Student use of out-of-class study groups in an introductory undergraduate biology course

All Groups Are Not Created Equal: Class-Based Learning Communities Enhance Exam Performance and Reduce Gaps

Having students work in small groups has been shown to promote better student outcomes, even in large lecture classes. On an institutional scale, the creation of learning communities that span multiple classes has also been proven to improve student outcomes. Research has shown that both interventions can help narrow the performance gaps that are often observed for students from certain demographic backgrounds. However, both have their drawbacks. When used solely for discussions in class, students in small groups rarely continue working together outside lecture in an intentional manner. Grading based on group performance leads to the perception of unfairness due to "weak" or "poor" members or disproportionate workloads. Learning communities, on the other hand, require a fair amount of administrative support to implement. Here, we describe a novel course and incentive structure that allows individual instructors to create sustainable learning communities in their classes. This course structure is relatively easy to implement, requiring very few changes to existing courses, and is adaptable to a variety of contexts, including remote teaching. Finally, we show that such learning communities provide additional learning gains for students and demonstrate that these class-based learning communities help narrow performance gaps for minoritized students.

A Cocurricular Program That Encourages Specific Study Skills and Habits Improves Academic Performance and Retention of First-Year Undergraduates in Introductory Biology

Students must master content for success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but "how to" is rarely taught in college. Faculty are reluctant to sacrifice class time, believe such instruction is remedial, or assume students possess or will attain these skills independently. To determine whether explicit instruction would improve skills and performance by first-year undergraduates likely to major in STEM, we invited all students in an introductory biology course to participate in an 8-week Co-Curricular (CoC) program. Students who participated improved time management, used more methods to plan and organize their study, and used a variety of active-learning strategies. A validated model was used to predict students' probability of achieving a "C+" or better in the course. The model, based on 5 years of data, used students' demographic characteristics and previous academic performance to provide a measure of their preparedness. Students with low and medium preparedness who participated in CoC performed better than those who did not participate. All students who participated were retained in the course compared with 88.7% of students who did not participate. Specific behavioral changes at the start of STEM gateway courses can dramatically improve student metacognition, retention, and academic performance, particularly for students underrepresented in the discipline.

A student initiative to implement peer-led study groups for a pharmacogenomics course: Evaluation of student performance and perceptions

INTRODUCTION

To better elucidate the impact of cooperative learning outside the classroom, a student-initiated research project was conducted to explore the effects of participating in peer-led study groups (PLSGs) on student examination scores and perceptions.

METHODS

First-year pharmacy students were given the opportunity to participate in weekly PLSGs for a pharmacogenomics course during spring 2016 and spring 2017. Student exam performance was stratified by those who attended vs. those who did not. Optional pre- and post-course surveys examined student perceptions of PLSGs.

RESULTS

No significant differences were seen between the attendance groups in spring 2016. In spring 2017, student attendees were significantly more likely to pass two of their six exams (p = .04, p = .0029) and to have higher exam scores on one exam (p = .02) in comparison to non-attendees. Overall exam score averages were significantly different between attendees and non-attendees during spring 2017 (p = .03) but not during spring 2016 (p = .38). Perception surveys indicated students believed participation helped them to demonstrate competency and build confidence. Additionally, students reported they felt more comfortable clarifying questions during the study groups vs. during class time.

CONCLUSIONS

The impact of study group participation on student exam performance was minimal over the two years of data collection, but there were instances where exam scores were positively impacted. Students perceived value in study group participation even if it did not translate directly to improved exam performance on all exams.

Knowledge of Learning Makes a Difference: A Comparison of Metacognition in Introductory and Senior-Level Biology Students

Metacognitive regulation occurs when learners regulate their thinking in order to learn. We asked how introductory and senior-level biology students compare in their use of the metacognitive regulation skill of evaluation, which is the ability to appraise the effectiveness of an individual learning strategy or an overall study plan. We coded student answers to an exam self-evaluation assignment for evidence of evaluating (n = 315). We found that introductory and senior students demonstrated similar ability to evaluate their individual strategies, but senior students were better at evaluating their overall plans. We examined students' reasoning and found that senior students use knowledge of how people learn to evaluate effective strategies, whereas introductory students consider how well a strategy aligns with the exam to determine its effectiveness. Senior students consider modifying their use of a strategy to improve its effectiveness, whereas introductory students abandon strategies they evaluate as ineffective. Both groups use performance to evaluate their plans, and some students use their feelings as a proxy for metacognition. These data reveal differences between introductory and senior students, which suggest ways metacognition might develop over time. We contextualize these results using research from cognitive science, and we consider how learning contexts can affect students' metacognition.

Baccalaureate Student Nurses' Study Habits Prior to Admission to Nursing Program: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Faculty continue to observe students struggling as they adapt their study strategies to learn nursing core content.

OBJECTIVES

This study described the study habits of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students prior to admission to the program.

DESIGN

This study used a descriptive qualitative research design.

SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS

A purposive sample of 19 BSN students (juniors [n=10] and seniors [n=9]) from a 4-year public Midwestern university were included in this study.

METHODS

Two focus group sessions, using a semi-structured interview guide, were conducted in the spring semester of 2013.

RESULTS

The four themes which emerged from the analysis of data were: "I just got it," "I had a lot of time then," "I studied alone" mostly, and "…a little struggle with the sciences."

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest the BSN students did not study much or employed poor study strategies during their years completing general education courses. Academic support is needed by students prior to admission to the nursing program so they can learn effective study skills and modify their study habits for easier adaptation to the rigors of nursing education.

Effectiveness of a Low-Cost, Graduate Student-Led Intervention on Study Habits and Performance in Introductory Biology

Institutions have developed diverse approaches that vary in effectiveness and cost to improve student performance in introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. We developed a low-cost, graduate student-led, metacognition-based study skills course taught in conjunction with the introductory biology series at Miami University. Our approach aimed to improve performance for underachieving students by combining an existing framework for the process of learning (the study cycle) with concrete tools (outlines and concept maps) that have been shown to encourage deep understanding. To assess the effectiveness of our efforts, we asked 1) how effective our voluntary recruitment model was at enrolling the target cohort, 2) how the course impacted performance on lecture exams, 3) how the course impacted study habits and techniques, and 4) whether there are particular study habits or techniques that are associated with large improvements on exam scores. Voluntary recruitment attracted only 11-17% of our target cohort. While focal students improved on lecture exams relative to their peers who did not enroll, gains were relatively modest, and not all students improved. Further, although students across both semesters of our study reported improved study habits (based on pre and post surveys) and on outlines and concept maps (based on retrospectively scored assignments), gains were more dramatic in the Fall semester. Multivariate models revealed that, while changes in study habits and in the quality of outlines and concept maps were weakly associated with change in performance on lecture exams, relationships were only significant in the Fall semester and were sometimes counterintuitive. Although benefits of the course were offset somewhat by the inefficiency of voluntary recruitment, we demonstrate the effectiveness our course, which is inexpensive to implement and has advantage of providing pedagogical experience to future educators.

Factors potentially influencing academic performance among medical students

BACKGROUND

Studies are needed to examine predictors of success in medical school. The aim of this work is to explore factors that potentially influence excellence of medical students.

METHODS

The study was conducted in the Medical Faculty of King Abdulaziz University during October 2012. A self-administered questionnaire was used. Medical students with a grade point average (GPA) ≥4.5 (out of 5) were included and compared to randomly selected medical students with a GPA <4.5, who were available at the time of the study.

RESULTS

A total of 359 undergraduate students participated in the study. 50.4% of the sample was students with a GPA ≥4.5. No statistically significant difference regarding the time spent on outings and social events was found. However, 60.7% of high GPA students spend less than 2 hours on social networking per day as compared to 42.6% of the lower GPA students (P<0.01). In addition, 79% of high GPA students prefer to study alone (P=0.02), 68.0% required silence and no interruptions during studying time (P=0.013), and 47% revise their material at least once before an exam (P=0.02).

CONCLUSION

Excellent medical students have many different characteristics. For example, they do not use social networking for prolonged periods of time, and they have strong motivation and study enjoyment. Further studies are needed to examine whether these differences have a real impact on GPA or not.