In this experiment, an incoming first-year class of Computer Information Technology (CIT) students were administered a survey assessing them on a number of independent variables including personality traits, learning styles, time management and logical problem solving ability. The results of this survey were then compared with the dependent variable as measured by the students’ actual academic performance during their first semester of an introductory course in computer programming.
49 first year CIT students were enrolled at the start of the fall 2010 semester at Lethbridge College in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Of these students, 43 agreed to participate in the study, an 87% response rate. By the time the first major or midterm exam was conducted in late October, 35 students remained enrolled in the course and wrote the exam. Only 27 students remained in the course to write the second midterm and final exam.
Of the students participating in this study, 2 were female; only 1 of which completed the course. The average age of the participants was 24 years, with the oldest being 50 years old and the youngest being 18.
The pre-test instrument included:
The BFI was used because it is a shorter instrument comprising only 44 questions, and is freely available for non-commercial use. Its use by Allen and Robbins has been shown to correlate with measures of student motivation as measured by the SRI.
The ILS was selected because it is developed from a composite of learning models, namely the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Kolb’s Learning Style Model and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (Thomas, Ratcliffe, Woodburry, & Jarman, 2002). It is free of charge and is administered as a web application with immediate scoring.
A review of available literature found no suitable questionnaire or other instrument to measure the time management practices or recreational activities of post-secondary students. For this reason, a series of 22 questions were developed to determine if time management and the allocation of recreational time by students can provide any prediction of their academic success. These questions and the range of responses is listed in Appendix A.
Problem solving ability was measured using a series of questions proposed by Toplak and Stanovich (2002) and augmented by some less demanding questions proposed by Frederick (2005). One analytical reasoning question (Newstead, Bradon, Handley, Dennis, & Evans, 2006) was also included in an attempt to give this factor a wide spectrum for assessment. The text of these questions is found in Appendix B.
[1] The BFI is copyright 1991 by Oliver Johns. It is used with permission.
[2] The ILS is copyright 1991 and 1994 by North Carolina State University and authored by Richard M. Felder and Barbara A. Soloman. It is and used with permission.
Following an introduction to the study and the solicitation of informed consent from participants, the pre-study instrument was provided to students in early September. Students completed the survey during a regular class period.
The evaluations were graded as follows:
As part of their regular course work, students completed three major exams during the semester; these exams and the final exam grade were then compared to the responses from the pre-study survey. Students who dropped the class prior to completing the first exam were excluded from the study. A cumulative performance score composed of the average of all exams completed by a student was also calculated.
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