Educational commitment and social networking: The power of informal networks

The lack of an engaging pedagogy and the highly competitive atmosphere in introductory science courses tend to discourage students from pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. Once in a STEM field, academic and social integration has been long thought to be important for students' persistence. Yet, it is rarely investigated. In particular, the relative impact of in-class and out-of-class interactions remains an open issue. Here, we demonstrate that, surprisingly, for students whose grades fall in the "middle of the pack," the out-of-class network is the most significant predictor of persistence. To do so, we use logistic regression combined with Akaike's information criterion to assess in- and out-of-class networks, grades, and other factors. For students with grades at the very top (and bottom), final grade, unsurprisingly, is the best predictor of persistence---these students are likely already committed (or simply restricted from continuing) so they persist (or drop out). For intermediate grades, though, only out-of-class closeness---a measure of one's immersion in the network---helps predict persistence. This does not negate the need for in-class ties. However, it suggests that, in this cohort, only students that get past the convenient in-class interactions and start forming strong bonds outside of class are or become committed to their studies. Since many students are lost through attrition, our results suggest practical routes for increasing students' persistence in STEM majors.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, 8 tables, 6 pages of Supplementary Material

Increasing persistence in undergraduate science majors: a model for institutional support of underrepresented students.

The 6-yr degree-completion rate of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors at U.S. colleges and universities is less than 40%. Persistence among women and underrepresented minorities (URMs), including African-American, Latino/a, Native American, and Pacific Islander students, is even more troubling, as these students leave STEM majors at significantly higher rates than their non-URM peers. This study utilizes a matched comparison group design to examine the academic achievement and persistence of students enrolled in the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS), an academic support program at the University of California, Los Angeles, for first- and second-year science majors from underrepresented backgrounds. Results indicate that PEERS students, on average, earned higher grades in most "gatekeeper" chemistry and math courses, had a higher cumulative grade point average, completed more science courses, and persisted in a science major at significantly higher rates than the comparison group. With its holistic approach focused on academics, counseling, creating a supportive community, and exposure to research, the PEERS program serves as an excellent model for universities interested in and committed to improving persistence of underrepresented science majors and closing the achievement gap

Methods for Analyzing Pathways through a Physics Major

Physics Education Research frequently investigates what students studying physics do on small time scales (e.g. single courses, observations within single courses), or post-education time scales (e.g., what jobs do physics majors get?) but there is little research into how students get from the beginning to the end of a physics degree. Our work attempts to visualize students paths through the physics major, and quantitatively describe the students who take physics courses, receive physics degrees, and change degree paths into and out of the physics program at Michigan State University.Comment: submitted to Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings 201

Design and Assessment of an Interactive Digital Tutorial for Undergraduate-Level Sandstone Petrology

This study describes the goals, features and effectiveness of a digital interactive tutorial which was created to provide undergraduates a 'virtual microscope' resource for learning sandstone petrology. The goal of the tutorial is to provide students exposure to the highly visual subject matter of petrography outside the confines of organized laboratory exercises. The hope is that widespread use of such digital interactive formats will allow students to gain high levels of expertise with description and interpretation of earth materials despite the reduced amounts of hands-on laboratory practice that are allowed by modern curricula. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

The Evolution of Student Engagement: Writing Improves Teaching in Introductory Biology

In response to calls for pedagogical reforms in undergraduate biology courses to decrease student attrition rates and increase active learning, this article describes one faculty member’s conversion from traditional teaching methods to more engaging forms of practice. Partially told as a narrative, this article illustrates a.) the way many faculty initially learn to teach by modeling the pedagogy from their own undergraduate programs; b.) the kind of support biology faculty may need to break out of traditional molds; c.) how writing can promote active learning; and d.) the impact of reformed pedagogy on student levels of engagement. The latter will be demonstrated through assessment results gathered from student surveys, reflective writing, and focus group interview. Ultimately, the study challenges misunderstandings some faculty might have regarding the value of writing in science classes and offers inspiration, urging critical reflection and persistence

A Cooperative Development System for an Interactive Introductory Programming Course

We present a system for a cooperative development of computer programs that was created for the lab sessions of an introductory programming course at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The system relieved the students from the tedious task of retyping programs developed by the teaching assistant and enabled them to cooperate with the teaching assistant in solving programming problems. We thus made the lab sessions more efficient and interactive and brought them closer to the spirit of active learning approaches

The Influence Of Peer-Led Team Learning on Underrepresented Minority Student Achievement in Introductory Biology and Recruitment and Retention In Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Majors

Increasing underrepresented minority (URM) participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is of increasing national importance as the United States continues to fall behind other nations in global economic competitiveness. These students constitute a large pool of potential STEM majors at the college level, but they have been recruited to and retained in STEM programs at significantly lower rates than students from other populations. As such, President Barack Obama’s President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has called on undergraduate science instructors to diversify their teaching methods and employ active learning strategies to improve students’ success in introductory or “gatekeeper” courses as well as improving students’ attitudes toward STEM. As a strategy that fosters active learning, Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) holds the potential to provide much of what PCAST deems necessary to improve URM student performance in introductory courses and retention in STEM majors. In the first of two studies presented herein, we found the PLTL model to be effective in improving scores for both URM and non-URM students in an introductory college science course. In the second study, we found PLTL to be associated with higher levels of retention among URM students. We conclude that participation in PLTL can help URM students who may struggle to identify with STEM to develop stronger STEM identities, which, along with higher achievement, may lead to enhanced retention