Dra. Sáez-Delgado, Fabiola

Background: Smartphone applications have the potential to support university students for the benefit of learning in higher education. Objective: To design and evaluate the effect of an intra-curricular program using a mobile application on self-regulated learning strategies in university students. Method: The 4Planning mobile application was designed following a systematic literature review, expert judgement and application. The instrument to assess the effect of the intervention was the SRL Readiness Practices Scale, with a one-factor structure (CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.97; RMSEA = 0.05) with reliability of α = 0.89. The design was quasi-experimental with pre- and post-test measures and experimental and control groups. The sample consisted of 473 first-year university students (37.02% male) from seven Chilean universities with a mean age of 19.35 (SD = 2.49). Statistical analysis was an ANOVA performed in R software version 4.0.3. Results: Statistically significant differences were identified in the levels of self-regulated learning between the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: The development of the 4Planning app proved to be effective in promoting the development of self-regulated learning strategies in university students.

Las estrategias de disposición al estudio (establecer objetivos, gestionar el tiempo y organizar recursos) son claves para el aprendizaje autorregulado y el desempeño de los estudiantes, por lo que su medición debe ser lo más precisa posible. Sin embargo, los instrumentos para medir estrategias de aprendizaje son muy generales para evaluar estas estrategias disposicionales. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo diseñar y analizar las propiedades psicométricas del instrumento de estrategias de disposición al estudio en estudiantes universitarios, el cual fue aplicado a una muestra por conveniencia de 630 estudiantes universitarios chilenos. Se realizó análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio. La escala total y sus 4 subescalas mostraron consistencia interna adecuada (α > 0.70), estructura latente ajustada a los datos y correlaciones débiles, aunque estadísticamente significativas, con las calificaciones reportadas por los alumnos. Se concluye que el instrumento es confiable y válido para su aplicación en estudiantes de educación superior.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el impacto de una intervención intracurricular en las estrategias y creencias de disposición al estudio en estudiantes de ingeniería. Se aplicó un programa de 12 sesiones de 20 minutos, aplicadas de forma intracurricular por los docentes de la asignatura Cálculo I. Se utilizó un diseño experimental aleatorizado por conglomerados con grupo control y experimental, con medición pre y post intervención. El tipo de muestreo fue no probabilístico en 5 carreras de ingeniería. Al azar, se asignaron 4 secciones con 117 estudiantes al grupo experimental y 3 secciones con 97 estudiantes al grupo control. Utilizando modelos lineales mixtos, se observaron mejores indicadores en las 9 variables dependientes del estudio en el grupo experimental. Se concluye que la intervención resulta efectiva para potenciar la disposición al estudio en alumnos de ingeniería.

Dropping out of university studies is one of the current problems of Higher Education; the increased rates during the first year of the study programme is considerable around the world. Dropping out has negative social implications that are reflected at the personal, family, institutional, and educational levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate a predictive model considering the mediation of university social satisfaction and perceived academic performance within the relations between perceived social support, social self-efficacy and academic purposes with career satisfaction and dropout intention in Chilean university students. A non-experimental explanatory design of latent and observed variables was used. Structural equation analyses with Mplus software were performed. The sample consisted of 956 first year university students. The study complied with the ethical requirements for research with human subjects. As a result, a predictive model with adequate adjustment indexes was obtained. When evaluating the explanatory capacity through the coefficient of determination (R2), it was observed that it explains 38.9 and 27.4% of the variance of the dropout intention and career satisfaction, respectively. This percentage of explanation indicates a large effect size in Social Sciences; therefore, they are considered adequate predictive models. The mediation of university social satisfaction on the relationships between social support, social self-efficacy, and academic purposes with academic adjustment and dropout intention was, respectively, confirmed. The perception of academic performance has less influence on dropout intention and on career satisfaction among first-year students. The model obtained allows explaining the dropout intention and career satisfaction in first year students. In addition, it is composed of variables that can potentially be modified in the interaction of students and professors.