1. How do university students perceive the impact of digital device use on the quality and duration of attention in academic settings?

2. How do students at Khalifa University describe the challenges of maintaining attention in digital learning environments?

Recommendations:

1.Use Focus Mode.

Students can make a Focus Mode that allows only academic apps on their home screen. Non-academic apps and social media can be hidden, and notifications can be disabled while studying. This helps reduce distractions from notifications. After finishing academic work, students are able to switch back to their regular settings.

2.Encourage organized technology use in class.

To reduce multitasking, instructors should explain when and how devices should be used for academic purposes. For example, devices can be limited to note-taking or specific tasks.

3.Provide workshops about controlling technology use.

Khalifa University can offer workshops that teach students how to avoid distractions and manage multitasking. this is important because the findings show that students’ behavior plays a role in academic performance.

🔹 Research Question 2

What self-regulation strategies do KU students use to manage smartphone distractions, and how consistently are these strategies applied?

🔹 Actionable Recommendations

1. Integrate Digital Focus Training into First-Year Programs

Provide students with training on how smartphone notifications and device presence affect attention and concentration.

2. Promote Structured Study and Phone Placement Strategies

Encourage practices such as using “Do Not Disturb” mode, placing phones away from the study area, and using timed focus sessions.

3. Develop Technology-Conscious Study Environments

Create quiet study spaces where smartphone notifications are minimized to support sustained attention.

1. To what extent does future career anxiety influence first-year STEM students’ perceived academic performance at Khalifa University?

2. How does future career anxiety influence first-year STEM students’ motivation to study at Khalifa University?

Recommendations:

1. Career Planning Support.

The university should encourage students to engage in conferences discussing market insights about STEM majors in the current job market and to gain hands-on experience in companies or labs. This may help students become more prepared for their future careers.

2. Academic Skills Support.

The university should promote workshops on time management and exam preparation, and encourage students to enroll in the peer mentoring service. This may help students deal with their academic workload better and support their academic confidence.

3. Coping Support.

The university should run more stress-management sessions led by counselors on weekends. This may help students manage their anxiety in a healthier way.

1) How does classroom interaction influence students’ academic performance among students at Khalifa University?

2) What types of classroom interaction (student–instructor and peer interaction) have the greatest impact on students’ motivation and learning skills in higher education classrooms?

Recommendations:

1.  Encourage group discussions

Arranging students into small groups during class and allowing them to communicate with each other gives students a chance to share ideas with each other without feeling shy or overwhelmed and that allows them to express themselves easily.

2. Promote student-teacher interaction

In addition, discussions between the students and instructor in class, whether by asking a question or looking for extra guidance, allow students to directly get responses from the instructor which enables them to understand the content easily. 

3. Introduce interactive classroom activities

Small debates between students, creative activities, and playing challenging games (like Kahoot) give students a chance to understand the content better and in a fun way , and this fosters memorization and enhance the learners’ educational journey.

How does unequal contribution in group projects affect students’ perceptions of grading fairness at Khalifa University?

RQ2:

How do accountability strategies (such as peer evaluation, role assignment, and instructor monitoring) influence students’ satisfaction with group work at Khalifa University?

Recommendations:

1. Incorporate Individual Grading Components

2. Establish Clearly Defined Roles

3. Implement Instructor Monitoring

1. How does perceived social support relate to life satisfaction among university students?

2. How do coping strategies influence life satisfaction among university students?

Actionable Recommendations

1. Strengthen Peer-Support Programs
   Develop structured mentorship and peer-connection initiatives to improve students’ sense of belonging and emotional support.

2. Implement Stress-Management Workshops
   Introduce training sessions on mindfulness, time management, and emotional regulation to help students manage academic stress effectively.

3. Improve Access to Support Services
   Enhance communication and visibility of academic and wellness resources so students can easily access available support.

How do first-year students perceive the impact of instructor-made recorded explanations on their understanding of course content?

Research question 2: 

How do first-year students perceive the impact of instructor-made recorded explanations on their sense of learning support at Khalifa University? Recommendations: 1.     Encourage the consistent use of structured instructor-made recorded explanations.

Instructors are encouraged to provide structured, focused explanations that meet students’ requests for organization and clarity, especially for complex or calculation-heavy topics, as this directly supports step-by-step understanding and reduces confusion reported in the findings.

2.     Link recordings to the course structure.

The recordings should be associated with weekly content and revision needs before examinations. Consistent availability helps students to feel more prepared and supported, which aligns with findings related to increased confidence and reduced academic stress.

3.     Implement institutional guidance.

Departments could offer basic guidelines for recording practices to help ensure consistency and improve the quality of recordings across different courses. This may enhance students’ sense of support outside the classroom, as students associated recordings with reassurance and instructor effort.

1. How do AI-supported learning technologies affect student engagement and academic performance in higher education?

2. What are the benefits and challenges of using AI in teaching practices, particularly in assessment and feedback?

Actionable Recommendations:

• Future research should include more non-Western contexts to improve generalizability.

• More qualitative research is needed to understand student and teacher perceptions of AI.

• Institutions should develop clear policies to guide ethical and effective use of AI in education.

  
  

RQ1: How do students perceive the relationship between their grades and their learning at Khalifa University?

RQ2: How do concerns about grades influence students’ study habits and course selection decisions at Khalifa University?

Recommendations:

1. Reinforce learning in academic messaging

Integrate discussions within courses that clarify the purpose of assignments/material learned, the skills gained, and their applications in real-world scenarios. This may help emphasize the importance of learning beyond the outcome of a grade.

2. Incorporate and encourage reflection

Include reflection activities where students go over what they learned and how they evolved in the duration of the course. They could also identify areas of struggle and connect the content to other courses. By making aspects of intellectual development clearer, it helps address the uncertainty about the relation between grades, learning, and effort.

3. Have varied assessment methods

Incorporate a wider array of assessment methods within a course, such as applied projects and presentations, while making sure they contribute meaningfully to the final grade. Avoid relying primarily on traditional examination methods, however, do not fully exclude them either. This responds to students’ concerns that test assessment may not fully measure understanding.

(2) How do deadlines affect KU students’ stress levels?

Recommendations:

1. Improve Deadline Distribution

Encourage better coordination between instructors to prevent overlapping deadlines. This recommendation directly addresses students’ reporting an increase in stress levels during overlapping deadlines and aligns with the finding that well-spaced deadlines enhance students' performance.

2. Time-Management Skill Development

Develop first-year courses or workshops that concentrate on time management skills, planning strategies, and workload organization. This recommendation directly addresses the finding that effective time-management skills enable students to benefit from structured deadlines without becoming overwhelmed.

3. Stress-Management Support

Provide additional academic support during high-pressure periods, including extended tutoring hours, structured study sessions, and encouraging students to seek support from academic advisors or counselors. This recommendation directly responds to students’ reports of increases in stress during periods of overlapping deadlines

Recommendations:

1.     Promote Proactive Academic Planning.

Introduce scheduled advising checkpoints at key academic stages, such as the beginning of each semester or before course registration periods. This may respond to the finding that students are more inclined to use advising reactively instead of proactively, encouraging earlier engagement and more structured academic planning.

2.     Enhance Advisor-Student Engagement Quality.

Provide structured advisor training and encourage sessions that focus on academic goals and long-term degree planning. This may address the mixed perceptions students have of advising effectiveness by improving the clarity, depth, and consistency of advising interactions.

3.     Expand Peer-Based Academic Support Opportunities.

Develop a peer advising program where experienced students guide newer students in navigating academic requirements and university systems. This may target gaps in students’ understanding of advising support by providing a more approachable option for guidance in addition to formal advising.

RQ2: What is the relationship between parental influence/styles and perfectionistic tendencies of KU students?

Recommendations:

Expand time and stress management support

Raise parental awareness regarding academic expectations

Promote healthy acheivement standards through interactive workshops or seminars

How does mobile phone dependency affect study-related stress among Khalifa University STEM students?

1. Help students manage their notifications in a better way while they are studying. Encourage students to use features like “Do Not Disturb” mode during planned time for studying.

2. Conduct workshops for first-year students to educate them on how to manage their phone usage and screen time. Provide workshops that teach students how to manage their screen time and avoid delaying important study tasks. 

3. Encourage students to develop healthy practice of digital communication throughout the semester. Increase awareness about managing academic group chats and social comparison during exams and the high-pressure periods.

RQ1:
How does the quality of academic support and instructor guidance influence student engagement and academic achievement among students at Khalifa University?

RQ2:
How does the environmental quality of physical learning spaces influence student concentration among students at Khalifa University?

Actionable Recommendations

1. Improve clarity and timeliness of instructor feedback
Instructors should provide more structured and timely feedback, including clear explanations and examples. This will help students better understand course material and reduce confusion, which can improve both engagement and academic performance.

2. Enhance academic support services and accessibility
The university should strengthen academic advising and support services by making them more accessible and responsive. Providing additional guidance sessions and support resources can help students manage coursework more effectively and seek help when needed.

3. Improve physical study environments on campus
Khalifa University should invest in improving study spaces by reducing noise levels, enhancing lighting, and providing more comfortable seating and private areas. Better-designed spaces can support concentration and allow students to study more efficiently

1. How does the use of AI tools (ChatGPT) influence the critical thinking levels of first-year STEM students at Khalifa University?

2. How does the use of AI writing tools (Grammarly) influence the writing abilities of first year STEM students at Khalifa University?

Recommendations:

1. Apply Structured AI Use in Coursework.
Design assignments that require students to compare AI responses with their own reasoning and identify inaccuracies or weaknesses in the generated response.

2. Integrate Revision Activities in Writing Tasks.

Encourage students to use AI tools to identify grammar or wording issues, followed by reflective revision where they explain the changes made.

3. Incorporate Short AI Reflection in Assignments.

Include brief reflection prompts in assignments where students describe how they used AI, what feedback they accepted or rejected, and how it influenced their final work.

1: How is student comparison measured?

2: What effects do peer comparisons have on students?

recommendations

1. Limit unnecessary public comparison of academic performance.
   Course environments could reduce practices that unintentionally highlight performance differences, such as frequent public comparisons of results or emphasizing top-performing students. This directly addresses the visibility of performance, which was identified as a key trigger of comparison.

2. Normalize discussion of academic challenges.
   Faculty and student organizations could create spaces where students can openly discuss academic struggles and setbacks. This may reduce pressure by addressing the assumption that peers are always performing better, which contributes to stress.

3. Encourage reflection on individual academic progress.
   Programs that encourage students to track their own improvement and learning goals may shift focus away from peer comparison and toward personal academic development. This may reduce stress linked to upward comparison while maintaining motivation.

iPad vs Traditional Methods for Notetaking

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research questions:

1. How does using an iPad/Tablet instead of a laptop for note-taking influence students

   information retention?

2. how does performance on short-term laboratory tasks relate to long-term academic

   performance in classroom settings?

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recommendations:

1. First, students should be encouraged to use active note-taking strategies such as summarizing, writing in their own words, and organizing ideas into bullet points or diagrams.

2. Second, instructors can provide short guidance sessions on effective note-taking techniques at the beginning of the semester to help students choose strategies that fit different subjects.

3. Third, students should select note-taking methods depending on the course type, especially for problem solving subjects like calculus where handwritten steps may support better understanding.

RQ2: How does being surrounded by high-achieving peers affect students?

Recommendations:

1. Provide Instructor Training on Imposter Syndrome Awareness

2.Develop Mentorship and Organized Peer Support Programs

3. Emphasize Learning-Oriented Evaluation Over Ranking Systems

1. To what extent do STEM students at Khalifa University demonstrate awareness

of antimicrobial resistance?

2. To what extent do STEM students at Khalifa University engage in antibiotic use

behaviours that are clinically appropriate?

Recommendations:

- Integration of antimicrobial literacy into STEM education

- Emphasise risk perception and global susceptibility through focused initiatives

- Promote autonomous decisions about antibiotic use

RQ2: How does GE and HUMA courses contribute to the academic development of STEM students at KU?

Recomendations:

1. Strengthen academic advising and guidance
   Improve communication about academic requirements and provide more proactive advising during the first year to help students adjust smoothly.

2. Expand peer support and community-building programs
   Develop mentoring programs, student clubs, and collaborative activities that encourage interaction, since peer relationships strongly influence confidence and belonging.

3. Enhance social integration opportunities
   Create more events, workshops, and initiatives that help students feel connected to their peers and academic environment, reducing feelings of self-doubt.

RQ2: How do freshmen students perceive the impact of their living arrangements on their social lives at KU

1. Create structured academic support programs.
Implement targeted academic support initiatives for students, such as structured study groups where they learn to balance time with responsibilities. This aligns with findings that external commitments reduce time available for academic work by supporting effective time management and healthy sleep patterns, to help reduce sleep deprivation and its consequences.

2. Expand flexible learning options.
Broaden access to learning by providing content in more accessible formats, such as recording lectures and extending office hours. This initiative addresses recurring reports of pressure associated with non-academic responsibilities particularly commuting, as it was frequently mentioned as an obstacle for students in both academic and social perspectives.

3. Provide additional commuting stops.
Expand university-operated transportation routes to include common gathering areas such as shopping centres, which may enhance both accessibility and social participation. This recommendation responds to students’ reports of extended commutes by offering more direct routes to campus, unlike public transportation, while improving both academic and social contexts among students.

1. What is the relationship between students' perceptions of generative AI tools and their academic use of AI for coursework?

2. How do assessment design and teaching approaches influence students' use of generative AI?

Recommendations:

1. Develop Clear Institutional AI Guidelines.

2. Incorporate AI Literacy Into the Curriculum.

3. Promote Ethical Instruction Instructional Redesign.