Improving College Students' Success In Gateway Science Courses: Lessons Learned From An Anatomy And Physiology Workshop

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a two-week pre-anatomy and physiology workshop intended to contribute to student success in anatomy and physiology. The study showed that workshop participants had significantly higher post-test scores, better study habits, and generally felt more confident or prepared for anatomy and physiology. The workshop participants also reported that they understood membrane transport the least and organization of the body the most, information that may be useful in anatomy and physiology curriculum development. Preliminary studies also show that students that participated in the workshop performed significantly better than the general student body, with lower attrition rates in anatomy and physiology.

‘Get Ready’: Improving the Transition Experience of a Diverse First Year Cohort Through Building Student Agency

“…Selfassessments of confidence are frequently used in measurements of the effectiveness of transition programs (e.g. Abdullahi & Gannon, 2012;Boelen & Kenny 2009;Thalluri, 2016), as confidence is understood as a measure of selfefficacy, which has been widely linked to successful retention (Bandura, 1978;Lawrence, 2005). On a five-point Likert scale from 'not confident at all' to 'very confident', 43% of students selected the top two categories, which we interpret as a very favourable result.…”

Effect of Open Note Quizzes on Community College Science Students Grades and Attrition Rates

“…Students overwhelmingly stated in surveys that the quizzes helped them prepare for the course exams and master the course, with a high proportion of students also changing their study habits. This is a positive outcome as poor study habits is a major predictor of poor performance (McKee, 2002) and better preparation is correlated with success in the sciences (Abdullahi & Gannon, 2012;Harris et al, 2004;Hopper, 2011). It is encouraging to note that several students in the present study commented that they now felt more confident in self-monitoring their own performance.…”

“…Hopper (2011) observed that, students enrolled in a one-hour supplement course meant to quickly identify at risk students, were more likely to achieve better grades and course completion rates. In a recent study, we showed that a two-week pre-Anatomy and Physiology workshop improves students' performance and attitudes to the course (Abdullahi & Gannon, 2012). In these studies, the improvements were attributed to a change in student skills and attitudes, although the possibility that high achievers were self selected couldn't be entirely ruled out.…”

“…To address these challenges, various initiatives have been undertaken by colleges, including offering supplement courses (Hopper, 2011), Pre A & P workshops (Abdullahi & Gannon, 2012), online resources (Raynor & Iggulden, 2008), supplemental instruction such as Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL; Hughes, 2011) and Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL; Brown, 2010) or other active learning approaches such as use of skits (Ong, 2010), analogies (Sundrud & Hueftle, 2009) and photographs (Krauss, Salame & Goodwyn, 2010). The gains reported from these initiatives are very encouraging.…”

Öğrenci Ebe ve Hemşirelerin Anatomi Eğitimi Hakkındaki Görüşlerinin Değerlendirilmesi

“…Sağlık bilimleri fakültesinde eğitim gören ebelik ve hemşirelik öğrencileri için anatomi dersi, daha sonraki yıllarda alacakları diğer derslerle bağlantılı olması açısından çok önemlidir. 3 Bu açıdan canlı vücudunun sağlığını koruma ve hasta insanı iyileştirme ve bakım verme görevini yürüten tüm sağlık çalışanları bu ders kapsamında insan vücudunu en iyi şekilde bilmek ve öğrenmek zorundadırlar. 4 Bu nedenle anatomi ve bu temel bilimin üzerine oturan geçerli ve gerekli bilgiler sayesinde sağlık profesyonelleri sağlam bir donanıma sahip olacakları düşünülmektedir.…”