from the characterization of academic (in)success in higher education science and engineering...

From the Characterization of Academic (In)Success in Higher Education Science and Engineering Courses to the presentation of

Proposals to Promote its Success

____________________________________________________________________SEMINÁRIO DE INVESTIGAÇÃO:

Promoção do Sucesso Escolar e Combate ao Abandono e ao Insucesso no Ensino Superior - Metodologias e Resultados Preliminares

(03 Outubro 2007)

Nilza Costa/Universidade de Aveiro

([email protected])



(03 Outubro 2007)

TOPICS TO BE COVERED…The Project (“Conceptualization, Implementation and Assessment of Strategies to Promote Academic Success in Higher Education in Science and Engineering Degrees”, POCI/C/04.01.02/090/0001/2006)

• Setting the scene

• Research Team, Aims, Phases, Methodology

• Preliminary Results

• The (near) Future



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SETTING THE SCENE …



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Object of study of the project

Academic (In)Success in introductory subjects of HE degrees in Science and Engineering and Strategies to promote Success in the Bologna context



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Why?



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• European orientations to increase the number of graduates in the area of science, engineering … (Education and Training in Europe: Diverse Systems; Shared Goals for 2010. The Work Programme on the Future Objectives of Education and Training Systems, CE, 2002, p. 19)



(03 Outubro 2007)

Source: Borrego et al., s/data, p. 4

… more than 50% of the students at the UA enrolled in introductory subjects in Courses in Science and Engineering have failed at least once in the subject… (Tavares et al., 1998)

• High percentage of students failure in the areas of Science and Engineering …

… in particular in introductory subjects (and at UA)



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• Bologna context is seen as an opportunity to promote a culture of academic success (Alarcão et al., 2006, …)

Curriculum centred on students

Students’ autonomy

Quality in the teaching and learning process

…



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Understanding students’ academic (in)success

Development of strategiesto

promote success

The understanding of the phenomena should lead to action…and probably vice-versa …



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• Students’ academic (In)success is a complex phenomena (due to different sources) therefore its understanding and approach must involve different dimensions (institutional,

departmental, …) and actors (teachers, students, …)

• The understanding of the phenomena and its approach should involve the lens of theory (research) and practice (what

teachers do, …) namely good practices



(03 Outubro 2007)

Approach of this project:Pedagogical- Didactical

In the context of the empirical dimension of the study:Academic success is “measured” in term of students’ achievement. However it also takes into account parameters related to the quality of the teaching and learning process

Note: this slide has been added after the Workshop given the importance seen on it of making explicit some starting assumptions of each project



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RESEARCH TEAM

AIMS

PHASES

METHODOLOGY



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The research team



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UTAD’s Research Team:- J. Bernardino Lopes (PhD)- J. Paulo Cravino (PhD)

UA’s Research Team:- Nilza Costa (PhD)- José Tavares (PhD)- Isabel Huet (PhD)- J. Bessa Oliveira (PhD)- Dayse Souza (PhD)- Cristina Oliveira (PhD St)- Paulo Oliveira (PhD St)- Ana Amaral (Res. Techn.)

Collaborators:- Zacarias Oliveira

and other UA’s students

- UA’s teachers

Consultants:

- Isabel Alarcão

- Alan Jenkins



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The Aims



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• to systematize ways to understand and minimize the academic failure both from the literature review (and in particular from the PhD’s research

developed by the project team) and also practice (Associated Professor Reports and the experience of teachers and students)

• to adapt tools (e.g. questionnaires to measure students’ satisfaction or motivation for a

specific course, as well as self-regulation learning strategies) to be used in the classroom in order to analyse academic failure (in terms of diagnostic and intervention strategies)

• to conceptualize, implement and evaluate intervention plans in the classrooms to promote academic achievement taking into account the guidelines from the Bologna Process

• to disseminate the results of the project (in particular in a national Conference which will give voice to experiences of good practices)



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The Phases



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Phase 1

From the literature review to the proposal of intervention plans

Phase 2

Intervention and evaluation

Phase 3

Dissemination



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The Methodology



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Sources of information:Literature

Associated Professors ReportsTools used to identify academic (in)success

TeachersStudents

(Teachers’ and Students’ ) Portfolios…

Techniques/Tools questionnaires to students

interviews to academic staff…

Case Studies of good practices



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In terms of the research team



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. General and partial meetings according to different tasks (with minutes)

. E-communication through the blackboard(Ex. References articles; reading notes; diagnosis instruments; guidelines for good practices…)

. …



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PRELIMINARY RESULTS …



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Academic Career Reports (Associated Professors)

Content Analysis1 - Identification (name of the subject; year of the degree; date; …) 2 - Reflection about the previous practice (No; Yes, and if yes in which dimensions ….)3 - Reflection concerning the (In)Success (No; Yes, and if yes in which dimensions ….)4 - Bologna Concepts and terminology (No; Yes, and if yes in which dimensions ….)

Tendency so far…Small amount of reports are concerned with introductory subjects (14/120)References, mainly, aboutthe content of the subject (and not about the “past”, the academic success, …)Rarely references to the Bologna Process and its impact on the curriculum



(03 Outubro 2007)

Diagnosis Tools of Academic (In)Success

Adaptation of tools developed by others …

Inventário deAtitudes e Comportamentos Habituais de

Estudo (IACHE-sup)

Tavares et al., 2003 (UM; UA)

Questionamento dosestudantes universitários

Neri de Souza, 2007

Conselho PedagógicoFCT (Univ Nova Lisb)

2006 …



(03 Outubro 2007)

Students’ Questionnaire

Structure

1- Student Profile (age; gender; subject; ECTS; nº of hours of work; …)

2- Characterization of the Classes (teacher and student’s role; …)

3- The Course, the Subject and Bologna (Changes in teaching and learning due to Bologna;Suggestions to improve the quality of the teaching and learning process)

Sucesso Académico no Contexto de Bolonha (SACB)



(03 Outubro 2007)

Questionnaire applied to Students attending several Science and Engineering Degrees | UA

SAMPLE CHARACTERIZATION

N = 444 Age – Mean ( ): 20,21 | St. Deviation ( ): 2,31 Gender – F: 26,6 % | M: 73,4 % Field of study in secondary level – Studies in the area of

Sciences: 96,6% UA Degrees – Sciences and Engineering Courses

)(xx



(03 Outubro 2007)

Subject (introductory):Desenho Técnico (33,2%)

Cálculo II (34,3%)

Programação II(29,8%)

Mecânica (2,7%)

Number of registrations in the subject - 1: 58,6 % | 2: 22,6 % | 3+: 18,8 %

ECTS’s (Mecânica – 6 ECTS; Cálculo II – 6 ECTS; Programação II – 8 ECTS; Desenho Técnico – 6 ECTS)

Right answers: 47,3% Wrong/Missing answers: 52,7%



(03 Outubro 2007)

QUESTIONS REGARDING 4 DISTINCT SUBJECTS WITH HIGH LEVELS OF FAILURE AND DROP OUT – USING A

SCALE FROM 1 TO 5

1 totally disagree

2 slightly disagree

3doesn’t know

or doesn’t apply

4 slightly agree

5 totally agreement



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Motivation

Were you impelled to participate, discuss and express your own ideas?

Scale (1 to 5)

Results (%)

1 - 2 24 %

3 28 %

4 - 5 48 %



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Promotion of autonomous work

Scale (1 to 5)

Results(%)

1 - 2 12 %

3 20 %

4 - 5 68 %

Were there assignments, suggested by the teacher, to be accomplished after classes?

Did you feel encouraged to do autonomous work?

Scale (1 to 5)

Results(%)

1 - 2 12 %

3 19 %

4 - 5 69 %



(03 Outubro 2007)

Feedback

Did you receive feedback on your accomplished tasks?

Scale (1 to 5) Results (%)

1 - 2 19 %

3 27 %

4 - 5 54 %



(03 Outubro 2007)

Promotion of cooperative work

Was cooperative work promoted?


1 - 2 44 %

3 23 %

4 - 5 33 %



(03 Outubro 2007)

Bearing in mind that your Degree is structured based on the Bologna Process, do you feel informed about:

Your role as a student (regarding your autonomy towards your learning process, cooperative work, critical thinking development, among other skills).


1 - 2 29 %

3 33%

4 - 5 38 %



(03 Outubro 2007)

The content analysis of the open questions suggests so far…

Changes due to the Bologna Alignment?

. Almost half of the students had not notice changes on the teaching and learning process due to the Bologna Process

. Those who have noticed referred mainly to changes in the assessment methodologies

Suggestions to improve the quality of the process of teaching and learning

. To increase the interaction between teacher and student

. To increase the time of classes



(03 Outubro 2007)

But there seems to be some interesting (and different) answers…

Changes due to the Bologna Alignment?

. Due to a paradigm change the teaching process is now more centred on the student… which I dislike…

. We are obliged to participate more in the classes…

. Decrease of contact hours… more contents …more time needed to study…

Suggestions to improve the quality of the process of teaching and learning

. To solve exercises more related to the labour market

. Contents more related with challenges we will face in the future

. Everything is OK… we just need to study more…



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Teachers’ Interviews(note: teaches of the same subjects of the students to whom has been administered the questionnaire)

Structure1- Teacher and Course Profile (academic degree; years of experience; …rates of failure in the subject)

2- Reasons for the Students’ (In)Success3- Strategies used to promote academic success4- Good practices (examples) to promote success

Data is being analysed… there seems to be (a) some contradictions with students’s view and (b) some examples of good practices



(03 Outubro 2007)

THE (NEAR) FUTURE …



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. To develop further the analysis

namely through triangulation, … putting together the different actors’ voices



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. To develop guidelines (with some concrete

examples) to the teaching and learning process for the promotion of academic success and in a Bologna context. Importance to identify, in due time, (in)success …to give voice to the students… (diagnosis Tools)

. Conceptualize the Subject to be taught within Bologna (alignment matrixes)

. Reading notes (some examples)

. …



(03 Outubro 2007)

. To develop case studies with teachers

Teachers’ and Students’ portfolios

The scholarship of teaching means teaching that is public

susceptible to critical review and evaluation

and accessible for exchange and use by other members of one’s scholarly community

"members of one’s scholarly community" include one’s disciplinary peers and one’s institutional peers.

(Schulman, 1998)



(03 Outubro 2007)

Seminar 14 - 15 th December 2007at UA

(Dissemination of the Project)

from the characterization of academic (in)success in higher education science and engineering...

Documents

project slide

ua slide

scene slide

bologna context slide

learning process slide

near future slide

project academic insuccess

engineering education