Category: Academic Challenges

This module has helped me gain both academic and personal skills that would prepare me to undertake real business scenarios I may face in my career. My reflective statement aims to show my journey so far by detailing my experiences, stating what skills I have and need to develop and what I aim to have achieved by the end of this module, course, and my time spent at university. Within the first weeks of the course, I set out ‘SMART Targets’ (Doran, 1981) which focus on setting ‘smart, measurable achievable, realistic, and time-based goals. (Day and Tosey, 2011) I set these (see Appendix Week 1 and 2) as I wanted to improve my performance throughout the module and these set SMART Targets I set for the 12 Weeks included: finish any work set three days before the deadline, do two hours of extra reading a week surrounding the module and not getting behind on logging my reflections each week.

Referring back to these targets when tasks were set throughout the past months improved my self-awareness as I focused on my ‘emotions, personality traits,…goals, perceptions’ (Morin, 2011). My emotional intelligence developed due to logging reflections each week which pushed me to discuss how I felt. An example of my emotional intelligence improving was when selecting a project manager. Knowing there was going to be a teamwork setting, I previously evaluated how I perform in a team. Normally putting myself forward for the lead role, I decided not to. Being aware of myself, I know my personality can come across as ‘bossy’ or ‘dominating’ and I wanted to see how I did if I took a different role. ‘Emotional intelligence influences an employee’s ability or inability to perform their job by managing their emotions…Having this social awareness affects a person’s capacity to manage workplace demands…’ (Davis, 2019) Both experiences taught me that it is essential to be self-aware and develop emotional intelligence when undertaking tasks as you can affect judgment, what is best for the task, the success level of the outcome, and working environment.

In most jobs working within a team occurs regularly. There were two group projects handed out. Project 1 (see appendix Week 3) had us present during Week 7 then I reflected on it using Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle which splits the reflection into six stages of ‘exploring an experience’ (Gibbs, 1988) (see Appendix Week 7). The reflection under ‘feelings’ is significant as it acknowledges how I felt about the presentation. As well, the evaluation and conclusion section as I identified where the project went wrong, what could of be done better, and how I would do it again which was good preparation for Project 2. (see Appendix Week 9). Project 2 was presented in Week 11, I reflected using a method similar to ‘5W1H problem solving’ (Kipling, 1902) (Jinks, 2019) where there was a set of questions that helped to focus on different parts of the reflection. I felt there were noticeable differences in how I worked, how the team worked, and what we achieved in our presentations in Week 7 vs Week 11. In Project 1 I wasn’t confident because of how we worked, and what we produced, and communication levels were low. However, in Project 2, although we had less time and a bigger task, what we produced was better due to improved communication. (see Appendix Week 7 and 11) My biggest challenge with teamwork was adjusting to online teams as never had done teamwork online. If we worked on another project, I believe having more group meetings would have helped us more. The teamwork I did within this module taught me that when you face challenges you need different perspectives for solutions.

Employees are often handed tasks that suit their abilities which helps achieve ‘maximum efficiency’ (Taylor, 1909). We undertook similar methods and selected a project manager and I got assigned a deputy which helped decide on individual tasks. (see Appendix Week 5) We discussed what we each were best at and our team leader delegated tasks. We didn’t follow the method strictly but increasing efficiency worked. We followed Taylor’s principles on ‘cooperation’, ‘harmony’, and ‘mental revolution’ (Kaur, Gupta, Dhand, and Gobindgarh, 2020), the idea of being equals and working as one. In Project 2 we used an approach that included more organization than we did in Project 1. Taking inspiration from the ‘Waterfall Model’ (Royce, 1970), a method where ‘each phase must be completed fully before the next phase can begin’ (Abouabdellah, Hassani and Idrissi, 2018), we clarified our process with The Study Skills Handbook. Going from section to section, the phases are: ‘preparation, research, analysis, writing up, and fine-tuning’ (Cottrell, 2019). I felt this was successful for our team as we got our second project done more efficiently even though we had a smaller timeframe to complete it (see Appendix Week 5 and Week 9). I felt more confident in what we produced, and what we had accomplished than I did in Project 1. (see Appendix 11)

Resilience is valued in every aspect of life, career, or personal. Essential for growth, it helps with motivation and reaching goals and has been shown that ‘workers with high resilience have better outcomes in difficult work environment’. (Shatté, Perlman, Smith, and Lynch, 2017) My resilience has developed over the 12 weeks due to both workshop challenges and personal challenges. I felt disappointed after Project 1, questioning myself and my ability but those feelings turned into motivation (see Appendix Week 8 and 9) when discussions about Project 2 started. I knew that I wanted to do better to prove to my tutor, my team but especially myself. I referred back to my reflection logs from Project 1 and identified what I could improve on for Project 2. As seen in my week 5 appendix, I went through a personal set back and it is very easy for personal challenges to affect your motivation. When reflecting on both instances of resilience I decided to add another set of SMART Targets for when I reviewed my action plan after the 12 weeks

For me to be able to put the skills developed through my experiences in this module so far into practice I have created an action plan. By using ‘mini-targets as well as deadlines’ (Cottrell, 2010) I can develop the skills I gained further and it provides a guide to follow as I enter semester two of this module. Action plans are valuable to implement as they assist organizational skills and teamwork, focus on goals, can change to new challenges I may encounter, and adapt as my skills develop.

1. Introduction

Education has become one of the main sources of income in many foreign countries (Hegarty as cited by Ecochard and Fotheringham, 2017). Many Asian students leave their country to study in other countries such as Australia and United Kingdom for good quality of education. Although studying aboard has benefited students in providing them a good quality education, students have to go through many difficulties. It is very important to understand the difficulties when choosing to study in different country. When Asian students come to English-speaking nations, they must fine-tune their language skills hastily and learn fast, coping both mentally and culturally. Therefore, international students are closely affected by language proficiency, the kinds of pedagogy, practices and even culture that they have to go through. This review attempts to show the Academic challenges and language proficiency difficulties international students have to overcome to study at universities in western countries having similar situation in Australia.

2. Challenges

2.1 Language Proficiency

The utmost dispute of Non English speaking international students are spoken language proficiency and writing proficiency once they come to study outside home country (Angelova and Riazantseva; Cadman; Ferris as cited by Bailey, 2012). According to Kim (2011), International students studying aboard cannot communicate efficiently with native English speaker due to little proficiency they have. Additionally, Burns stated that most international students keep worrying about English language problems and their lack of ability to understand lecture (as cited by Hu and Zhang, 2013), result in line with Ramachandran, hestated that international students are not comfortable in English Speaking environment because of their lack in proficiency in English speaking (as cited in Ecochard and Fotheringham, 2017). Although international students do regulate language proficiency exam before entering university (Bai as cited in Ecochard and Fotheringham, 2017), these skill are not sufficient for them during their study time in aborad(Wu & Hammond, cited in Ecochard and Fotheringham, 2017). Conversely, the lack of proficiency not only affects international students, even local students face such difficulties in their first year (Bailey and Pieterick as cited in Bailey, 2012).

In addition, international students lack proficiency in writing in English since most international students do not have more practice in writing English in their native country (Wu & Hammond as cited in Ecochard and Fotheringham, 2017), Likewise, many international students hardly understand the easy writing system since they hardly write in English in their country.As a result, international students make mistakes in grammar, citation and other writing structure when they are enrolled in western country for further study (Bailey, 2012).

2.2 Academic challenges

Secondly, international student come across challenge called academic stressors (Araujo, 2011). Students studying aboard have to deal with unfamiliar classroom practice and presentation style along with different group work (Kim, 2011). Confirming previous findings, Hu and Zhang (2013) found out that international students lack in accepting the American style of Academic process and fails to understand the lecture. However, international students still try their hard to make off with new classroom practice and improve their academic mark (Kim, 2017). Additionally, the difference in teaching style adds academic stress for international students (Quan et al., 2016 as cited in Ecochard and Fotheringham, 2017), for example in foreign country lecturer ask students to prepare for presentation without informing what they have to do and how they have to work out, whereas in Asian country teacher give proper instruction before starting any assignment and make students understand their work (Kim, 2011). Further international students have to work on their essay and other assignment proficiency (Bailey, 2012). For example, the writing referencing mechanics, embedding the in text citation and paraphrasing style in assignment are considered important feature of writing and for most international student it is new (Liu as cited in Bailey, 2012) which adds more stress to international student to cope up.

3. Evaluation and Critique

Strength and Limitation

After reading through these studies, their strengths and limitations will be discussed. Kim’s (2011) study was conducted through personal interview that has given result through individual experience.In Parallel, Bailey (2012) has done his report with proper framework using incoming data available following specific pattern of questioning, data collection, and information providing opportunities to get more important clues about the topic instead of being confidential and often self-fulfilling point of view. Whereas, Ecochard and Fotheringham’s (2017) review has combined findings from different article to get an exact conclusion for clear information for reader.

On the contrary, Kim’s (2011) study lacked sufficient evidence to make the arguments stronger since his respondents was less than ten students. In the same vein, Bailey’s (2012) research does not have statistically representative result which means it is rather tricky to measure the response given. This has the added drawback of proving if the statistics collected are real or duplicate. Therefore, future research should consider an in-depth understanding of the adjustments international student go through in their study abroad experience while still coping with the challenges.

4. Conclusion

The purpose of this literature review relates to the difficulties international students face when they are enrolled for study in country where English speaking is considered as first language. As a result language and Academic challenges are hardest for international student to deal where international student have to work on with their speaking and writing proficiency ability and have to adjust with the dynamic classroom environment. In Academic challenges international students have to learn all different type of referencing and paraphrasing along with understanding classroom discussion and presentation. Speaking proficient language with native community is difficult but if one could then they can improve themselves in case of academic result. However, this choice of review scope precludes an in-depth discussion of problems facing international student. Since question is left unanswered by this review and much scope are left for future researcher.

5. Reference List

1. Arajua, A. (2011). Adjustment Issues of International Students Enrolled in American Colleges and Universities: A Review of the Literature. Higher Education studies, 1(1) pp (1-8), doi:10.5539/hes. v1n1p2, Retrieved from: www.ccsenet.org/hes
2. Bailey, C. (2012). Negotiating writing: Challenges of the first written assignment at a UK university. In S. Sovic& M. Blythman (Eds.), International students negotiating higher education: Critical perspectives. Routledge.Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=1075205.
3. Ecochard, S., & Fotheringham, J. (2017). International students’ unique challenges–Why understanding international transitions to higher education matters. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 5(2), 100-108. Retrieved from https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/62206/
4. Hu, W., Zang, Z. (2013). International Students’ Adjustment Problems at University: A Critical Literature Review. Academic Research International, 3(2), pp (400-406). Retrieved from: www.journals.savap.org.pk
5. Kim, H. Y. (2011). International graduate students’ difficulties: Graduate classes as a community of practices. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(3), 281-292. Retrieved from https://srhe.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13562517.2010.524922#.XedV7S1L3ow

I. Introduction

Stress is a positive or negative feeling that people experiences on how they will react to situations in their lives whether physically and emotionally. Stress is more about our ability to deal with change than it is about whether that change makes us feel better or awful. Change happens constantly, and stress is in the broad part of what we feel when we are responding to it. According to Han Selye founder of the stress theory, two kinds of stresses is good stress and bad stress. Eustress or also called as good stress gives challenges that people are motivated to work hard and meet their goals. On the other hand, Distress or bad stress results in a stressful situation that leads to a negative health outcome. There are different kinds of people who experience stress with a different reason why they are experiencing it. Students are normally the ones who always experiences academic stress. Men and women have various responses to stress, in both physically and mentally. They attempt to manage stress in very different ways and perceive their ability to do so and the things that stand in their way in markedly different ways. How do men and women handle stress in education?

II. Sections

Stress is an inevitable phenomenon in each aspects of students’ life. It’s typically an emotional imbalance that might be due to many reasons such as exams, assignments, papers and projects, competitive nature in field of study, money issues, distressed regarding future job prospects. Students are typically cope with pressures associated with earn related to marks and to urge a degree is incredibly high.

Academic stress to students includes mental trouble in regards to foreseen academic challenges or disappointment or even the fear of the probability of academic failure. Students also experienced academic stress emerging from both their own desires to exceed expectations just as expectations emerging from their teachers and parents. Student experiences stress because of their exams. Some student who experiences this kind of stress normally undergoes an extreme depression and some commits suicide. Because of the burden that they feel inside of them, they do such things that they did not expect that they could do it.

Recently, Mazumdar, et al. (2012), reported that the different side effects, which lead to stress, for the most part, found in more numbers of females compared with males. Garrett (2001) revealed 5 major provenances among the female that severally are failing in their exams, the pressure of exams, to be rejected by somebody, the break up in their relationship and eventually money issues. Two distressing issues among females are money related and academic issues (Richlin- Klonsky & Hoe, 2003). Kai-Wen (2009) findings advised that in contrast to the female students, the most downside of male is the family problems; the stress of higher grades students related to the mental (emotional) and physical factor; while those of students who take an advance are increasingly distressing in the said issues above.

Calaguas (2011) claimed that the significant difference between the female and male student is because of their view of the subject, lecturers, academic program, and classroom their attitude toward the stressors, but did not significantly differ between enrolment or admission perception, their classmate, and the stressors’ financial issues. If we compare the mentioned points with the male students in the terms of their scores, male students are more stressful than females. While, female students scored higher, this identified with educators, expectations, finances, and classrooms (Calaguas, 2011). Therefore, there is a wide disparity between male and female students toward academic stress. The stressors’ factor, for example, the subjects, the instructors, conditions of academic places like their classes, and the desire for both groups can be connected with this phenomenon.

III. Conclusion

Stress is an inescapable phenomenon in each aspects of students’ life. Stress is more about our ability to deal with change than it is about whether that change makes us feel better or awful. Change happens constantly, and stress is in the broad part of what we feel when we are responding to it. Academic stress to students includes mental trouble in regards to foreseen academic challenges or disappointment or even the fear of the probability of academic failure. The factors that are contributed to the stress are the management of time, communication with lecturers, high standards of parents, student-teacher quantitative relation, distraction in unfavorable surroundings such as class, and expectations of lecturers and etc. The stress levels are completely different between male and female students .Stress effects on the female a lot of more in educational career.it had been also interesting to focus on that important distinction within the perception male and female students relating to the stressors. These various perceptions will be attributed to the male and female perspective.

Abstract

This paper includes my self-reflection with five of the concepts that were covered in class. It also answers the following questions for each of the concepts I’ve covered: Were there personal or professional challenges that contributed to my academic challenges? How could the concepts that I learned in this course benefited me in overcoming a past challenge? How will the concepts that I learned in this course help me overcome any current or future academic challenges? This paper goes into detail about my academic career along with some research articles.

General Studies Self-Reflection Assessment

Throughout this fall semester at Indiana University Northwest, I can honestly say that I’ve progressed the most. This semester felt different to me than any of my previous semesters. I transferred last minute from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis last minute before the fall semester began. The sole purpose behind this last-minute decision was my overall lack of success at the school. I wanted to get myself back on track to succeeding positively like I was used to, especially in high school. I decided that coming back home and getting my head right was the best option. Professor Ballard helped me enroll in courses that would help me get started, one of those courses being GNST-G203. I never really had a specific expectation when I enrolled into this course, and I never really knew what an impact it would actually have on me. Throughout the time span of this course, our small but ambitious class, overcame many barriers that we all possessed with the topics we covered. These topics all covered important ways to progress throughout life personally, academically, and socially. I’m thankful that I ended up taking this course because I ended up incorporating many of these things into my own life. When off the discussion of the specific topic, Professor Ballard was always there to provide real-life examples and awesome advice about stuff that we are going to encounter within our lives: personally, academically, and again, socially. These examples and advice really meant a lot to me when I put them inside of my own life. A majority of the concepts that I know now would have helped me immensely during my courses down in Indianapolis.

When away at school, I never felt as if I belonged. This wasn’t something specifically about my academics, mostly social and eventually lead me to diminish within my academics. I consider this a personal challenge that eventually led to my academic challenge. The topic of belongingness was something we focused on in the beginning of the semester. Belongingness is something that is critical for anyone. There are times when I would just completely struggle with creating the sense of belonging and never knew where to start. I was always shy and outspoken, so this held me back from trying to belong. In an article I found online on the topic of belonging, it states, “College students’ sense of belonging matters because it is related to their academic success and emotional wellbeing” (“Sense of Belonging,” n.d.). I was able to relate to this because I lacked the belongingness, which is something that is important to an individual’s success and wellbeing, as stated. Socially, I didn’t know where I belonged. I would typically just attend class and do some exploring alone around campus. Academically, I rarely participated or spoke up in class. This often made me upset, and it really began to affect me mentally and academically. There are many people in the world that often endure this same feeling and situation, as provided in Appendix A. Taking this course and learning about the ways to belong has now helped me in the present. I’ve began to participate more and even interact with others around campus. I believe that my outcome from IUPUI would be completely different if I had this concept from this course.

Another concept that we discussed was fixed mindset. An academic situation that relates to this concept was my overall view on assignments. This was mostly a personal challenge that contributed to my academic challenge. I dealt a lot with both of these mindsets when it came to my situation. When I began away at school, I constantly kept the same fixed mindset about almost everything that I encountered. I’m not sure why I felt the need to limit myself with this specific mindset. This fixed mindset made me think that I had a max capacity to what I could learn. Having a fixed mindset just comes with negative effects, as shown in the chart under Appendix B. An article I found called Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset: Your Success Hinges on It, included a lot that relatable information. To begin, the article starts off by asking you, what exactly is a mindset? I really feel that was important for anyone that is really trying to understand what their mindset is. As discussed in class, a mindset is basically a simple idea that has a very great effect on a person’s life. It’s the attitude that you adopt towards any of your abilities, intelligence, and your potential. I lacked a strong mindset that was mostly fixed, and rarely included any growth. When you have a fixed mindset, you essentially believe your attributes are fixed and unchanging (“Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset,” n.d.). This mindset came across me once my grades began to fall. I had this thought that I already tried all I could do, even though I didn’t. I lived with this fixed mindset for the longest time and never knew I even had it until this course. Having the discussion about this in class is what made me realize that my mind was stuck during that period of college.

Growth mindset was something that I really didn’t begin to have until the end of Spring 2018 semester to the Fall 2018 semester. This course most definitely progressed me from moving out of a fixed and into a growth mindset. When you have a growth mindset, you tend to see your levels of intelligence, skill, talent, and success with more capacity to grow (“Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset,” n.d.). I realized that I don’t have a limit on how much I can learn and possess. In an article about growth mindset it states, “Students with a growth mindset understand they can get smarter through hard work, the use of effective strategies, and help from others when needed” (“Growth Mindset,” n.d.). I’ve really improved my growth mindset, especially at IUN, because I no longer have those negative fixed thoughts. This has helped me work hard and get the help and resources I need to fix any complications I come across. I believe that if I knew this concept and more of the information we discussed now, I would have been able to easily maintain my grades and overall be happier when I was away. This statement applies for the concept of fixed mindset as well.

Another important concept we discussed was goal setting. This really wasn’t a challenge for me, I just never really practiced it. I never created goals because my mindset was stuck in failure. Within our discussion of goal setting, we went deeper into S.M.A.R.T. goals. The acronym S.M.A.R.T. helps develop a plan to make your declared goal attainable. The best thing about this is that you can use it for anything in your life. In an article discussion S.M.A.R.T. goals, they state, “The S.M.A.R.T. system can work for the following: a new job, losing weight, personal growth, and even starting a business” (“What are SMART Goals?” n.d.). I’ve incorporated goal setting into almost everything in my academics now. When I have assignments due, I create goals to make sure I complete everything on time. I’ve grown within in this concept a lot since my first year of college. As the article I found stated, it works for pretty much anything and I was able to even incorporate it into my workplace. I constantly create attainable goals for myself and make a plan to make sure these goals are always met. It’s helped me advance a lot mentally and physically.

The final concept we covered that I would like to talk about and relate to is attitude. This topic really stuck with me because attitude is the reasoning for 75% of the decisions I make in my life. I base certain decisions off of the way my attitude is. For example, once I established an unlikely attitude, I stopped going to class and doing homework. My attitude was a big contributor to my academic crash during my first semester of college. When I think about anything involved with college, I always keep my attitude as positive as I can. When I do this, I usually receive a positive result out of it anyways. Overall, I’ve been really trying hard to work on keeping a positive attitude for any situation, not just academics. I’ve come to find out that keeping a strong positive attitude helps you achieve so much more. It’s like the light at the end of the tunnel. Awarding and celebrating achievements are something we often talked about in class. In an article about attitude it states, “You can help create good self-esteem for yourself and those around you by celebrating life’s accomplishments” (“Creating a Positive Attitude.” 2016). This is just one step to keeping and maintaining a positive attitude.

Appendix A

Chart Describing the Sense of Belonging Within Students

Appendix B

Chart Describing the Negative Effects of Fixed Mindset Along with Positives of Growth

References

1. Creating a Positive Attitude Towards School. (2016, June 01). Retrieved December 9, 2018, from https://www.seacoastcareerschools.edu/creating-a-positive-attitude-towards-school/#.XA2H8hNKi-w
2. Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset: Your Success Hinges on It. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2018, from https://careersinpsychology.org/fixed-vs-growth-mindset-success/
3. Growth Mindset. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2018, from http://mindsetscholarsnetwork.org/learning-mindsets/growth-mindset/#
4. Sense of Belonging in the College Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2018, from https://ucat.osu.edu/bookshelf/teaching-topics/shaping-a-positive-learning-environment/sense-of-belonging-in-the-college-classroom/
5. What Are SMART Goals? (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2018, from https://fairygodboss.com/articles/what-are-smart-goals

Abstract:

Research is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Our research is used to find out the problems faced by MUET students. Once their problems are identified, we can find ways and means to solve those problems as much as possible. Thus the students as primary group will be benefitted from the result of this study .our research comprises 13 students of different departments most of them are unsatisfied.

Introduction

According to Wikipedia “Research comprises ‘creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.’

New researches advancement or modified the prior one. Research whether it is about science and technology or social attribute will contribute new opportunities and ways to solve the problems. Research is not confined to science and technology only. There are vast areas of research in other disciplines such as languages, literature, history and sociology. Whatever might be the subject, research has to be an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviors and theories. Applying the outcome of research for the refinement of knowledge in other subjects, or in enhancing the quality of human life also becomes a kind of research and development.

Research is done with the help of study, experiment, observation, analysis, comparison and reasoning. Research is in fact ubiquitous. For example, we know that cigarette smoking is injurious to health; heroine is addictive; cow dung is a useful source of biogas; malaria is due to the virus protozoan plasmodium; AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is due to the virus HIV (Human Immune Deficiency Virus). How did we know all these? We became aware of all these information only through research. More precisely, it seeks predictions of events, explanations, relationships and theories for them.

Methods

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in different departments of Mehran University Jamshoro. Study population were masters and postgraduate students in their 2 years disciplinary studies from different discipline.

The researcher introduced himself to the students explaining the purpose and procedure followed while filling their questionnaire. They were assured so that they would not feel any hesitation to answer freely. Questionnaire with 4 point Likert scale used to collect information from the Masters Students and lab supervisors at their classes and labs. Students/supervisors Tick on the appropriate Questionnaire and wrote their comments into the open-ended questions. The questionnaire was collected by researcher and thanked them for their cooperation. There were 13 students from different departments mostly from metallurgy and materials.

Results

Result of the academic challenges faced by Master Students in their research are in the Table 1 as follows:

Table 1 shows result of 13 students on their point of view

Statement

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Proper feasibility of working

2

8

3

13

Freedom of working

3

9

1

13

Availability of material in market for project

8

5

13

Availability of material in department for project

4

6

3

13

Financial support of institute in research

1

7

5

13

Financial stability

4

8

1

13

Help of prior(BE) education in project

2

7

4

13

Technical support of teacher in project/research

2

9

2

13

Availability of equipment

9

4

13

Operating condition of equipment

6

7

13

Discussion

Majority of students were lab supervisors therefore they don’t feel any difficulty within their work few of them were students they were uncomfortable and the shyness felt by researcher on students face while ticking the questionnaire (help of prior (BE) education) it shows that they were unfamiliar to the prior knowledge

Most of projects comprises on materials science titles and application described as follows:

Synthesis and characterization of graphene oxide with copper oxide nanoparticles composite used for energy storage (super-conductor), Fabrication of SOFC materials used for renewable energy can be produced through SOFC at low cost and zero emission, hydrophobic coating using Nano-silica extracted from rice husk used economical coatings for coating creating hydrophobic surface self-cleaning windows and corrosion protection etc. synthesis of shape memory alloys used in actuator, sensors etc. Synthesis of adsorbent composites can clean water and cost efficient etc. encapsulation of nanofibers can control drug release, effect of carbon nanotubes on the ablation properties of carbon fiber epoxy matrix composites used in erosion resistance, development of Tundish flux for (LCAK) steels

Conclusion

The present study revealed lack of knowledge, lack of experimental work due to unavailability of expert instructor and machines (equipment), lack of funding, lack of regular meeting to the teacher or supervisor, lack of resources within institutes and markets and at the last lack of research work. The recommendation is that there should be biostatics for students, provision of adequate fund for academic thesis work. Arrangement of research facilities resources in all institutes, and introduction of checklist and meeting schedule used by both students and lab supervisors

References

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research (10 %) http://courseblog-brm.blogspot.com/ (5 %)
2. Department of metallurgy and materials engineering
3. Department of mining engineering
4. Department of industrials engineering

My name is Susan Saranya Jacob and I am a 9th grader from the Plymouth- Canton Educational Park. I am interested in this program because I want the rigorous, academic challenges that come with it. I am currently enrolled in the International Bachelorette (IB) program at my high school, but I do not feel like the academy or my school has what it takes to prepare me for college.

Growing up my family traveled all around the world. When I was in fifth grade my dad’s job moved my family to China, living there we had so many great experiences. Over the course of two years, we traveled to multiple countries that I never thought I would ever see. None of that would have happened if my dad did not have such a successful career. One day I want to be able to travel the world with my own family, without wealth being an impediment.

By attending the ECA program I hope to build a strong foundation for my future. Beyond college, I hope to find a stable job in the field I want to pursue. I hope to enjoy my job without working for years to pay off student debt. Statistics show that over 44 million Americans collectively hold nearly $1.5 trillion in student debt. ECA will give me and so many others the opportunity to graduate high school with college credit and, hopefully, a debt-free future.

So far it may seem as if money is my only motive to apply to the program, but that is not true. Starting my freshman year at Plymouth high school I always felt like something was missing. My classes were not challenging, my teachers were not optimal, and I felt like the environment itself could not support my social or educational needs. That’s when my best-friend Sydney Davis and her sister Symone told me about the program, and it sounded like the perfect fit for me! From what I have heard, ECA provides an amazing support system and an exceptionally guided transition to college courses.

The thought of college came faster than I expected. In my mind, college was a place where I would constantly be working and rarely have time for myself. I understand that I am not yet done with high school, in fact, I have barely started. I not only want to prepare for my future, I also want to make worth fighting for. After all of those years in college, I want to find a career that allows me to help people and leave my mark on the world.

Christiano Ronaldo once said “I learned all about life with a ball at my feet”, I never fully understood what he meant until this year. I have been playing soccer for about four years now and I love everything about it. The game has never failed to teach me something new. Through the years, and multiple different teams, I have learned the importance of social skills and teamwork. I would be nervous but excited to have the opportunity to try out for a team in a different school district.

Leaving my home school behind would be hard especially after making some truly great connections. Joining ECA would almost feel like skipping high school, there is a lot that I would miss about Plymouth Canton Schools but I know that it will be worth it. I have heard so many great things about ECA and what it has to offer, It would be an honor to be accepted into the program.

Learning challenges faced by students in higher education is seen as a significant issue according to Chan Yuen Fook. The study indicates that undergraduates, postgraduates and instructors take a qualitative approach to gather information on the challenges faced in university. This paper summarizes the key challenges that students come across during their studies. Interviews, questionnaires and document analysis used to try to understand the key challenges faced. These challenges consisted of cognitive challenge, becoming an active learner, coping with reading materials, instructional problems, language barriers, time management, and burden of assignments as well as culture differences.

The article suggests that universities want to maintain high levels of learning and teaching for students. According to D’Andea and Gosling (cited in Chan Yuan Fook 2015) a set of objectives are listed to help focus on helping on providing excellent education. Some of the goals look at active learning, deep learning, and problem based learning and several more. These goals help students set a focus on their academic studies in the end.

According to Angelo (cited in Chan Yuen Fook 2015) a study was proposed to help identify learning challenges faced by students. He emphasized that teaching goals would lead to high order thinking skills as well as personal developments, allowing students to focus on essential skills required for their education. Guzman (2006) implied the kind of teachers required to teach students successfully through the word ‘empowered’. He suggested a criteria to help students learn better. However, the author also implied that formative assessments helped address learning challenges faced by students in higher education. This in turn would help provide better education in higher learning institutions.

The challenges faced by students is taken on through a qualitative method. The study proposed of open-ended questions through interview questions and document analysis. This was sampled through 181 students from undergraduate as well as postgraduates and instructors. The information collected was verified through senior professors from that university. The confidentially of the interviews were taken into great consideration as the interview scripts would be discarded at the end of the study.

Cognitive challenge is that the most important challenge faced by most of the scholars in instruction. A complete of thirty-two students highlighted the difficulty of psychological feature challenge in their learning. It can often be understood that students psychological feature level ought to be developed at a better level after they enter university. Once students area unit in university, they have to suppose critical and write academically.

During the interviews, one student conjointly distinguished that students do not seem to be able to move in some courses that are technically oriented like ‘Educational Assessment and Psychological Measurement’. Hence, being attentive to the instructor’s lecture is a lot of meaning than simply discussing general problems. Only seventeen students from the one hundred ninety respondents expressed that addressing reading materials could be a challenge to several undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Even though two respondents in the questionnaires solely expressed culture variations, it is a major issue among international students. International students were having issues to catch up with certain topics that were distinctive to the United States culture. In their home country, normally, the instructors were a lot active in the classroom and the students expected by the lecturer to concentrate and take notes. Asking question considered rude according to some cultures and not respecting the teacher. Two of the instructors interviewed mentioned they had to call the students name to keep them active in the classroom discussion otherwise, they prefer not to speak.

In conclusion, the findings showed that the students were involved regarding instructional issues in their classes. Apparently, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) also foster constant passion of excellent teaching in their university to deal with learning challenges among the students in higher education. The university has compiled the collective voices of their professional lecturers and explicit express the principles that inform the teaching of those excellent lecturers. The total framework indicates the emphasis on the interaction of teaching and learning to deal with learning problems. The CUHK identified that feedback is just helpful if the teacher reflects upon it and makes use of the information to boost teaching and therefore the curriculum. The findings in CUHK advocate that students should not only know how to answer questions, however conjointly the way to raise ask.

Completing education abroad gives a huge amount of opportunities for the student as well as for the university and a hosting community itself. Even though, it may be the most valuable experience to be a full time student in another country, benefiting in many areas of life: personal and professional – it comes with many problems, challenges and issues which the exchange student is forced to face during his time abroad. Students who decide to spend a part of their studies abroad have to deal with issues which consider academics and language, socialization and finances.

As Milian (2015) mentioned in Journal of International Education and Relationship one of the most difficult obstacle for exchange students is academic issue which is mainly caused by the fact that English (in most cases) is a foreign language and the proficiency in it varies when it comes to every student. Özturgut (2009) emphasizes that it increases the stress level in majority of exchange students. Milian (2015) also suggests that students from abroad are not familiar with the way of teaching in other countries and cultures. In her article, Milian (2015) states that difficulties consider mostly students from Asia as well as Eastern Europe where students are used to passively listening to the lecture whereas in Western universities they are forced to use critical thinking, learn how to take notes efficiently and get familiar with oral presentations. As a response to Milian article I am able to confirm her ideas from my personal experience. While studying abroad I meet many obstacles related to the way academic knowledge is provided to students. As a student from Poland I notice many differences between polish and Western style of teaching. In my home country, students are expected to sit quietly in the lectures, not ask questions and not express their doubts where in Spain you are allowed and encouraged to speak up and share your opinion. Oral presentations also do not play a huge part of learning process in polish universities. Since I was not thought to perform and present my own ideas in front of the class, now I am experiencing problems with how to efficiently prepare and deal with stress when it comes to talking in front of many students in the class.

In her article, Milian (2015) points out the difficulties the international students have adapting to new society. She emphasizes that the most common aspects are: discrimination, limited social support and culture shock. As Alghamdi (2016) in his article confirms students have issues fitting into new society mostly because the language barrier as well as the fact of their temporary status. Many students experience social exclusion and isolation. One of the reasons is culture shock. New lifestyle, different food, habit, they way people greet, talk, walk has impact. Everyday tasks become unfamiliar and challenging. And since the way of teaching and language are different international student often have to spend more time studying and understanding topics. As a consequence, they obtain less time for socializing and making new friends. All of it leads to emotional overload and homesickness. Another valid point are preconceived expectations which are pointed out by Gebhart (2013) in his article EFL learners studying abroad: Challenges and strategies. He explains that students form expectations about another country, its culture and their whole stay abroad and they do not consider any problems they are likely to meet. They get to excited and hitting the reality makes them feel emotionally drained. And last but not least issue is the discrimination problem. And it may not be as obvious in the people’s behavior since everybody these days seems to be tolerant and accept new cultures. For many students lack of knowledge about the host country culture makes it impossible to fully integrate and participate in many activities. As a result, the international students often experience social exclusion. As a response to Milian’s and Alghamdi point of view I am able to confirm their ideas but also I would like to notice that it does not consider all of the international students and every single university. Since everybody’s emotional state differs there are people who cope with culture shock very quickly and it does not interrupt them in any way enjoying their time abroad. When it comes to students who incur difficulties with that I would recommend for the host universities to engage and be understanding toward them. Observing many international students I noticed cultural and social discrimination. Some people do not understand that students may need time to adjust to new environment and after one unsuccessful conversation or a meeting they stop integrating and lose an opportunity to experience different culture.

Finally, Milian (2015) in her article argues that many international student encounter difficulties with financial matters. Alghamdi in his article points out very vital case that students from abroad often have limited work and health insurance rights. Milian also says that due to English or other foreign language level it is usually challenging to find a good quality apartment, since landlords often cheat and take advantage of people who are not proficient in their mother language. Another issue are fundings from universities or other organization who are supposed to sponsor the stay but in most cases the money received is insufficient and it barely lets people to pay rent. From personal experience as well as other international students I fully agree with Milian’s and Alghamdi point of view since the money Erasmus student get from the European Union is very little and it only pays off the rent. It often causes a lot of stress for the international students and discourages them from taking such an opportunity in the future.

The high school experience is something that will forever dominate the psyche of most teenagers. It was an unforgettable time of fun, rebel-rousing, summer love, and parties. It was a time of warm summer days at the pool and chilly autumn nights, watching the football team and wondering where the party was going to be that night. School dances and hotel parties. Seems like all I can remember are the good times. But with all those good, fun moments as a teenager, there can be some challenges we can encounter. And one thing I had to face as a high schooler, and a lesson I learned as a result, is that coaches don’t always treat people the same way.

In my experience, when I was a freshman the soccer coach would tell me that I wouldn’t be good enough for varsity if I didn’t try to gain weight. But there was a girl who was in varsity and she weighed the same as me. Then I go on by trying to do my best and gain as much weight so they can move me up, but they never did until their last game. Then the following year the coach told me that I need to start acting like a captain. And so that’s exactly what I did by giving him feedback that can possibly help the team, and he goes on by saying that I was being rude and acting as if I’m the coach and started to tell me that I’m not the coach. Then a few weeks later one of the captains told him that so and so would be better off playing as a forward and he listened to her and not me when I tried to give him advice.

In the end, we did both grow from it and now we give each other feedback on how the team looks and how to get better. This experience made me realize that I have a voice and if that’s not good enough, I’ll show you what I am capable of doing on the field. This is who I am, I am someone who doesn’t give up, who see things other people can’t see for themselves, and someone who will give it her all no matter what other say. And at the end of the day, I will be the one who goes that extra step and follow my dreams no matter what.

Over the past year universities worldwide has had an increase in the number of admission of visually impaired students drastically. Whereas in the past visually impaired students were disadvantage mostly because of the campuses physical and academic environment. According to research the University of Namibia (UNAM) in 2004 had only 2 visually impaired students and the number has increased in the recent times. This is because of the increase in improvements of physical environments. Through research done the findings of this essays content is based on books, online articles and the internet. This essay explains the challenges of visually impaired students and their achievements.

According to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and cause of Death (ICD-10), defines visual impairment as the best corroded vision and refers it to individuals who are partially and legally blind. Conceptually visual impairment is viewed as being a burden and a lack of independence to the majority of the student population. Regardless of this Tertiary Education is viewed as crucial element in the world as Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the key to Success”.

The United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of opportunities with persons with disabilities (1994) is very vocal about giving individuals with disabilities equal opportunities as to the ones without any disabilities. Therefore UNISA (University Of South Africa) took the initiative to open a resource centre for students with disabilities, their responsibility is to provide academic support and braille transcription and proof reading (Haihambo, 2010).

According to Josua (2013) most visually impaired are however faced with challenges. Challenges regarding social activities (social groups and television facilities), academic curriculums (field of study) and physical facilities/infrastructure (classrooms and labs).

Social Activities

Socail activities are one of the largest system where majority of students participate in. It includes activities such universities talent shows, sport activities and beauty pageants. Students with visual impairments feel left out from these social events because they are unable to see the beauty of the activities taking place and the stadium is usually overcrowded. The type of sports codes at universities for visually impaired are not that well know and supported and this makes it difficult as to participate it.

‘All students should stay together, wherever possible, regardless of any difficulties or differences they may have’ (UNESCO, 1994, p. 11). Regardless of this most of the time students do not engage with visually impaired students because they believe society will mock them. One of the most contributing factor among others are the stereotypical way of thinking of individuals such as: visually impaired are seen as an outcast and that they have been spiritually bewitched.

This creates a feeling of loneliness and burdensome to the visually impaired. They are humans and they want a feeling of love, care and support. An overwhelming and welcoming habitat is all they need in order for them to boost their self-esteem and self-concept (Möwes, 2002).

In most instances they have to swallow their pride and ask for assistance from their peers in order for them to be accompanied to places they cannot go without help. They often choose to do assignments on the basis of what they remembered so they would not disturb their friends. Haihambo (2009) states that visually impaired students found it easier to request support from another student with a disability, for they believed that they would understand exactly what it feels like to need another person’s assistance.

Academic Curriculum

About 90% of all visually impaired students are prohibited from taking the field of study of their choice due to their disability. For example the science field, thus decreasing their will of fulfilling their desires and achieving their long life dreams of choosing their own career path regardless of their circumstances.

Josua (2013) furthermore illustrated that the examination duration for learners with visual impairment is double the normal time for the sighted students( DNEA Guidelines, 2010). However, when there were test to be taken all learners are expected to be done in the given time period which disadvantage the visually impaired as they take longer then the other students. In addition most test written by partially sighted learners test were not printed on a magnified font size.

Haihambo (2009) stared in this research most visual impaired students have a problem with finding their way around the library because of the absence of books in braille (a form of writing language for blind people in which characters are represented by patterns of raised dots that are fell with fingertips), both academic and non-academic which they compare to hunting without a rifle.

Majority of lecturers at universities use power point presentation as a method of teaching. This type of lecturing does not take visually impaired students into consideration On the other hand some lectures bring different types of materials that needs to felt and used in certain class activities. This type of protocol focus on auditory and less on visual kinaesthetic and tactile learning style.

Physical Infrastructure

Research has proven that with stairs through the whole of Campus it is nearly impossible for one in that situation to find their way around. They would need a helping hand to budge around, this causing emotional dilemma in the visual impaired students.

Half of the laboratories in the universities do not accommodate visually impaired students, thus creating a feeling of omission towards those students. Despite the laboratory experiments which is a disadvantage to those special students they are unable to see which chemicals react with each other.

A major challenge is the irresponsive environment on the campuses objects and other structures that are placed for decoration or other purposes as well as poor lighting. These factors pose as a threat to visually impaired students as this results in falls and minor accidents (Haihambo, 2010, p. 339).

In most cases students with visual impairement have experienced the lack of consistency with opening and closing doors as a barrier posed safety threats and caused a feeling of self-doubt and uneasiness (Haihambo, 2010, p. 349). With moving furniture in the classrooms as well as the hostels, increases the risk of accidents for visually impaired students and is anticipated as inconsiderate towards this students.

Haihambo (2008, p. 353) withal found that Braille books take up much more space therefore students with visual impairments might need larger rooms to provide more studying space and to correct their body position, such students not only need larger rooms, but also larger desks. Students with visual impairment have reported developing health problems resulting from bad sitting position due to lack of space.

Although they may face such complex challenges the visual impaired students never fail to deliver to the fullest of their ability. This is driven by the urge to be regarded as independent and to feel the satisfaction of beating the odds of their circumstances. One of the greatest achievement among others is their academic break through.

For example Johannes Tala Matsi, who was a student at the University of Namibia (UNAM) and who was the first visual impaired student that graduated with a Masters Degree in Gender and Development Studies. As Matsi said, “disability does not mean inability” hence he did not let this stop him from being successful. He got through University by recording cassettes in every lecture, although they piled up after the semesters, it was all worth it. Matsi is currently the Chief Labour at the Ministry of Labour (New Era, 2019).

Conclusion

In conclusion, although the visually impaired students faces a lot of difficulties that includes the physical, academical and social adaptation on and off campus it is save to say that majority of universities try to accomadate these special students. They also act as a large source of motivation for their peers.