Toward Predicting Student’s Academic Performance Using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs)

Effects of co-curricular activities on student's academic performance by machine learning

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.

The aim of this study is to undertake an empirical inquiry and comparison of the effectiveness of various classifiers with ensembles classifiers in the prediction of student academic performance. A single classifier algorithm will be compared against the performance and efficiency of ensemble classifiers. Reducing student attrition is a major problem for educational institutions all over the world. The search for solutions to increase student retention and graduation rates continues for educators. This is only possible if at-risk students are identified and intervened with as soon as possible. However, the majority of regularly used prediction models are inefficient and inaccurate as a result of inherent classifier limitations and the inclusion of insignificant inputs in their calculations. The majority of data mining and machine learning researcher focused on developing an algorithm that can extract useful information from massive amounts of data after being processed by a computer. The most difficult problem in predictive modelling is identifying the most effective prediction algorithms that are also accurate enough to be useful. Therefore, a multi-level homogeneous ensemble predictive (MLHoEP) model is designed, which uses the different techniques of data mining like feature selection, ensemble learning techniques like boosting and bagging. Seven distinct machine learning algorithms were used on this model to predict and analyse the academic performance of the students. The performance of the classification algorithms in terms of prediction was evaluated using k-fold cross-validation. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by suggesting the development of homogeneous classifiers that may be used to accurately predict students’ academic success. It also proposes the construction of homogeneous classifiers, which may be deployed for accurate student performance prediction, in order to provide a better explanation for the poor performance prediction. As a result of this research, it has been demonstrated that the technique of applying homogeneous ensemble approaches is incredibly efficient and accurate in terms of predicting student performance and assisting in identifying students, who are in danger of dropping out of school. The study compared the accuracy and efficiency of single classifiers to ensembles of classifiers in terms of performance. It was discovered in the research that a homogeneous model with excellent accuracy and efficiency might be developed for anticipating student performance. These key problems have been successfully addressed by the findings of this research study: Which characteristics of students are the most effective predictors of academic performance? How accurate are approaches such as bagging and boosting ensembles for predicting student academic performance? The approach offered in this study will aid educational administrators and policymakers in designing new policies and curriculum-linked to student retention in higher education. This research can also aid in the identification of students who are at risk of dropping out of school early, providing for timely intervention and support. Prospective research will examine the creation and implementation of an automated prediction system known as the students’ academic performance forecast framework, which will collect data from students via online submission and produce a prediction result for their academic performance.KeywordsEducational data miningEnsemble learningMultilayer perceptronRandom forestNaïve BayesCorrelation attribute evaluationInformation gainGain ratio

This study compares the effectiveness of virtual and traditional field trip strategies on academic performance and motivation of students in conservation concepts of biology in North-West Nigeria. The study developed 2 research objectives one of which is to: compare the effectiveness of virtual and traditional field trip strategies on academic performance of students in conservation concept. The study was guided by 2 research questions and 2 null hypotheses. A Quasi experimental research using test-retest method of pretest and posttest was adopted for the study. A sample of 120 N.C.E II biology students comprising of 81 males and 39 females were randomly selected from the population of 357 students of which 213 are males and 114 are females. The study developed 2 instruments namely: Conservation Concepts Performance Test (CCPT) and Conservation Concepts Motivation Questionnaire (CCMQ) which are validated and found reliable with r=0.65. At the end of the treatment data was collected and analyzed using Means and standard deviations to answer the research question while t-test and Mann- Whitney Statistics were used to answer the null hypotheses. The results obtained showed that: significant differences exist between the performance of students taught using virtual field trip strategy and those exposed to traditional field trip strategy. From the findings recommendations were made one of which is: the Ministry of Education/ colleges should provide a biology Virtual environment to serve each school in the region as technology is seen to help improve the performance and raise the level of motivation in biology concepts, moreover it will help to overcome problems faced by teachers from a lack of real field trips which leads to ignorance of some abstract concepts such as conservation concepts biology.

BackgroundThis study aimed to examine differences in socio-demographics and health behaviour between Belgian first year university students who attended all final course exams and those who did not. Secondly, this study aimed to identify weight and health behaviour related correlates of academic performance in those students who attended all course exams.MethodsAnthropometrics of 101 first year university students were measured at both the beginning of the first (T1) and second (T2) semester of the academic year. An on-line health behaviour questionnaire was filled out at T2. As a measure of academic performance student end-of-year Grade Point Averages (GPA) were obtained from the university’s registration office. Independent samples t-tests and chi 2 -tests were executed to compare students who attended all course exams during the first year of university and students who did not carry through. Uni- and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to identify correlates of academic performance in students who attended all course exams during the first year of university.ResultsStudents who did not attend all course exams were predominantly male, showed higher increases in waist circumference during the first semester and consumed more French fries than those who attended all final course exams. Being male, lower secondary school grades, increases in weight, Body Mass Index and waist circumference over the first semester, more gaming on weekdays, being on a diet, eating at the student restaurant more frequently, higher soda and French fries consumption, and higher frequency of alcohol use predicted lower GPA’s in first year university students. When controlled for each other, being on a diet and higher frequency of alcohol use remained significant in the multivariate regression model, with frequency of alcohol use being the strongest correlate of GPA.ConclusionsThis study, conducted in Belgian first year university students, showed that academic performance is associated with a wide range of weight and health related behaviours. Future studies should investigate whether interventions aiming at promoting healthy behaviours among students could also have a positive impact on academic performance.

Presently, Information and Communication Technologies (I&CT) is considered one of key element as services and features in higher education. Learning through traditional way is no longer the norm in higher education at present. Instead, advanced ICT is becoming a viable paradigm for fundamentally altering Higher Education Institutions (HIEs). In this regard, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has launched several initiatives and made significant investments in the usage of technology in the education segment. However, it is unclear what influence ICT usage will have upon the environment, student academic performance, and learning. Evidence from literature the scarcity of research available on ICT impacts on students' academic performance, as well as the effectiveness of ICT in universities. Therefore, it needs to recognize the significance of ICT availability and the academic performance of students. The determination of this study is to explore, examine, and evaluate ICT acceptance impact on student performance at universities in Sindh, Pakistan. This study based on the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with various external factors. This is the basic model to understand user observations and behavior toward latent acceptance and denial. This research is based on a quantitative research technique for triangulate to acquire the optimal research outcome. A collection of facts in this study from students will be a cross-sectional questionnaire survey method. The Structure equation modeling (SEM) will be used to determine the rationality of the research model with Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software. The estimated outcome of this study will showcase the extent at universities in Sindh, and also showcase the ICT impact on student academic performance. Based on those outcomes a critical framework would be recommended for students to integrate ICT.The significance of this framework will be recommended (HEIs) to enrich the quality of the education system by efficiently employing ICT to improve students' capacity to be more effective and quality-oriented professionals.

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.

Malaysia Education Blueprint for Higher Education 2015-2025 outlines the aspiration to assess the current performance of students and challenges towards improving the quality of higher education. Following that, there is a need to dissect the approach towards students’ quality enhancement. Pierre Bourdieu introduced the form of capital in 1986 to disseminate the cultural influence-factor in the education sector. The cultural capital interlinks with studies in the education context which varies in multiple disciplinary and sectorial reflected in the field of focus. This paper provides a conceptual narrative towards understanding the possible influence of Bourdieu’s cultural capital in landscape architecture education. The objective is to discover the link between cultural capital and landscape architecture education through extensive reviews of literature. Past studies on cultural capital showed a positive link in education measured through students’ academic performance. However, there was a lack of study focusing on landscape architecture field. Bourdieu theorised on the unique disposition of each field and the capitals that interact in that particular field. Following the reviews, a conceptual framework is developed to explain the interrelationships among the three mechanisms of cultural capital and the academic performance of landscape architecture students. The dissemination of cultural capital into three dimensions of embodied, institutionalised, and objectified capitals points to a possible interlink of influence that cultural capital exerts towards the academic performance of students in the landscape architecture education field. Malaysian higher education and universities benefit from this paper in knowledge generation regarding the possible impact of cultural capital in architecture education sector towards improving the students’ quality and academic experience.

Introduction Several studies in the literature have highlighted the impact of cognitive impairment and academic performance (AP) in students with sensorineural hearing loss in specialised schools for the deaf. However, few studies have been conducted on this subject in our setting. Purpose The objective of this study was to determine the influence of hearing impairment (HI) and cognitive level on AP in students attending specialised schools for the deaf in Kongo Central. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 126 deaf students. The parameters collected included sociodemographic, clinical, and paraclinical data. HI was confirmed using pure tone audiometry (PTA) and classified according to WHO criteria. Cognition was assessed using Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), a non-verbal intelligence test, to determine the intelligence quotient (IQ). Data were analysed using SPSS version 26.0. Results A total of 126 students, including 75 boys, were enrolled. The dominant age group was >18 years (44.4%). Most participants were Jehovah’s Witnesses (38.1%) and lived in low-income households (62.7%). Nearly 85.7% of the students had severe to profound HI, with post-lingual onset in 60.3%, and 57.1% had a low IQ. The mean AP was 50.54 ± 6.56%. There was a weak negative correlation between hearing loss and AP (r = -0.30; p < 0.001). Students with above-average IQ had significantly higher AP scores compared to those with low or average IQ (p = 0.005). A significant negative correlation was also observed between advancing age and IQ (p < 0.001), indicating that IQ tends to decline slightly with age, explaining 10.7% of the variance. Conclusion The lack of schooling for deaf children is a significant issue in our context. Advancing age significantly impairs AP, underscoring the need to enrol these students at the appropriate school age.

The aim of this research study is to find out cause and effect of clinical depression on academic achievements and performance of students. The Main objective of this chronic mental illness is to find out the striking depth of stress and depression on learning outcomes of students. Factors that impact on academic performance caused by clinical depression were investigated. Literature review indicates that clinical depression negatively impact on academic performance of students in terms of lack of confidence, communication problem, time management and trust issues particularly at university level. Public sector university of Karachi was selected as the population of the study. This research is based on the quantitative method. Questionnaire has been set, as a tool for this research. The sample size included 100 students from twenty departments of eight faculties through simple random sampling. Data analysis has been done by descriptive statistical techniques using percentage method. Closed ended questionnaire tool were designed for the collection of data based on five liker scale. The collected was analyzed and results were at moderate level 33% respondents were strongly agree, 47% agree, 13% neutral while strongly disagree and disagree were7%.The findings of this research shows that clinical depression adversely impact on academic performance of the students at University of Karachi. It affects academic performance as well as it has long term impact on student’s mental performance. The hypothesis considered for this research is accepted.

Background: Suboptimal academic performance by the majority of students at higher educationallevel has been linked with ineffective teaching methods by teachers/lecturers. The aim of this studywas to assess teaching methods, academic, and clinical performances among student nurses in schoolsof nursing, in North-west Nigeria.Methods: The study adopted a mixed approach of a cross-sectional design. The sample comprises of95 tutors, 31 clinical instructors, 698 students, and the final year students from five selected schools. Anadapted questionnaire was used for data collection. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptiveand inferential statistic with the aid of IBM SPSS Version 20. The qualitative data were summarizeusing thematic content analysis.Results: Lectures, demonstration, and discussion were the most frequently used methods of instructionin the schools. The average academic performances of students were credit (C). The academicperformance of students in the final examination and Nursing Council Exam was “Pass”. Most ofthe students obtained a C-grade in the clinical examination. The clinical performance rating of thestudents in both the school and the nursing Council was “Pass” grade. There was a Significant positivecorrelation between the academic performance of third year students and their clinical performance(<.05). Most students were satisfied with lecture teaching method because of its ability to ensurecurriculum coverage.Conclusions: Clinical performance of students increased with an increased academic performance.Students preferred lectures and demonstration as methods of instruction. The tutors should trained andmotivated students to use students’ centred Learning methods in the administration of their lessons.

PurposeThis paper aims to evaluate educational data mining methods to increase the predictive accuracy of student academic performance for a university course setting. Student engagement data collected in real time and over self-paced activities assisted this investigation.Design/methodology/approachClassification data mining techniques have been adapted to predict students’ academic performance. Four algorithms, Naïve Bayes, Logistic Regression, k-Nearest Neighbour and Random Forest, were used to generate predictive models. Process mining features have also been integrated to determine their effectiveness in improving the accuracy of predictions.FindingsThe results show that when general features derived from student activities are combined with process mining features, there is some improvement in the accuracy of the predictions. Of the four algorithms, the study finds Random Forest to be more accurate than the other three algorithms in a statistically significant way. The validation of the best-known classifier model is then tested by predicting students’ final-year academic performance for the subsequent year.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study was limited to datasets gathered over one semester and for one course. The outcomes would be more promising if the dataset comprised more courses. Moreover, the addition of demographic information could have provided further representations of students’ performance. Future work will address some of these limitations.Originality/valueThe model developed from this research can provide value to institutions in making process- and data-driven predictions on students’ academic performances.

Background and Aim: Many factors have an impact on academic performance, cognitive function one of the most important factor which affect the academic performance, cognitive means conscious mental activity as thinking, remembering, learning or using language. The objective of the study was to assess association between the oxygen saturation level, cognitive function and academic performance of medical students. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study conducted between October 2016 to April 2017. Simple random sampling of 88 medical students were included in the study. A self-administrated questionnaire including factors affect the oxygen saturation levels, measurement of the oxygen saturation by pulse oximeter, and digital span test which include forward and backward test. The data from this research were analyzed using mean descriptive and inferential statistical tests, standard deviation, and t-test and ANOVA with a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Results showed that academic performance of the students had the highest correlation with the cognitive functions (p

It has been observed that majority of students do not have effective study habit skills that are proportional to their academic demands. In recent times, reports of large scale academic failures among Nigerian students have become a subject of concern for stakeholders. Although, a lot have been written on study habits and academic performance of students in many areas but the effects of study habits on academic performance of CRS students seems to be a neglected area. This study, therefore, attempts to isolate time allocation and management as a factor of study habits and examine its effects on the academic performance of CRS students in Federal College of Education, Zaria. The following hypothesis that &ldquo;there is no significant difference in the opinions of CRS students on the effects of time allocation and management on academic performance in Federal College of Education, Zaria&rdquo; guided the study. Primary and secondary data used in the study were collected through Study Habit Inventory and other relevant materials.&nbsp; The primary data were analyzed using tables and simple percentages while independent t-test was employed to test the hypothesis.&nbsp; The results revealed that majority of CRS students at NCE level in Federal College of Education, Zaria used poor time allocation and management which was likely to have affected their academic performance. It was therefore recommended, among others, that students should be counseled on the effective time allocation and management.

This study investigates the mediating effects of teacher organizational commitment on the relationship between principal's instructional leadership and students' academic performance. Principals' effective leadership performance is assumed to be responsible for students' academic performance. However, many findings from the literature indicate no significant direct effect between instructional leadership and students' academic performance. Therefore, the current study hypothesized that principals' instructional leadership indirectly enhances students' academic performances through teacher organizational commitment. Data obtained from 440 primary school teachers from the state of Azad Jammu &amp; Kashmir of Pakistan and pre-existing school academic performance data obtained from each school participated. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, employing AMOS. The study's findings indicate that there is an indirect positive effect of principals' instructional leadership and students' academic performance through teacher's organizational commitment. Hence, schools with higher instructional leadership levels had better teachers, commitment to school, teaching work, teaching occupation, workgroup, and higher student's academic performances. Therefore, increasing the instructional leadership practices in schools through teacher organizational commitment contributes to Pakistan's overall student academic performances. Therefore, it is recommended to use instructional leadership components in the curriculum that effectively train new principals.