Academic Performance of Engineering Students

This study aims to improve elementary school students' systems thinking skills through sustainable development-oriented learning. This research method uses an experiment with a quantitative approach to test the effectiveness of developing elementary school students' systems thinking skills. The learning prepare expressly employments the STEL (System Thinking & ESD Learning) learning show which is taken after by 19 basic school understudies in Tasikmalaya City, West Java. The instrument used is an essay test consisting of 8 questions with an assessment rubric made on a scale of 1-3, then the value processing is converted into a maximum score of 100 so that it is easier to analyze the value of elementary school students' systems thinking skills. Information collection was carried out some time recently and after the execution of learning utilizing the STEL model. Generally, the comes about of the pretest-posttest think about of students' systems thinking abilities experienced an insignificant increment. These results provide an overview that elementary school students' systems thinking skills can be developed, only the pretest results of 37.47 and posttest of 49.89 certainly show the results of an increase in students' systems thinking. An important note from the results of this study provides information that systems thinking skills can be developed gradually and sustainably. The learning process through the STEL learning model will prepare understudies to discover the center of environmental issues efficiently and empower understudies to pay more consideration to the affect of each of their exercises and take more mindful activities as it were for environmental, social and economic sustainability.

In parallel with technological developments, learning-teaching environments have changed and students are active and responsible for their own learning throughout the process. It is believed that the design of enriched teaching materials based on web-assisted and inquiry-based learning approaches will be important in terms of learning-teaching environments. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of web-assisted guided inquiry approach in science education on students’ systems thinking skills. An embedded mixed methods design was used in this study. First, materials were developed for the systems in our body unit and three teachers used these materials in their classrooms. A total of 155 sixth grade students participated in the study. In the experimental group the lessons were taught according to the web-assisted guided inquiry approach, while in the control group the lessons were taught according to the science curriculum. The systems thinking skills test was used as a quantitative data collection tool and observations, student journals, and interviews were used as qualitative data collection tools. As a result of the research, it was found that there was a significant difference in the systems thinking skills of the students in the experimental group compared to the control group [F(1,152) = 12.23, p < 0.05]. It can be said that the change in systems thinking skills was due to establishing a relationship between concepts, looking at events holistically and understanding how the system can change with the disappearance or addition of a variable in the system.

Systems thinking (ST) skills are often the foundation of sustainability science curricula. Though ST skill sets are used as a basic approach to reasoning about complex environmental problems, there are gaps in our understanding regarding the best ways to promote and assess ST learning in classrooms. Since ST learning provides Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students’ important skills and awareness to participate in environmental problem-solving, addressing these gaps is an important STEM learning contribution. We have created guidelines for teaching and measuring ST skills derived from a hybrid of a literature review and through case study data collection. Our approach is based on semi-quantitative cognitive mapping techniques meant to support deep reasoning about the complexities of social–ecological issues. We begin by arguing that ST should be evaluated on a continuum of understanding rather than a binary of correct/incorrect or present/absent. We then suggest four fundamental dimensions of teaching and evaluating ST which include: (1) system structure, (2) system function, (3) identification of leverage points for change, and (4) trade-off analysis. Finally, we use a case study to show how these ideas can be assessed through cognitive maps to help students develop deep system understanding and the capacity to propose innovative solutions to sustainability problems.

Today, individuals need a solid understanding of how earth as a system works in order to understand and develop solutions for science-based issues affecting societies on a global scale such as natural disasters, global warming or COVID-19 pandemic. Humans also deliberate space investigations, such as interplanetary travels and life in space. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new skills to meet the requirements of the current world order overcome this kind of issues through science and geography education. Spatial and systems thinking skills are two of 21st century skills in teaching and learning science-related topics. The study purposes to examine current Turkish primary science curriculum regarding these skills. Document analysis method of qualitative research design was implemented in the study. Emergent qualitative analysis methods of content analysis and open coding were used. It is sought to analyze the research literature on geography education in order to delineate competences necessary for understanding societal problems related to earth science and astronomy-based physics units considering Turkish primary science curriculum framework. The findings of the study showed that the competences spatial and systems thinking skills should be more integral part of science curricula. Especially for spatial thinking skills, educators and policy makers should reconsider the learning objectives in primary science curriculum framework. In conclusion, the results indicated that spatial and systems thinking skills were partially acquired in the curricula. Some units should be clarified and enhanced depend on spatial thinking abilities, systems thinking abilities or both of them.

This study explores the effect of project-based learning (PBL) integrated with STEM on improving students' systemic thinking abilities. The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design as its research method. The population consisted of 244 students enrolled in the tenth grade during the odd semester of the 2023-2024 academic year, and participants involved in the study were 68 tenth-grade students from one of the Islamic Senior High Schools of the State in Jakarta. The experimental group used PjBL STEM, while the control class used 5E learning (engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation). The researcher developed a system thinking instrument adapted from Melinda based on pre-requirement, basic, intermediate, and coherent expert levels. In this study, data analysis used the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon test. The research findings indicate a significant improvement in the system thinking ability of the experimental group students, while the control group's system thinking ability did not improve significantly. The results showed that the effect of PjBL STEM improvement in the experimental class was 0.54 (effect size) on students' systems thinking ability but was still in the low category and did not improve either in the control class. In addition, the level of systems thinking increased in the expert category, while the intermediate level did not increase. This study can be a reference for further research investigating the effect of PjBL STEM on students' systems thinking in different contexts.

Students use different modes of transport to go to college. While many transportation programs exist at different universities and many experts find these programs to have a positive impact, no studies have investigated the impact of such programs on the absenteeism and academic performance of college students. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of a college provided transportation program on the absenteeism and performance of engineering students. Different types of data were collected from a sample of engineering students, including attendance records, grade point average (GPA), course grades, majors, and bus ridership information for two years. The findings suggest that there is a positive impact of providing a college transportation service to engineering students in the form of better attendance and higher GPA. The outcomes of this study can be used to evaluate similar programs in the future and can be used by public agencies and policymakers to make decisions on expanding investments in such programs.

Background Our study aimed to examine the effects of COVID-19 on the physical fitness and academic performance of Chinese college students. Participants The sample included physical fitness test data from 9,712 undergraduate students and academic performance data from 12,000 undergraduate students at a top university in China. Methods Physical fitness was measured and evaluated according to the Chinese National Student Physical Fitness Standard. Data were analyzed using two-sample t-tests and Pearson product-moment correlations. Results Total physical fitness test scores of college students decreased after the outbreak, but their mean body mass index (BMI) remained at normal levels. The mean academic performance of college students unexpectedly improved during the online learning period. The positive correlation between physical test scores and academic performance was significantly higher during COVID-19 than that before the outbreak. Conclusions Chinese college students with high physical fitness during COVID-19 were more likely to achieve good academic performance.

The current study intended to examine the association between emotion regulation (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and academic performance in university students. In this correlational study, a sample of 300 (men=119; women=181) university students (BS and MS programs) in the age range of 18-29 years (M=21.45; SD=2.14) was selected randomly from a public sector university in Faisalabad city, Pakistan. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003) was used to assess emotion regulation whereas the percentages of obtained marks in the last semester/degree program served as the measure of the academic performance of the participants. The results depicted a significant correlation between emotion regulation and academic performance indicating a significant positive association between cognitive reappraisal and academic performance while, a significant negative association between expressive suppression and academic performance in university students. Moreover, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression were found to be significant predictors of academic performance. Besides the significant implications of this study highlighting the role of relevant policymakers, university authorities, students’ counselors, and mental health professionals, suggestions for future studies are discussed based on the current findings.

Introduction. The article examines the influence of various factors on the academic performance of university students. The purpose of the article is to identify the degree of influence of various factors on first-year university students’ academic performance taking into account their gender. The study is based on students’ self-assessment. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the research was the articles of Russian and foreign scholars devoted to the factors affecting the academic performance of university students (A. Alhadabi, H. W. Brink, Y. García, H. G. Hidajat, E. V. Krekhovets, F. Moradi, N. S. Nurieva, A. O. Ryazhkin, V. N. Shlyapnikov, D. R. Valeeva, S. D. Vaulin, S. V. Yaroshevskaya, I. Živčić-Bećirević and etc.). The empirical study was carried out at Tyumen State University. The sample consisted of 232 first-year students of various fields of study, including 101 males and 131 females. Results. The analysis of the scholarly literature on the research problem enabled the authors to identify the factors that influence the academic performance of university students and propose a classification of these factors. Based on students’ self-assessment, the degree of influence of each of the selected factors on their academic performance was determined. Significant differences in the assessment of the influence of a few factors on academic performance related to the students’ gender were revealed. According to the self-assessment of students, the competence of academic staff has the strongest influence on their academic performance. Within the framework of the proposed classification of factors, the most important for students was a group of factors related to their personal characteristics. Factors related to randomness and academic fraud were ranked among the least important. Intrinsic motivation as a factor influencing academic performance turned out to be more important than extrinsic positive and extrinsic negative motivation. Conclusions. The experimental data show that women, to a greater extent than men, associate their academic performance with external factors (teachers’ competence, learning environment, study facilities), or with their innate personality traits (intellectual abilities, memory characteristics and attention, emotional balance). For men, a more significant factor in academic performance is relying on their own strengths and expectations of success from their efforts. At the same time, their academic performance is more determined by the social environment at the university.

PurposeCreating suitable learning conditions in university classrooms continues to be a topical issue in higher education. The above means that a continued search for innovative teaching and learning strategies in universities remains a priority issue. The study therefore investigated conditions that facilitate the effective implementation of cooperative learning (CL) as well as how CL influences the academic performance of students in universities in Zimbabwe.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopted a quantitative research approach located in the descriptive research design. A sample of 341 undergraduate students selected using a simple random sampling strategy from a sample frame of 701 undergraduate students participated in the study. The study first used a pre-test and later, a post-test to determine the initial and end of semester (EOS) academic performance levels of students, respectively, on a Calculus 1 course. A self-constructed structured questionnaire was also used for data collection on the views of students towards the use of CL with particular reference to the 5 dimensions of positive interdependence (PDI), promotive interaction (PI), individual and group accountability (IGA), social and interpersonal skills (SS) and group processing (GP). The questionnaire was validated using confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modelling was used to test proposed relationships. A total of 341 questionnaires were administered through an email survey. Of the total, 149 completed questionnaires were received from the students, giving a return rate of 43.7%.FindingsThe results showed that positive interdependence, promotive interaction, social and interpersonal skills, individual and group accountability as well as group processing were important antecedents to the effective implementation of CL in universities. The results further showed that CL plays a significant role in improving the academic performance of university students; hence, academic performance was viewed as a significant consequence of CL.Research limitations/implicationsThis is the first study on the application of CL to enhance the academic performance of university students in the context of Zimbabwe. As a result, caution should be exercised when generalising the results as more studies to either confirm or disconfirm these results in the context of Zimbabwe may still be required.Practical implicationsThese results have implications on policy and practice with regards to active teaching strategies in universities. With regards to practice, the results demonstrated that the use of group activities that allow students to share knowledge and support each other while the teacher plays a facilitating role is important for enhancing students' academic performance. With regards to policy, the results showed that universities can enhance the academic performance of students if policies that promote student-centered teaching and learning approaches to ensure that teaching in universities is more student-led than lecturer-led are developed.Originality/valueWhile many studies have been conducted in other contexts, to establish the influence of CL on the academic performance of university students, there is no known study on the influence of CL that has been conducted in the context of Zimbabwean universities. The results of this study therefore are an eye opener on the role of CL in enhancing the academic performance of students in Zimbabwean universities.

Software modeling is an essential practice in software engineering, requiring the application of both abstract thinking and systems thinking. Despite its importance, there is limited empirical research on how these cognitive skills are enacted during the modeling process. This study investigates how undergraduate students apply abstract and systems thinking while constructing software models using Unified Modeling Language (UML). Employing a case study approach with think‐aloud protocols, the research is framed through the lens of epistemic forms and games to analyze student reasoning. Six students who had completed a second‐year systems analysis and design course participated in the study. Thematic analysis of their modeling sessions revealed how abstract and systems thinking were enacted through structural, functional, and process‐oriented epistemic games. Two distinct modeling sequences—structural‐before‐behavioral and behavioral‐before‐structural—were identified, each associated with different cognitive strategies. Chronological visualizations were developed to illustrate these modeling paths. Key contributions of this study include a novel integration of epistemic games into modeling analysis, a detailed characterization of student modeling behavior, and actionable recommendations for instructional scaffolds to support the development of modeling proficiency in computing education.

Background: The ravages of COVID-19 escalated the penetration of online education and usage of digital technologies. While educational institutions across the globe adopted different forms of computer-mediated communication, the institutes in India have gradually attuned to the new normal, notwithstanding the initial glitches of adopting new technology and shifting to blended. It became increasingly significant to gain a better understanding of students’ perspectives of newly emerged learning environment. This motivated the researchers to study the digital competencies (DC) and their impact on students’ learning agility (LA) and perceived learning (PL) in professional/technical education.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a DigiComp 2.1 framework was attempted to investigate the relationship between DC and PL among higher education students in India. The data from 359 graduate and post-graduate students were analyzed using Structural equation modelling and Process Macro 4.0.Results: The findings of this study revealed that DC has a significant positive impact on PL (b = 0.33; p < 0.001), indicating that higher learners’ DC leads to higher learning outcomes. Similarly, DC also had a significant positive impact on LA (b = 0.59; p < 0.001), suggesting that the higher DC of learners leads to higher learning agility. Further, a positive significant relationship was also found between LA and PL (b = 0.21; p < 0.001). This significant positive path reveals that higher learners’ agility leads to higher student learning outcomes.Discussion: Post-COVID, DC, a technology-related skill set is linked to the academic performance of teachers and students. Our findings reveal that DC significantly positively impacts PL and LA. Therefore, we recommend that the higher educational institutes in India consider the inclusion of DC in their curriculum as a fundamental competence for a better learning outcome for learners.

Proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout in undergraduate nursing students in China.

Education for centuries has focused on the intellect, leaving aside the emotional factor, which impacts the mental health of students and, in turn, academic performance. The objective is to establish the relationship between emotional intelligence with academic performance in university students. It is multicenter with a quantitative approach; sampling is non-probabilistic. The TMMS-24 meta-knowledge trait scale about emotional states was applied to measure Emotional Intelligence. In the academic performance, the general average of the participants was used. There is a relationship between levels of emotional intelligence with academic performance. The information is useful for proposing intervention strategies during the training of emotional competencies from admission.

Self-efficacy, self-discipline and academic performance: Testing a context-specific mediation model