Self-Efficacy and Student Characteristics as Predictors of Success for Supplemental Instruction Programs in Undergraduate Chemistry Education

化学（12）知识价值。 补充教学（SI）在提高学生在传统上被认为是高等教育中最困难的课程的成功率方面有着悠久的历史。尽管SI计划在全国范围内的成功在文献中受到称赞，但仍然没有回答的问题是：i）学生成功的提高是否是自我选择的结果，而不是SI计划本身的属性，ii）SI计划是否对所有学生群体都同样成功，以及iii）参与SI是否会导致后续课程的成功率提高以及STEM专业的保留率。 因此，利用已经建立的SI计划，该项目的具体目标是：1）确定SI计划的成功是否是学生自我选择的结果，2）评估可用于预测特定学生SI计划成功程度的变量，以及3）评估SI计划对学生在化学和生物化学系提供的后续课程中取得成功以及学生在STEM专业中的保留的影响。第一个目标是解决的广泛分布和结果分析的一般自我效能感调查和化学自我效能感调查，测量学生的感知他/她的能力，以实现特定的学习成果。一般的自我效能感调查目前可用，化学自我效能感调查已经创建专门用于本调查。第二个目标是通过评估SI计划在每门课程中的平均成绩，班级中获得D，F或W级的学生人数（DFW率），性别，种族，所需专业，数学背景，SAT或ACT成绩以及作为第一代学生的地位来解决。第三个目标是通过一项长寿研究来解决的，该研究通过随后的化学和生物化学课程跟踪每个学生的成功，并监测学生在STEM专业的保留情况。更广泛的影响。 在未来几十年里，德克萨斯州的人口将大幅增长，除非改变目前的趋势，否则总人口的受教育程度将降低。旨在提高高等教育参与率的“缩小差距”倡议已导致德克萨斯州立大学圣马科斯分校的入学人数大幅增加。入学率在化学和生物化学，已经服务于一个大的部门（~24%）西班牙裔人口的部门内较低的部门课程，继续增加;然而，一般第一代学生的DFW率，特别是少数民族学生，是惊人的高。学生完成前两年化学课程的成功率的提高将增强大学培养受过教育的人口的能力，特别是在STEM课程中。 此外，德克萨斯州立大学圣马科斯分校比德克萨斯州任何其他机构都培养了更多的K-12教师。通过该项目影响的未来教师预计将改善未来几代STEM学生的教育环境。通过同行评审的出版物，在专业会议上的演讲，并分发自我效能调查的研究调查的结果的传播将提供一个机会，全国范围内的机构，以提高使用SI在较低的司化学课程的有效性。

Chemistry (12)Intellectual Merit. Supplemental Instruction (SI) has a long history of increasing student success rates in courses traditionally considered some of the most difficult in higher education. Although the success of SI programs nationwide has been lauded in the literature, the questions that remain unanswered are: i) whether the improvement in student success is a result of self-selection rather than the attributes of the SI program itself, ii) whether SI programs are equally successful for all groups of students, and iii) whether participation in SI results in increased success in subsequent courses and retention within STEM majors. Therefore, using an already established SI Program, the specific objectives of this project are to: 1) Determine whether the success of SI programs is a result of self-selection by the students, 2) Evaluate the variables which can be utilized to predict the degree of success of the SI program for a particular student, and 3) Assess the effect of the SI program on student success in subsequent courses offered by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and retention of the students within STEM majors. The first objective is being addressed by the widespread distribution and results analysis of both a general self-efficacy survey and a chemistry self-efficacy survey, which measure a student's perception of his/her ability to achieve a specific learning outcome. General self-efficacy surveys are currently available, and a chemistry self-efficacy survey has been created specifically for use in this investigation. The second objective is being addressed by evaluating the success of the SI program in each of the courses with respect to grade point average, the number of students receiving a grade of D, F, or W in the class (the DFW rate), gender, ethnicity, desired major, mathematics background, SAT or ACT scores, and status as a first-generation student. The third objective is being addressed by a longevity study where the success of each student is tracked through the subsequent chemistry and biochemistry courses and the retention of the students within STEM majors is monitored. Broader Impacts. The state of Texas will, over the next few decades, see tremendous growth in population, and the overall population will be less educated unless current trends are altered. The "Closing the Gaps" initiative, designed to increase the participation rate in higher education, has resulted in large increases in enrollment at Texas State University-San Marcos. Enrollment in lower-division courses within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, a department that already serves a large (~24%) Hispanic population, continues to increase; however, the DFW rate for first generation students in general, and minority students in particular, is alarmingly high. An increase in the success rate of students completing the first two years of the chemistry curriculum will bolster the university's ability to produce an educated population, particularly in the STEM programs. Furthermore, Texas State University-San Marcos educates more K-12 teachers than any other institution in the state of Texas. The future teachers impacted through this project are expected to enhance the educational environment of future generations of STEM students. Dissemination of the results of this research investigation through peer-reviewed publications, presentations at professional meetings, and distribution of the self-efficacy survey will provide an opportunity for institutions nationwide to increase the effectiveness of the use of SI in lower-division chemistry courses.