Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Student Learning In Undergraduate Mathematics, Gabrielle Rejniak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to investigate ways of improving student learning, par- ticularly conceptual understanding, in undergraduate mathematics courses. This study focused on two areas: course design and animation. The methods of study were the following: Assessing the improvement of student conceptual understanding as a result of team project-based learning, individual inquiry-based learning and the modi ed empo- rium model; and Assessing the impact of animated videos on student learning with the emphasis on concepts. For the first part of our study (impact of course design on student conceptual understanding) we began by comparing the following three groups …

Testing A Model Of Undergraduate Competence In Employability Skills And Its Implications For Stakeholders, Denise Jackson

Research outputs 2012

Despite the development of employability skills being firmly entrenched in higher education’s strategic agenda worldwide; recent graduates’ standards in certain skills are not meeting industry expectations. This paper presents and tests a model of undergraduate competence in employability skills. It highlights those factors which impact on competence in employability skills and identify ways in which stakeholders can adjust curricula and pedagogy to enhance graduate skill outcomes. Data was gathered from an online survey of 1008 business undergraduates who self-rated their competence against a framework of employability skills typically considered essential in graduates. The data was analysed using multiple regression techniques. …

Development Of Dot Array Biosensor Using Dip-Pen Nanolithography Of Polyacrylamide Ink, Aditi R. Naik, Ethan J. White, Aaron Catledge

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

pp. 48-53

Integrating Mathematical Modeling For Undergraduate Pre-Service Science Education Learning And Instruction In The Middle School Classroom, William Robertson, David Carrejo

Selected Works Temporary Series

El Paso is a bicultural, bilingual community with a 76.6% Hispanic population. Combining El Paso’s population with that of its sister city, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, our community is the largest metropolitan area on any international border in the world. Students at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) are mostly female, and 50% of the total student population is made up of first-generation college students. These demographics are accompanied by low socioeconomic and educational factors: 23.6% of local families live below the poverty level, compared to 12.5% nationally; 32.9% of 25-year-olds have not graduated from high school; 19% of …

Integrating Mathematical Modeling For Undergraduate Pre-Service Science Education Learning And Instruction In The Middle School Classroom, William Robertson, David Carrejo

Departmental Papers (TE)

El Paso is a bicultural, bilingual community with a 76.6% Hispanic population. Combining El Paso’s population with that of its sister city, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, our community is the largest metropolitan area on any international border in the world. Students at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) are mostly female, and 50% of the total student population is made up of first-generation college students. These demographics are accompanied by low socioeconomic and educational factors: 23.6% of local families live below the poverty level, compared to 12.5% nationally; 32.9% of 25-year-olds have not graduated from high school; 19% of …

Exploring The Barriers To Independent Study And Learning In First Year Undergraduate Engineering Students?, Robert Martin Morris

Papers, presentations and other resources

This mixed method case study was carried out in the Technological University Dublin, Ireland and was conducted with the co-operation of four experienced lecturers of engineering and three groups of first year undergraduate engineering students.

The main aim of the research was to identify factors which represent barriers to the independent study and learning of first year engineering students.

Many first year engineering students do not return to college for the second year of their programmes. Many reasons for this are identified in the research, including the failure of students to pass assessments and exams as a result of the …

Identity And Psychological Needs Among National Guard Service Members And Undergraduates, Bradley Antonides

Theses and Dissertations

This study measured identity style and identity status within military and academic populations (N = 286) to investigate whether low levels of identity commitment predict dissatisfaction in meeting basic psychological needs. Analysis of identity style and identity status subscales examined the reliability of traditional measures of identity in an atypical emerging adult population. Group comparisons based on participant characteristics (identity commitment, work experience, age, combat experience) explored differences between and within institutions. Results supported the reliability of traditional identity measures in a non-traditional population. A diffuse identity status and diffuse identity style both significantly predicted lower reported levels of psychological …

Instructors' Decisions That Integrate Inquiry Teaching Into Undergraduate Courses: How Do I Make This Fit?, Iris Alkaher, Erin Dolan

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

In this qualitative study, we describe and characterize the pedagogical decisions that three college instructors made to mitigate challenges they faced as they taught by inquiry, as well as the rationale for their decisions and their perceptions of the efficacy of their decisions. We found that instructors made a range of decisions, including reorganizing course content and structure, adding more opportunities for and models of inquiry practice, adding more opportunities for feedback and assessment, and enhancing scaffolding of the inquiry. Notably, single instructional decisions had the capacity to mitigate multiple challenges. The instructors were satisfied with many of their decisions, …

Revealing Student Thinking About Experimental Design And The Roles Of Control Experiments, Jia Shi, Joy M. Power, Michael W. Klymkowsky

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Well-designed “controls” distinguish experimental from non-experimental studies. Surprisingly, we found that a high percentage of students had difficulty identifying control experiments even after completing three university-level laboratory courses. To address this issue, we designed and ran a revised cell biology lab course in which students participated in weekly “experimental control exercises.” To measure student understanding of control experiments, we developed a set of assessment questions; these were given to students prior to and following completion of either a standard cell biology lab course or the revised cell biology lab course. Not unexpectedly, the results indicate that the revised course led …

Pacific Review Summer 2011, Alumni Association Of The University Of The Pacific

Pacific Magazine and Pacific Review

No abstract provided.

Pacific Review Winter 2011, Alumni Association Of The University Of The Pacific

Pacific Magazine and Pacific Review

No abstract provided.

“An Exploration Of The Barriers To Independent Study And Learning In First Year Undergraduate Engineering Students”, Robert Martin Morris

Theses

Abstract

This mixed method case study was based in the Institute of Technology and was conducted with the co-operation of four experienced lecturers of engineering and three groups of first year undergraduate engineering students. The main aim of the research was to identify factors which constitute barriers to the independent study and learning of first year engineering students.

A large proportion of first year engineering students do not return to college for the second year of their programmes. Many reasons for this are identified in the research, including the failure to pass assessments and examinations as a result of the …

2011-2012. Catalog., Hope College

Hope College Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Inquiro 5 (Complete Issue), Inquiro Staff

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

No abstract provided.

The Aftershocks Of L’Aquila: The Indictment Of Italian Seismologists For Manslaughter, Helen Lin

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

pp. 6-7

Drug Discovery: A Potential Treatment For Heart Failure Patients, Ashruta Patel

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

p. 14

Undergraduates And Research: From The Side Of The Pi, Dr. Sadanandan Velu, Miranda Collier

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

pp. 20-21

Mallick Hossain Wins 2011 Goldwater Scholarship, Rachael Rosales

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

p. 68

Structure Based Design Of Inhibitors Of Trypanosoma Cruzi Dhfr As Potential Therapeutic Agents For Chagas’ Disease, Megan Mcmichael, Thao Nguyen, Tory Saunders, Paul Lee, Norbert Schormann, Debasish Chattopadhyay, Sadanandan E. Velu

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

pp. 54-59

Characterization Of Calmodulin And Fas Interactions In Fas-Mediated Death Inducing Signaling Complex, Valentine Nwachukwu, Romone Fancy, Tiara Napier, Yuhua Song

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

pp. 47-53

"Kí Lō Fé Ṣē Tōbá Dàgbà", Sope Oguntuyo

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

pp. 17-18

Cancer Prevention Interdisciplinary Education Program At Purdue University: Overview And Preliminary Results, D. Teegarden, Ji-Yeon Lee, Omolola A. Adedokun, Amy Childress, Loran C. Parker, Wilella D. Burgess, Julie Nagel, Deborah W. Knapp, Sophie A. Lelievre, Christopher Agnew, Cleveland G. Shields, James F. Leary, Robin Adams, Jakob D. Jensen

Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications

Cancer prevention is a broad field that crosses many disciplines; therefore, educational efforts to enhance cancer prevention research focused on interdisciplinary approaches to the field are greatly needed. In order to hasten progress in cancer prevention research, the Cancer Prevention Internship Program (CPIP) at Purdue University was designed to develop and test an interdisciplinary curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students. The hypothesis was that course curriculum specific to introducing interdisciplinary concepts in cancer prevention would increase student interest in and ability to pursue advanced educational opportunities (e.g., graduate school, medical school). Preliminary results from the evaluation of the first year …

Contact Point, Arthur A. Dugoni School Of Dentistry

Contact Point

No abstract provided.

The Plymouth Student Scientist: Two Years On, Karen A. Gresty

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Editorial from: Dr Karen Gresty, Associate Dean (Teaching & Learning), Faculty of Science and Engineering

Pacific Review Summer 2010, Alumni Association Of The University Of The Pacific

Pacific Magazine and Pacific Review

No abstract provided.

Contact Point, Arthur A. Dugoni School Of Dentistry

Contact Point

No abstract provided.

Undergraduate Catalog, 2010-2011

UPub - Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Reap Nairti Poster, 2010 : Undergraduate Work Placement Programmes In Ireland, Reap

Practice guides

No abstract provided.

Pacific Review Winter 2010, Alumni Association Of The University Of The Pacific

Pacific Magazine and Pacific Review

No abstract provided.

Purification And Characterization Of Taq Polymerase: A 9-Week Biochemistry Laboratory Project For Undergraduate Students, Robert M. Bellin, Mary K. Bruno, Melissa A. Farrow

Biology Department Faculty Scholarship

We have developed a 9-week undergraduate laboratory series focused on the purification and characterization of Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase (Taq). Our aim was to provide undergraduate biochemistry students with a full-semester continuing project simulating a research-like experience, while having each week's procedure focus on a single learning goal. The laboratory series has been taught for the past 7 years, and survey-based assessment of the effectiveness of the laboratory series was completed during the 2006 and 2007 fall semesters. Statistical analysis of the survey results demonstrate that the laboratory series is very effective in teaching students the theory and practice of …