Enhancing Learning in the Introductory Course

Abstract

In an examination of the effects of timing of feedback on student learning, participants were randomly assigned to complete five introductory course tests using either control (Scantron form) or one of three feedback (end-of-test, 24-hr delay, immediate) procedures. A cumulative final examination with 50 new items and 10 items repeated from each course test was used to assess retention during the academic semester. Fifty final examination items, administered at postcourse intervals of 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, were used to measure longer-term retention. The provision of feedback at either the end of a test or after a 24-hr delay, relative to control procedures, increased retention for 3 to 5 weeks during the semester. Robust enhancement of retention at all intervals was observed only when immediate feedback was provided. The magnitude of the immediate feedback effect indicates that students benefit from affirmation of correct responding and notification of incorrect responding during classroom tests and suggests noteworthy potential for creating learnable moments during which students validate and self-correct their knowledge stores.General education and introductory courses expose students to the foundations of an academic discipline. The broadening of the content areas that define academic disciplines, and the integration of multimedia resources into the teaching process, markedly increase the breadth of and depth at which concepts can be presented to enhance traditional lecture materials. Indeed, these changes have prompted many departments to develop a two-semester introductory sequence to better prepare students and to expose them to the content and theory that define an academic major. At many institutions, enrolling in next-level courses and matriculating into an academic major require completion of the introductory course or courses, often with a minimum grade requirement. This gateway reflects not only contemporary enrollment management practices but also traditional pedagogy that learning within an academic major is sequential and that foundational concepts presented in lower level courses should be mastered prior to enrolling in upper-level courses.

Interteaching: Bringing Behavioral Education Into the 21st Century

“…With interteaching, students receive clarification on difficult questions during lectures that usually begin the subsequent class period. In most cases, though, the information presented in the clarifying lectures is delayed, often by 2 or more days, and thus might have a diminished effect on learning (see, e.g., Brosvic & Epstein, 2007). Using clickers might be one way to minimize this delay.…”

Feedback in Testing, the Missing Link

“…Final exam "scores were higher on the repeated test items for (a) both feedback groups than for controls, and (b) for the immediate feedback group than for the delayed feedback group" (p 397) (50). The scores for the novel test items showed very little differences between the three groups.…”

“…However, the conditional probabilities of maintaining the correct answer or correctly answering an initially incorrect response were consistently higher for the immediate feedback group compared to the delayed and control groups. In their concluding remarks, they state that the "immediate feedback transforms the multiple-choice examination into a learning opportunity and the student into an active learner" (p 406) (50). More recently, two additional studies were published utilizing IF-AT® forms for testing in a pharmacokinetics course and a higher-level athletic training course.…”

“…The earlier IF-AT® research involved introductory psychology classroom studies that utilized multiple-choice items that primarily assessed student's knowledge of definitions of basic psychology concepts (46)(47)(48)(49). In a more extensive study, 611 undergraduates took five multiple-choice course exams and a final exam (50). The final exam contained 50 new items and 10 items randomly selected from each course exam.…”

Analysis of Prospective Physics Teachers� Feedback on Online Peer-Assessment Implementation

“…The feedback should always get attention both in terms of strategies and time management to be adrresed. Various studies have shown that the teachers' feedback have a positif impact on students' learning motivation, students' understanding, as well as the quality of student behavior (Akalin & Sucuoglu, 2015;Seevers, et al, 2014;McLaren, 2012;Auld, et al, 2010;Vojdanoska, et al, 2010;Conroy, et al, & Vo, 2009;Brosvic & Epstein, 2007;Brosvic, et al, 2005). The findings indicate that it is still important to invite lecturers in addition to giving students' right to assess their peers.…”