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1. Applying Performance Pyramid Model in STEM Education through Peer-led Learning Communities

   Li, Qingxia ; Gross, Thomas ; McCarroll, Patricia ( February 2019 , International journal of innovation and research in educational sciences)

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   While many studies have demonstrated the efficacy of programs designed to increase underrepresented minority participation, this article establishes a guiding theoretical model which examines why such programs might work. Theoretical models are often used to support curricular innovation by specifying guidelines for how to design new programs intended to broaden participation in STEM. The theoretical model of the Performance Pyramid was used as the foundation to develop intrusive Peer Partnership Learning (PPL) communities and develop a measure of student needs. The PPL communities were designed for students to simultaneously take College Algebra and General Biology I and involved weekly sessions led by trained PPL leaders to reinforce course content and work on biology projects with imbedded math content. The augmented SSNS (SSNS-A) was developed to measures these students needs that are directly related to the Performance Pyramid constructs. In addition, other outcomes measures were selected to identify, analyze and address the barriers to student performance in both courses related to the seven support systems of the Performance Pyramid. This theory-based program was developed to (a) advance and test pedagogical linkages between biological and mathematical concepts; (b) improve, test, and refine the assessment instruments, and (c) test the acceptability and efficacy of a fully integrated biology-math curriculum on student performance and attitudes. 

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2. Preliminary outcomes from a learning community to increase biology course knowledge

   https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2021.1909639  

   Gross, Thomas J. ; Li, Qingxia ; McCarroll, Patricia ( April 2021 , Journal of Biological Education)

   null (Ed.)

   The purpose of this study was to evaluate the preliminary outcomes of a learning community intervention (LC), which was based on the performance pyramid theoretical model of student supports. The LC integrated college algebra into biology course work. We used a quasi-experimental design to compare LC students to separate General Biology I and College Algebra course control groups on respective measures of biology and algebra course knowledge, and an assessment of perceived performance pyramid supports. Participants included 198 students (LC, n = 22; biology control, n = 52; mathematics control, n = 124) at a Historically Black University in the Southern United States. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that the LC students had significantly greater performance from pre- to post-test on a measure of biology course knowledge (Cohen’s d = 0.76) compared to the biology control group. An ANCOVA indicated that the LC and mathematics control students performed similarly on a measure of algebra course knowledge. Group differences from a multivariate analysis of covariance on perceived performance pyramid supports were mostly statistically non-significant. Overall, the LC increased biology course performance. Implications for improving biology course performance and better assessment of students’ perceptions of support for academic success are discussed. 

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3. Adding a “Design Thread” to Electrical and Computer Engineering Degree Programs: Motivation, Implementation, and Evaluation

   Cheville, R. A. ; Thompson, M. S. ; Thomas, S. ( July 2021 , ASEE annual conference exposition)

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   This article details the multi-year process of adding a “design thread” to our department’s electrical and computer engineering curricula. We use the conception of a “thread” to mean a sequence of courses that extend unbroken across each year of the undergraduate curriculum. The design thread includes a project-based introduction to the discipline course in the first year, a course in the second year focusing on measurement and fabrication, a course in the third year to frame technical problems in societal challenges, and culminates with our two-semester, client-driven fourth-year capstone design sequence. The impetus to create a design thread arose from preparation for an ABET visit where we identified a need for more “systems thinking” within the curriculum, particularly system decomposition and modularity; difficulty in having students make engineering evaluations of systems based on data; and students’ difficulty transferring skills in testing, measurement, and evaluation from in-class lab scenarios to more independent work on projects. We also noted that when working in teams, students operated more collectively than collaboratively. In other words, rather than using task division and specialization to carry out larger projects, students addressed all problems collectively as a group. This paper discusses the process through which faculty developed a shared conception of design to enable coherent changes to courses in the four year sequence and the political and practical compromises needed to create the design thread. To develop a shared conception of design faculty explored several frameworks that emphasized multiple aspects of design. Course changes based on elements of these frameworks included introducing design representations such as block diagrams to promote systems thinking in the first year and consistently utilizing representations throughout the remainder of the four year sequence. Emphasizing modularity through representations also enabled introducing aspects of collaborative teamwork. While students are introduced broadly to elements of the design framework in their first year, later years emphasize particular aspects. The second year course focuses on skills in fabrication and performance measurement while the third year course emphasizes problem context and users, in an iterative design process. The client-based senior capstone experience integrates all seven aspects of our framework. On the political and organizational side implementing the design thread required major content changes in the department’s introductory course, and freeing up six credit-hour equivalents, one and a half courses, in the curriculum. The paper discusses how the ABET process enabled these discussions to occur, other curricular changes needed to enable the design thread to be implemented, and methods which enabled the two degree programs to align faculty motivation, distribute the workload, and understand the impact the curricular changes had on student learning. 

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4. Exploring the Evolution of Engineering Students™ Feelings of Inclusion in Their College and the Broader Scientific Community

   Melissa Lynn Morris, University of ; Joseph Dygert, West Virginia ; Robin A.M Hensel, West Virginia ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference)

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   This complete research paper discusses how students’ feelings of inclusion change throughout their undergraduate career. Student responses acquired through focus groups and one-on-one interviews were examined to determine how included the students felt in their engineering college and also the broader scientific community. A small group of non-calculus ready engineering students enrolled in a large land grant institution in the Mid-Atlantic region consented to participate in the study. The student cohort participated in an NSF S-STEM funded program aimed at fostering a sense of inclusion in engineering by implementing a curriculum focused on cohort formation, career exploration, and professional development. The AcES, consisting of a weeklong pre-fall bridge experience, two common courses, and a variety of co-curricular activities, has been operating for eight years. Students who receive S-STEM funded scholarships participate in three focus groups and two one-on-one interviews each semester throughout their undergraduate studies. Student responses from the one-on-one interviews and focus groups conducted from 2017-2020 were examined with qualitative coding methods. Questions examined in this work include: 1) Did the engineering in history course help make you feel like you belong in engineering at WVU and that you are included in engineering at WVU?, 2) Do you feel part of the group when working on projects in your engineering courses?, 3) Do you consider yourself a member of the scientific and engineering community here at WVU? Why or why not, and 4) Do you consider yourself a member of the broader scientific and engineering community? During the exploratory coding phase three codes were established to represent the degree of inclusion felt by students: Edge of Inclusion, Slight Inclusion, and Feelings of Inclusion. Edge of Inclusion was characterized by student responses such as “almost there but not totally”, “just starting to be”, and “no, well maybe a bit” while student responses such as “yes, but only a little” and “in some classes or situations” were recognized as Slight Inclusion. Examples of student responses such as “yes, I do feel part of it”, “absolutely, since I’ve…”, and “I would consider myself part of . . .” were classified with the code Feelings of Inclusion. Since the sample size was limited by scholarship funding, statistically significant results weren’t obtainable, but clear themes emerged that can be used to influence engineering curricula and serve as justification for an expanded study. Participating in an internship emerged as a major contributor to students feeling included in the broader scientific community. Interestingly, a decrease in the average degree of inclusion occurred after the students’ first semester, prior to increasing in later semesters. It is hypothesized that the emphasis on cohort formation, career exploration, and planned co-curricular activities during the first semester in the AcES program bolstered the initial feelings of inclusion. A student’s feeling of inclusion is known to be a contributing factor in retention. The findings of this research indicate that internships should not only be strongly encouraged, but university resources should be invested in helping students be prepared for, apply to, and obtain internships. The researchers suggest the study be expanded beyond the AcES program to examine a broader sample and greater number of students. 

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5. Single-paper meta-analyses of the effects of spaced retrieval practice in nine introductory STEM courses: is the glass half full or half empty?

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00468-5  

   Bego, Campbell R. ; Lyle, Keith B. ; Ralston, Patricia A. S. ; Immekus, Jason C. ; Chastain, Raymond J. ; Haynes, Lora D. ; Hoyt, Lenore K. ; Pigg, Rachel M. ; Rabin, Shira D. ; Scobee, Matthew W. ; et al ( February 2024 , International Journal of STEM Education)

   Undergraduate STEM instructors want to help students learn and retain knowledge for their future courses and careers. One promising evidence-based technique that is thought to increase long-term memory is spaced retrieval practice, or repeated testing over time. The beneficial effect of spacing has repeatedly been demonstrated in the laboratory as well as in undergraduate mathematics courses, but its generalizability across diverse STEM courses is unknown. We investigated the effect of spaced retrieval practice in nine introductory STEM courses. Retrieval practice opportunities were embedded in bi-weekly quizzes, either massed on a single quiz or spaced over multiple quizzes. Student performance on practice opportunities and a criterial test at the end of each course were examined as a function of massed or spaced practice. We also conducted a single-paper meta-analysis on criterial test scores to assess the generalizability of the effectiveness of spaced retrieval practice across introductory STEM courses.

   Significant positive effects of spacing on the criterial test were found in only two courses (Calculus I for Engineers and Chemistry for Health Professionals), although small positive effect sizes were observed in two other courses (General Chemistry and Diversity of Life). Meta-analyses revealed a significant spacing effect when all courses were included, but not when calculus was excluded. The generalizability of the spacing effect across STEM courses therefore remains unclear.

   Although we could not clearly determine the generalizability of the benefits of spacing in STEM courses, our findings indicate that spaced retrieval practice could be a low-cost method of improving student performance in at least some STEM courses. More work is needed to determine when, how, and for whom spaced retrieval practice is most beneficial. The effect of spacing in classroom settings may depend on some design features such as the nature of retrieval practice activities (multiple-choice versus short answer) and/or feedback settings, as well as student actions (e.g., whether they look at feedback or study outside of practice opportunities). The evidence is promising, and further pragmatic research is encouraged.

    

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