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）的方法来增加STEM教育的公平性，从而为国家利益服务，该方法旨在支持大型STEM入门课程中的不同学生群体。通过这种设计，该项目旨在提高学生的归属感，自我效能感和科学身份的影响，因为他们通过介绍生物学和化学的第一个学期移动。LA是本科生与教师合作，为目前在积极学习课堂上的同龄人提供支持的课程的经验。虽然已发现LA平均增加学生在入门科学课程中的归属感，但尚不清楚LA是否或如何具体支持来自服务不足群体的学生的归属感和信心。该项目将促进对增强LA计划对三个群体学生的影响的做法的理解：妇女，种族和民族边缘化群体的学生，以及第一代学生。重要的是，更深入地了解如何构建一个公平的LA计划，为学生提供大型入门课程，有可能对这些课程的整体学生保留和成功产生积极影响。此外，在LA计划中为STEM教育社区提供公平的方法可能会对STEM学科和机构类型产生影响。该项目将在一所大型大学的化学和生物学课程中进行多阶段的努力，以解决STEM教育公平的问题。项目小组将追求三个具体目标。第一个是评估纳入学习助理（LA）对学生的归属感，科学自我效能感和科学身份在网关STEM课程的学生群体的影响。第二个是表征机制的学生从群体中已经被低估描述为重要的LA归属感和科学自我效能感的影响。最后的目标是适应LA计划，以支持机制，促进归属感和科学自我效能感的学生群体，一直服务不足。该项目将使用混合方法，包括经过验证的调查，回归方法，以确定是否纳入LA对不同的学生群体有不同的影响，焦点小组访谈和主题分析，以确定模式。使用焦点小组访谈的结果，洛杉矶计划将被调整，以支持结构和行为可能是有影响力的学生从群体已经不足。将使用讲师报告和LA现场记录评估这些变更的纳入情况。该项目将由领导团队与外部咨询委员会合作进行评估。研究结果将通过会议和出版物分享给本科STEM教育工作者，以允许采用和适应这些实践。该项目有可能扩大有关机制的知识，通过这些机制，LA计划可以减少来自服务不足群体的学生的社会和心理障碍，从而更普遍地增加网关课程和STEM的归属感。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF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。

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.