Skip to main content
Our journal logo
Search

Vol. 17 No. 5 (2020)

Published: 2 May 2020

Articles

  • Improving postgraduate students' scientific literacy and self-efficacy using international collaborative research workshops: an exploratory case study in a Chinese university

    Qing Zhang, Jingmin Wang, Ruihong Ji, Tairan Huang

    Postgraduate education in China bears the dual mission of "high-end talent supply" and "scientific and technological innovation" as delegated by the Ministry of Education of China (2017). Improve the quality of postgraduate student training and management is essential for Chinese universities to meet this requirement. This paper investigates the practical effectiveness of using a specially designed, internationally collaborative research training workshop to enhance new Chinese postgraduate students' scientific literacy and self-efficacy. The research results show that the workshop, which integrates seminar presentations and both individual and group-based student activities, is of practical significance for improving the experiences of first-year postgraduate students. The findings indicate the application of enactive mastery and vicarious learning strategies in research training workshop effectively boost students' motivation, confidence and feeling of accomplishment at their early research career, and can provide ongoing benefits to support Chinese students to further develop research skills and capabilities. The positive findings in this exploratory study can inform future research projects to examine the transferability of this research training workshop model in the broader Chinese higher education context.

    Read article: Improving postgraduate students' scientific literacy and self-efficacy using international collaborative research workshops: an exploratory case study in a Chinese university 708 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Exploring modes of lecturing as a teaching method in higher education: Student attendance, preference and motivation

    Panos Vlachopoulos, Shazia Jan

    This paper presents the findings of a large-scale study conducted at an Australian metropolitan university, which seeks to compare attendance in different modes of lecture delivery and student preference and motivation for attendance. The research design collected data for three different teaching methods - on-campus lectures, live streaming utility and lecture recordings via lecture capture. The study addresses the broader question of the value students place on the modes of lecturing, as indicated by their attendance patterns, usage of lecture recordings, and preferences and motivations for the same. Overall, the study confirms the student preference for flexibility when accessing or attending lectures, with those choosing both on-campus and live streaming lecture delivery, also having a strong preference for using recorded lectures. Implications of findings of the study which was conducted pre-COVID-19 extend to a post-coronavirus world as well with implications for infrastructure and resource planning for universities with changing student demographics and flexibility requirements and challenges brought on by a global health and economic crises.

    Read article: Exploring modes of lecturing as a teaching method in higher education: Student attendance, preference and motivation 1,585 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Enhancing metacognition through thinking instruction: A case study in a Taiwanese university

    Mei-Hui Chen

    This study investigated the impact of thinking instruction on students’ metacognition and thinking behavior. Higher-order thinking occurs when individuals use their underlying metacognitive strategies which increase the probability of achieving a desirable result. The study was designed as a case study of an intervention and a posttest-only control group design was adopted. Participants consisted of students with a variety of majors were recruited from a medium-size university located in southern Taiwan. Two classes of the Developing Thinking course, totaling 78 students, comprised the group receiving the intervention, while 196 students in six General English classes comprised the comparison group. The intervention students were introduced to thinking skills, facts and opinions, question stems, and thinking from different perspectives. The quantitative results show strong evidence that the thinking instruction exerts statistically significant positive effects on students’ metacognition. Qualitative evidence also shows improvements in cognitive awareness with students demonstrating a more consistent application of thinking skills, an increased ability to think critically with thinking dispositions cultivated, and most importantly, a transfer of thinking behavior across the curriculum and in their personal lives. The researcher suggests the value of introducing thinking instruction to promote critical thinkers.

    Read article: Enhancing metacognition through thinking instruction: A case study in a Taiwanese university 933 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Flipped classroom model and self-efficacy in an Iranian English as a foreign language context: A gender-based study

    Ehsan Namaziandost, Shouket Ahmad Tilwani, Shabnam Mahdizadeh Khodayari, Meisam Ziafar, Samir Alekasir, Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani, Murad Hassan Mohammed Sawalmeh

    This study aimed to investigate the impact of the flipped classroom model on students’ self-efficacy and the difference in self-efficacy between males and females using this model. In order to accomplish this, 66 advanced participants were selected from a private English language institute. They were divided into two equal groups, namely experimental (flipped classroom) and control (traditional) group. The students’ self-efficacy was scored before and after the intervention with the Self-Efficacy Survey. The results indicated an increase in their average self-efficacy score with the flipped classroom while the traditional classroom decreased their average score. When the genders were analyzed separately, the males demonstrated a decrease in self-efficacy while the females indicated an increase while utilizing the flipped classroom. In light of these results, some recommendations have been made.

    Read article: Flipped classroom model and self-efficacy in an Iranian English as a foreign language context: A gender-based study 707 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Assessment practices in Philippine higher STEAM education

    Celina P Sarmiento, Marie Paz E. Morales, Levi E Elipane, Brando C Palomar

    The study explored practices of the sampled higher education Philippine STEAM educators in assessing learners. Data sourced from the database of a state-funded research on Philippine STEAM education using a Classroom Observation Protocol, included 106 STEAM teachers from purposely selected institutions drawn from 14 regions. Systematic data analysis (through data condensation, data display, and drawing and verifying conclusions) revealed that STEAM teachers used both appropriate traditional and authentic assessment tools and strategies with inclusive integration of technology. Furthermore, results showed that STEAM teachers’ best assessment practices may be categorised as: 1) assessment for career or industry readiness, 2) mounting assessment system to support instruction, and 3) collective and reflective assessment process. COVID-19 pandemic implications and policy recommendations are also offered, which may enhance assessment practices and suggest a perspective in crafting and recommending national and international standards and guidelines on assessment literacy among higher STEAM educators.

    Read article: Assessment practices in Philippine higher STEAM education 3,963 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Addressing academic rejection: Recommendations for reform

    Kelly-Ann Allen, Gregory M Donoghue, Saeed Pahlevansharif, Shane R Jimerson, John A.C. Hattie

    The aim of this paper is to provide a number of reasoned and evidence-supported arguments and a list of recommendations for reducing the impact of academic rejection. A brief literature review examined the prevalence and negative impacts of academic rejection including its purported purposes, predictors, and consequences. Findings revealed that the topic of academic rejection is largely under-studied, with very few empirical investigations. The extant literature typically places the onus on the individual academic to deal with rejection. Few articles have recommended institutional changes to ameliorate the known mental health impacts of rejection. We propose that the discovery and dissemination of knowledge are among the core purposes of academia, and that scholars are far more likely to contribute through institutional and systemic support. Several elements of the current approaches are contraindicated, thus, we recommend several changes, at both the individual and institutional levels to reduce opportunity costs for grants and funding, improve the publication process, and promote academics’ mental health and wellbeing. When examining academic rejection through the lens of effective learning, the vast literature of feedback can support important changes to how publications are accepted and rejected. Considering the limited literature pertaining to academic rejection, we present recommendations for changes in how academic performance can be evaluated, for the benefit of both the academy and the mental health of its members.

    Read article: Addressing academic rejection: Recommendations for reform 1,508 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Developing our students’ level of mindfulness during these unprecedented times

    Peter Reilly

    The pandemic has provoked disruptions in students' lives and studies worldwide, which has caused them to feel moderate to high levels of anxiety and stress. Universities have responded by offering online counseling and communicating self-help recommendations via their websites. Curiously, the role that professors could play to reduce this emotional hardship has been ignored in the literature. This instructional paper describes how and why three professors in Mexico include a brief, daily mindful practice in class to help their students cope with the negative emotions that may arise. Psychological and educational research has indicated that the development of mindfulness reduces emotional pain and increases one’s sense of well-being. Importantly, the focused-attention meditation described herein does not require an experienced mediator. A script to guide the practice is being used by the three professors, and could serve as a starting point for willing professors. Educators may also discover that the practice improves academic achievement because it activates executive functions (e.g. inhibitory control; working memory), thereby enhancing cognitive functioning. The paper also presents several practical implications involved with the practice, as well as initial reactions from professors and students.

    Read article: Developing our students’ level of mindfulness during these unprecedented times 1,329 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

Showing 14–20 of 20 articles