Abstract
Addressing common student questions in introductory STEM courses early in the term is one way that instructors can ensure that their students have all been presented with information about how to succeed in their courses. However, categorizing student questions and identifying evidence-based resources to address student questions takes time, and instructors may not be able to easily collect and respond to student questions at the beginning of every course. To help faculty effectively anticipate and respond to student questions, we 1) administered surveys in multiple STEM courses to identify common student questions, 2) conducted a qualitative analysis to determine categories of student questions (e.g., what are best practices for studying, how can in- and out-of- course time be effectively used), and 3) collaboratively identified advice on how course instructors can answer these questions. Here, we share tips, evidence-based strategies, and resources from faculty that instructors can use to develop their own responses for students. We hope that educators can use these common student questions as a starting point to proactively address questions throughout the course and that the compiled resources will allow instructors to easily find materials that can be considered for their own courses.
Highlights
Compared with high school, the structure of college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses requires students to engage in more independent and selfregulated learning outside of class (Akiha et al, 2018)
We asked students to respond to an open-ended question: “If you were given the opportunity, what questions would you ask your high school teachers and college instructors about how to succeed in your college [course name] course?” We identified common themes through inductive coding (Saldaña, 2016), and coded all student responses to our open-ended questions
The most common categories during the first week included questions related to maximizing out-of-course time (16% of student questions) and maximizing in-course time (6.8% of student questions)
Summary
The structure of college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses requires students to engage in more independent and selfregulated learning outside of class (Akiha et al, 2018). This shift in learning strategies can be challenging for first-year students (Fazey and Fazey, 2001; Christie et al, 2016). Providing incourse information about how to learn and succeed in college may ease the transition for students in introductory courses and improve student learning outcomes In this perspectives piece, we outline the importance of addressing common student questions about how to succeed in introductory STEM courses, which are often taken by first-year students.
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