A Cost-Effective Model to Address Student Readiness Through the Lens of a College Physics Course

A Cost-Effective Model to Address Student Readiness Through the Lens of a College Physics Course

Rebecca Forrest, Donna Pattison, Jacqueline Hawkins, Monica Martens, Laura Taylor Jacobs, Shuo Chen
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 17
DOI: 10.4018/IJITLHE.289945
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Abstract

Students enter college with widely varying levels of preparation. This is especially visible to faculty and administrators tasked with ensuring student success in core STEM courses and helping underrepresented students succeed. Flexible support strategies are needed. They must be timely and measurable so that limited funds can be optimally allocated. This paper reviews a program that addresses these concerns and is translatable to many higher education settings and disciplines. It is situated in a physics department at a large public research university in an urban city in the southern United States. A group of rotating faculty improved the success rate in an introductory physics course for non-physics majors. A diagnostic exam is used to assess students’ preparation in order to assign some to a peer-led supplementary recitation. An overview of program implementation and results is shared, along with strategies and suggested solutions to further address gaps in success rates in order to provide all students an equitable university experience and chance of success.
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Background And Context

The efforts of the physics department were part of a comprehensive student success program to improve (a) successful course completion rates in high enrollment freshmen introductory biology, chemistry, physics, and math courses, and (b) persistence and graduation rates for STEM students. The theory of change was grounded in research that indicates students’ early experiences with STEM coursework helps shape their future decisions with respect to persistence, and ultimately their likelihood of successful completion of a STEM degree (Brownell & Swaner, 2009).

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