Factors to Help Students to Learn Effectively on Courses - Essay Example

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What factors are important to UEL undergraduates to help them to learn effectively on their s? by name University name City, State Date Table of content Introduction…………………………………………………………………..3 Methodology………………………………………………………………….4 Findings…………………………………………………………………………5 School factors that affect the effectiveness of learning…………………5 A comprehensive curriculum……………………………………………….5 Objective of the courses……………………………………………………..6 Conducive environment………………………………………………………6 Competent and qualified instructors……………………………………….6 Teacher’s factors that affected the effectiveness of learning…………..7 Mode of instruction…………………………………………………………….7 Relationship with the student………………………………………………...8 Competence and qualification of the teacher……………………………..8 Student’s factor that affect effectiveness of learning…………………….9 The level of the student’s memory…………………………………………9 Student’s practice……………………………………………………………..9 Engagement of the student with real life situations…………………….9 Analysis………………………………………………………………………….11 References list……………………………………………………………………..12 Questionnaire to the respondents…………………………………………………13 Questionnaires coding………………………………………………………………14 What factors are important to UEL undergraduates to help them to learn effectively on their courses? Introduction Any people confuse learning with reading. Reading is looking at books, texts, journals and concluding a thing or two about what you have looked at. Learning however, is a complex process that involves the understanding and application of the lessons learnt from the lessons learnt. In learning, ones knowledge capacity is increased, there are some tendencies of changing of beliefs, behaviors considering the lessons learnt. It is not just anybody who learns about something get the experience and the skills. This calls for an effective learning from the learner. Many have learnt but they have not benefited from the learning. What might have caused it, is it they did not learn effectively or they were not lucky. There are various notions about his and many reaches have been done about the topic and every research tends to come with the best ways to get a lesson out of learning. However, the basic reason why people tend to fail to get the best out of learning is because they did not learn effectively. One may wonder what is effective learning. Everybody has a different perceptive when it comes to effective learning. However, all the different perspectives of effective learning come from the different factors that affect effective learning. This paper tries to consider these various factors those UEL undergraduate students consider to be the ones that leads to effective learning. The research question wishes to identify the various factor that leads to effective learning, and if these factors are determined by age, the school, or the students. As part of the objectives, the research wishes to put up together these various factors so that UEL students can get the best out of their learning. Methodology The research employed sampling design which is a definite plan for obtaining a sample of a given population. In the sampling design, probability sampling will be used where every item in the population has an equal chance of inclusion in the sample. Among the reasons for choosing a sampling design is that it reduces the time of study, reduces the cost, and sampling procedure are usually accurate. The research subjects and participant are the UEL students both male and female. Considering the large numbers of students the research targeted a population of 108 students but had to reduce the number to 52 because of time and cost. To help arrive at better results the research intends to reduce the targeted population from108 students to 52 all equally distributed among the different courses being offered at UEL, this is to be done in accordance with a statistical calculation for arriving at the approximate sample size as computed as below (Kothari 2005). n = N Cv2 ____ 108(0.5)2 ____ C v2 + (N-1)e2 (0.5)2 + (108-1)0.052 n = 52 n = sample size N = population Cv = coefficient of variation (take 0.5) e = Tolerance at desired level of confidence (take 0.05 at 95% confidence interval) The researcher used questionnaires to collect the data. Also face-to-face interviews and observation was conducted with the students since they constitute the primary data source for the research). By use of interview, questionnaires and observation, the researcher visited the students to ask questions of the various factors that affect their effective learning, plus going to the administration and enquiring the various policies put in place for to ensure effective learning. The questionnaires wanted to evaluate the roles that teachers, school and the students had in influencing effective learning. These instruments also provided the researcher with the real situation on how it feels to be a student and experience the various factors that they mentioned. The reasons for choosing interview was that information about the factors would be in depth, it could also incorporate other research instrument such as observation and a questionnaire, and the ability to collect supplementally information. Questionnaires and observation are low on cost and free from bias. On the contrary these instruments are not perfect since considering that not all of the questionnaires were filled correctly and some tried to be bias while being interview. But the three instruments were able to get the best result to analyze the factors affecting effective learning among UEL students Kothari C R 2005), (Rugg , Petre 2007 Findings From the above instruments, data was collected on the factors that might have effective learning of UEL students. Through the use of questionnaires and interview presented to the school administration and the teachers, policies of the school and teachers were found to be among the factors that affect effective learning. Observation, as an instrument helped to discover the fining that factor that affected the individual student lead to affecting the effectiveness of the learning of that student. School factors that affect the effectiveness of learning These are the administration and the regulation policies of the school that ensures that the students get the best of what they are offering. The research tried to look at these policies that had massive effect on the learning of the students. They included: A comprehensive curriculum The curriculum set by the school administration should target the implementation of effective learning among the students. The viable curriculum is one that is fair in its provisions and set of achievements among the students. Many curriculums only consider the examining of the student without considering the skills learnt by the students. Others don’t put on the emphases on the need to have extra curriculum activities with the syllabus thus not offering the comprehensive curriculum. In the institutions such as the University of East London, every course has a number of objectives to which at the end of their completion, the students are anticipated to must have attained particular skills. This had some weight considering 15 out of the 52 said their learning was affected by a comprehensive curriculum (Willis 2008). Objective of the courses From the feedback that the school gave, another element of the school factor was the set objective of the course. Every course had the corresponding objectives that the courses wanted to evaluate on the student understanding of the course. The UEL administration, stressed more on the application part of the course, rather than the theoretical understanding of the course. These was seen as a factor that lead to effective learning of the students as most of the students that leave the University of East London get to enjoy and apply what they learnt from their respective course. The school administration admitted that using this factor has lead to the school being among the best in effective learning. This was affirmed as 7 out of the 52 mentioned objective of the course as a factor (Meyer, Evans 2007). . Conducive environment From the assessment from the students, 20 out of the 52 commented that a secure, safe, quiet and clean environment affected their learning. Some confirmed that when they were distracted by nice, they could not concentrate on their studies. Others affirmed that if they didn’t feel secure of their belongings and their own lives, that factor would in one way or the other affect the effectiveness of their learning (Chan , McDermott , Roediger 2007). Competent and qualified instructors 10 out of the52 mention of competent and qualified instructor as a factor. This was a factor that the student raised that the qualification and competence of the teachers and instructors affected their learning. Bearing in mind the instructors give the guidelines on the courses, then, they should have the qualifications and competence required in order to guide the students (Willis 2008). Teacher’s factors that affected the effectiveness of learning Findings from the students identified some factors that involved the teachers that affected their learning. This mostly included the methods that teacher applied and the level of expertise that he/she had and the mastering of the course. They included: Mode of instruction 20 out of the 52 students admitted that the way and manner in which the teacher or instructor gave the instruction had a big influence on the effectiveness of learning. They admitted that could learn effective only if the instructions given by the teachers were straight forward, clear and not ambiguous. If the instruction were otherwise, then, the students had difficulties grasping what they have learnt and what the teachers had instructed Rubinstein (Meyer, Evans 2007). Relationship with the student Among the 52 students that the research focused on, 8 of them brought the issue of the relationship with the instructor as a factor that affected the effectiveness of their learning. Relationship with the students is vital for the intellectual growth of the students. This is because the teacher is able to understand the areas where the student is experiencing some difficulties and tries to help the students. The student is also able to relate with the teacher so that he/she feels free to ask question and approach the teacher with confidence (Chan, McDermott, Roediger 2007). Competence and qualification of the teacher 24 of the sampled student had the feeling that their learning was being affected by the qualification of their teachers. They argued that the teacher should share the level of expertise on the subject to them. Although much was expected of them- to do research, do assignment among many others-they expected the teacher t play a vital role in introducing the course well, take them through the course giving the relevant details in the course. If the teacher showed no mastering of the course content, then that was bound to affect their learning (Willis 2008). Student’s factor that affect effectiveness of learning As far as all the other factors have been affecting the student, the student’s attitude, belief and character also affect the effectiveness of his learning. The way the student view the course, takes his classes and studies affect his/her learning. Some of the student’s factors include: The level of the student’s memory The capacity to remember what the student has learnt is crucial to learning of that student. This is supported by 27 students out of the 52 students that were sampled. They identified the failures in exams due to cramming of the course. When they got into the exam room they were not able to remember anything. The issues of cramming among students have lead to poor learning. This is because even if they cram for the exam, they were not able to apply the course in real life situations; this made learning ineffective (Chan McDermott, Roediger 2007). Student’s practice This was another factor that 13 out of the 52 sampled students identified that affecting their learning. They argued that the more a student practiced, the more their learning was effective. This was supported by the saying that goes practice, practice make perfect. They put more emphasis on the student going back to the notes given by the teacher or instructor and paying attention to the important things on those notes. In the case of assessment, those that had gone back to their notes had an upper hand than those who had not (Willis 2008). Engagement of the student with real life situations This was supported by 12 students out of 52 students. They argued that for effective learning, one should be able to connect his/her studies with a real life situation. Practical lessons, such as an internship, or attachments should be a consideration for the student in order to have an effective learning. They affirmed that those who combined their classes with either an internship or an attachment had a better way of learning than those who did the learning alone. Also in the findings there was the findings about age and the findings were as follows The respondents were equally selected between male and female Analysis From the above findings it is evident that the student’s factor, the school factor and the teacher’s factor are the main factors that influence the effectiveness of the learning. Considering the school factors, when the school provided a conducive environment, the learning was effective. This is because some of the reasons that a learning environment becomes conducive are by the provision of the necessary learning materials. These learning materials include a good equipped library, reading areas, assisting staffs, books and internet sources. In the provision of a conducive environment, the reading area should be free from any distracters such as drugs, noise, among other distracters. The school should also come up with up to date courses that can relate to the present needs of the society. It should incorporate beneficial extra-curriculum activities and clear objectives that spearhead the effective learning of the student. These courses need to be instructed by qualified and competent teacher who have a good mastering of the contents of the course ( Meyer, Evans 2007) . The teacher’s factors included the course being instructed by a competent and a qualified teacher, the teacher and the student having a good relationship and the teacher/instructor giving clear instruction. The factor about a competent instructor attracted most of the respondents since the way the ideas, and the details of the contents of the course are given to the student, depends on the mastering of the teacher. If he/she has not mastered the content then chances are the students will not be able to understand them. This goes further to the manner in which the teacher gives the instructions the learners. If the instructions are not clear then chances are the students are not able to understand and follow them. This calls for all the UEL instructors to give out very simple, clear and detailed instruction to the students for effective learning. Not forgetting the importance of the teacher-students relationship, there should be a solid understanding relationship between the teacher and the student. This enables the student to be able to connect with the teacher and able to ask questions freely hence effective learning (Chan, McDermott, Roediger 2007) Finally there were the student’s factors that affected the effectiveness of learning. The factor that carried more weight than the other was the one that touched on the memory level of the students. Student’s memory of what they have learnt is vital especially while being assessed. This is because they are not allowed to have access on any written materials while in the exam room. This calls for good memory on the part of the student who have the tendency of cramming tend to forget the necessary areas of the course hence failing to satisfy the examiner on his effectiveness while learning. The mode of practice by the students also counts a lot on the effectiveness of learning. This is because if one goes through the contents and details of the course over and over, chances are they would not forget what they had learnt in lass and in private studies. Learning without practice, assessment and application is not effective. As much as the student studies for the exam, so is he/she should be motivated to apply what they have learnt in their respective course. If a student is unable to apply what he/she has learnt then there was no thorough and effective learning. Attachments and internship provides the best areas in which the student can evaluate his skills from learning a given course (Willis 2008), (Chan, McDermott, Roediger 2007) References list Chan JC, McDermott KB, Roediger HL 2007, Retrieval-induced facilitation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 135(4), 553-571. Kothari C R 2005, Research methodology: methods & techniques, New Age International (P) Ltd, New Delhi. Rubinstein J S, Meyer DE, Evans JE 2007, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27(4), 763-797. Rugg G, Petre M 2007, A gentle guide to research methods, McGraw-Hill/Open Univ. Press, Maidenhead [u.a.]. Willis J 2008, Brain-based teaching strategies for improving students' memory, learning, and test-taking success (Review of Research), Childhood Education, 83(5), 31-316. QUESTIONNAIRE TO RESPONDENTS Objective of the questionnaire is to identify factors that affect the effectiveness of the UEL students KINDLY WRITE YES OR NO ON THE SPACE PROVIDED. 1. Gender:______________ 1)Male 2) Female 2. Age of respondent? ________________ 1) Between 10-18 years 2) Between 18-23 years 3) Between 23-30 years 4) Above 30 years 3. considering the school, the teacher and yourself, what factor affect your learning ____________________________1) school factors, 2) student’s factor 3) teacher’s factor 4) all 4. Taking the element of the school factor as stated below, which one affect the effectiveness of your learning? 1. Conclusive curriculum___________________ a) yes, b) no 2. Competent teachers______________________ a) yes, b) no 3. Conducive environment___________________ a) yes, b) no 4. Objective of the course____________________ a) yes, b) no 5. Taking the elements of the teacher factors as below, which one affect the effectiveness of your learning? 1. Teacher- student relationship____________ 1) yes, b) no 2. Competent teacher___________________ a) yes, b) no 3. Mode of instruction___________________ a) yes, b) no 6. Taking the element of the student factor as stated below, which one affect the effectiveness of your learning? 1. Memory capacity of the student___________ a) yes, b) no 2. Student connection with a real life situation_____________. a) yes, b) no 3. Practices by the student___________________ a) yes, b) no 7. What other factor affect the effectiveness of your learning? Explain________________ Questionnaires coding respondent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 1 4 4 3 3 3 _ 2 1 4 4 2 1 1 _ 3 1 4 4 4 2 3 _ 4 1 2 4 1 2 1 _ 5 1 1 4 2 3 3 _ 6 1 3 4 3 2 2 _ 7 1 3 4 4 3 2 _ 8 1 1 4 3 1 1 _ 9 1 4 4 2 2 3 _ 10 1 1 4 3 3 3 _ 11 1 1 4 1 2 1 _ 12 1 1 4 3 3 1 _ 13 1 2 4 1 2 1 _ 14 1 2 4 3 1 1 _ 15 1 2 4 1 3 3 _ 16 1 3 4 4 1 2 _ 17 1 4 4 2 2 1 _ 18 1 3 4 3 3 1 _ 19 1 3 4 4 2 2 _ 20 1 3 4 2 1 1 _ 21 1 2 4 3 1 3 _ 22 1 2 4 1 3 1 _ 23 1 2 4 2 2 1 _ 24 1 1 4 3 2 1 _ 25 1 4 4 1 3 2 _ 26 1 4 4 1 2 1 _ 27 2 3 4 3 2 3 _ 28 2 2 4 1 3 1 _ 29 2 2 4 3 2 1 _ 30 2 1 4 2 3 2 _ 31 2 1 4 3 2 1 _ 32 2 3 4 1 2 1 _ 33 2 2 4 3 3 3 _ 34 2 3 4 1 2 2 _ 35 2 4 4 3 2 1 _ 36 2 4 4 1 3 2 _ 37 2 4 4 4 2 3 _ 38 2 3 4 3 1 1 _ 39 2 2 4 4 3 1 _ 40 2 2 4 2 2 2 _ 41 2 2 4 3 2 3 _ 42 2 1 4 1 3 1 _ 43 2 1 4 3 2 1 _ 44 2 1 4 1 3 2 _ 45 2 1 4 2 1 1 _ 46 2 2 4 3 2 3 _ 47 2 3 4 1 3 1 _ 48 2 3 4 3 2 2 _ 49 2 4 4 3 3 1 _ 50 2 4 4 1 3 3 _ 51 2 3 4 4 2 2 _ 52 2 2 4 2 3 1 _ Read More