Effects of Hierarchical Mentoring on Freshman Retention in a Biology First-Year Experience Course

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-190
Author(s):  
Peter Cavnar ◽  
Claudia Stanny
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
High Rate ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Freshman Retention ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
Retention And Graduation Rates ◽  
The Impact

Higher education must improve student retention and graduation rates to meet increased demand for STEM degrees in the workforce projected for the next ten years. The high rate of attrition among STEM students entering college compels institutions to implement strategies that improve student retention because more states now employ performance-based funding models with increased pressures to improve student outcomes, such as first- and second-year retention rates. We piloted a two-year hierarchical mentoring model as part of a first-year experience course developed for biology students (BioSkills) to increase retention rates among first-time-in-college (FTIC) students. We describe the mentoring structure we adopted and how the design of BioSkills supports and educates future biology professionals. Our findings show that FTIC students who participated in this program earned significantly higher first-year GPAs and were retained at higher rates than students who did not participate, which documents the impact of BioSkills as a successful first-year intervention. However, we were surprised that the benefit of BioSkills was not replicated among under-represented minority (URM) students. We briefly speculate on explanations for this finding. Lastly, we offer best practice suggestions for future implementation.

scholarly journals Developing Faculty Communities of Practice to Expand the Use of Effective Pedagogical Techniques

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Hoyert ◽  
Cynthia O'Dell
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
First Year ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Pedagogical Techniques ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Faculty Group

The scholarship of teaching and learning literature is replete with examples of pedagogical techniques that have been demonstrated to be effective in improving learning, motivation, and student success. The extension of these techniques beyond the original context has tended to be slow, difficult, and incomplete. The following paper examines an intervention designed to encourage the exploration and use of a variety of pedagogical techniques by faculty in a traditional, four-year college faculty within the context of the AASCU Re-imagining the First Year Initiative. Small groups of six to eight faculty, joined and created communities of practice. The groups were known as Pedagogical Interest Groups, or PIGs for short. The faculty read about and analyzed a series of pedagogical techniques and committed to introducing at least one technique into their courses to further explore the techniques. When the techniques were successful, the faculty members redesigned entire classes to expand the impact. The communities of practice were successful in encouraging faculty to explore a wide variety of techniques. The average faculty group explored eight different pedagogical techniques. Faculty were able to use the opportunity to experiment with techniques with the support from their colleagues in their PIG. A dozen techniques were explored across the PIGs and dozens of class sections have been completely redesigned. To date, over 2000 students have experienced redesigned courses. Measures of student success, satisfaction, and interest in those sections have increased. The effort has been accompanied by a robust increase in the campus-wide retention rates. ​

A Multilevel Approach to Assessing the Interaction Effects on College Student Retention

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyan Bai ◽  
Wei Pan
Keyword(s):  
College Student ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Interaction Effects ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
First Year ◽  
College Student Retention ◽  
Multilevel Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
First Year Retention

The present study utilizes a multilevel approach to assess the effects of four different types of intervention on college student retention, focusing on the interaction effects between the student characteristics and the types of intervention. The program effects on a 3-year trend are also explored. The findings of the present study reveal that the social integration programs improved the first-year retention rates for female students, the advising programs and the social integration programs worked better in the first year for students from more selective colleges within the university, and the first-year experience programs had a significant lasting effect across the 3 years on retention for elder students and male students. It is also found that the advising programs were significantly more effective on the first-year retention rates than the general orientation programs. This study provides empirical evidence for researchers and administrators in higher education to improve the effectiveness of intervention programs for students with specific characteristics.

Teaching Planning Studios: An Online Assessment Task to Enhance the First Year Experience

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tooran Alizadeh ◽  
Deanna Tomerini ◽  
Samantha Colbran
Keyword(s):  
Learning By Doing ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Online Assessment ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Assessment Task ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Catch Up ◽  
Community Of Inquiry Framework ◽  
The Impact

Planning studios, through learning by doing, introduce students to relevant practical skills. The problem is that not all students, especially in the first-year, spend the required time on task, so they fall behind and fail to catch up. The article is based on the Community of Inquiry framework and proposes an online assessment to ensure that teaching, social, and cognitive elements are present when there is no face-to-face contact between the teaching team and students. The article follows a planning cohort across their first two studios that adopted the online assessment, and it provides an opportunity to evaluate the impact on the first-year experience.

College Persistence over Time and Participation in a First-Year Seminar

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Miller ◽  
Sally S. Lesik
Keyword(s):  
Academic Preparation ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Survival Analyses ◽  
Entire Cohort ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses ◽  
New Research ◽  
Retention And Graduation Rates

Retention and graduation rates of an entire cohort of 1,913 first-time full-time college students are analyzed. The effects of participation in a first year experience (FYE) course and of entry level academic preparation (ELAP) on retention and graduation are examined, both descriptively and with discrete-time survival analyses. Although descriptive results support the efficacy of the FYE, survival analyses calls into question whether any unique variability beyond ELAP is attributable to FYE. Alternative hypotheses to explain the results and plans of new research for further exploration are presented.

scholarly journals The Socialization and Retention of Low-Income College Students: The Impact of a Wrap-Around Intervention

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaye D. Ceyhan ◽  
Alia N. Thompson ◽  
Jeremy D. Sloane ◽  
Jason R. Wiles ◽  
John W. Tillotson
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
First Year ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Career Support ◽  
College Life ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
Low Income College Students ◽  
The Impact

The Strategic Undergraduate STEM Talent Acceleration INitiative (SUSTAIN) provided a coherent ecosystem of academic, social, and career support services designed for a diverse cohort of high-achieving, low-income STEM students during their first year of undergraduate study. Findings are discussed in terms of the efficacy of the program interventions to enhance students’ socialization and retention within the STEM community. Results indicate that participants perceived the interventions to have helped them adjust to college life and develop skills in understanding science and the scientific process. Which in turn, participants reported, helped them to succeed in their STEM courses and visualize themselves as part of the larger STEM community. The participants rated STEM faculty mentoring, research experience and community building as more helpful than other interventions. Our findings will aid researchers to better understand how SUSTAIN interventions influence students’ socialization into the STEM community and provide valuable insight to guide policymakers in shaping future programs that are successful in retaining diverse students in STEM fields.

The Impact of Curricular Interventions on Intended Second Year Re-Enrollment

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Keup
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Interactive Relationship ◽  
Second Year ◽  
First Year Seminars ◽  
Cooperative Institutional Research Program ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Curricular Interventions

Utilizing data from the national administration of a Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) baseline and follow-up survey of the first-year experience during the 2002–2003 academic year, this study explores the relationship between three curricular interventions—first-year seminars, service-learning, and learning communities—and the longitudinal process of first-to-second year retention. The findings from descriptive analyses showed that there are numerous positive relationships between these three interventions and integrative first-year experiences as defined by Tinto's (1987, 1993) longitudinal model of departure. Further, logistic regression suggests that service-learning courses have an indirect impact on the intent to re-enroll for a second year of college, while first-year seminars and learning communities may have an interactive relationship in their impact on the outcome measure.

The Impact of Clustering First Year Seminars with English Composition Courses on New Students' Retention Rates

2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Crissman
Keyword(s):  
Retention Rates ◽  
English Composition ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Independent College ◽  
Composition Course ◽  
New Students ◽  
First Year Seminars ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

Research has shown that two effective programs that positively impact upon new students' retention are first year seminars and clustering two or more academic courses together. This article discusses the results of one institution's approach to increasing student retention. The study analyzed the impact of clustering a first year seminar with an English composition course on new students' retention rates at a small, independent college in the northeast. The study, using multivariate regression models, showed no statistical difference in retention rates between students taking a clustered first year seminar and students taking a nonclustered first year seminar. This article discusses reasons that may account for the inconsistency with the literature, and closes with implications of the study and future research ideas.

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