Developing and Investigating an Asset-Based Supplemental Course to Increase Student Success in Undergraduate General Chemistry

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This project seeks to serve the national interest in excellent undergraduate STEM education by providing a model to enhance equity for students in general chemistry courses. Previous studies have shown that remediation and deficit-based approaches to supplemental general chemistry instruction do not provide significant long-term benefits to students. This lack of impact is particularly noticeable for students in groups underrepresented in STEM. This project will develop and study a novel asset-based supplemental course that leverages the students’ many strengths to help them succeed in general chemistry. This one-credit supplemental chemistry course will run alongside the General Chemistry I course. Students who are at risk of failing the general chemistry course will be invited to participate. The new supplemental course will seek to support student success by providing opportunities to practice key skills needed for success in general chemistry, such as mathematical and study skills. It will simultaneously recognize and rely on strengths that students have developed in other areas of their lives, to channel these strengths toward their own and each other's academic success in chemistry. The intended project outcomes include reducing failure rates in General Chemistry I, characterizing the asset-based supplemental chemistry course, and developing resources to support replication of the course by other institutions. The research goal is to contribute to understanding how and why at-risk students at a diverse university can succeed in general chemistry, and the role of the institution in supporting this success.This project will develop and study an asset-based supplemental chemistry course for students at risk of attrition from General Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Boston, a public, urban, primarily commuter campus with an undergraduate population that is among the country’s most diverse. Design of the supplemental course will follow an asset model based on activity theory, with four design principles: (a) adopt the perspective of the student; (b) provide structure that lowers the activation barrier for students to increase their agency; (c) encourage collaborative and social engagement in culturally and personally relevant activity; and (d) support dialogue, chemical literacy, and resourcefulness. The impact of the course will be studied using a mixed methods approach based on the Anti-Deficit Achievement Framework for Research on Students of Color in STEM, and will address the following research questions: (1) Which elements of the supplemental course design are productive in supporting student success in general chemistry, and how so? (2) What are the lasting impacts of the intervention on student success in academic work for two semesters beyond general chemistry? (3) How does the University's system of supports function toward participants' negotiation of challenges and cultivation of meaningful relationships that support their academic success? and (4) How do the experiential realities of the supplemental chemistry students empower them to succeed as they intersect with the processes of support that surround them in the course, at the university, and in their lives? Student interviews and counter narratives will be the primary data sources to understand student success and experiences. These data will be supplemented by instructor diaries as well as interviews with faculty and staff involved in institutional support, including instructors, advising staff, and care counselors. The project’s success will be assessed through cycles of questioning and review by an external advisory board. Through two cycles of implementation improvements and one year of fidelity testing, the research will define the critical components of the course that relate to its successful implementation in the context of a highly diverse university. Products developed by the project will include modules that may be adapted by other higher education institutions, a facilitation guide for instructors, and resources for undergraduate learning assistants. This project is supported by the NSF IUSE: EHR Program, which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the 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.