor + (B[subscript 3]) Student Engagement = (Y) Student Ratings of Instructors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richmond, Aaron S.; Berglund, Majken B.; Epelbaum, Vadim B.; Klein, Eric M.

    2015-01-01

    Teaching effectiveness is often evaluated through student ratings of instruction (SRI). Research suggests that there are many potential factors that can predict student's perceptions of teaching effectiveness such as professor-student rapport, student engagement, and perceived humor of the instructor. Therefore, we sought to assess whether…

  8. Gamification for Engaging Computer Science Students in Learning Activities: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibáñez, Maria-Blanca; Di-Serio, Ángela; Delgado-Kloos, Carlos

    2014-01-01

    Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game settings to engage participants and encourage desired behaviors. It has been identified as a promising technique to improve students' engagement which could have a positive impact on learning. This study evaluated the learning effectiveness and engagement appeal of a gamified learning…

  9. Student Use of Technology in Class: Engaged or Unplugged?

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Roche, Claire R.; Flanigan, Mary A.

    2013-01-01

    In recent years, there has been a great deal of discussion about the need for student engagement and a meaningful connection in the classroom. With the advent of cell phones, computers and the Internet, students are more connected to, and, at the same time, more disconnected from each other than ever before. We are living in the age of exponential…

  10. Engagement and skill development in biology students through analysis of art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milkova, Liliana; Crossman, Colette; Wiles, Stephanie; Allen, Taylor

    2013-01-01

    An activity involving analysis of art in biology courses was designed with the goals of piquing undergraduates' curiosity, broadening the ways in which college students meaningfully engage with course content and concepts, and developing aspects of students' higher-level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. To meet these learning outcomes, the activity had three key components: preparatory readings, first-hand visual analysis of art during a visit to an art museum, and communication of the analysis. Following a presentation on the methodology of visual analysis, students worked in small groups to examine through the disciplinary lens of biology a selection of approximately 12 original artworks related in some manner to love. The groups then developed and presented for class members a mini-exhibition of several pieces addressing one of two questions: 1) whether portrayals of love in art align with the growing understanding of the biology of love or 2) whether the bodily experience of love is universal or, alternatively, is culturally influenced, as is the experience of depression. Evaluation of quantitative and qualitative assessment data revealed that the assignment engaged students, supported development of higher-level thinking skills, and prompted meaningful engagement with course material.

  11. The flipped classroom: A learning model to increase student engagement not academic achievement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masha Smallhorn

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available A decrease in student attendance at lectures both nationally and internationally, has prompted educators to re-evaluate their teaching methods and investigate strategies which promote student engagement. The flipped classroom model, grounded in active learning pedagogy, transforms the face-to-face classroom. Students prepare for the flipped classroom in their own time by watching short online videos and completing readings. Face-to-face time is used to apply learning through problem-solving with peers. To improve the engagement and learning outcomes of our second year cohort, lectures were replaced with short online videos and face-to-face time was spent in a flipped classroom. The impact of the flipped classroom was analysed through surveys, attendance records, learning analytics and exam data before and after the implementation of the flipped classroom. Results suggest an increase in student engagement and a positive attitude towards the learning method. However, there were no measurable increases in student learning outcomes.

  12. Engaging medical students in the feedback process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, David A; Boehler, Margaret L; Schwind, Cathy J; Meier, Andreas H; Wall, Jarrod C H; Brenner, Michael J

    2012-01-01

    There are potential advantages to engaging medical students in the feedback process, but efforts to do so have yielded mixed results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a student-focused feedback instructional session in an experimental setting. Medical students were assigned randomly to either the intervention or control groups and then assigned randomly to receive either feedback or compliments. Tests of knowledge, skills, and attitudes were given before and after the intervention. There was a significant gain of knowledge and skill in the group that received instruction. Satisfaction was higher after compliments in the control group but higher after feedback in the instructional group. There was no change in the subject's willingness to seek feedback. A student-focused component should be carefully included as part of an overall effort to improve feedback in surgical education. The role of medical student attitudes about feedback requires further investigation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Personal microbiome analysis improves student engagement and interest in Immunology, Molecular Biology, and Genomics undergraduate courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridgewater, Laura C.; Jensen, Jamie L.; Breakwell, Donald P.; Nielsen, Brent L.; Johnson, Steven M.

    2018-01-01

    A critical area of emphasis for science educators is the identification of effective means of teaching and engaging undergraduate students. Personal microbiome analysis is a means of identifying the microbial communities found on or in our body. We hypothesized the use of personal microbiome analysis in the classroom could improve science education by making courses more applied and engaging for undergraduate students. We determined to test this prediction in three Brigham Young University undergraduate courses: Immunology, Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory, and Genomics. These three courses have a two-week microbiome unit and students during the 2016 semester students could submit their own personal microbiome kit or use the demo data, whereas during the 2017 semester students were given access to microbiome data from an anonymous individual. The students were surveyed before, during, and after the human microbiome unit to determine whether analyzing their own personal microbiome data, compared to analyzing demo microbiome data, impacted student engagement and interest. We found that personal microbiome analysis significantly enhanced the engagement and interest of students while completing microbiome assignments, the self-reported time students spent researching the microbiome during the two week microbiome unit, and the attitudes of students regarding the course overall. Thus, we found that integrating personal microbiome analysis in the classroom was a powerful means of improving student engagement and interest in undergraduate science courses. PMID:29641525

  14. Digital Downsides: Exploring University Students' Negative Engagements with Digital Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selwyn, Neil

    2016-01-01

    Digital technologies are now an integral feature of university study. As such, academic research has tended to concentrate on the potential of digital technologies to support, extend and even "enhance" student learning. This paper, in contrast, explores the rather more messy realities of students' engagements with digital technology. In…

  15. How Much Does Student Engagement with Videos and Forums in a MOOC Affect Their Achievement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonafini, Fernanda Cesar; Chae, Chungil; Park, Eunsung; Jablokow, Kathryn Weed

    2017-01-01

    Engagement in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is based on students who self-organize their participation according to their own goals and interests. Visual materials such as videos and discussion forums are basic ways of engaging students in MOOCs. Student achievement in MOOCs is typically measured using assessments distributed throughout the…

  16. Student Engagement in Public Universities in the Context of University of Raparin Kurdistan Region--Iraq

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Paiman Ramazan

    2015-01-01

    To the best of our knowledge this is the first attempt to investigate student engagement in learning within the Kurdistan region in general and at University of Raparin in particular. Student engagement, self-learning, faculty-student interaction and promoting personal responsibility, besides environment of learning are the components for this…

  17. Using Game Development to Engage Students in Science and Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiacek, John

    2011-01-01

    Game design workshops, camps and activities engage K-12 students In STEM disciplines that use game engine and development tools. Game development will have students create games and simulations that Will inspire them to love technology while learning math, physics, and,logic. By using tools such as Gamemaker, Alice, Unity, Gamesalad and others, students will get a sense of confidence and accomplishment creating games and simulations.

  18. Heterosexism, Depression, and Campus Engagement Among LGBTQ College Students: Intersectional Differences and Opportunities for Healing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulick, Alex; Wernick, Laura J; Woodford, Michael R; Renn, Kristen

    2017-01-01

    LGBTQ people experience health disparities related to multilevel processes of sexual and gender marginalization, and intersections with racism can compound these challenges for LGBTQ people of color. Although community engagement may be protective for mental health broadly and for LGBTQ communities in buffering against heterosexism, little research has been conducted on the racialized dynamics of these processes among LGBTQ communities. This study analyzes cross-sectional survey data collected among a diverse sample of LGBTQ college students (n = 460), which was split by racial status. Linear regression models were used to test main effects of interpersonal heterosexism and engagement with campus organizations on depression, as well as moderating effects of campus engagement. For White LGBTQ students, engaging in student leadership appears to weaken the heterosexism-depression link-specifically, the experience of interpersonal microaggressions. For LGBTQ students of color, engaging in LGBTQ-specific spaces can strengthen the association between sexual orientation victimization and depression.

  19. Outreach Inside the Library: Attracting and Engaging Millennial Engineering and Science Students

    OpenAIRE

    Shepherd, Susan

    2009-01-01

    This poster displays ways in which the Science & Engineering (S&E) Library at UC San Diego has capitalized on the values of Millennials to attract and engage undergraduates in science and engineering with inside-the-library exhibits and events. Appealing to characteristics of Millennials, the S&E Library showcases various types of student work, sponsors engaging and innovative library events, and freely experiments with new ways to draw students into the library.

  20. Engaging Indigenous Students in the Australian SKA Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollow, Robert; Harvey-Smith, Lisa; Brooks, Kate; Boddington, Leonie

    2015-08-01

    The Murchison region of Western Australia is the site of the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) that includes the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and soon the SKA. This is also traditional land of the Wajarri Yamatji people. As part of its development in the region CSIRO has extensive engagement with the Wajarri Yamatji people. This includes educational, cultural, training and commercial opportunities. We outline the Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) between the Wajarri Yamatji and CSIRO, focusing on the educational and training aspects. Starting with "Wildflowers in the Sky" program in 2006 we have made extensive tours to all schools in the region providing teacher training and student engagement. More recently we have implemented a program where CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science staff visit the Pia Wadjarri Remote Community School, the closest school to the MRO, to mentor students. Students and staff from the school visit the MRO annually to explore the ASKAP telescope and see what is involved in its operation. An educational resource about ASKAP and astronomy that also incorporates traditional sky stories and local ecology is being trialled and developed. A cadetship and trainee program supporting Indigenous students has been implemented with the goal of providing employment opportunities and work skills in a diverse range of areas.

  1. Exploring physics students' engagement with online instructional videos in an introductory mechanics course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shih-Yin; Aiken, John M.; Seaton, Daniel T.; Douglas, Scott S.; Greco, Edwin F.; Thoms, Brian D.; Schatz, Michael F.

    2017-12-01

    The advent of new educational technologies has stimulated interest in using online videos to deliver content in university courses. We examined student engagement with 78 online videos that we created and were incorporated into a one-semester flipped introductory mechanics course at the Georgia Institute of Technology. We found that students were more engaged with videos that supported laboratory activities than with videos that presented lecture content. In particular, the percentage of students accessing laboratory videos was consistently greater than 80% throughout the semester. On the other hand, the percentage of students accessing lecture videos dropped to less than 40% by the end of the term. Moreover, the fraction of students accessing the entirety of a video decreases when videos become longer in length, and this trend is more prominent for the lecture videos than the laboratory videos. The results suggest that students may access videos based on perceived value: students appear to consider the laboratory videos as essential for successfully completing the laboratories while they appear to consider the lecture videos as something more akin to supplemental material. In this study, we also found that there was little correlation between student engagement with the videos and their incoming background. There was also little correlation found between student engagement with the videos and their performance in the course. An examination of the in-video content suggests that students engaged more with concrete information that is explicitly required for assignment completion (e.g., actions required to complete laboratory work, or formulas or mathematical expressions needed to solve particular problems) and less with content that is considered more conceptual in nature. It was also found that students' in-video accesses usually increased toward the embedded interaction points. However, students did not necessarily access the follow-up discussion of these

  2. Cognitive Potential: How Different Are Agriculture Students?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhoades, Emily B.; Ricketts, John; Friedel, Curt

    2009-01-01

    Given the interest, research, and effort extended to help faculty in colleges of agriculture provide educational discourse at higher cognitive levels over the last few years, one would expect that students enrolled in colleges of agriculture would exhibit higher levels of critical thinking and need for cognition. This study thus aimed to discover…

  3. Impact of learning adaptability and time management disposition on study engagement among Chinese baccalaureate nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jing-Ying; Liu, Yan-Hui; Yang, Ji-Peng

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the relationships among study engagement, learning adaptability, and time management disposition in a sample of Chinese baccalaureate nursing students. A convenient sample of 467 baccalaureate nursing students was surveyed in two universities in Tianjin, China. Students completed a questionnaire that included their demographic information, Chinese Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student Questionnaire, Learning Adaptability Scale, and Adolescence Time Management Disposition Scale. One-way analysis of variance tests were used to assess the relationship between certain characteristics of baccalaureate nursing students. Pearson correlation was performed to test the correlation among study engagement, learning adaptability, and time management disposition. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to explore the mediating role of time management disposition. The results revealed that study engagement (F = 7.20, P < .01) and learning adaptability (F = 4.41, P < .01) differed across grade groups. Learning adaptability (r = 0.382, P < .01) and time management disposition (r = 0.741, P < .01) were positively related with study engagement. Time management disposition had a partially mediating effect on the relationship between study engagement and learning adaptability. The findings implicate that educators should not only promote interventions to increase engagement of baccalaureate nursing students but also focus on development, investment in adaptability, and time management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Tools for Citizen-Science Recruitment and Student Engagement in Your Research and in Your Classroom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah E. Council

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The field of citizen science is exploding and offers not only a great way to engage the general public in science literacy through primary research, but also an avenue for teaching professionals to engage their students in meaningful community research experiences. Though this field is expanding, there are many hurdles for researchers and participants, as well as challenges for teaching professionals who want to engage their students. Here we highlight one of our projects that engaged many citizens in Raleigh, NC, and across the world, and we use this as a case study to highlight ways to engage citizens in all kinds of research. Through the use of numerous tools to engage the public, we gathered citizen scientists to study skin microbes and their associated odors, and we offer valuable ideas for teachers to tap into resources for their own students and potential citizen-science projects.

  5. Blended Learning and Student Engagement in an Urban High School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Courtney

    2017-01-01

    A metropolitan school district wanted to understand blended learning as it existed in one of their high schools. Blended learning had been school-wide for four years, and district administrators wanted to know how students, teachers, and school administrators perceived blended learning and its impact on student engagement. This was a…

  6. The Effect of Twitter on College Student Engagement and Grades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junco, R.; Heiberger, G.; Loken, E.

    2011-01-01

    Despite the widespread use of social media by students and its increased use by instructors, very little empirical evidence is available concerning the impact of social media use on student learning and engagement. This paper describes our semester-long experimental study to determine if using Twitter--the microblogging and social networking…

  7. Engaging Students via Social Media: Is It Worth the Effort?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mostafa, Rania B.

    2015-01-01

    This article explores for the first time the moderating effect of students' readiness for cocreation on the student social media engagement and perceived value relationship. Ping's and Cadogan et al.'s procedures for assessing the structural model with interaction terms were followed. Results based on a sample of 353 university students…

  8. Relation between Academic Performance and Students' Engagement in Digital Learning Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertheussen, Bernt Arne; Myrland, Øystein

    2016-01-01

    This study reports on the effect of student engagement in digital learning activities on academic performance for 120 students enrolled in an undergraduate finance course. Interactive practice and exam problem files were available to each student, and individual download activity was automatically recorded during the first 50 days of the course.…

  9. Exploring Student Engagement and Collaborative Learning in a Community-Based Module in Fine Art

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John McGarrigle

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This article is based on masters research1 into student and civic engagement using a case study of an innovative Community Based Module in a Fine Art degree course (McGarrigle, 2009. 2 (Flyvbjerg, 2006 notes that contrary to some common misunderstandings around case study research, it is possible to use individual case study to test theory particularly in relation to falsification. The research presented here is based on student’s repsonses to Coates’ (2007 quantitative study of student engagement and attempts to test his engagement typology which identifies the terms passive, intense, independent or collaborative to apply to students’ approaches to online and general campus learning. In a participatory action research framework, low agreement was found between students (n=13 and lecturers (n=3 in assigning these terms to student postings to online discussion fora. This presents a challenge to the validity of such a narrow typology, and discussions with this student group suggested the addition of ‘adaptive’ as a valid student approach to the varied demands of third level learning. Further evidence from the case study found greater student collaboration in discussion fora when linked to practical course activity. Qualitative analysis of discussion threads using conversation analysis provided evidence for collaboration in deeper knowledge construction when supported by lecturers’ contributions. Collaborative approaches to learning may support learning within a social constructivist paradigm, though acknowledgement must be made of the context of an individualistic society where competition may present real or imagined barriers to student collaboration. An argument is made for Pedagogies for Community Engagement to promote these ways of learning to in order to develop active and engaged citizens of the future.

  10. An observation tool for instructor and student behaviors to measure in-class learner engagement: a validation study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alimoglu, Mustafa K.; Sarac, Didar B.; Alparslan, Derya; Karakas, Ayse A.; Altintas, Levent

    2014-01-01

    Background Efforts are made to enhance in-class learner engagement because it stimulates and enhances learning. However, it is not easy to quantify learner engagement. This study aimed to develop and validate an observation tool for instructor and student behaviors to determine and compare in-class learner engagement levels in four different class types delivered by the same instructor. Methods Observer pairs observed instructor and student behaviors during lectures in large class (LLC, n=2) with third-year medical students, lectures in small class (LSC, n=6) and case-based teaching sessions (CBT, n=4) with fifth-year students, and problem-based learning (PBL) sessions (~7 hours) with second-year students. The observation tool was a revised form of STROBE, an instrument for recording behaviors of an instructor and four randomly selected students as snapshots for 5-min cycles. Instructor and student behaviors were scored 1–5 on this tool named ‘in-class engagement measure (IEM)’. The IEM scores were parallel to the degree of behavior's contribution to active student engagement, so higher scores were associated with more in-class learner engagement. Additionally, the number of questions asked by the instructor and students were recorded. A total of 203 5-min observations were performed (LLC 20, LSC 85, CBT 50, and PBL 48). Results Interobserver agreement on instructor and student behaviors was 93.7% (κ=0.87) and 80.6% (κ=0.71), respectively. Higher median IEM scores were found in student-centered and problem-oriented methods such as CBT and PBL. A moderate correlation was found between instructor and student behaviors (r=0.689). Conclusions This study provides some evidence for validity of the IEM scores as a measure of student engagement in different class types. PMID:25308966

  11. You’re an Austen Heroine! Engaging Students with Past and Present

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline Breashears

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In my senior seminar on Jane Austen, I seek to engage students in multiple ways. On one hand, I want them to connect with Austen’s world and to reflect on what it means to them; on the other hand, I want them to understand the very real differences of that world and how they inform her novels. One strategy for engaging students in these ways is through interactive games. Studies have shown that many modern games have features similar to those stressed by engaged learning, so game design can be adapted for pedagogical purposes. I discuss the purposes, design, and play of my PowerPoint game “You’re an Austen Heroine!” I invite interested readers to see the game in the attached file.

  12. Cultural universality and specificity of student engagement in school: The results of an international study from 12 countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Shui-fong; Jimerson, Shane; Shin, Hyeonsook; Cefai, Carmel; Veiga, Feliciano H; Hatzichristou, Chryse; Polychroni, Fotini; Kikas, Eve; Wong, Bernard P H; Stanculescu, Elena; Basnett, Julie; Duck, Robert; Farrell, Peter; Liu, Yi; Negovan, Valeria; Nelson, Brett; Yang, Hongfei; Zollneritsch, Josef

    2016-03-01

    A comprehensive understanding of the contextual factors that are linked to student engagement requires research that includes cross-cultural perspectives. This study investigated how student engagement in school is associated with grade, gender, and contextual factors across 12 countries. It also investigated whether these associations vary across countries with different levels of individualism and socio-economic development. The participants were 3,420 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students from Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The participants completed a questionnaire to report their engagement in school, the instructional practices they experienced, and the support they received from teachers, peers, and parents. Hierarchical linear modelling was used to examine the effects at both student and country levels. The results across countries revealed a decline in student engagement from Grade 7 to Grade 9, with girls reporting higher engagement than boys. These trends did not vary across the 12 countries according to the Human Development Index and Hofstede's Individualism Index. Most of the contextual factors (instructional practices, teacher support, and parent support) were positively associated with student engagement. With the exception that parent support had a stronger association with student engagement in countries with higher collectivism, most of the associations between the contextual factors and student engagement did not vary across countries. The results indicate both cultural universality and specificity regarding contextual factors associated with student engagement in school. They illustrate the advantages of integrating etic and emic approaches in cross-cultural investigations. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  13. Cognitively Engaging Activity is Associated with Greater Cortical and Subcortical Volumes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Talia R. Seider

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available As the population ages and dementia becomes a growing healthcare concern, it is increasingly important to identify targets for intervention to delay or attenuate cognitive decline. Research has shown that the most successful interventions aim at altering lifestyle factors. Thus, this study examined how involvement in physical, cognitive, and social activity is related to brain structure in older adults. Sixty-five adults (mean age = 71.4 years, standard deviation = 8.9 received the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS, a questionnaire that polls everyday activities in which older adults may be involved, and also underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Stepwise regression with backwards selection was used to predict weekly time spent in either social, cognitive, light physical, or heavy physical activity from the volume of one of the cortical or subcortical regions of interest (corrected by intracranial volume as well as age, education, and gender as control variables. Regressions revealed that more time spent in cognitive activity was associated with greater volumes of all brain regions studied: total cortex (β = .289, p = .014, frontal (β = .276, p = .019, parietal (β = .305, p = .009, temporal (β = .275, p = .020, and occipital (β = .256, p = .030 lobes, and thalamus (β = .310, p = .010, caudate (β = .233, p = .049, hippocampus (β = .286, p = .017, and amygdala (β = .336, p = .004. These effects remained even after accounting for the positive association between cognitive activity and education. No other activity variable was associated with brain volumes. Results indicate that time spent in cognitively engaging activity is associated with greater cortical and subcortical brain volume. Findings suggest that interventions aimed at increasing levels of cognitive activity may delay cognitive consequences of aging and decrease the risk of developing dementia.

  14. A Framework for Designing Scaffolds That Improve Motivation and Cognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belland, Brian R.; Kim, ChanMin; Hannafin, Michael J.

    2013-01-01

    A problematic, yet common, assumption among educational researchers is that when teachers provide authentic, problem-based experiences, students will automatically be engaged. Evidence indicates that this is often not the case. In this article, we discuss (a) problems with ignoring motivation in the design of learning environments, (b) problem-based learning and scaffolding as one way to help, (c) how scaffolding has strayed from what was originally equal parts motivational and cognitive support, and (d) a conceptual framework for the design of scaffolds that can enhance motivation as well as cognitive outcomes. We propose guidelines for the design of computer-based scaffolds to promote motivation and engagement while students are solving authentic problems. Remaining questions and suggestions for future research are then discussed. PMID:24273351

  15. Apples and Pears: Engaging Social Work Students in Social Dialogue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyneke, Roelof P.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate how an adventure-based activity could help facilitate dialogue and enable a safe process where students could engage in a difficult topic such as diversity without feeling threatened. Method: A qualitative study was used in which 89 social work students who took part in diversity training gave permission that their…

  16. From Seatwork to Feetwork: Engaging Students in Their Own Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nash, Ron

    2011-01-01

    How do you teach students to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems? In his engaging style, Ron Nash shows teachers how to create a student-centered environment that transforms learners from passive attendees into active participants and leaders in the classroom. Building on the foundation of his prior works on active learning, he combines…

  17. Compression of Cognitive Flexibility and Adjustment of Students with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD and Typically Developing Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan Sadeghi

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of this research is to compare cognitive flexibility and adjustment between two groups of students with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD and typically developing students. Methods: For this purpose, 50 students with DCD and 50 typically developing students were chosen among 12 primary schools. The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCD-Q, Adjustment Inventory for School Students (AISS and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST were used to measure the research variables. Results: The results of the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA showed that the mean score of cognitive flexibility and emotional, educational and social adjustment is significantly higher in the students with developmental coordination disorder (P<0.001. The results of multivariate regression analysis also showed that a 25% variance percentage of cognitive flexibility and adjustment can explain the variance of developmental coordination disorder in people with such a disorder (P<0.001. Discussion: The result of the present study provides further evidence based on low cognitive flexibility and Adjustment in students with DCD.

  18. Effect of Cognitive Processing Therapy and Holographic Reprocessing on Reduction of Posttraumatic Cognitions in Students Exposed to Trauma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parviz molavi

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available "nObjective: This research was conducted to examine the effect of cognitive processing therapy and holographic reprocessing on the reduction of posttraumatic cognitions in students exposed to trauma. "nMethod: This was an experimental study with spread pretest-posttest randomized groups design. Statistical society of this research consisted of male freshman, junior and senior high school students of Uremia (N=10286. Utilizing Traumatic Events Screening Inventory, and SCL-90 R on 1000 randomly selected high school students, 129 students were recognized as having experienced traumatic events. Of the subjects, 60 were selected randomly. Then, clinical interview was conducted, and the selected sample was randomly assigned in to three groups of cognitive processing therapy, holographic reprocessing and control. These groups responded to Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory in pretest and post test. Differences of pre-post test scores were analyzed using one way ANOVA and Scheffe test. "nResults: The results demonstrated significant differences between the three groups in total score of the Posttraumatic Cognition Inventory. Difference was also observed in negative cognitions on self and self-blame dimensions. Furthermore, these two therapeutic methods were equally effective in the reduction of posttraumatic cognitions.   "nConclusion: It appears that cognitive processing therapy and holographic reprocessing which had been originally developed and tested for sexually assaulted females, can also be applied for the victims of other traumatic events, particularly  adolescents.

  19. International Students' Social Network: Network Mapping to Gage Friendship Formation and Student Engagement on Campus

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFaul, Susannah

    2016-01-01

    Addressing the importance of international student engagement on campus and creating friendships with host-country nationals during their time abroad, this small-scale study explores the question of, "Are there trends in how or through what means international students are making connections with co-national, multi-national, or host-national…

  20. Gender, abilities, cognitive style and students' achievement in cooperative learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cirila Peklaj

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of cooperative learning on achievement in mathematics and native language and to analyze students' achievement in cooperative learning according to their gender, abilities and cognitive style. Three hundred and seventy three (170 in the experimental and 203 in the control group fifth grade students from nine different primary schools participated in the study. In experimental group, cooperative learning was introduced in one quarter of the hours dedicated to mathematics and Slovene language during the school year. Control group received the traditional way of teaching in both courses. The results were analyzed with ANOVA. Positive effects of cooperative learning were found in both courses. Results in cooperative learning group were further analyzed according to students' gender, abilities and cognitive style. No significant interaction between students' achievement and their gender or abilities were found. Statistically significant interactions between students' cognitive style and achievement were found in both courses. Field-dependent students benefited most from cooperative learning.

  1. The Development and Validation of the Student Engagement Scale in an Ethiopian University Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tadesse, Tefera; Manathunga, Catherine E.; Gillies, Robyn M.

    2018-01-01

    This paper is positioned to make a sound contribution to knowledge of higher education (HE) quality through its study of student engagement in a large university in Ethiopia. We establish that the assessment of student engagement is a valid facet in determining HE quality, contributing holistically alongside quality assurance and university…

  2. Financial Literacy: Mathematics and Money Improving Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attard, Catherine

    2018-01-01

    The low levels of student engagement with mathematics has been of significant concern in Australia for some time (Attard, 2013). This is a particularly important issue in mathematics education given the current attention to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to ensure "the continued prosperity of Australia on…

  3. Breaking down silos: engaging students to help fix the US health care system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kumarasamy MA

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Mathu A Kumarasamy,1 Fred P Sanfilippo1–3 1Emory–Georgia Tech Healthcare Innovation Program, 2Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, 3Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA Problem: The field of health care is becoming a team effort as patient care becomes increasingly complex and multifaceted. Despite the need for multidisciplinary education, there persists a lack of student engagement and collaboration among health care disciplines, which presents a growing concern as students join the workforce. Approach: In October 2013, the Emory–Georgia Tech Healthcare Innovation Program organized a student driven symposium entitled “US Healthcare: What's Broken and How to Fix It: The Student Perspective”. The symposium engaged students from multiple disciplines to work together in addressing problems associated with US health care delivery. The symposium was organized and carried out by a diverse group of student leaders from local institutions who adopted a multidisciplinary approach throughout the planning process. Outcomes: The innovative planning process leading up to the symposium revealed that many of the student-discipline groups lacked an understanding of one another's role in health care, and that students were interested in learning how to work together to leverage each other's profession. The symposium was widely attended and positively received by students and faculty from the Atlanta metropolitan area, and has since helped to promote interdepartmental collaboration and multidisciplinary education across institutions. Next steps: The student symposium will become an annual event and incorporate broader discipline representation, as well as a patient perspective. Proposals for additional institution-wide, multidisciplinary educational offerings are being addressed with the help of faculty and health care providers across the network

  4. Interpretation of the "Student Engagement" paradigm in Spain (a bibliometric review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Catalán Martínez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we aim to evaluate the impact and the interpretation that has been made of the concept of «Student Engagement» in the Spanish university system. For this purpose, we have reviewed the contributions made in the last five years to the main international congresses on university teaching innovation held in Spain and the national-level publications on this topic that are registered in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Through this review, we can determine not only the impact of Student Engagement among national and international teachers that participate in these forums, but also the interpretation they make of the concept. The review of the documents, and our own position as teachers, makes us reflect on a proposal that could guide future lines of research on the issue. In this regard, we consider that the management of the university, especially in the Spanish system, still does not take a holistic perspective of the university student's experience into account. In order to fully develop the three dimensions of action to improve Student Engagement, we need a multidisciplinary approach that would take into consideration the purest contributions from management, from university experiential marketing, and from the educational sciences with their knowledge of teaching methodologies.

  5. Engage Educators in Order to Achieve the Best Results for Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weast, Jerry D.

    2011-01-01

    The success of the Montgomery County Public Schools rests on a pervasive culture of high expectations and a commitment to the teachers and other staff. Too many reform efforts fail to engage and support the workforce. When the staff members are engaged, they will translate standards into something meaningful for each student.

  6. The Need for Cognition and Life Satisfaction Among College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutinho, Savia A.; Woolery, Lisa M.

    2004-01-01

    The relationship between the need for cognition and life satisfaction was explored among college students. The 18-item short Need for Cognition Scale (NCS; Cacioppo, Petty, & Kao, 1984) and the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) were administered to 157 undergraduate university students.…

  7. The Relation of Student Engagement and Other Admission Metrics to Master of Accounting Student Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckless, Frank; Krawczyk, Kathy

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines whether the use of student engagement (SE) information as part of the admissions process can help us to predict student academic success in Master of Accounting (MAC) programs. The association of SE, undergraduate grade point average (UGPA), and Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) score to academic performance was tested…

  8. Redesigning a Large Lecture Course for Student Engagement: Process and Outcomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leslie F. Reid

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Using an action-research approach, a large-lecture science course (240 students was redesigned to improve student engagement in the areas of active and collaborative learning, faculty-student interaction and level of academic challenge. This was mainly achieved through the addition of a half-semester long group project, which replaced half of the lectures and the final exam. The course redesign did not result in more hours spent on teaching and teaching-related activities (grading, assessment preparation, lecturing, lecture preparation for the instructor – although the redesigned course requires the support of teaching assistants for the project component. Data on students’ perceptions of the modified course and the frequency to which they participated in the engagement activities were collected using the Classroom Survey of Student Engagement (CLASSE. The majority of students reported high levels of engagement in most of the intended areas and were comfortable with the new class design. The CLASSE data also helped identify areas where intended engagement levels were not met. These areas are the focus for future course development and action research questions.Utilisant une approche de type recherche-action, un cours de science offert dans un grand auditorium (240 étudiants a été reconfiguré afin d’amener les étudiants à s’engager davantage dans un apprentissage actif et collaboratif ainsi que dans leur interaction professeur-étudiants et à relever un défi de nature académique. Pour ce faire, la moitié des cours magistraux ainsi que l’examen final ont été remplacés par un projet de groupe. La reconfiguration du cours ne s’est pas traduite par une augmentation des heures d’enseignement ou des activités liées à l’enseignement (notation, préparation des évaluations, exposé magistral, préparation de l’exposé magistral – bien qu’elle ait nécessité le soutien des assistants à l’enseignement pour la

  9. Peer feedback: Using diciplinary-specific teaching formats as "bridges" to enable student engagement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Tine Wirenfeldt; Dankl, Kathrina

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Peer feedback has been proven to significantly strengthen students’ academic writing skills as well as foster meta-cognitive awareness on learning processes (Gibbs et al. 2004, Nicol et. al 2006). In order to unleash this potential, a collaborative and trusting ethos is required...... disciplinary-specific teaching formats and using these as “bridges” to enable students’ active engagement and unlock student’s co-creation skills. Method The proposed method has been applied at the Design School in Kolding at a course initiated as a part of the Master’s thesis supervision. As a method...... for a synopsis, and peer feedback was introduced for ‘shaping and co-creating’ first drafts of a synopsis. Both peer feedback and the concept of creative constraints (see freewriting format), are commonly used in design as methods to spur creativity. Results According to students own written evaluations (fifteen...

  10. New Zealand Summer of Code/Summer of Technology: an industry, student and tertiary engagement

    OpenAIRE

    Komisarczuk, Peter; Clegg, John; McDavitt, Ruth; Linton, Andy

    2011-01-01

    In 2006 the Wellington Summer of Code was brought to life engaging ICT undergraduates with innovative Wellington employers, it has developed into a thriving talent pipeline engaging all levels of tertiary students and industry in the Wellington region. Summer of Code engages students during term time through industry led learning and a summer seminar and workshop series that are open to all. It has worked with the NZCS to integrate the Evening with Industry where undergraduates see young IT p...

  11. Infusing Sustainability Across Disciplines to Build Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruckner, M. Z.; O'Connell, K.; McDaris, J. R.; Kirk, K. B.; Larsen, K.; Kent, M.; Manduca, C. A.; Egger, A. E.; Blockstein, D.; Mogk, D. W.; Taber, J.

    2014-12-01

    Establishing relevance and effective communication are key mechanisms for building student and community engagement in a topic and can be used to promote the importance of working across disciplines to solve problems. Sustainability, including the impacts of and responses to climate change, is an inherently interdisciplinary issue and can be infused across courses and curricula in a variety of ways. Key topics such as climate change, hazards, and food, water, and energy production and sustainability are relevant to a wide audience and can be used to build student engagement. Using real-world examples, service learning, and focusing on the local environment may further boost engagement by establishing relevance between sustainability issues and students' lives. Communication plays a key role in the exchange of information across disciplines and allows for a more holistic approach to tackling the complex climate and sustainability issues our society faces. It has the power to bridge gaps, break down disciplinary silos, and build connections among diverse audiences with a wide range of expertise, including scientists, policy-makers, stakeholders, and the general public. It also aids in planning and preparation for, response to, and mitigation of issues related to sustainability, including the impacts of climate change, to lessen the detrimental effects of unavoidable events such as sea level rise and extreme weather events. Several workshops from the InTeGrate and On the Cutting Edge projects brought together educators and practitioners from a range of disciplines including geoscience, engineering, social science, and more to encourage communication and collaboration across disciplines. They supported networking, community-building, and sharing of best practices for preparing our students for a sustainable future, both in and out of the workplace, and across disciplines. Interdisciplinary teams are also working together to author curricular materials that highlight

  12. The Whole Student: Cognition, Emotion, and Information Literacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matteson, Miriam L.

    2014-01-01

    Information literacy skill acquisition is a form of learning that is influenced by cognitive, emotional, and social processes. This research studied how two emotional constructs (emotional intelligence and dispositional affect) and two cognitive constructs (motivation and coping skills) interacted with students' information literacy scores. Two…

  13. Engagement with Electronic Screen Media among Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mineo, Beth A.; Ziegler, William; Gill, Susan; Salkin, Donna

    2009-01-01

    This study investigated the relative engagement potential of four types of electronic screen media (ESM): animated video, video of self, video of a familiar person engaged with an immersive virtual reality (VR) game, and immersion of self in the VR game. Forty-two students with autism, varying in age and expressive communication ability, were…

  14. Learning science through talk: A case study of middle school students engaged in collaborative group investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinicola, Debra Ann

    Reformers call for change in how science is taught in schools by shifting the focus towards conceptual understanding for all students. Constructivist learning is being promoted through the dissemination of National and State Science Standards that recommend group learning practices in science classrooms. This study examined the science learning and interactions, using case study methodology, of one collaborative group of 4 students in an urban middle school. Data on science talk and social interaction were collected over 9 weeks through 12 science problem solving sessions. To determine student learning through peer interaction, varied group structures were implemented, and students reflected on the group learning experience. Data included: field notes, cognitive and reflective journals, audiotapes and videotapes of student talk, and audiotapes of group interviews. Journal data were analyzed quantitatively and all other data was transcribed into The Ethnograph database for qualitative analysis. The data record was organized into social and cognitive domains and coded with respect to interaction patterns to show how group members experienced the social construction of science concepts. The most significant finding was that all students learned as a result of 12 talk sessions as evidenced by pre- and post-conceptual change scores. Interactions that promoted learning involved students connecting their thoughts, rephrasing, and challenging ideas. The role structure was only used by students about 15% of the time, but it started the talk with a science focus, created awareness of scientific methods, and created an awareness of equitable member participation. Students offered more spontaneous, explanatory talk when the role structure was relaxed, but did not engage in as much scientific writing. They said the role structure was important for helping them know what to do in the talk but they no longer needed it after a time. Gender bias, status, and early adolescent

  15. Measurement of Online Student Engagement: Utilization of Continuous Online Student Behavior Indicators as Items in a Partial Credit Rasch Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    Student engagement has been shown to be essential to the development of research-based best practices for K-12 education. It has been defined and measured in numerous ways. The purpose of this research study was to develop a measure of online student engagement for grades 3 through 8 using a partial credit Rasch model and validate the measure…

  16. Engaging Students in World History with a Bog Body Mystery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yell, Michael M.

    2012-01-01

    Getting students involved in the process of inquiry takes much more than pointing out a problem, offering sources, and setting them on their way. Fortunately, there are a number of teaching strategies that can be instrumental in engaging students in the process of inquiry. As a teacher of world history in the seventh grade, House of Avalon, at…

  17. Listening to the Voices of Civically Engaged High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preus, Betty; Payne, Rachel; Wick, Carly; Glomski, Emily

    2016-01-01

    This study examines why a group of students representing two high schools became involved in an activist organization, the benefits they gained as a result, the impact they had on their school and community, and their recommendations for how school personnel can foster civic engagement in young people. The student-led group campaigned for a school…

  18. Teaching the Teacher: Tutoring SimStudent Leads to More Effective Cognitive Tutor Authoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuda, Noboru; Cohen, William W.; Koedinger, Kenneth R.

    2015-01-01

    SimStudent is a machine-learning agent initially developed to help novice authors to create cognitive tutors without heavy programming. Integrated into an existing suite of software tools called Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT), SimStudent helps authors to create an expert model for a cognitive tutor by tutoring SimStudent on how to solve…

  19. Understanding the psychology of seeking support to increase Health Science student engagement in academic support services. A Practice Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerard Francis Hoyne

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Increasing student engagement within higher education academic support services is a constant challenge. Whilst engagement with support is positively associated with successful retention, and non-engagement connected to attrition, the most vulnerable students are often the least likely to engage. Our data has shown that Health Science students are reluctant to engage with academic support services despite being made aware of their academic deficiencies. The “psychology of seeking support” was used as a lens to identify some of the multifaceted issues around student engagement. The School of Health Sciences made attendance at support courses compulsory for those students who were below the benchmark score in a post entrance literacy test. Since the policy change was implemented, there has been a 50% reduction in the fail rate of “at risk” students in a core literacy unit. These findings are encouraging and will help reduce student attrition in the long term.

  20. Colleges Confront a Gender Gap in Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sander, Libby

    2012-01-01

    For decades, women have enrolled in college in greater numbers than men, and, by many measures, have outperformed them in the classroom. But in recent years, as social scientists and student-affairs offices have focused on other differences between the genders, they have documented patterns that could explain how engagement influences student…

  1. What Can Jesus Teach Us about Student Engagement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Glenn; Martinez, Elda; Herbers, Sherry

    2015-01-01

    This article examines Jesus's teaching methods as described in the four Gospels, highlighting the ways in which He led listeners to participate actively in their learning. We identify similarities between many of Jesus's techniques and current practices in the field of student engagement, with a focus on applications for instructors in higher…

  2. Hosting a Tent City: Student Engagement and Homelessness

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKinney, Jennifer; Snedker, Karen A.

    2017-01-01

    In response to increasing homelessness in our city, Seattle Pacific University invited a homeless encampment (Tent City) to reside on our university campus for three months. This provided an opportunity to engage students on issues of poverty and inequality. Building from a service-learning model, we devised course work around homelessness and…

  3. Achieving a Global Mind-Set at Home: Student Engagement with Immigrant Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dallinger, Carolyn

    2017-01-01

    Developing a global mind-set in college students is a goal of many colleges and universities. Most often this goal is met by encouraging students to study abroad. This article explains how a service learning student engagement program at home achieves this goal by pairing Introduction to Sociology students with young immigrant children in a weekly…

  4. Student Engagement, 21st Century Skills, and How the Ipad Is

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloemsma, Michael Scott

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the use of Apple's iPads as a means to engage students in learning and help them to relate what they are learning in school to the real world. Research suggests students are increasingly disengaged from school because schools are out of sync with the digital world in which "Millennial" students have grown up.…

  5. Knowledge and Regulation of Cognition in College Science Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roshanaei, Mehrnaz

    2014-01-01

    The research focused on three issues in college science students: whether there was empirical support for the two factor (knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition) view of metacognition, whether the two factors were related to each other, and whether either of the factors was related to empirical measures of cognitive and metacognitive…

  6. A turtle cognition research demonstration enhances visitor engagement and keeper-animal relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alba, Andrew C; Leighty, Katherine A; Pittman Courte, Victoria L; Grand, Alison P; Bettinger, Tamara L

    2017-07-01

    Environmental enrichment techniques present animals with cognitive challenges while providing them opportunities to make choices and exert control over their environment. In this way, cognitive research and training is enriching to animals and can be used as a form of enrichment in zoos and aquariums. Cognitive research demonstrations also provide an opportunity to enhance visitor experience, as well as foster interactions between animals and keepers. We investigated how cognitive research sessions involving eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) at Disney's Animal Kingdom ® impacted both the rate of visitors coming to the exhibit and the amount of time they spent engaged. Further, we used a questionnaire to assess the impact of keeper participation in these sessions on their relationships with and perceptions of the turtles. While visitation rate to the exhibit was not impacted, cognitive research sessions held visitor attention for longer than keeper interpretation or at times during which no keepers or researchers were present. We also found that keepers that had worked with the turtles for longer and keepers that regularly participated in cognitive research sessions reported stronger bonds with the turtles. Our research suggests that use of cognitive research and training demonstrations for guest viewing in zoos and aquariums may enhance visitor learning opportunities by increasing the amount of time they spend at the exhibit. Our study also provides evidence that participation in such demonstrations by zoo and aquarium professionals can be related to improved keeper-animal bonds, potentially resulting in better husbandry and enhanced animal welfare. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. The effect of cognitive education on the performance of students with neurological developmental disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jepsen, Ruthanne H; VonThaden, Karen

    2002-01-01

    A cognitive education program was developed to facilitate acquisition of cognitive skills and address the learning deficits of adolescent students with neurological, developmental disabilities, and autism. This study examined the outcomes of incorporating mediated cognitive education into special education classrooms. Cognitive education provided cognitive training utilizing REHABIT materials through mediated teaching. Following a matched pair model, forty-six students were assigned to either a treatment or a control group. All students received weekly instruction in Individual Educational Program (IEP) goals. Curriculum areas included IEP objectives in reading, math, social skills, health, science and social studies. Students in the control group received regular classroom instruction. Students in the treatment group participated in cognitive educated one hour per week replacing thirty minutes of reading and thirty minutes of math. Pre and posttest comparisons on measures of intelligence, achievement and adaptive behavior showed those students in the treatment group attained higher scores across measures.

  8. Increasing student engagement and retention using immersive interfaces virtual worlds, gaming and simulation

    CERN Document Server

    Wankel, Charles

    2012-01-01

    Increasing Student Engagement and Retention Using Immersive Interfaces: Virtual Worlds, Gaming, and Simulation uses case studies, surveys, and literature reviews to critically examine how gaming, simulation, and virtualization are being used to improve teamwork and leadership skills in students, create engaging communities of practice, and as experiential learning tools to create inter-cultural, multi-perspective, and global experiences. Chapters include how to increase learner engagement using serious games, using game features for classroom engagement, using client-based peer assessment in multi-role, whole-enterprise simulations, using virtual worlds to develop teacher candidate skills, enhancing leadership skills through virtual simulation, using online video simulation for educational leadership, using augmented reality in education, using open source software in education, using educational robotics laboratories to enhance active learning, and utilizing the virtual learning environment to encourage facu...

  9. A comparative study: do "clickers" increase student engagement in multidisciplinary clinical microbiology teaching?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Niall T; McDermott, Hélène; Boland, Fiona; Pawlikowska, Teresa; Humphreys, Hilary

    2017-04-08

    Audience response devices, or "clickers", have been used in the education of future healthcare professionals for several years with varying success. They have been reported to improve the learning experience by promoting engagement and knowledge retention. In 2014, our department evaluated the use of "clickers" in a newly introduced multidisciplinary approach to teaching large groups of third year medical students clinical cases developed around a microbiology theme. Six multidisciplinary teaching sessions covering community-acquired pneumonia, tuberculosis, infective endocarditis, peritonitis, bloodstream infection with pyelonephritis and bacterial meningitis were included in the study. Three involved the use of the "clickers" and three did not. Consenting undergraduate students attended the designated classes and afterwards answered a short online quiz relating to the session. Students also answered a short questionnaire about the "clickers" to gauge their attitudes on the use of these devices. Of 310 students, 294 (94.8%) agreed to participate in the study. Interestingly, the grades of online quizzes after a session where a "clicker" was used were slightly lower. Looking only at the grades of students who engaged completely with the process (n = 19), there was no statistical difference to suggest that the devices had a positive or negative impact on knowledge retention. However, student attitudes to using the devices were positive overall. Fifty-five percent strongly agreed and 27% agreed that teaching sessions where the "clickers" were used were more engaging. Thirty-four percent strongly agreed and 36% agreed that the "clickers" made important concepts more memorable and 54% felt the device enhanced their understanding of the topic being covered. Overall, it appears that "clickers" help in improving student engagement in large classroom environments, enhance the learning experience, and are received positively by medical students but their impact on

  10. Engaging Oral Health Students in Learning Basic Science Through Assessment That Weaves in Personal Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leadbeatter, Delyse; Gao, Jinlong

    2018-04-01

    Learning basic science forms an essential foundation for oral health therapy and dentistry, but frequently students perceive it as difficult, dry, and disconnected from clinical practice. This perception is encouraged by assessment methods that reward fact memorization, such as objective examinations. This study evaluated use of a learner-centered assessment portfolio designed to increase student engagement with basic science in an oral health therapy program at the University of Sydney, Australia. The aim of this qualitative study based on focus groups was to investigate students' engagement with basic science courses following introduction of the portfolio. Three assessments were conducted in three subsequent semesters: one based on students' interest in everyday phenomena (one student, for example, explored why she had red hair); the second focussed on scientific evidence and understanding of systemic diseases; and the third explored relations between oral and general health. Students were encouraged to begin with issues from their personal experience or patient care, to focus on what they were curious about, and to ask questions they really cared about. Each student prepared a written report and gave an oral presentation to the entire cohort. After the portfolios were completed, the authors held focus groups with two cohorts of students (N=21) in 2016 and analyzed the results using Zepke's framework for student engagement research. The results showed that the students successfully interweaved personal experience into their studies and that it provided significant motivation for learning. The students described their learning in terms of connection to themselves, their peer community, and their profession. Many additional benefits were identified, from increased student engagement in all courses to appreciation of the relevance of basic science. The findings should encourage dental and allied dental educators to reconsider the effects of assessments and seek

  11. Cognitive Strategy Instruction for Teaching Word Problems to Primary-Level Struggling Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfannenstiel, Kathleen Hughes; Bryant, Diane Pedrotty; Bryant, Brian R.; Porterfield, Jennifer A.

    2015-01-01

    Students with mathematics difficulties and learning disabilities (LD) typically struggle with solving word problems. These students often lack knowledge about efficient, cognitive strategies to utilize when solving word problems. Cognitive strategy instruction has been shown to be effective in teaching struggling students how to solve word…

  12. Student engagement in the school : interpersonal and inter-center differences.

    OpenAIRE

    Ros Martínez de Lahidalga, Iker

    2012-01-01

    This research project aim to identify differences in students’ engagement in school life, in terms of both sociopersonal characteristics (sex and educational stage) and type of school (state, private with some state funding and cooperative). Participants were 1229 students aged between 9 and 17 (598 from a worker cooperative and 631 from state and private stated-funded schools of the Basque Country and Catalonia). Three components were distinguished in engagement (emotional, behavioural and ...

  13. Characterizing and Facilitating Prospective Teachers' Engagement with Student Thinking about Fractions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Katherine

    2017-01-01

    Reform-based mathematics instruction emphasizes that mathematics is learned through reasoning and sense-making rather than strict memorization and is taught through facilitation rather than telling (NCTM, 1989, 1991, 1995, 2000). Teachers' engagement with student thinking to inform instruction is central to such teaching. Engagement with student…

  14. Happiness, Work Engagement, and Perception of Organizational Support of Student Affairs Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hempfling, Michele Sheets

    2015-01-01

    Little research has been conducted on the work engagement, subjective happiness, or perceived organizational support of student affairs professionals. In this study, 299 professionals in the American College Personnel Association were surveyed utilizing the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Subjective Happiness Scale, and the Survey of Perceived…

  15. Engagement and Skill Development in Biology Students through Analysis of Art

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milkova, Liliana; Crossman, Colette; Wiles, Stephanie; Allen, Taylor

    2013-01-01

    An activity involving analysis of art in biology courses was designed with the goals of piquing undergraduates’ curiosity, broadening the ways in which college students meaningfully engage with course content and concepts, and developing aspects of students’ higher-level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. To meet these learning outcomes, the activity had three key components: preparatory readings, firsthand visual analysis of art during a visit to an art museum, and communication of the analysis. Following a presentation on the methodology of visual analysis, students worked in small groups to examine through the disciplinary lens of biology a selection of approximately 12 original artworks related in some manner to love. The groups then developed and presented for class members a mini-exhibition of several pieces addressing one of two questions: 1) whether portrayals of love in art align with the growing understanding of the biology of love or 2) whether the bodily experience of love is universal or, alternatively, is culturally influenced, as is the experience of depression. Evaluation of quantitative and qualitative assessment data revealed that the assignment engaged students, supported development of higher-level thinking skills, and prompted meaningful engagement with course material. PMID:24297295

  16. Evaluation of social media channel preference for student engagement improvement in universities using entropy and TOPSIS method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meyliana Meyliana

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To analyze students’ social media preference in order to improve student engagement with university by examining social media implementation quality in terms of information and service quality. Design/methodology/approach: Research methodology is started with the hierarchy creation of student engagement with university which then translated into questionnaire. This questionnaire was distributed to 58 universities in Jakarta (Indonesia’s capital. The questionnaire result was analyzed with entropy and TOPSIS method. Findings: In social media implementation quality, information quality is more important than service quality because in social media, a good information quality is really relevant with the usefulness and comprehensiveness of the information. On the other hand regarding service quality, the system availability will help students in their interaction process with university, on top of the service’s efficiency and fulfillment. This directly impacts the cooperation between students, active learning process, and students’ expectation. The social medias students preferred to improve student engagement with universities respectively are LINE, Facebook, Twitter, Wiki, Blog, Instagram, YouTube, Path, LinkedIn, and Podcast. Research limitations/implications: Social media’s role is not only to create student engagement in the learning process, but also other aspects included by Chickering & Gamson (1987. Practical implications: The Social CRM channel shift from electronic into social media shows that social media holds an important role for university since it eases up the communication between university and the students. The good social media management has been an issue that needs to be solved by university by creating a unit or delegate a person that can manage the social media correctly and quickly so the students feel that they get the good service they want. Originality/value: The other researches focus on observing

  17. An Examination of High School Students' Online Engagement in Mathematics Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Woong; Son, Ji-Won; Gregson, Susan; Kim, Jihye

    2018-01-01

    This article examines high school students' engagement in a set of trigonometry problems. Students completed this task independently in an online environment with access to Internet search engines, online textbooks, and YouTube videos. The findings imply that students have the resourcefulness to solve procedure-based mathematics problems in an…

  18. Accreditation and Educational Quality: Are Students in Accredited Programs More Academically Engaged?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, James S.; Cole, Shu T.

    2008-01-01

    There has been a great deal of debate regarding the value of program accreditation. Two research questions guided this study: 1) are students enrolled in accredited parks, recreation, and leisure programs more academically engaged than students enrolled in non-accredited programs, and 2) do students enrolled in accredited parks, recreation, and…

  19. A study of cognitive loading in dual-coding theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishi, H; Yamauchi, H

    1994-08-01

    15 university students were engaged in a task of recalling sentences with and without figures. Analysis of the number recalled indicated that cognitive loading for sentences with figures was more effective than for recall of sentences without figures.

  20. BUILDING INTERACTIVITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION TO SUPPORT STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN SPATIAL PROBLEM SOLVING AND PROGRAMMING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.-K. Gulland

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Problem-solving knowledge and skills are an important attribute of spatial sciences graduates. The challenge of higher education is to build a teaching and learning environment that enables students to acquire these skills in relevant and authentic applications. This study investigates the effectiveness of traditional face-to-face teaching and online learning technologies in supporting the student learning of problem-solving and computer programming skills, techniques and solutions. The student cohort considered for this study involves students in the surveying as well as geographic information science (GISc disciplines. Also, students studying across a range of learning modes including on-campus, distance and blended, are considered in this study. Student feedback and past studies reveal a lack of student interest and engagement in problem solving and computer programming. Many students do not see such skills as directly relevant and applicable to their perceptions of what future spatial careers hold. A range of teaching and learning methods for both face-to-face teaching and distance learning were introduced to address some of the perceived weaknesses of the learning environment. These included initiating greater student interaction in lectures, modifying assessments to provide greater feedback and student accountability, and the provision of more interactive and engaging online learning resources. The paper presents and evaluates the teaching methods used to support the student learning environment. Responses of students in relation to their learning experiences were collected via two anonymous, online surveys and these results were analysed with respect to student pass and retention rates. The study found a clear distinction between expectations and engagement of surveying students in comparison to GISc students. A further outcome revealed that students who were already engaged in their learning benefited the most from the interactive

  1. Building Interactivity in Higher Education to Support Student Engagement in Spatial Problem Solving and Programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulland, E.-K.; Veenendaal, B.; Schut, A. G. T.

    2012-07-01

    Problem-solving knowledge and skills are an important attribute of spatial sciences graduates. The challenge of higher education is to build a teaching and learning environment that enables students to acquire these skills in relevant and authentic applications. This study investigates the effectiveness of traditional face-to-face teaching and online learning technologies in supporting the student learning of problem-solving and computer programming skills, techniques and solutions. The student cohort considered for this study involves students in the surveying as well as geographic information science (GISc) disciplines. Also, students studying across a range of learning modes including on-campus, distance and blended, are considered in this study. Student feedback and past studies reveal a lack of student interest and engagement in problem solving and computer programming. Many students do not see such skills as directly relevant and applicable to their perceptions of what future spatial careers hold. A range of teaching and learning methods for both face-to-face teaching and distance learning were introduced to address some of the perceived weaknesses of the learning environment. These included initiating greater student interaction in lectures, modifying assessments to provide greater feedback and student accountability, and the provision of more interactive and engaging online learning resources. The paper presents and evaluates the teaching methods used to support the student learning environment. Responses of students in relation to their learning experiences were collected via two anonymous, online surveys and these results were analysed with respect to student pass and retention rates. The study found a clear distinction between expectations and engagement of surveying students in comparison to GISc students. A further outcome revealed that students who were already engaged in their learning benefited the most from the interactive learning resources and

  2. Digital Storytelling: A Method for Engaging Students and Increasing Cultural Competency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Natalie S.; Bolin, Brien L.

    2016-01-01

    Digital storytelling is explored as a method of engaging students in the development of media literacy and cultural competency. This paper describes the perceptions and experiences of 96 undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university, after completing a digital storytelling project in a semester-long diversity course. Digital storytelling…

  3. Collaborations between Multicultural Educators and Archivists: Engaging Students with Multicultural History through Archival Research Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández, Natalia

    2016-01-01

    When multicultural educators and archivists collaborate to design projects that engage students with multicultural history through archival research, students can learn in-depth research skills with primary source documents, creatively share their knowledge, and, on a broader level, engage with their local community history. The projects shared in…

  4. The Influence of the High School Classroom Environment on Learning as Mediated by Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shernoff, David J.; Ruzek, Erik A.; Sinha, Suparna

    2017-01-01

    Classroom learning environments are frequently assumed to exert their influence on learning indirectly, via student engagement. The present study examined the influence of environmental challenge and support on learning in high school classrooms, and the potential for student engagement to act as a mediator in this relationship. Data were…

  5. Relatedness Need Satisfaction, Intrinsic Motivation, and Engagement in Secondary School Physical Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Ping; Agbuga, Bülent; Liu, Jiling; McBride, Ron E.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Using self-determination theory, this study examined unique contributions of relatedness need satisfaction (to both teachers and peers) to intrinsic motivation and engagement (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional) over and above those of autonomy need satisfaction and competence need satisfaction among Turkish students in secondary school…

  6. EFFECTS OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT OF STUDENTS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL

    Science.gov (United States)

    GREGORY, ANNE; ALLEN, JOSEPH P.; MIKAMI, AMORI Y.; HAFEN, CHRISTOPHER A.; PIANTA, ROBERT C.

    2017-01-01

    Student behavioral engagement is a key condition supporting academic achievement, yet student disengagement in middle and high schools is all too common. The current study used a randomized controlled design to test the efficacy of the My Teaching Partner-Secondary program to increase behavioral engagement. The program offers teachers personalized coaching and systematic feedback on teachers’ interactions with students, based on systematic observation of videorecordings of teacher-student interactions in the classroom. The study found that intervention teachers had significantly higher increases, albeit to a modest degree, in student behavioral engagement in their classrooms after 1 year of involvement with the program compared to the teachers in the control group (explaining 4% of variance). In exploratory analyses, two dimensions of teachers’ interactions with students—their focus on analysis and problem solving during instruction and their use of diverse instructional learning formats—acted as mediators of increased student engagement. The findings offer implications for new directions in teacher professional development and for understanding the classroom as a setting for adolescent development. PMID:28232767

  7. Motivation and engagement in computer-based learning tasks: investigating key contributing factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michela Ott, Mauro Tavella

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper, drawing on a research project concerning the educational use of digital mind games with primary school students, aims at giving a contribution to the understanding of which are the main factors influencing student motivation during computer-based learning activities. It puts forward some ideas and experience based reflections, starting by considering digital games that are widely recognized as the most promising ICT tools to enhance student motivation. The project results suggest that student genuine engagement in learning activities is mainly related to the actual possession of the skills and of the cognitive capacities needed to perform the task. In this perspective, cognitive overload should be regarded as one of the main reasons contributing to hinder student motivation and, consequently, should be avoided. Other elements such as game attractiveness and experimental setting constraints resulted to have a lower effect on student motivation.

  8. Neural Networks: Making Connections about the Brain and about College while Monitoring Student Engagement in Second Graders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mead, Kristina S.

    2010-01-01

    This article describes a neuroscience outreach program developed by college undergraduates and aimed at second graders. Over a period of four weeks, twenty-five Denison students enrolled in a non-majors course on gender and the brain visited twenty-four second grade classrooms to engage a total of 464 students. We had a mission to both promote college awareness and to specifically bring some brain science into the classroom. The desire to engage students with the brain was in part a wish to celebrate brain awareness week and in part a wish to follow a feminist tenet of bridging theory and practice via activism. The college students chose six activities: a brain puzzle, a sock content guessing game, a jelly bean olfaction and taste test, mystery noises, a message transmission game, and a version of tag. During our outreach with the second graders, my students monitored student engagement and compared engagement between male and female second graders. Engagement was high for nearly all activities but girls were more engaged than boys during the brain puzzle and jelly bean activities. Effect sizes measured as Cohen’s “d” statistics were small to large (0.2 to 0.93). The other four activities (mystery socks, mystery noises, message transmission and neuron chain tag) showed no difference in engagement between male and female second graders. Our program benefited the Denison students as well, introducing many to community involvement and awakening in them an interest in teaching or working with kids. PMID:23494920

  9. Making the Grade and Staying Engaged: The Influence of Student Management Teams on Student Classroom Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troisi, Jordan D.

    2014-01-01

    The use of student management teams (SMTs) is a relatively new teaching technique designed to increase the quality of college courses and student performance and engagement within those courses. However, to date, little systematic, empirical research has validated the effectiveness of using SMTs. To test the effectiveness of this technique, the…

  10. Impact of psychosocial training on burnout, engagement and resilience among students

    OpenAIRE

    Zuzana Škodová; Petra Lajčiaková

    2015-01-01

    Aim: The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of psychosocial training, with a focus on increasing social and coping skills, on the levels of burnout and engagement in students in various healthcare professions. Design: A quasi-experimental design was used in the present study. Methods: 97 students (20.2 ‘ 1.49; 95.9% female) of psychology, nursing and midwifery participated in the research (50 students in an experimental group receiving psychosocial training, and 47 students ...

  11. “The Rules of Engagement”: Student Engagement and Motivation to Improve the Quality of Undergraduate Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rowena M. Senior

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Studying at university continues to grow in popularity and the modern-day university has expanded considerably to meet this need. Invariably as such expansion occurs pressures arise on a range of quality enhancement processes. This may have serious implications for the continued delivery of high quality learning experiences that both meet the expectations of incoming students and are appropriate to their postgraduation aspirations. Ensuring students become active partners in their learning will encourage them to engage with a range of quality enhancement processes. The aim of the current work is to examine the various factors that motivate students to engage in such a fashion. Three focus groups were carried out in a stratified manner to ascertain student motivations and to triangulate an effective set of recommendations for subsequent practice. The participants consisted of engaged and non-engaged first year undergraduate students as well as student-facing staff who were asked to comment on their experiences as to why students would want to engage as a course representative. Nominal group technique was applied to the emerging thematic data in each group. Three key motivational themes emerged that overlapped across all focus groups i.e., a need for individual representation that makes a change, a desire to develop a professional skillset as well as a desire to gain a better understanding of their course of study. A university that aligns its student experience along these themes is likely to facilitate student representation. As is standard practice recommendations for future work are described alongside a discussion of the limitations.

  12. Breaking down silos: engaging students to help fix the US health care system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumarasamy, Mathu A; Sanfilippo, Fred P

    2015-01-01

    The field of health care is becoming a team effort as patient care becomes increasingly complex and multifaceted. Despite the need for multidisciplinary education, there persists a lack of student engagement and collaboration among health care disciplines, which presents a growing concern as students join the workforce. In October 2013, the Emory-Georgia Tech Healthcare Innovation Program organized a student driven symposium entitled "US Healthcare: What's Broken and How to Fix It: The Student Perspective". The symposium engaged students from multiple disciplines to work together in addressing problems associated with US health care delivery. The symposium was organized and carried out by a diverse group of student leaders from local institutions who adopted a multidisciplinary approach throughout the planning process. The innovative planning process leading up to the symposium revealed that many of the student-discipline groups lacked an understanding of one another's role in health care, and that students were interested in learning how to work together to leverage each other's profession. The symposium was widely attended and positively received by students and faculty from the Atlanta metropolitan area, and has since helped to promote interdepartmental collaboration and multidisciplinary education across institutions. The student symposium will become an annual event and incorporate broader discipline representation, as well as a patient perspective. Proposals for additional institution-wide, multidisciplinary educational offerings are being addressed with the help of faculty and health care providers across the network. Accordingly, the implementation of student-driven symposia to engage students and stimulate institution-wide changes may be a beneficial and cost-effective means for academic health centers looking to facilitate multidisciplinary health care education.

  13. Student Teacher Challenges: Using the Cognitive Load Theory as an Explanatory Lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moos, Daniel C.; Pitton, Debra

    2014-01-01

    Cognitive load theory (CLT) can explain the challenges faced by student teachers. This study, guided by the CLT, included 26 pre-service teachers. Participants completed a cognitive load self-report questionnaire and were interviewed at two points during their student teaching. Results revealed that student teachers decreased mental effort related…

  14. Using Blogs to Enhance Student Engagement and Learning in the Health Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinger, Lana; Sinclair, Alicia

    2013-01-01

    Teaching in a diverse, urban community college, it has become apparent that students spend most of their free (and classroom) time participating in social media. In response, we decided to incorporate social media, blogs specifically, as a way to increase student engagement, retention and achievement. The learning objective was for our students to…

  15. Measuring Engagement in Fourth to Twelfth Grade Classrooms: The Classroom Engagement Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ze; Bergin, Christi; Bergin, David A.

    2014-01-01

    Research on factors that may promote engagement is hampered by the absence of a measure of classroom-level engagement. Literature has suggested that engagement may have 3 dimensions--affective, behavioral, and cognitive. No existing engagement scales measure all 3 dimensions at the classroom level. The Classroom Engagement Inventory (CEI) was…

  16. Possible Link between Medical Students' Motivation for Academic Work and Time Engaged in Physical Exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aung, Myo Nyein; Somboonwong, Juraiporn; Jaroonvanichkul, Vorapol; Wannakrairot, Pongsak

    2016-01-01

    Physical exercise results in an active well-being. It is likely that students' engagement in physical exercise keeps them motivated to perform academic endeavors. This study aimed to assess the relation of time engaged in physical exercise with medical students' motivation for academic work. Prospectively, 296 second-year medical students…

  17. Increasing medical students' engagement in public health: case studies illustrating the potential role of online learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheringham, J; Lyon, A; Jones, A; Strobl, J; Barratt, H

    2016-09-01

    The value of e-learning in medical education is widely recognized but there is little evidence of its value in teaching medical students about public health. Such evidence is needed because medical students' engagement with public health has been low. We present three recent case studies from UK medical schools to illustrate diverse ways in which online approaches can increase medical students' engagement with learning public health. A comparative case study approach was used applying quantitative and qualitative data to examine engagement in terms of uptake/use amongst eligible students, acceptability and perceived effectiveness using an analytic framework based on Seven Principles of Effective Teaching. Across the three case studies, most (67-85%) eligible students accessed online materials, and rated them more favourably than live lectures. Students particularly valued opportunities to use e-learning flexibly in terms of time and place. Online technologies offered new ways to consolidate learning of key public health concepts. Although students found contributing to online discussions challenging, it provided opportunities for students to explore concepts in depth and enabled students that were uncomfortable speaking in face-to-face discussions to participate. E-learning can be applied in diverse ways that increase medical student engagement with public health teaching. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Content and discontent: a qualitative exploration of obstacles to elearning engagement in medical students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Helen J; Thomson, Clare; McGlade, Kieran J

    2016-07-22

    Elearning is ubiquitous in healthcare professions education. Its equivalence to 'traditional' educational delivery methods is well established. There is a research imperative to clarify when and how to use elearning most effectively to mitigate the potential of it becoming merely a 'disruptive technology.' Research has begun to broadly identify challenges encountered by elearning users. In this study, we explore in depth the perceived obstacles to elearning engagement amongst medical students. Sensitising concepts of achievement emotions and the cognitive demands of multi-tasking highlight why students' deeply emotional responses to elearning may be so important in their learning. This study used focus groups as a data collection tool. A purposeful sample of 31 participated. Iterative data gathering and analysis phases employed a constant comparative approach to generate themes firmly grounded in participant experience. Key themes that emerged from the data included a sense of injustice, passivity and a feeling of being 'lost at sea'. The actual content of the elearning resource provided important context. The identified themes have strong emotional foundations. These responses, interpreted through the lens of achievement emotions, have not previously been described. Appreciation of their importance is of benefit to educators involved in curriculum development or delivery.

  19. Why Lecturers Still Matter: The Impact of Lecturer-Student Exchange on Student Engagement and Intention to Leave University Prematurely

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farr-Wharton, Ben; Charles, Michael B.; Keast, Robyn; Woolcott, Geoff; Chamberlain, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    This research examines the impact of lecturer-student exchange (student-LMX) on engagement, course satisfaction, achievement, and intention to leave university prematurely for 363 students in one Australian university. Survey and grade point average (GPA) data were collected from domestic undergraduate first- and second-year students and analysed…

  20. The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Bereaved University Students' Hope

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyyed Nahid Hosseininezhad

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The present research aims to study the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT on bereaved students' hope. This is an applied research of quasi-experimental type and pretest and posttest design with control group. We selected 30 bereaved university students using stratified sampling method. We used Schneider Hope Questionnaire as the pretest-posttest in the research and analyzed using the statistical method of covariance analysis. The data analysis results indicate that cognitive-behavioral therapy increases bereaved students' hope and there is a significant difference between the two groups. The results of this study show that cognitive-behavioral group therapy influences hope and increases bereaved students' hope by helping them in their emotional discharge and acceptance of death.

  1. Gender Differences in Popularity and Engagement in Sport Activities among Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matej Majerič

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this research was to analyse the gender differences among students at the University of Ljubljana concerning the popularity of sports and participation in different types and modes of sport activities. The research was done in the 2013 academic year on a random sample of 3% of the students (N=1390. A questionnaire about students’ lifestyles was used (Majerič, 2013. In this study, two variables were analysed: the popularity of different sport activities, and different types and modes of sport activities. The data of the variables were analysed with SPSS for Windows. The basic statistical parameters for both variables were calculated. To calculate the gender differences, a t-test for independent samples and a Mann-Whitney U test were run. An analysis of the popularity of different sport activities showed that gender differences were statistically significant in jogging (p=0.000, walking (p=0.000, football (p=0.000, basketball (p=0.000, fitness (p=0.001, aerobics (p=0.002, and dance activities (p=0.009. Analysis of the types and modes of sport activities among students showed that 63.90% of male students and 68.10% of female students were engaged in unorganized types of sport. Gender differences were found to be statistically significant in two types of sport activities: engaged organized in clubs–competitive out of faculty (p=0.000 and engaged in sport organized at the faculty–competitive (p=0.000. Our findings and conclusions provide useful guidance for the closer and wider professional public.

  2. Grassroots Engagement and the University of Washington: Evaluating Science Communication Training Created by Graduate Students for Graduate Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohde, J. A.; Clarkson, M.; Houghton, J.; Chen, W.

    2016-12-01

    Science graduate students increasingly seek science communication training, yet many do not have easy access to training programs. Students often rely on a "do it yourself" approach to gaining communication skills, and student created science communication programs are increasingly found at universities and institutions across the U.S. In 2010, graduate students at the University of Washington led a grassroots effort to improve their own communication and outreach by creating "The Engage Program." With a focus on storytelling and public speaking, this graduate level course not only trains students in science communication but also gives them real world experience practicing that training at a public speaker series at Town Hall Seattle. The Engage Program was fortunate in that it was able to find institutional champions at University of Washington and secure funding to sustain the program over the long-term. However, many grassroots communication programs find it difficult to gain institutional support if there is a perceived lack of alignment with university priorities or lack of return on investment. In order to justify and incentivize institutional support for instruction in science communication, student leaders within the program initiated, designed and carried out an evaluation of their own program focused on assessing the impact of student communication, evaluating the effectiveness of the program in teaching communication skills, and quantifying the benefits of communication training to both the students and their institution. Project leaders created the opportunity for this evaluation by initiating a crowdfunding campaign, which has helped to further engage public support of science communication and incentivized student participation in the program, and may also inspire future program leaders to pursue similar program optimizations.

  3. The experiences of African-American students majoring in engineering: Cognitive, non-cognitive and situational aspects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Gloria Pinckney

    1997-12-01

    To understand the causes for the disproportionately high rate of attrition among ethnic minority students, it is important to consider not only how they differ from the majority population, but what differences exist in personal qualities and academic preparation within groups at particular types of institutions, and within particular majors. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of African-American students enrolled in engineering at a predominately white, selective research university to determine which cognitive, non-cognitive and situational variables impact their progress towards graduation. The goal was to see how African-American students who meet or exceed the minimum criteria for admission perceive their experience on campus, and what strategies they use to manage their day-to-day existence. The study was conducted using personal interviews guided by an open-ended questionnaire. The qualitative methodology allowed students to assess the college experience through their own cultural lens, and to identify the cognitive, non-cognitive, and situational variables important to them. Responses were sorted by class and gender, tabulated and grouped into categories. Interpretation was primarily descriptive. Consistencies, inconsistencies, patterns and relationships to concepts in the literature and to the research questions were discussed. Findings indicate that well prepared students become less confident about their commitment to engineering and their ability to succeed academically after they begin matriculating rather than before, and that redefinition of what it means to be academically successful is an effective coping mechanism to sustain the effort required to master courses. The study suggests that the current focus on the impact of the freshman year transition on student retention should be expanded to include the sophomore year. This is particularly true for institutions where engineering students spend the first year in a core

  4. A Convergent Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Effects of Community-Engaged Coursework on Graduate Student Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinour, Lauren M; Szaro, Jacalyn; Blumberg, Renata; Bose, Mousumi

    2018-03-06

    To examine the impact of a community-engaged assignment on graduate student learning in the nutritional sciences. Convergent mixed-methods design with parallel data collection and terminal merging of data. Data were composed of grant proposals, reflection papers, and informal course evaluations from 2 semesters of the same course. Fall students wrote proposals on behalf of a community partner whereas spring students wrote fictitious grants to improve nutrition on their campus. A large public university in northeastern US. Students enrolled in the fall (n = 19) or spring (n = 14) semester of the same graduate nutrition course. Grant quality, student engagement, and collaboration with peers. Quantitative rubric-based rating of grant proposals, emergent and thematic qualitative coding of open-ended responses, and independent-samples t test of Likert-scale questions. Data were compared between semesters and reported in a contiguous narrative approach. Students across semesters experienced academic and personal gains from the assignment. Comparatively, fall students expressed enhanced engagement, improved group dynamics, more frequent application of the assignment to their lives, and a better aggregate grant score. Both experiential and community-engaged coursework can enhance learning outcomes at the graduate level and prepare students for careers in nutrition. Copyright © 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Science Engagement and Literacy: A Retrospective Analysis for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Students in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods-McConney, Amanda; Oliver, Mary C.; McConney, Andrew; Maor, Dorit; Schibeci, Renato

    2013-01-01

    Previous research has underlined the importance of school students' engagement in science (including students' attitudes, interests and self beliefs). Engagement in science is important as a correlate of scientific literacy and attainment, and as an educational outcome in its own right. Students positively engaged with science are more likely to…

  6. Student Engagement and Academic Performance in Mexico: Evidence and Puzzles from PISA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Christopher C.; García, Emma

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates the relationship between student engagement--with teachers and schools--and academic performance in Mexico. It uses hierarchical linear models and data from the OECD 2003 PISA study to examine the relative importance of engagement in comparison to other educational inputs--school and family characteristics--as predictors of…

  7. A comparative study of the effect of student and instructor cognitive mapping on student achievement and attitudes in introductory college biology for nonmajors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dardis, Deborah J. Athas

    Within a single research design, this investigation compared the effects of student and instructor cognitive mapping on student achievement and attitudes in introductory college biology for nonmajors. Subjects self-selected into either a Control Group that experienced no cognitive mapping, an Experimental Group 1 that experienced instructor cognitive mapping, or an Experimental Group 2 in which students constructed cognitive maps. Data were collected by a Students' Opinions of Teaching Poll and instructor prepared tests that included objective questions representing all levels of the cognitive domain. An ANCOVA revealed no significant differences in the academic achievement of students in the control and experimental groups. The academic performance of males and females was similar among all three groups of students and data confirmed a lack of interaction between gender and instructional strategy. This investigation confirmed that cognitive mapping will not disrupt a gender-neutral classroom environment. Students' opinions of teaching were overwhelmingly positive. A Kruskal Wallis analysis, followed by a nonparametric Tukey-type multiple comparison, revealed that students who experienced no mapping consistently rated the instructor with higher scores than did students who experienced instructor mapping. Students who cooperatively constructed cognitive maps reported the lowest scores on the opinion polls.

  8. Instructional characteristics in mathematics classrooms: relationships to achievement goal orientation and student engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazarides, Rebecca; Rubach, Charlott

    2017-02-01

    This longitudinal study examined relationships between student-perceived teaching for meaning, support for autonomy, and competence in mathematic classrooms (Time 1), and students' achievement goal orientations and engagement in mathematics 6 months later (Time 2). We tested whether student-perceived instructional characteristics at Time 1 indirectly related to student engagement at Time 2, via their achievement goal orientations (Time 2), and, whether student gender moderated these relationships. Participants were ninth and tenth graders (55.2% girls) from 46 classrooms in ten secondary schools in Berlin, Germany. Only data from students who participated at both timepoints were included (N = 746 out of total at Time 1 1118; dropout 33.27%). Longitudinal structural equation modeling showed that student-perceived teaching for meaning and support for competence indirectly predicted intrinsic motivation and effort, via students' mastery goal orientation. These paths were equivalent for girls and boys. The findings are significant for mathematics education, in identifying motivational processes that partly explain the relationships between student-perceived teaching for meaning and competence support and intrinsic motivation and effort in mathematics.

  9. News Media Literacy and Political Engagement: What's the Connection?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashley, Seth; Maksl, Adam; Craft, Stephanie

    2017-01-01

    Scholars and educators have long hoped that media education is positively related to pro-social goals such as political and civic engagement. With a focus on measuring news media literacy with emphasis on media knowledge, need for cognition and media locus of control, this study surveyed 537 college students and found positive relationships…

  10. (De)constructing Student Engagement for Pre-Service Teacher Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beasley, Jennifer G.; Gist, Conra D.; Imbeau, Marcia B.

    2014-01-01

    Learning to teach is a complex intellectual and adaptive performance act. Student engagement is the cornerstone of effective instruction. Current education reform policies, such as Common Core State Standards (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) and Teacher Effectiveness…

  11. Young Indigenous Students' Engagement with Growing Pattern Tasks: A Semiotic Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Jodie

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the role of semiotics in assisting young Indigenous students to engage with and identify the general structure of growing patterns. The theoretical perspective of semiotics underpinned the study. Data are drawn from two Year 3 students, including analysis of pretest questions and two conjecture-driven…

  12. Urban High School Student Engagement through CincySTEM iTEST Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckett, Gulbahar H.; Hemmings, Annette; Maltbie, Catherine; Wright, Kathy; Sherman, Melissa; Sersion, Brian

    2016-01-01

    This paper focuses on the notable heightening of underrepresented students' engagement in STEM education through project-based learning CincySTEM iTEST projects. The projects, funded by an iTEST NSF grant, were designed and facilitated by teachers at a new STEM urban public high school serving low-income African-American students. Student…

  13. Research and Mapping for MCEECDYA Project: Student Academic Engagement. Report 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ure, Christine; Gray, Jan

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of the Research and Mapping for MCEECDYA Project: Student Academic Engagement was to examine the characteristics of schools with a low Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) from all jurisdictions that were identified to be making a difference to student academic and to identify the key drivers and characteristics of…

  14. Successful Family Engagement in the Classroom: What Teachers Need to Know and Be Able to Do to Engage Families in Raising Student Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spielberg, Lela

    2011-01-01

    There is widespread agreement that family engagement leads to increased student achievement, reduced drop-out rates, and a host of other positive outcomes for kids. Teachers are rarely trained or supported in engaging families, and, according to the 2005 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, find family engagement to be their biggest challenge.…

  15. In Respect to the Cognitive Load Theory: Adjusting Instructional Guidance with Student Expertise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schilling, Jim

    2017-01-01

    The amount of guidance supplied by educators to students in allied health programs is a factor in student learning. According to the cognitive load theory of learning, without adequate instructional support, novice learners will be overwhelmed and unable to store information, while unnecessary guidance supplied to advanced students will cause extraneous cognitive load on the working memory system. Adjusting instructional guidance for students according to their level of expertise to minimize extraneous cognitive load and optimize working memory storage capacity will enhance learning effectiveness. Novice students presented with complex subject matter require significant guidance during the initial stages, using strategies such as worked examples. As students comprehend information, instructional guidance needs to gradually fade to avoid elevated extraneous cognitive load from the expertise reversal effect. An instructional strategy that utilizes a systemic (fixed) or adjustable (adaptive) tapering of guidance to students in allied health programs depending on their expertise will optimize learning capability.

  16. Social Cognitive Career Theory and Middle School Student Career Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sickinger, Pamela H.

    2013-01-01

    Within the framework of social cognitive career theory, social cognitive career variables, demographic variables, and the contextual variable, parent support, were examined to determine their predictive value for eighth-grade students' career exploration behavior. Results suggest that the social cognitive career variable, intentions/goals,…

  17. Bilingual Latino Students Learn Science for Fun While Developing Language and Cognition: Biophilia at a La Clase Mágica Site

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María G. Arreguín-Anderson

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In this article, the author suggests that children’s natural inclination to explore nature, or biophilia, can be explored as a factor that encourages both cognitive engagement and language development. The author summarizes the types of scientific inquiries that bilingual elementary students and their university partners engaged in when guided to design their own projects at a predominantly Mexican-American school. Children inquiries took place at a La Clase Mágica site, an after school program in which university undergraduates, faculty, bilingual children, and the community come together with the purpose of learning and exploring technology through interdisciplinary methodologies. The findings indicate that children overwhelmingly chose living organisms and life-like processes as the focus of their inquiries. The author presents the work of an exemplary dyad to illustrate how children engaged in scientific inquiry while developing language and complex thinking.

  18. Improving Student Motivation and Engagement in Mathematics through One-to-One Interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Way, Jennifer; Reece, Amelia; Bobis, Janette; Anderson, Judy; Martin, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    The phenomenon of the "middle-years dip" in mathematics engagement and achievement has been a cause of concern for over a decade. This paper presents an example of one upper-primary classroom identified as having higher than average levels of student engagement, with the purpose of documenting specific teaching strategies that align with…

  19. Trickle-Down Accountability: How Middle School Teachers Engage Students in Data Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, Julie A.; Farrell, Caitlin C.; Bertrand, Melanie

    2016-01-01

    Despite a growing body of research on data use in education, there has been relatively little focus on the role of students. This article begins to fill this gap by exploring teacher and administrator reports on engaging students in data use at six middle schools. Even though teachers expressed a belief that involving students in data use would…

  20. Cognitive Support in Teaching Football Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, Henryk

    2009-01-01

    Study aim: To improve the teaching of football techniques by applying cognitive and imagery techniques. Material and methods: Four groups of subjects, n = 32 each, were studied: male and female physical education students aged 20-21 years, not engaged previously in football training; male juniors and minors, aged 16 and 13 years, respectively,…