Academic Achievement of International Biological Science Students Under Two Teaching Regimes

Abstract

Most developed societies have become increasingly multicultural and as such their educational institutions are required to educate increasingly diverse student cohorts. International students differ greatly in their education and language backgrounds and tend to fall into different age groups as well. It is a challenging task to accommodate all individual differences and optimise the learning environment. This study investigates the impact of students' background on academic achievement scores in Biology. Differences in academic achievement scores of a group of international students in two teaching and learning practices were compared by student background. Effect size calculation using Cohen's d with Hedges' g correction was used to determine the magnitude of difference in performance. The results were observed to vary from very small to large. Recommendations to improve the learning experience of students from diverse backgrounds have been made in the light of these findings. (Contains 2 tables.)