Identifying Factors Affecting the Quality of Teaching in Basic Science Education: Physics, Biological Sciences, Mathematics, and Chemistry

Abstract

Basic science education provides the most fundamental knowledge for preparing students to pursue departmental major courses. Considering that basic science courses are laboratory classes conducted alongside theory classes, the factors affecting instructor–student communication and feedback can vary between theory and laboratory classes. We applied the ordinary least squares model to the refined data of basic science courses. We drew on variables reflecting instructor–student interaction such as class size, type of subject, and instructor characteristics to analyze the factors affecting student satisfaction with theory and laboratory classes. The analysis results indicated that the educational environment of a large-sized class could be improved by subdividing it into smaller groups to facilitate feedback. The use of online platforms to supplement offline courses provides an additional mechanism for the exchange of feedback and positively affects student satisfaction. We also confirmed empirically that the instructor–student communication which takes place during laboratory work, in contrast to the one-sided conveyance of course materials by the instructor in lectures, was a crucial factor in the quality of education. These results are linked to the demand for knowledge in engineering education, the student’s educational performance, and the labor market performance needed to establish a sustainable system in engineering education.

The Effectiveness of Educational Pillars Based on Vygotsky's Theory in Achievement and Information Processing Among First Intermediate Class Students

“…2. The second hypothesis test: "There is no statistically significant difference at the level of (0.05) between the average scores of the experimental group students who studied with the educational pillars strategy and the control group who studied in the usual way in the information processing test"; through the use of the Shiffe test, it was found that the value of Shiffe computed between the experimental group and the control group is equal to (9.39), which is greater than the critical value (6.203), as shown in Table (4). From the observation of the presented result, we note that there is a statistically significant difference at the level of (0.05) between the mean scores of the students of the two experimental groups and the control in the information processing test, thus rejecting the second null hypothesis.…”

“…Hence, the current research problem arises, as previous studies and educational reality prove the low levels of information processing among middle school students, especially the first grade, which was observed by one of the researchers from the reality of his work as he noticed that most students do not realize the importance of mathematics and its life value. As students of that stage suffer a lot from many difficulties in studying mathematics, especially engineering lessons, which resulted in their low academic achievement and weak interest in learning it, which led them to become alienated from it, among its teachers; As a result of the feeling of a partial absence of pleasure, and the real benefit that accrues to them in learning mathematics [3][4][5]. Many studies also indicated the decline in students 'mathematical achievement, as they emphasized the students' need to develop their academic achievement about the need to change the actual teaching methods used in classes within the mathematics curriculum, and given the weakness of students 'information processing and mathematical achievement skills, they must be developed among the learners.…”

Evaluation of Programme Outcomes Under the Psychomotor and Affective Domain for Diploma Civil Engineering Students Through Industrial Training: A Statistical Study from Employers' Perspective in Malaysia

“…Assessment is a method required to evaluate the developmental level of student learning and the achievement of skills. Findings from student assessment may help the lecturers and university to improve their weaknesses and plan further steps for the improvement of teaching and learning [9]. The assessment for this course consists of an Industrial Supervisor evaluation which contributes 50% of the total assessment and will be highlighted in this paper.…”

Student Profiling as a Tool for Inclusive Instructional Design: A Case of a 3rd Year Biotechnology Class, University of Namibia

“…In a bid to improve the quality of teaching in HE, much emphasis has been placed on student evaluations of teaching. For instance, Cho and Baek (2019) report that teaching evaluations allow for the identification of the "various factors operating in the classroom that affect the overall learning process, from those that rest with individual students, to those having to do with classroom teaching, individual instructors, to overall satisfaction..." Our view is that while this approach is noble, it covers only half the aspect towards the attainment of its set objective, the missing link being profiling of students by lecturers. In profiling students, we acknowledge the fact that "education deals with students as people who are diverse in all respects, and ever changing, and that not everyone learns in the same way, or equally readily about all types of material", and that, "students bring different backgrounds and expectations to learning" (Fry, et al, 2003, p. 9).…”