Detecting students at risk of failing is particularly useful and desirable when it is done in a timely manner and accompanied with practical information that can help with remediation. In this paper we investigate ways to detect students at risk of failing early in the semester for timely intervention. The context of our study is a first year computer programming course. We explore whether the ...

Effective mining of data from online submission systems offers the potential to improve educational outcomes by identifying student habits and behaviours and their relationship with levels of achievement. In particular, it may assist in identifying students at risk of performing poorly, allowing for early intervention. In this paper we investigate different methods of following the development ...

Individual submission of programming assignments should be considered in all introductory programming courses. We describe a custom web support system for submission and management of programming assignments in an introductory C programming course. Experience from the first time use of the system is reported. In addition, we compare the pattern of use with the results of the final exam in order...

Editor’s Note: Every departing Medical Student, Graduate Student, Urology Research Resident, and Post-Doctoral Fellow trained in Dr. Donald S. Coffey’s laboratory or classroom for 4 decades has been given this “real final exam”—in either oral, written, or both forms. Some believe the wisdom in it passed on to the next generations of cancer researchers is as vast and generous and dedicated to th...

Falling student academic performance, in particular increasing undergraduate finance student fail rates necessitated the implementation of a new ethos of student learning. The approach adopted in this case study comprised a compulsory attendance requirement, specific study incentives and improved student access to academic staff. Students were required to attend 70% of lectures and tutorials. F...

In this paper we show how the deployment of a lightweight note sharing system can restore the antique social vocation of annotations in the classroom. The system was designed for the classroom context and evaluated through a longitudinal study lasting for an academic semester and involving 20 participants, enrolled in a Master-level course in computer science. Three key findings emerged. First,...

This study describes an evaluation of the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) reform model in first-semester general chemistry. PLTL was implemented in place of one-third of the available lecture time, maintaining the same amount of structured class time under the reform. The evaluation demonstrates that classes implementing the PLTL reform at the setting featured a statistically significant improvem...

Although physics education research (PER) has improved instructional practices, there are not agreed upon principles for designing effective instructional materials. Here, we illustrate how close comparison of instructional materials could support the development of such principles. Specifically, in discussion sections of a large, introductory physics course, a pair of studies compare two instr...

A strong body of evidence reveals that quizzing students using low stakes assessments enhances learning and retention compared to not quizzing. In regards to learning and retention, the way in which students are quizzed is also important. Recall or retrieval practice has shown to enhance learning and increase retention compared to recognition quizzing. The current study evaluated the used of lo...

ICT is thought to be successful in helping students to learn more deeply and actively. Despite its popularity, evidence as to its effectiveness is undergoing increased scrutiny. This article reports on the empirical investigation of the implementation of two interactive animations. Questionnaires measured students’ learning styles, ICT competence and students’ impressions of the animations. In ...