Due to the rigor and pace of undergraduate medical anatomy courses, it is not uncommon for students to struggle and fail initially. However, repetition of coursework places an additional burden on the student, instructor, and institution. The purpose of this study was to compare the exam preparation strategies of repeating and non-repeating…

From 2016 to 2020, ten smaller schools in one regional library consortium participated in a user needs assessment project. This article documents the process for implementing a collaborative user needs assessment by utilizing the shared interest and enthusiasm of a team of librarians to create a consortial toolkit. The toolkit supplied direction…

In this qualitative study (N=6), we explored insights of first-year students' instructors and advisors into an early identification system aimed at detecting non-thriving students in the context of an all-campus first-year orientation course for undergraduates. Following the development of that prediction model in a bottom-up manner, using a…

The influence of class size and course length on student academic achievement has been evaluated. However, most of the studies have been done at the primary education level and their influence on study strategies has not previously been assessed. The data for this study were collected via surveys at the beginning and end of a first year medical…

Recruitment and retention in the sciences is both difficult and crucial, especially in the community college setting. In this study, the resources used by General Chemistry I students at two different public, predominantly two-year colleges in two states were studied via surveys for a semester. Data were analyzed with respect to student attitudes…

Repeated retrieval practice is a powerful learning tool for promoting long-term retention, but students use this tool ineffectively when regulating their learning. The current experiments evaluated the efficacy of a minimal intervention aimed at improving students' self-regulated use of repeated retrieval practice. Across 2 experiments, students…

Students typically create concept maps while they view the material they are trying to learn. In these circumstances, concept mapping serves as an elaborative study activity--students are not required to retrieve the material they are learning. In 2 experiments, we examined the effectiveness of concept mapping when it is used as a retrieval…

Students' informal conversations on social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) shed light into their educational experiences--opinions, feelings, and concerns about the learning process. Data from such uninstrumented environments can provide valuable knowledge to inform student learning. Analyzing such data, however, can be challenging. The complexity…

In a recent study, de Araujo and Murray (2010) find empirical evidence that living on campus leads to improved student performance, finding both immediate effects (GPA improves while the student lives on campus) and permanent effects (GPA remains higher even after moving off campus). Using the same dataset, we extend the analysis to explain why…

According to many students, introductory physics is difficult. We investigated what students believe makes physics difficult and what can be done to overcome these difficulties. Our investigation included an initial free-response survey given to approximately 1400 students in an introductory physics course and a second survey, which was given to…

The last decade has seen an increased emphasis on assessment of student learning and on the use of instructional technologies in higher education. This emphasis has caused sociologists to pay closer attention to learning theories as they seek to increase learning in sociology courses by more effectively engaging students. Thus, to promote greater…

We present results for a decade-long assessment program for an introductory course for non-science majors. This study focuses on student evaluation data and student-supplied information about sex, race, age, academic background, student study time, study habits, and course grade. The results reveal a statistically significant positive relationship…