SUPPORTING FIRST-YEAR STEM STUDENTS WITH TLC: RESULTS FROM A TWO-YEAR STUDY OF A TARGETED LEARNING COMMUNITY

Hillary H. Steiner, Ph.D. Stephanie M. Foote, Ph.D. with acknowledgements to Michelle L. Dean, Ph.D. Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience

LEARNING COMMUNITIES AT KSU

§Kennesaw State University:

32,000 students

§First year requirement: FYS or LC §Learning Communies Program: §Housed in Dept. of First-Year and Transion Studies §Faculty-driven §Linked-course model §Served about 1/3 of incoming students last year ORIGINS OF THE TLC • In the beginning… there was “Adam.” • How can we serve first-year students enrolled in high-stress, high D/F/W “gateway” STEM courses? – Held brainstorming sessions with chemistry faculty, other first-year faculty – Held focus group for former CHEM 1211 students

TLC STRUCTURE AND MARKETING

• KSU 1101 + CHEM 1211 + CHEM 1211 Lab • Year One: markeng sent via email to all science- interested students • Year Two: increased markeng during orientaon advising sessions

ELEMENTS OF THE TLC: ACADEMICS • Instrucon in metacognion and memory • Reflecon on mastery of topics with each quiz • Strategies for movaon and me management • Study sessions with peer leader • Instrucon in specific study strategies • Applicaon: The “Strategy Project” Allowed them to try out all these strategies to study for their second CHEM test

ELEMENTS OF THE TLC: CAREER/RESEARCH

• Career assessment and invesgaon project • Exposure to undergraduate research opportunies • Guest speakers • Field trips OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE TLC • Peer leading • Learning Community bonding acvies • T-shirts! RESEARCH QUESTIONS • To what extent does TLC impact student success and retenon in chemistry? • To what extent does the TLC impact students’ metacognion? • To what extent does the TLC impact student atudes toward chemistry? TLC PARTICIPANTS • Two secons of First-Year Seminar (N=24 in each) embedded in one secon of Gen Chem (N=123) • Year One: Gen Chem open to all students • Year Two: Gen Chem only open to first-year students • TLC Group = Non-TLC Group in: – SAT math score – Declared majors DATA SOURCES

Research Queson Data Sources

Retenon Gen Chem withdrawal rates

Achievement Gen Chem grades ACS Exam Scores

Metacognion Abbreviated MSLQ Strategy Project Self-assessment of mastery

Atude Toward Chem ASCI-V2

(Benefits of LC) Focus Groups (year one) Course evaluaons OUTCOMES OF THE TLC: YEAR ONE

• Retenon: the DFW rate for students in the learning community was nearly half that of the comparison group (20% and 37.8%, respecvely) • Achievement (grades): Although the students in the TLC earned fewer A’s, a significantly larger number of B’s and C’s were earned by members of the TLC. 50"

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25" Non1LC" 20" LC" 15" Percent'of'First-year'Students' 10"

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• Achievement (ACS scores): no significant difference • Metacognion*: TLC students made gains in those factors that best aligned with the specific metacognive instrucon delivered in the TLC.

Comparison of Pre- and Post MSLQ Scores for TLC students

Factor Z p

Controlling of learning beliefs -2.912 0.004* Test anxiety -0.039 0.969 Self-efficacy for learning and performance -2.828 0.005* Metacognion and self-regulaon -3.028 0.002* Peer learning -1.197 0.231 Effort regulaon -2.451 0.014* Help seeking -0.560 0.576 * p < 0.05

*Metacognion and atude toward chemistry was measured only in the TLC group, as too few non-TLC parcipants returned consent forms. OUTCOMES OF THE TLC: YEAR ONE, CONT

• Atude Toward Chemistry*: no significant difference from beginning to end of semester • Qualitave data: Data from the Strategy Project indicated that many students had lile confidence in trying new strategies to study Chemistry, and appreciated being “forced” to try new ones.

“The strategy project was of a great help to me; it aided in compiling all the study techniques learned in class and ulizing them on the test. KSU 1101 taught me how to truly study through avenues such as metacognion and acve note taking, and this project allowed me to show it off. Hopefully, I can connue to employ these strategies throughout the rest of my college career.”

*Metacognion and atude toward chemistry was measured only in the TLC group, as too few non-TLC parcipants returned consent forms. OUTCOMES OF THE TLC: YEAR ONE, CONT

– Even those whose grades did not change as a result of the Strategy Project menoned that they would use these strategies in the future.

“Just because I got the same grade, does not mean I feel that the strategies that I tried did not work. I sll recognize that the way I felt during and aer the test was more comfortable and more confident.”

OUTCOMES OF THE TLC: YEAR ONE, CONT

Focus Group Queson Major Theme in Responses How do you feel your KSU 1101 course or the • Able to create study group with peers

Learning Community helped you succeed in • The first-year seminar instructor/peer leaders taught us how to study, gave opons for study CHEM 1211? strategies, forced us to study via strategy project

• Bonding with other students who had common interests • Integrated KSU 1101 and CHEM with strategy project and other assignments

How do you feel your KSU 1101 course or the • Helped with seng priories/me management

Learning Community helped you build your • Geng to know faculty, science administraon, upperclassmen, and future employers in science identy as a science major? • Guest speakers were important • Field trips showed us what was available and how we could apply our learning to real world • Showed us the importance of research • Helped us bond with students in the same major

Are you connuing to pursue a major in science? • Nine of 47 students commented they would possibly or definitely change their majors. OUTCOMES OF THE TLC: YEAR TWO*

• Comparisons between TLC and non-TLC parcipants:

– No significant difference in ACS Exam Scores or Grades – No significant differences for gains in metacognion – No significant differences in gains in atude toward chemistry

*Emerging data IMPLICATIONS • Enhanced metacognive skills

• Transferability of strategies and knowledge – Effect of cross-disciplinary approach • Modeling transfer and integrave learning

• Impact of LC parcipaon on student success and retenon in chemistry (short- and long-term) – Affirmed or challenged interest in chemistry

• Influence on teaching pracces and pedagogical approaches

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

• Connuing to partner with Chemistry to revise the TLC model • Iniang partnerships with Math – NSF-IUSE grant proposal to study the TLC with Calculus I • STEM colleagues strongly believe that this model, with revision, will provide major academic and affecve benefits for their first-year students