We examine longitudinal data from 120,384 students who took a version of the PSAT/SAT in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We investigate score changes over time and show that socioeconomic status (SES) is related to the degree of score improvement. We note that the 9th and 10th grade PSAT are low-stakes tests, while the operational SAT is a…

Previous research has shown the validity of the Measure of Linked Concepts (MLC) assessment in college introductory chemistry. Herein, we present a novel model of pairing the MLC with a metacognitive exercise aligned with learning objectives in the introductory chemistry courses as an effective tool for instructors to be integrated into…

Visual-spatial abilities are considered a successful predictor in anatomy learning. Previous research suggest that visual-spatial abilities can be trained, and the magnitude of improvement can be affected by initial levels of spatial skills. This case-control study aimed to evaluate (1) the impact of an extra-curricular anatomy dissection course…

Improving student performance on exams is a key issue that many psychology instructors face in their classrooms. One potentially easy to deploy option for improving student performance is an exam wrapper. In this article, I detail two studies that compared exam wrappers to a control condition (a previous semester in Study 1 and a within course…

Communication skills are fundamental in healthcare, but assessing them among medical students presents challenges. In the Indian context, the lack of a specific assessment tool further compounds the issue. Thus this study aimed to develop and validate an observation-based communication skills checklist tailored to Phase I Bachelor of Medicine and…

Enhancing students' critical thinking capabilities stands as the top goal of undergraduate education, according to faculty from many universities. We assessed the change in critical thinking skills with a sample of 176 students enrolled at either the University of Colorado Boulder (UCB) or Colorado College (CC) by employing the Critical-thinking…

Technology-enhanced language learning, or TELL, has played a major role in boosting EFL learners' speaking skills in recent years. The use of online technological methods such as vlogging and uploading videos to popular social networks such as YouTube, in particular, has been recommended as a tool to hone students' conversation skills in addition…

The authors asked students enrolled in a wide range of college mathematics courses to predict their scores on quizzes and exams. They found that top and bottom performers were less accurate predictors, but those scoring in the middle range were more accurate in predicting their scores. Females were more accurate predictors of their scores than…

The current study focuses on an e-learning platform called Furago designed to provide language instructors with exercises complementing activities already implemented in their classes. Its objective was to assess the impact the use of Furago could have on the listening skills of first-year Japanese university students. Statistical analyses that…

Here we demonstrate the benefits of a new curriculum for introductory calculus-based physics that motivates classical mechanics using a modified version of Hamiltonian mechanics. This curriculum shifts the initial focus of instruction away from forces and the associated vector mathematics, which are known to be problematic for students, to the…

This paper introduces a new integrated post-exam assessment model known as the exam autopsy. Grounded in metacognitive principles of reflective practice, students are provided with three sources of evaluative insight (from self, instructor, and peer) as they seek to analyze the root cause of their exam performance and formulate an action plan for…

Students' extensive use of Facebook in their daily lives has led researchers to investigate the affordances of Facebook for educational purposes. To further the research into the use of Facebook to improve language teaching, we conducted a convergent parallel mixed-methods study to examine the use of Community of Inquiry-informed Facebook…

Peer instruction has been used extensively in lecture courses; however, there is little evidence of its use in laboratory courses. The purpose of the present study was to describe the implementation of the peer instruction method in a physiology laboratory course in China. Second-year medical students attended a 6-wk physiology laboratory course…

Peer tutoring is an effective method of improving undergraduate students' academic performance, especially for those at-risk for poor grades. Peer tutoring has seldom been explored in undergraduate statistics, a difficult but required course for many college majors. The current study investigated the benefits of peer tutoring for 180…

The flipped classroom is becoming a popular course structure in many academic disciplines, but particularly in STEM disciplines, including mathematics. Considerable research has addressed potential advantages and challenges of teaching a flipped course, as well as examining students' attitudes towards the flipped classroom. Studies on students'…