Digital learning environments provide opportunities to support learning in higher education. However, it is yet unclear why and how learners use these opportunities. We propose that learners' achievement goals and their beliefs regarding the instrumentality of e-learning tools to achieve those goals are predictive for learning behavior within…

Background: Mastery and performance goals are typically measured as trait-like abstract goals. However, in their daily academic pursuits, students pursue more concrete goals. The pursuit of these goals is replete with obstacles that can lead to an action crisis. Aims: We examined how mastery and performance goals affect progress, effort and…

Peer-assisted learning and group facilitation have been proven to foster active participation in small-group learning, and these effective teaching modalities have been shown to enhance learning outcomes. This study introduced a student peer facilitator role in an anatomy small-group curriculum for pre-clerkship medical students and explored its…

The effectiveness of incorporating an audience response system (ARS) in improving the learning environment and student performance was assessed in a didactic biomedical science course at a large US dental school. Instructors and students were surveyed for their experiences of using Top Hat-based ARS in a multi-disciplinary biomedical science…

Strategic note-taking is beneficial to students in that it provides a certain way a student can learn, and it can help a student perform better in courses. Taking strategic notes is seen as an important skill that is needed in a college setting. Strategic note-taking involves active listening, processing information, and writing. It is…

Use of high-stakes exams in a course has been associated with gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequities. We investigated whether offering students the opportunity to retake an exam makes high-stakes exams more equitable. Following the control value theory of achievement emotions, we hypothesized that exam retakes would increase students'…

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores have been widely used as the language entry requirements for international students in many English-medium universities. However, research on the predictive validity of IELTS on subsequent academic performance has been inconclusive. Additionally, despite the proliferation of IELTS…

This paper presents findings on research-based interventions that were employed as part of a semester-long PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle at Davis & Elkins College (D&E) aimed at decreasing math anxiety while increasing student achievement on high-stakes standardized assessments with a focus on growth mindset and productive struggle. Based…

Curriculum-based exit exams play a crucial role in program assessment and measuring student achievement of program learning outcomes (PLOs). This study aims to examine the validity of using an internal exit exam as a direct assessment tool to evaluate student learning and attainment of PLOs. The validation entails evaluating and correlating…

The present study aimed to determine university students' perceptions regarding EM and EAP courses and how they studied EM and EAP courses and their exams. It was designed as a qualitative study. Eight students participated in the study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed by content analysis method. The…

Introduction: High-stake testing plays a crucial role in many educational systems, guiding policies of accountability, resource allocation, and even school choice (OECD, 2013). However, non-representative patterns of attendance can skew how useful these measures are for accomplishing their main objective. Are we really measuring the quality or…

This paper introduces a new integrated post-exam assessment model known as the exam autopsy. Grounded in metacognitive principles of reflective practice, students are provided with three sources of evaluative insight (from self, instructor, and peer) as they seek to analyze the root cause of their exam performance and formulate an action plan for…

The objective of this study was to verify the structure of a model of how surface approach to studying is influenced by the trait variables of motivation and metacognition and the state variables of avoidance coping and evaluation anxiety. We extended the model to include: (1) the investigation of the relative contribution of the five…

The study aims to investigate teachers' and students' perspectives of how "the formative use of summative test" (i.e., test preparation) may impact student's performance in internal school tests and develop self-regulated learning. It also examines the relationship between formative and summative assessment, especially how they could…

This paper provides a critical appraisal of the influence of examinations oriented approaches on quality education in primary schools in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to determine effects of examination oriented teaching approaches on learning achievement among primary school pupils in Kakamega County, Kenya. It explored the assumptions…