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Course Experience (course + experience)
Selected AbstractsThe development and application of affective assessment in an upper-level cell biology courseJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 8 2007Elizabeth Kitchen Abstract This study exemplifies how faculty members can develop instruments to assess affective responses of students to the specific features of the courses they teach. Means for assessing three types of affective responses are demonstrated: (a) student attitudes towards courses with differing instructional objectives and methodologies, (b) student self-efficacy (confidence) in completing tasks common to practicing experts, and (c) interests in subject-specific topics and associated intellectual skills. The iterative processes used in refining the instruments and performing the statistical analyses of their effectiveness are detailed. An analysis of data obtained using these instruments is also included. Positive attitudes towards courses emphasizing analytical thinking increased significantly over the course of a 14-week semester, as did the measures of self-efficacy. Despite the rigorous analytical nature of the course experience, the initial strong interest in cell biology topics and higher order thinking skills remained unchanged. There were no significant differences based on gender in any of the affective measures. We discuss the apparent dichotomy, revealed in these assessments, between students' idealistic, academic attitudes towards the course's effectiveness and their opinions of its effects on them personally. We conclude by reporting how insights garnered both from these formal assessments and from anecdotal communications have prompted experimental modifications in the design and conduct of the course. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1057,1087, 2007 [source] An appraisal of medical students' reflection-in-learningMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2000Sobral Introduction How do students reflect as they strive for some control of learning early in their clinical activities? The purpose of this study was to examine the reflection-in-learning profile of medical students as they started their clinical apprenticeship. Methods A measure of reflection-in-learning was used to appraise the level and direction of change of reflection in relation to a course experience. The study involved 103 medical students of both sexes who were beginning clinical activities. Assessments of self-regulation of learning, of the meaningfulness of the learning experience, and of diagnostic thinking were also obtained. Results The results showed that 81% of the students had an increase in scores for reflection-in-learning between the beginning and the end of a course. At the end of the course, the level of reflection-in-learning was significantly associated with self-perceived competence for self-regulated learning and with the meaningfulness of the learning experience. In the following term, students who had high reflection-in-learning scores at the end of the course had higher grade-point averages and greater self-reported diagnostic ability in comparison with those with low scores. Conclusions There was some evidence of an improved quality of reflection as the students strive for some control of learning. Overall, the findings support the idea that a greater effort at reflection is associated with a more positive learning experience. They also suggest that reflection-in-learning is related to readiness for self-regulation of learning and may be conducive to enhanced diagnostic ability. In conclusion, measuring reflection-in-learning may be a useful tool in the appraisal of medical students' learning profiles. [source] Teaching statistics by taking advantage of the laptop's ubiquityNEW DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHING & LEARNING, Issue 101 2005Paul Hyden This chapter reports on a mathematics professor's experience leveraging laptops in a required intermediate statistics course with a challenging student population. Use of laptops streamlined course delivery, enhanced classroom interaction, and improved both his students' and his own overall course experience. [source] Parents' and Partners' Life Course and Family Experiences: Links with Parent-Child Relationships in Different Family SettingsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 8 2000Judy Dunn Life course and current family factors associated with individual differences in parent-child relationships were investigated in a sample of 467 children from 192 families, including stepfather, single-parent, stepmother, and complex stepfamilies ; informants were fathers, mothers, and children. Both positive and negative dimensions of father-child and mother-child relationships were linked to earlier life course experiences of parent and of partner, to current family factors, and to the quality of partner's relationship with the child. The pattern of associations between the adults' life course experiences meant that children were at risk for a "double dose" of less affectionate relationships in families in which parents had experienced early adversities. The significance of biological relatedness, family setting, and child-partner relationships was highlighted. [source] | ||||||||||