Identifying and Promoting Mechanisms by which Learning Assistants Foster Belonging and Self-efficacy in Underserved Student Populations

识别和促进学习助理在服务不足的学生群体中培养归属感和自我效能感的机制

• 批准号: 2235244
• 负责人: Cynthia Brame
• 金额: $ 28.08万
• 依托单位: Vanderbilt University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2235244&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Identifying; Promoting; Mechanisms; Learning; Assistants

This project aims to serve the national interest by increasing equity in STEM education through a Learning Assistants (LAs) approach designed to support diverse student populations in large introductory STEM courses. Through this design, the project seeks to improve the impact of LAs on students’ sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and science identity as they move through the first term of introductory biology and chemistry. LAs are undergraduate students with prior experience in a course who work with an instructor to provide support for their peers currently in an active learning classroom. While LAs have been found to increase students’ belonging in gateway science courses on average, it is not known whether or how LAs can specifically support belonging and confidence for students from underserved groups. This project will advance understanding of practices that enhance the impact of LA programs for students in three groups: women, students in racially and ethnically marginalized groups, and first-generation students. Importantly, gaining a deeper understanding of how to structure an equitable LA program that serves students in large introductory courses has the potential to have a positive impact on overall student retention and success in these courses. Moreover, providing the STEM education community with equitable approaches within an LA program is likely to have implications across STEM disciplines and institution types. This project will pursue a multi-staged effort within the chemistry and biology programs of a large university to address the call for equity in STEM education. The project team will pursue three specific aims. The first is to assess the impacts of incorporating Learning Assistants (LAs) on students’ sense of belonging, science self-efficacy, and science identity across student populations in gateway STEM courses. The second is to characterize the mechanisms students from groups that have been underserved describe as important for LA impacts on belonging and science self-efficacy. The final aim is to adapt the LA program to support mechanisms that promote belonging and science self-efficacy in students from groups that have been underserved. The project will use a mixed methods approach that includes validated surveys, regression approaches to determine whether incorporating LAs has different impact on different populations of students, focus group interviews, and thematic analysis to identify patterns. Using the results from the focus group interviews, the LA program will be adapted to support structures and behaviors likely to be impactful for students from groups that have been underserved. The incorporation of these changes will be assessed using instructor reports and LA field notes. The project will be evaluated by the leadership team in collaboration with an external advisory board. Findings will be shared through conferences and publications for undergraduate STEM educators to allow the adoption and adaptation of these practices. This project has the potential to expand knowledge about mechanisms by which LA programs can reduce social and psychological barriers for students from groups that have been underserved, thereby increasing belonging in gateway courses and STEM more generally. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目旨在通过学习助理 (LA) 方法提高 STEM 教育的公平性，从而服务于国家利益，该方法旨在支持大型 STEM 入门课程中的不同学生群体。 LA 是具有课程经验的本科生，他们与讲师合作，为当前正在积极学习的同学提供支持。课堂.同时研究发现，LA 平均可以提高学生在入门科学课程中的归属感，但尚不清楚 LA 是否或如何能够专门支持服务不足群体的学生的归属感和信心。该项目将增进对增强 LA 项目影响的实践的理解。针对三类学生：女性、种族和民族边缘群体的学生以及第一代学生 重要的是，深入了解如何构建一个公平的洛杉矶项目，为学生提供大型入门课程服务，有可能产生积极的影响。对学生整体保留率和成功的影响此外，在 LA 项目中为 STEM 教育界提供公平的方法可能会对 STEM 学科和机构类型产生影响。该项目将在大型大学的化学和生物学项目中采取多阶段的努力来解决这一问题。呼吁 STEM 教育公平。第一个目标是评估学习助理 (LA) 对学生群体的归属感、科学自我效能感和科学认同的影响。二是STEM课程特色化。来自服务不足群体的学生认为，这些机制对 LA 对归属感和科学自我效能的影响非常重要。最终目标是调整 LA 计划，以支持促进来自服务不足群体的学生的科学自我效能的机制。该项目将使用混合方法，包括经过验证的调查、回归方法来确定纳入 LA 是否对不同的学生群体产生不同的影响、焦点小组访谈以及利用焦点小组访谈的结果来确定模式的主题分析。洛杉矶计划将进行调整以支持可能对服务不足的群体的学生产生影响的结构和行为将使用讲师报告和洛杉矶实地记录进行评估 该项目将由领导团队与外部咨询委员会合作进行评估。将通过会议和出版物向本科 STEM 教育工作者分享，以允许采用和适应这些实践，该项目有可能扩展有关 LA 项目可以减少服务不足群体学生的社会和心理障碍的机制的知识，从而增加对入门课程和 STEM 的归属感一般来说，NSF IUSE：EHR 计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的 STEM 教育的有效性。该计划通过其参与式学生学习轨道，支持有前途的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了这一点。通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，NSF 的法定使命被认为值得支持。

项目成果

“They Have Shown Me It Is Possible to Thrive within STEM”: Incorporating Learning Assistants in General Chemistry Enhances Student Belonging and Confidence

– 他们向我展示了在 STEM 领域蓬勃发展的可能性 –：在普通化学中加入学习助理可增强学生的归属感和信心

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01224
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Journal of Chemical Education
• 影响因子: 3
• 作者: Clements, Katherine A.;Zepeda, Cristina D.;Leich Hilbun, Allison;Todd, Tara;Clements, Thomas P.;Johnson, Heather J.;Watkins, Jessica;Friedman, Katherine L.;Brame, Cynthia J.
• 通讯作者: Brame, Cynthia J.