26 th International Conference on The First-Year Experience June - PDF document

26 th International Conference on The First-Year Experience June 17-20, 2013 Waikoloa, Hawaii Improving Student Persistence and Success in STEM Disciplines James Diedrick Associate Dean of the College & Associate Vice President for Special Programs Agnes Scott College 404-471-6102 jdiedrick@agnesscott.edu UNITED STATES Agnes Scott College has undertaken its “Influential Interventions” initiative to increase the quantity and quality of instruction and academic support available to students in gateway math and science courses. The college has expanded and enhanced its peer tutoring program, added peer-led Supplemental Instruction (SI) for key courses, and is helping faculty learn, implement and share effective STEM pedagogy. A primary intended outcome of the initiative is to promote the success and persistence of first-generation and underrepresented minority (URM) students interested in STEM disciplines. The particular focus on first-generation and URM students is driven by an analysis of performance in our introductory math and science courses, demonstrating a significant achievement gap for these students, who represent an increasing percentage of the student population. A cornerstone of the initiative is an enhanced Math and Science Learning Center, coordinated by a Ph.D. in chemical engineering with significant teaching and mentoring experience. In collaboration with STEM faculty, this coordinator recruits, selects, trains and supervises peer tutors and learning assistants (LAs) and facilitates interactions between faculty members and the LAs assigned to their courses. These LAs attend the gateway STEM courses alongside the students they are tutoring, and lead one or two one- hour Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions each week, which are open to all students in a given course section. The faculty and LAs work together in determining best ways to link SI sessions to course content and learning goals for the specific needs of each course. Student attendance trends and course grades indicate a positive correlation between SI participation and academic performance. In 6 of 7 courses that offered SI during 2011-12, students regular attendance at SI sessions (6 or more times a semester) correlated positively with s tudents’ ability to improve their grade or maintain an A from midterm to final, with the trend more pronounced for URM and first-generation students. Among white students who attended regularly, 33% improved or maintained an A, compared to 27% of those who never attended. For URM and first-generation students, 39% of regular attendees improved or maintained an A, while only 23% of non- Page 1 of 93

attendees achieved such success. Qualitative data collected via surveys and focus groups with students, Learning Assistants (LAs) and professors has provided valuable insights regarding best practices for the program and impacts beyond course grades (e.g. social networking, mentor relationships with LAs, etc.). The Dual Mentoring Program for First-Year Students Ho Han Dean of Admissions Ajou University 502-424-2300 dreyna@iaia.edu Young-Hwa Yoon Coordinator of the Center for Education Innovation Ajou University 82-31-219-3379 yhyoon@ajou.ac.kr SOUTH KOREA The session is intended to provide instructors with more than a series of strategies that focus exclusively on the how but will also examine why these strategies are working specifically for small colleges addressing American Indian populations. It will include support from the research and assessment data collect through the mentor/mentee relationship. Wisdom Sharing: Student Success Strategies at Tribal Colleges Diane Reyna Director of Student Success American Indian Higher Education Consortium 502-424-2300 dreyna@iaia.edu Koreen Ressler Vice President of Academics Sitting Bull College 701-854-8001 koreenr@sbci.edu UNITED STATES The session is intended to provide instructors with more than a series of strategies that focus exclusively on the how but will also examine why these strategies are working specifically for Page 2 of 93

small colleges addressing American Indian populations. It will include support from the research and assessment data collect through the mentor/mentee relationship. Decline in Academic Language Proficiency of First-Year Students Leen Schelfhout Coordinator Language Support Artesis Plantijn University College Antwerp 0032 (0)3 213 93 00 leen.schelfhout@artesis.be BELGIUM Familiarity with characteristics of academic language, style and text structure is a basic skill required for success at higher education level. Many otherwise competent students lack the reading, writing, listening and speaking skills required in an academic environment putting their performance at risk. Additional support aimed at improving language proficiency is needed to guarantee academic success. The complexity of the problem stems from the fact that first year students come from a variety of backgrounds and the group is increasingly becoming heterogeneous. Some of the students are native speakers, but more and more have a different mother-tongue or are bilingual. Furthermore, diagnostic tests show that for a growing number of students their preliminary training doesn’t prepare them for a college education. Identifying those students who potentially run a risk of failing because of this lack of skills is a complex issue. This roundtable discussion will focus on exploring how higher education institutions (HEIs) are dealing with a decline in language proficiency of students. First we discuss whether HEIs should be organizing extracurricular workshops and individual guidance and if there are any other means of supporting the students. Can a centralized policy on language development be an answer to the specific needs of all training? Next, we discuss how and where to hand out clues and tricks on the use of academic language and style, and how to reach the target group among the students. Involving, inspiring and motivating lecturers and teachers to support this process is crucial. Finally we discuss whether it is necessary to organize assessments focused on language proficiency and what to do with the test results. Poor test results often show a lack of basic skills. Should there be a policy in place to discourage these students from subscribing to training or should it lead to extra support in the development of academic skills? Percy E. Sutton SEEK Program Protected Freshman Year David Rosen Academic Support Coordinator Baruch College (646) 312-4635 david.rosen@baruch.cuny.edu UNITED STATES Page 3 of 93

The Protected Freshman Year consists of our summer program, counseling, learning communities, mandatory freshman seminars throughout fall and spring semesters, mandatory math and writing tutoring, a winter math intervention program, workshops, technological support, peer mentoring, added time for some credit-bearing classes, communication workshops, and voluntary tutoring for a variety of classes. The summer program is the start of the yearlong freshman experience for all SEEK students. It is mandatory and runs 6 weeks. It is the beginning of the academic and counseling support that each student receives from admission to graduation. We give a theme to each summer program and connect it to the work the students do. This year’s theme was “Immigration and New York.” Our summer program consists of weekly diversity, study skills and critical inquiry workshops, intensive daily math/writing tutoring, communications, financial literacy and technology workshops, remediation for skills tests, Salsa dancing lessons, films, trips to the NY Historical Society, and, for some, a 3-credit course. In the Diversity Awareness workshop, students worked collaboratively to improve their understanding of their own cultural and racial identity as well as the identities of their peers. Once the semester begins, freshmen attend freshman seminar, are in close contact with their counselor, are enrolled by us in classes with learning communities, have up to three mandatory tutoring sessions for difficult classes, complete community service requirements, and can sign up for voluntary tutoring. We provide a 3-week program in January for math, accounting, and English. Students doing poorly in math in the fall are mandated to attend. Students are given an entrance assessment, 10 classes, and an exit assessment. The average percent change in math from intake to exit assessment was 117.76% (on average, students doubled their scores). 9 students of 22 more than doubled their intake score, 6 of the 22 students showed some increase, and 7 of 22 students had less than 16% change. After the freshman year, SEEK provides counseling, summer and winter programs for accounting, writing and math, Chi Alpha Epsilon Honor Society, tutoring, the Urban Male Leadership Academy (which is part of the freshman year as well for some students), and connections to clubs and organizations such as the SEEK Society. We will discuss research and allow attendees to write about which parts of our program they find interesting and potentially useful with time for feedback and discussion. Creating a Community of Scholars among At-Risk African American and Hispanic Male College Students Michelle Thompson Dean of Freshman College: First Year Experience Bethune-Cookman University 386-481-2327 thompsonmi@cookman.edu Jermaine Mckinney Student Success Coach Bethune Cookman University 386-481-2358 mckinneyj@cookman.edu Page 4 of 93