the dissertation homework reviews

the dissertation homework reviews

The Impact of Online Homework Review Platforms on Academic Performance

1. Introduction to Online Homework Review Platforms

Key to the successful implementation of the flipped classroom is the selection of the most appropriate out-of-class instruction methodology. For instance, in most engineering and science disciplines, a portion of the homework associated with the flipped classroom is a combination of exercises aligned with instructional content and real-world problems, both reviewed by the instructor during in-class tutorials. When classes are composed of a large number of students, however, it is difficult to allocate sufficient time to review all assigned homework. Recent studies have shown that homework review is beneficial for students’ academic performance, motivation, and self-efficacy; it enhances student cognitive structures and clarifies learning objectives, and it directly addresses misconceptions and knowledge gaps. However, a major shortcoming with the traditional tutorial is the limited interaction between student and instructor, along with infrequent opportunities to ask questions, especially for self-conscious students who prefer to ask questions in a more private setting and for students from particular minority backgrounds who have experienced disproportionate levels of student attrition in STEM education. This is because class size and instructor hours spent on nonresearch activities have limited the ability to engage with students one on one.

In recent years, the advantages of a flipped classroom – the introduction of instructional content outside of class to supplement activities in traditional lectures – have received much attention, leading to improvements in student learning, understanding, and classroom attendance. A 2015 report published by the New Media Consortium Research Center revealed that more than 3,500 university instructors in the United States are using a flipped classroom to enhance teaching, with more than half of all faculty indicated as aware of this method of instruction. The learning theory underlying instructional content posted online in the flipped classroom is self-regulated learning (SRL), which advocates the incorporation of motivational, cognitive, and metacognitive support for students learning to self-monitor and control motivation, behavior, and cognitive activities.

1. Introduction

2. Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Online Homework Review Platforms

Sometimes these customized study plans and regular feedback can encourage students to watch their performance and improve weak areas. It is also found that providing prompt, specific feedback supports and encourages oral production on behalf of the students. Fourth, these systems will enhance the reputation of the instructors as someone knowledgeable about exercise. At the same time, instructors are also able to attract some elite students to contribute some good exercises and models to other students, enriching the resources on the platform. However, only the repeated study of a subject and the application of the content in a variety of ways leads to mastering the knowledge. Then two problems are caused by these systems, and they also need to be taken into account. Automated scoring means the level of language the student will face is predetermined, and the system can’t handle all grammar problems and punctuation.

Homework used to be the main way to practice what students learned in the classroom, but traditional homework has some limitations, including too much assistance from instructors and lack of immediate feedback. Online homework review platforms have a number of benefits. First, instructors are able to set their resources and materials for students to use, which can encourage students to practice what they have learned from the textbook. Second, the system behavior of the students can be watched by instructors to understand the process of the students working on an exercise. Third, the system will grade the exercise with automatic short feedback, which can greatly save time for the instructor. Students can also view the position to which they got to the exercise and where the right answer comes from in the resources. A customized study plan is generated after the system and students help to improve.

3. Effectiveness of Online Homework Review Platforms in Improving Academic Performance

The data screen in column (4) of Table 2 extends this analysis even further by showing that the positive effects of the platforms are particularly prominent among classes that historically do worst on assessments of skill development, as skills gained early within a course are more likely to be important to mastery of later topics. Specifically, and consistent with this fact, the benefit of using the platforms on overall course performance is three times larger for the bottom third of developing students than for the middle third and is six times larger than for the top third of skill developing students. While interesting in their own right, the estimates in column (3) of Table 1—which provide a preferred test of H1 in my research model—predict that there may not be much average treatment effect variation based on these ex ante skill level restrictions.

The data screen in Table 2 provides a primary examination of the potential effectiveness of these platforms in improving academic performance by summarizing the estimated effect of using an online homework review platform for each of the courses I study. For each class, these effects are calculated relative to the performance of a control group within the same class who completes the remainder of their homework in the traditional, non-digital way. A series of regressions are performed that control for the impact of a number of potential biases, an approach that is documented and described in the next section. Each regression examines the impact of using the platforms for a particular homework set on the associated grades students receive, with the control group’s score treated as the omitted “treatment” for that homework assignment. This allows scrupulous testing of how the average post-use difference actually scales, both positive and negative, without using the magnitude of the control group’s outcome as a predetermined benchmark.

4. Best Practices for Utilizing Online Homework Review Platforms

It is important to identify the role that other forces play in helping students succeed in and out of the classroom also. Therefore, from the perspective of an instructor, how can we harness the power of online homework platforms to reach course goals in a way that enhances rather than replaces their other learning experiences? The answer is that instructors could provide encouragement of the early homework submission. Moreover, instructors are encouraged to arrange extra office hours with the help of online homework submission records. The homework questions can be developed to have multi-stages to keep the students actively thinking during the process of doing homework as well. Formative feedback can be given to homework questions based on the monitored student’s online homework review activities which include the number of homework questions being viewed and the question’s rating scores. Besides the formative feedback, instructors are encouraged to identify students with great question ranking but poor performance. Tailored interventions could address this issue and improve the student’s performance. To sum up, working closely with online homework platforms in promoting student learning is a sound and strategic idea that can help instructors keep informed of their student’s progress in a more transparent manner and also provide students with clear and timely feedback assuming that it’s carefully designed and implemented, and it supplements rather than drives the learning process.

5. Future Trends and Innovations in Online Homework Review Platforms

Previous Section: 4.4. Limits and Extensions Next Section: 5. Conclusions

Second, the market for online homework review platforms is competitive. Platforms that have successful business models, including generating enough good questions, attracting and retaining tutors and students, and creating positive network effects, have seen improvements in their review scores and higher prices. These review platforms are becoming popular among college students who are willing to pay. On the other hand, those who use volunteer-based platforms like face uncertainty about the quality of submitted questions and answers. In this environment, while students might end up solving questions of poor quality, good questions are likely to remain unanswered. Therefore, the development of reliable recommender systems for question solicitation is a future innovation and research question for online homework review platforms. These recommendation algorithms should be able to offer suggestions for these factors. With its relative simplicity and indirect comparability, this assignment is different from an instrumental variable (IV)-style identification or a policy evaluation task that identifies peer learning effects using students who attend large classes and are subsequently reassigned to project groups under a computer-based randomization routine.

A number of trends and innovations in online homework review platforms are noticeable or possible in the future. First, besides the general growth of these reviewing websites, there is an increasing importance of homework support in educational settings. As a result, platforms specialized in reviewing homework in specific subject domains (such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and economics) are likely to grow more rapidly. This is consistent with the fact that our study found some indications that the benefits of reviewing homework might be subject-specific: the benefits appear to be different across the three educational levels we considered.