Getting Past the Gateway: An Exploratory Case on Using Utilitarian Scientific Literacy to Support First-Year Students At-Risk of Leaving STEM

Chambers Chambers,Muldrow Muldrow,Salter Salter

doi:10.3390/educsci9040265

Chambers Chambers, Muldrow Muldrow + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9040265

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Journal: Education sciences	Publication Date: Nov 1, 2019
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College

Abstract

First-year students who enter college pursuing a STEM degree still face challenges persisting through the STEM pipeline (Chen, 2013; Leu, 2017). In this case study, researchers examine the impact of a utilitarian scientific literacy based academic intervention on retention of first-year students in STEM using a mixed methods approach. A sample (n = 116) of first-year students identified as at-risk of not persisting in STEM were enrolled in a for credit utilitarian scientific literacy course. Participants of the semester long course were then compared with a control group of first-year students identified as at-risk of persisting in STEM. A two-proportion z test was performed to assess the mean differences between students and participants of the course were given a survey to gauge student experiences. Quantitative results (φ 0.34, p < 0.05) indicate that the utilitarian scientific literacy course had a statistically significant impact on retention among first-year students at-risk of persisting in STEM. Moreover, qualitative data obtained from participant responses describe internal and external growth as positive outcomes associated with the intervention.

Highlights

Gateway courses serve as the initial barrier to persistence in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline among college students [1]
Students exposed to the utilitarian scientific literacy course in a face-to-face setting had a statistically significant increase in retention, (φ 0.34, p < 0.05) when compared to students who were not enrolled in the course (Table 2)
Data from this study suggest that incoming freshman college students who choose a STEM major have a relatively low level of scientific literacy

Summary

Introduction

Gateway courses serve as the initial barrier to persistence in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline among college students [1]. These introductory courses are critical for STEM majors because they serve as the first encounter to coursework related to the major [2]. Astin and Astin [6] reported that well-prepared students are more likely than other students both to persist in their initial choice of a science major or career and to be enrolled into STEM majors and pursue a STEM career during and after college. Students with stronger academic backgrounds are more likely to persist throughout the pipeline to STEM careers, yet most times these students are not African-American or Hispanic [8,9]

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