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Four writing-intensive, inquiry-based, three-credit seminars were created to serve as the hub for linked learning communities for first-year students in STEM. Based on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), the seminars engaged students in socially-relevant modeling, lab work, and public presentations. The seminars were designed to foster a communal view of science and mathematics, both in terms of the importance of collaboration to STEM success and the application of STEM to real-world problems. Course structures and sample materials will be shared, along with preliminary analyses from a randomized controlled trial comparing students in the seminars to a control group of peers. In fall 2021,students who participated in the seminars reported increased awareness of the UN SDGs, valued team work more highly, and earned more credits and higher grades than control group students. Supported by NSF2020765, these seminars are part of a study of the effectiveness of learning communities.
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Linked classroom communities can increase student success: Lessons learned from a randomized controlled trial
Many campuses have utilized linked-course communities, wherein students take two or more courses with the same peers, in an effort to enhance learning and build community among students. Previous research on the effectiveness of linked-course communities have utilized quasi-experimental designs that are subject to selection bias – the communities may be effective due to which students volunteered to join the communities. This research session reports findings from a randomized controlled trial that eliminated selection bias by randomly assigning first-time first-year College of Science and Math students to linked-course communities or a control group. Findings demonstrate that students in the communities earned higher GPAs and more STEM credits in their first semester than students in the control group. Session participants will identify a curricular intervention and consider the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial to assess effectiveness.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2020765
- PAR ID:
- 10541429
- Publisher / Repository:
- AAC&U
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- AAC&U Annua Meeting, Washington, DC
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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