Success for students in physical science courses at the undergraduate level has been, and continues to be, a pertinent site of inquiry to study retention of science majors. Moreover, minority students in science majors have been shown to struggle more than their majority counterparts in the introductory courses needed to move forward into higher-level science classes. When not successful in introductory science courses, many students drop out of science majors entirely. To counteract this phenomena and retain more minority students, blended learning courses have been implemented in the first semester of undergraduate degrees for students that have shown lacking areas of content knowledge and/or skills. This presentation showcases an application of this blended learning type within a science gate keeping course geared toward preparing students with lacking content knowledge and/or skills to proceed into the introductory chemistry course as an entry-level science major. POGILs were purposefully integrated as the main 'text' in this course to facilitate the conceptual learning and independent thought needed for future science courses therefore play a significant role in the success of this course.<br/><br/>As a gate keeping course CHEM 100: Preparation for Chemistry was developed by the author and is currently being implemented in the fall of 2015. Fifty students are currently taking this course. Results from this Pilot study are being collected with the following measures: (1) Assessment of Basic Chemistry Concepts (ABCC); (2) Chemistry Self-Concept Inventory (CSCI); (3) Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physical Science (EBAPS); and (4) Three Content Specific Exams. The ABCC, CSCI, and EBAPS were collected in a pre-/post-course longitudinal (time-series) design to showcase changes in students’ chemistry conceptual knowledge, perceptions toward chemistry, and epistemological beliefs in the physical sciences, respectively. The ABCC was also administered to the next matriculation course (CHEM 101) that the students will progress into upon completion of CHEM 100 in a similar pre-/post-course design. Grades from those students are used to showcase any predictability that the ABCC can have for success in the subsequent course. Descriptive, paired t-tests, and correlation statistics will be calculated to determine the extent of the impact of the Pilot course.

Using POGILs and blended learning to retain physical science students: A preparation to chemistry approach

251st National Meeting (2016)

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