Contribution: From prior studies on models and strategies used to study the academic performance of university students, it is evident that none of them either evaluates T-shaped degrees or does so according to the profile of the students' high school provenance. The study provided in this article employs a well-established model and strategy to…

Today's software industry requires individuals who are proficient in as many programming languages as possible. Structured query language (SQL), as an adopted standard, is no exception, as it is the most widely used query language to retrieve and manipulate data. However, the process of learning SQL turns out to be challenging. The need for a…

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is a principle in education to acknowledge and validate learning acquired during and throughout an individual's lifetime. Formal, non-formal and informal learning can be assessed, recognised and accredited for various purposes in an individual's education or professional life. The methods of assessing prior…

In 2010, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) conducted the first major multi-institutional study of the relationship between prior learning assessment (PLA) credit-earning and student academic outcomes, which found that adult students with PLA credit were two and a half times more likely to have earned a postsecondary degree…

College admission typically requires students to present their high school GPA and a standardized score, such as ACT or SAT. High school GPA is usually attributed to students' cumulative effort during their high school career and is often used as a measure of resilience. The ACT score allows students' aptitude to be assessed. Contemporary…

This study examined how differing instructional scaffolding influenced the actual use of evaluation skills to improve argumentation quality during college science inquiry. Source representation scaffolds supported multi-faceted reflection of complex source properties while managing cognitive load. Students were given an online annotation tool…

With the widespread popularity of distance learning, there is a need to investigate elements of online courses that continue to pose significant challenges for educators. One of the challenges relates to creating and managing group projects. This study investigated business students' perceptions of group work in online classes. The constructs of…

Prior knowledge is a very important part of teaching and learning, as it affects how instructors and students interact with the learning materials. In general, tests are used to assess students' prior knowledge. Nevertheless, conventional testing approaches usually assign only an overall score to each student, and this may mean that students are…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how students with workplace learning experience the process of the assessment of prior experiential learning (APEL) in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: This is an inductive and exploratory study drawing on methodology from the field of academic literacies. It addresses two questions:…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first the paper aims to sketch the theoretical basis for the use of electronic portfolios for prior learning assessment; second it endeavours to introduce latent semantic analysis (LSA) as a powerful method for the computation of semantic similarity between texts and a basis for a new observation link…

Studied the use of prior knowledge state assessment for enhancing learning through a series of experiments involving college students (n=112, n=1,159, n=1,081). Results show that beginning students are especially willing to use prior knowledge state assessment and appear to benefit more from its use. (SLD)

Developed seven Internet-delivered tests of prior knowledge for distance education students in the Netherlands interested in gaining information about future studies. Analysis of 151 responses received through the Web site showed student appreciation of the instruments and the assessment process. (SLD)

This manual provides an overview of the concepts and issues involved in the assessment of prior learning in the context of the increasing numbers of older, nontraditional students returning to higher education. Section 1 gives background information about prior learning assessment (PLA) and defines PLA as assessment by some valid and reliable…

The monograph provides a systematic explication of the underlying standards and principles that have been developed to help adult learners articulate what they know and can do, to clarify their claims to creditable achievement, to help assessors improve the reliability of assessment, and to save assessor time. Ten academic and administrative…

This report deals with the question of obtaining insights into states of prior knowledge and exploring knowledge state tests and knowledge state profiles. The first part introduces a few basic terms important in the context of prior knowledge state. Evaluation and the validity, reliability, and usefulness of tests are considered in a prior…