The Relationship Between Learning Mode and Student Performance in an Undergraduate Elementary Statistics Course in the United States

Faculty have conducted many studies on the relationship between learning mode and student performance but few researchers have evaluated final grades, grade distribution, and pass rates in a sophomore introductory statistics course with a non-traditional student population who self-selected the learning mode from among different course sections. Accordingly, we examined 307 end-of-course grades from four different modes of instruction: (a) online, (b) videosynchronous learning classroom, (c) videosynchronous learning home, and (d) traditional classroom in an introductory statistics course. All data on grades, which included pass rate and grade distribution, were collected from the nine-week January 2019 term. All learning modes used the same text, syllabus, assignments, quizzes, and tests. In this study, learning mode was not significantly related to end-of-course score, final grade distribution, or pass rate. Future researchers should explore the impacts of gender, instructor quality, different term lengths, and the standardized use of textbooks and syllabi on student performance when exploring the impact of learning mode on grades, grade distribution, and pass rates

Educating the educators: Incorporating bioinformatics into biological science education in Malaysia

Bioinformatics can be defined as a fusion of computational and biological sciences. The urgency to process and analyse the deluge of data created by proteomics and genomics studies has caused bioinformatics to gain prominence and importance. However, its multidisciplinary nature has created a unique demand for specialist trained in both biology and computing. In this review, we described the components that constitute the bioinformatics field and distinctive education criteria that are required to produce individuals with bioinformatics training. This paper will also provide an introduction and overview of bioinformatics in Malaysia. The existing bioinformatics scenario in Malaysia was surveyed to gauge its advancement and to plan for future bioinformatics education strategies. For comparison, we surveyed methods and strategies used in education by other countries so that lessons can be learnt to further improve the implementation of bioinformatics in Malaysia. It is believed that accurate and sufficient steerage from the academia and industry will enable Malaysia to produce quality bioinformaticians in the future

A Correlational Study on Components of Hybrid Course Delivery and Student Success in Introductory Statistics

Hybrid course delivery has become a popular course design in general education large enrollment courses. While the benefits of hybrid course design are detailed in many studies, little research has been conducted on the contribution specific components make toward student success. In this quantitative research study, a correlational design with a multiple regression technique was used to examine the relationship between average weekly quiz grade, number of weekly quiz attempts, weekly lab attendance, weekly time spent in class with the professor and student conceptual understanding in the introductory statistics course. This research study was conducted at a private university located in the eastern United States with 15,000 residential students. The sample was taken from twelve sections of an introductory general education statistics class. This research study found that the average weekly quiz grade had a significant positive correlation with conceptual understanding in an introductory statistics class. The multiple regression analysis indicated that the average weekly quiz grade was the only independent variable to make a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of the CAOS score. Further research on the specific components of hybrid course delivery could add to the core knowledge about the hybrid course format and help future course redesigns maximize student conceptual understanding as well as identify students in need of remediation

GAELS Project Final Report: Information environment for engineering

The GAELS project was a collaboration commenced in 1999 between Glasgow University Library and Strathclyde University Library with two main aims:· to develop collaborative information services in support of engineering research at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde· to develop a CAL (computer-aided learning package) package in advanced information skills for engineering research students and staff The project was funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) from their Strategic Change Initiative funding stream, and funding was awarded initially for one year, with an extension of the grant for a further year. The project ended in June 2001.The funding from SHEFC paid for two research assistants, one based at Glasgow University Library working on collaborative information services and one based at Strathclyde University Library developing courseware. Latterly, after these two research assistants left to take up other posts, there has been a single researcher based at Glasgow University Library.The project was funded to investigate the feasibility of new services to the Engineering Faculties at both Universities, with a view to making recommendations for service provision that can be developed for other subject areas

E-Learning in Postsecondary Education

Over the past decade postsecondary education has been moving increasingly from the class room to online. During the fall 2010 term 31 percent of U.S. college students took at least one online course. The primary reasons for the growth of e-learning in the nation\u27s colleges and universities include the desire of those institutions to generate new revenue streams, improve access, and offer students greater scheduling flexibility. Yet the growth of e-learning has been accompanied by a continuing debate about its effectiveness and by the recognition that a number of barriers impede its widespread adoption in higher education

Students\u27 Performance, Satisfaction and Retention in a Hybrid and Traditional Face-To-Face Science Course, Principles of Biology I, in a Community College

Hybrid teaching, comprised of both in-class and online teaching, is rapidly becoming a favorite mode of teaching and learning. Online and hybrid courses on have become more and more appealing to both higher education institutions and the students they serve. In particular, hybrid teaching has an increase appeal to community colleges as they serve a diverse student population with varied academic levels, cultural background, and personal responsibilities. Hybrid courses promotes flexibility in course scheduling options for students and enables institutions to accept more students without worrying about physical classroom space concerns. This study explored and compared students’ learning outcomes, satisfaction, and retentions for students enrolled in a hybrid versus a traditional face-to-face lab science course in an urban community college. The same instructor taught all sections of the course under both delivery modes and the same course syllabi and grading scale were used. The first research question assessed students’ learning outcomes utilizing standard assessment tools such as assignments, laboratory reports, laboratory exams, quizzes, midterm and final exams. No significant differences were observed in scores between the two modes for assignments, laboratory exams, and midterm exams. Traditional face-to-face students scored higher than the hybrid students in laboratory reports and final exams where the students in hybrid mode did better in quizzes than students in face to face. The second research question assessed students’ satisfaction via a questionnaire. Traditional students revealed a positive satisfaction with their course where hybrid students presented more neutral and/or negative satisfaction. The third research question evaluated students’ retention. Data revealed that traditional face-to-face students’ retention was higher than students enrolled in the hybrid sections

Comparing experiences, perceptions, and achievement of students in fully online and web-enhanced courses to assess differences in course quality

The purpose of the study was to compare students\u27 achievements, perceptions and evaluations of fully online and web-enhanced courses taken at a technical college in South Texas in order to determine if students achievement, perceptions, and evaluations of course design was better in one modality over the other. The study collected information on students regarding learning experiences in 21 fully online and 12 web-enhanced face-to-face core courses common to all programs of study. These courses were taught in both delivery modes, meaning that the same instructor taught the same course, with identical resources and assignments in both online and the web-enhanced versions of the courses. The Rubric for Online Instruction (2009) from California State University, (Chico) was used by student participants to evaluate each of the core courses during the Spring 2015 semester. In addition, end-of-course grades and end-of-course evaluations were used to evaluate student achievement and student perceptions of course design