Measuring which support systems really work to improve students learning in your class – A case study on quantitative methods courses in the social sciences

• Dimitri Prandner ; Ahmed Tabakobic ^[1]
  1. [1] Department of Communication Studies, Paris Lodron University Salzburg, Austria
• Localización: 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd' 19) / Josep Domènech i de Soria (ed. lit.), Paloma Merello Giménez (ed. lit.), Elena de la Poza Plaza (ed. lit.), Desamparados Blázquez (ed. lit.), Raúl Peña Ortiz (ed. lit.), 2019, ISBN 978-84-9048-661-0, págs. 1027-1034
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Libro  1    2  
• Resumen

  • While the so-called “datafication of society” increased the societal relevance of quantitative data analysis, social science students – who should use such data to understand and explain society – are often skeptical towards quantitative methods and overwhelmed by it.

    Thus, universities around the world should find means to help their students improve their corresponding analytical skills.

    The paper uses a case study from the University of Salzburg – Austria – to illustrate which aspects actually improve student-learning outcomes in the field of quantitative methods. The researched aspects focus on the program and institutional levels and address two specific issues: The evaluation and feedback on student performance and the introduction of additional support structures.

    While homework and feedback still show the best results additional – technology based – approaches like video-tutorials have a significant impact on student performance.