Implementing Guided Inquiry Learning and Peer-Led Tutoring in Online Algebra and General Biology Laboratory Courses to Increase Student Retention and Degree Completion

新冠肺炎疫情后，一年级课程转向虚拟环境导致少数族裔学生入学率上升，但学生参与度下降。在这个项目中，印度河州立学院旨在通过试点使用高影响力的教学实践来提高学生的参与度，特别是在在线环境中。特别是，该项目旨在增加大学代数和普通生物学实验室的入学率，持久性和成功完成，这两门门户课程是STEM学科进一步发展的基础。该项目将改进在面对面环境中使用的技术，以提高在线学生的成功。同侪学习助理将被放置在虚拟课程中，以增加对在线学习者的支持。课程内容将采用以过程为导向的探究性学习，这种方法可以提高学生的参与度，并在面对面的课程中提高处理技能。通过这些实践，学院希望通过下一个科学和数学课程增加学生的数量，并提高他们完成STEM学位的可能性。该项目将探索如何在虚拟模式中使用嵌入式同伴学习助手和指导性探究方法，以促进学生在社区大学攻读学位的参与度、持久性和完成度。两个目标指导着该项目的调查人员的工作。首先是增加在线大学代数和普通生物学实验课程的学生比例，这些课程采用嵌入式同伴导师和引导探究教学技术。二是增加西班牙裔学生从第一学期到第二学期坚持学习数学和生物的比例。该项目将增加从事STEM职业的少数族裔学生的数量，以及参与STEM的群体的毕业生数量，这些群体的比例低于他们在总人口中的代表性。该项目的成果和最佳教学实践将通过出版物、网站和学院的开放教育资源库进行共享。HSI计划旨在加强本科STEM教育，扩大STEM参与，并在HSI进行能力建设。考虑到hsi的多样性和背景，实现这些目标需要创新的方法来激励机构和社区转型，并促进基础研究(1)关于参与式学生学习，(2)关于如何有效地使STEM多样化和增加参与，以及(3)提高我们对如何在hsi建立机构能力的理解。HSI计划支持的项目也将借鉴这些方法，为如何实现这些目标提供新的知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The post-COVID movement of first-year courses to virtual environments led to increased underrepresented minority student enrollment but decreased student engagement. In this project Indian River State College aims to improve student engagement by piloting the use of high impact teaching practices, specifically in an online environment. In particular, the project seeks to increase enrollment, persistence, and successful completion of College Algebra and General Biology lab, two gateway courses that are fundamental for further progress in STEM disciplines. This project will modify techniques used in the in-person environment to improve online student success. Peer learning assistants will be placed in virtual courses to increase support for online learners. Content will be taught using process-oriented guided inquiry learning, a method shown to increase student engagement and improve processing skills in face-to-face courses. Using these practices, the college expects to increase the number of students retained through the next science and math classes and improve the likelihood that they will complete a STEM degree.This project will explore how embedded peer learning assistants and guided inquiry methods can be used in virtual modalities to promote student engagement, persistence, and completion for students pursuing their degrees at a community college. Two goals guide the work of the project's investigators. First is to increase the percentage of students enrolled in online College Algebra and General Biology lab courses with embedded peer tutors and guided inquiry teaching techniques. Second is to increase the percentage of Hispanic students persisting from first to second semester Mathematics and Biology. The project will increase the number of minority students that pursue STEM careers and the number of graduates from groups whose participation in STEM is proportionately less than their representation within the general population. The project’s results and pedagogical best practices will be shared through publications, a website, and the college’s Open Education Resource depository. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also draw from these approaches to generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.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.