Increasing the persistence of college students in STEM, especially those who belong to marginalized populations, is one of the biggest challenges in higher education. Active learning is a form of learning that diverts from the traditional lecture (i.e., passive listening), and has been shown to increase student’s performance in college STEM courses. Active learning has been shown to support students who come from less advantaged high-schools, improve retention, and improve women’s success in male-dominated classes. However, there is very little research focused on how and why active learning supports these positive outcomes. While currently, we can design successful active learning techniques, we could make them even better by targeting the characteristics of active learning that we know support success. That is why is very important to develop a deep understanding of the mechanisms of how and why active learning aids in student success, especially for those that belong to marginalized populations.<br/><br/>This talk will focus on an active learning intervention across four large-enrollment sections of General Chemistry I. Four sections implemented POGIL and three did Traditional instruction. As a post-test to compare outcomes of these sections in contrast to sections that were taught in a traditional lecture format, we collected data at the beginning of General Chemistry II the following semester. Students showed significantly higher chemistry identity and chemistry competency beliefs when compared to their peers, even when controlling for incoming characteristics such as SAT and high school GPA. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that these changes in attitudes could be attributed to the student’s perceived success and engagement during active learning activities. Finally, the talk will focus on how the intervention worked differently for members of marginalized populations (e.g., men vs women; white students vs african american).

Equity focused active learning course transformations: POGIL case study

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.