Participation in a High-Structure General Chemistry Course Increases Student Sense of Belonging and Persistence to Organic Chemistry
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| Title: | Participation in a High-Structure General Chemistry Course Increases Student Sense of Belonging and Persistence to Organic Chemistry |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jennifer R. Casey (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Chemical Education. 2023 100(8):2860-2872. |
| Availability: | Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 13 |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Science Foundation (NSF) |
| Contract Number: | 1945572 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | College Faculty, Undergraduate Students, Chemistry, Science Instruction, Organic Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Curriculum Enrichment, Academic Persistence, Sense of Community, Evidence Based Practice, Peer Teaching, Cooperative Learning, Teaching Assistants, Science Achievement |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01253 |
| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| Abstract: | A parallel series of general chemistry courses for Life Science Majors was created in an effort to support students and improve general chemistry outcomes. We created a two-quarter enhanced general chemistry course series that is not remedial, but instead implements several evidence-based teaching practices including Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), and the Learning Assistant (LA) model. We found that students who took enhanced general chemistry had higher persistence to the subsequent first organic chemistry course, and performed equally well in the organic course compared to their peers who took standard general chemistry. Students in the first enhanced general chemistry course also reported significantly higher belonging, although we were unable to determine if increased belonging was associated with the increased persistence to organic chemistry. Rather we found that the positive association between taking the enhanced general chemistry course and persistence to organic chemistry was mediated by higher grades received in the enhanced general chemistry course. Our findings highlight the responsibility we have as educators to carefully consider the pedagogical practices we use, in addition to how we assign student grades. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1444516 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | A parallel series of general chemistry courses for Life Science Majors was created in an effort to support students and improve general chemistry outcomes. We created a two-quarter enhanced general chemistry course series that is not remedial, but instead implements several evidence-based teaching practices including Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), and the Learning Assistant (LA) model. We found that students who took enhanced general chemistry had higher persistence to the subsequent first organic chemistry course, and performed equally well in the organic course compared to their peers who took standard general chemistry. Students in the first enhanced general chemistry course also reported significantly higher belonging, although we were unable to determine if increased belonging was associated with the increased persistence to organic chemistry. Rather we found that the positive association between taking the enhanced general chemistry course and persistence to organic chemistry was mediated by higher grades received in the enhanced general chemistry course. Our findings highlight the responsibility we have as educators to carefully consider the pedagogical practices we use, in addition to how we assign student grades. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01253 |
