Learning strategies for first-year biology : toward moving the “murky middle”

dc.contributor.authorKritzinger, Angelique
dc.contributor.authorLemmens, Juan-Claude
dc.contributor.authorPotgieter, Marietjie
dc.contributor.emailangelique.kritzinger@up.ac.zaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2019-02-28T14:19:38Z
dc.date.available2019-02-28T14:19:38Z
dc.date.issued2018-09-01
dc.description.abstractHigher education faces the challenge of high student attrition, which is especially disconcerting if associated with low participation rates, as is the case in South Africa. Recently, the use of learning analytics has increased, enabling institutions to make data-informed decisions to improve teaching, learning, and student success. Most of the literature thus far has focused on “at-risk” students. The aim of this paper is twofold: to use learning analytics to define a different group of students, termed the “murky middle” (MM), early enough in the academic year to provide scope for targeted interventions; and to describe the learning strategies of successful students to guide the design of interventions aimed at improving the prospects of success for all students, especially those of the MM. We found that it was possible to identify the MM using demographic data that are available at the start of the academic year. The students in the subgroup were cleanly defined by their grade 12 results for physical sciences. We were also able to describe the learning strategies that are associated with success in first-year biology. This information is useful for curricular design, classroom practice, and student advising and should be incorporated in professional development programs for lecturers and student advisors.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentChemistryen_ZA
dc.description.departmentEducation Innovationen_ZA
dc.description.departmentPlant Production and Soil Scienceen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2019en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThe National Research Foundation of South Africa (grants #91547 and #110878).en_ZA
dc.description.urihttps://www.lifescied.orgen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKritzinger, A., Lemmens, J.C. & Potgieter, M. 2018, 'Learning strategies for first-year biology : toward moving the “murky middle”', CBE—Life Sciences Education, vol. 17, no. 3, pp.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn10.1187/cbe.17-10-0211
dc.identifier.issn1931-7913 (online)
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/68530
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherAmerican Society for Cell Biologyen_ZA
dc.rights© 2018 A. Kritzinger et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2018 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons Licenseen_ZA
dc.subjectHigher educationen_ZA
dc.subjectStudent attritionen_ZA
dc.subjectSouth African universityen_ZA
dc.subjectMotivated strategiesen_ZA
dc.subjectAcademic performanceen_ZA
dc.subjectPeer instructionen_ZA
dc.subjectSelf regulationen_ZA
dc.subjectHabitsen_ZA
dc.subjectSuccessen_ZA
dc.titleLearning strategies for first-year biology : toward moving the “murky middle”en_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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