scholarly journals Enhancing Undergraduate Student Success in STEM Fields through Growth-Mindset and Grit

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Gokhan Hacisalihoglu ◽  
Desmond Stephens ◽  
Sonya Stephens ◽  
Lewis Johnson ◽  
Maurice Edington
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Growth Mindset ◽  
Grade Point Averages ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
The University

Concern about graduation rates in higher education has led universities to offer courses that help students develop success skills. Scientist Life Skills, a new course for freshman at Florida A&M University, focuses on helping students matriculate into majors via development of growth mindset, grit, and critical thinking. Here, we assessed the outcomes of this course and explored the associations between building life skills and student success. A series of mindset, grit, and critical-thinking assessment measures were used to collect data before and after the course. Our results showed that the new course achieved its intended goals of providing STEM students with a set of tools that help them seamlessly transition into the university and successfully matriculate through their majors. Specifically, the course design significantly moved students toward a growth-mindset, increased their critical thinking, and their second-semester grade point averages (GPAs). This model life skills course can be adopted in non-STEM areas as well.

scholarly journals Growing a growth mindset: characterizing how and why undergraduate students’ mindsets change

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa B. Limeri ◽  
Nathan T. Carter ◽  
Jun Choe ◽  
Hannah G. Harper ◽  
Hannah R. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Growth Mindset ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Survey Responses

Abstract Background The extent to which students view their intelligence as improvable (i.e., their “mindset”) influences students’ thoughts, behaviors, and ultimately their academic success. Thus, understanding the development of students’ mindsets is of great interest to education scholars working to understand and promote student success. Recent evidence suggests that students’ mindsets continue to develop and change during their first year of college. We built on this work by characterizing how mindsets change and identifying the factors that may be influencing this change among upper-level STEM students. We surveyed 875 students in an organic chemistry course at four points throughout the semester and interviewed a subset of students about their mindsets and academic experiences. Results Latent growth modeling revealed that students tended to shift towards viewing intelligence as a stable trait (i.e., shifted towards a stronger fixed mindset and a weaker growth mindset). This trend was particularly strong for students who persistently struggled in the course. From qualitative analysis of students’ written survey responses and interview transcripts, we determined that students attribute their beliefs about intelligence to five factors: academic experiences, observing peers, deducing logically, taking societal cues, and formal learning. Conclusions Extensive prior research has focused on the influence of mindset on academic performance. Our results corroborate this relationship and further suggest that academic performance influences students’ mindsets. Thus, our results imply that mindset and academic performance constitute a positive feedback loop. Additionally, we identified factors that influence undergraduates’ mindset beliefs, which could be leveraged by researchers and practitioners to design more persuasive and effective mindset interventions to promote student success.

Innovative Math For Liberal Arts Majors

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora Strasser
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Success Rate ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
Statistical Reasoning ◽  
Course Changes ◽  
Liberal Arts Students ◽  
Liberal Arts Majors

An innovative Math for Liberal Arts course was designed to provide liberal arts students with the life skills necessary to survive in the 21st century. The course emphasizes application driven mathematics. This course has been successful in changing students perceptions of the usefulness of the course and improving student success rate as well as actively engaging them in the study of mathematics. Topics such as critical thinking, unit analysis, statistical reasoning, and managing money are included. Students spend time analyzing a budget as well as learning about the stock market and the mathematics associated with each. Students who took this course were far more likely than those who took the more traditional survey type of course to rate the course as being important. The course changes are delineated and the students responses to those changes are described.

scholarly journals Enhancing Diversity in Science: Is Teaching Science Process Skills the Answer?

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarissa Dirks ◽  
Matthew Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Grade Point Averages ◽  
Underrepresented Minorities ◽  
Process Skills ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Science Process Skills ◽  
Science Degree ◽  
The University ◽  
Beginning Students

The Biology Fellows Program at the University of Washington aims to enhance diversity in science by helping students succeed in the rigorous introductory biology classes and motivating them to engage in undergraduate research. The composite Scholastic Achievement Test scores and high school grade point averages of the Biology Fellows are comparable to those of students who are not in the program; however, they earn, on average, higher grades in introductory biology classes than non-Biology Fellows. Underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged students in the program also earn higher grades in the introductory biology classes than do their non-Biology Fellows counterparts. Analysis of the performance of Biology Fellows shows that the program assists students who are not proficient in certain science process skills and that students who lack these skills are at risk for failing introductory biology. This evaluation provides insight for designing programs that aim to enhance the performance of beginning students of biology, particularly for underrepresented minorities, who want to obtain a life science degree.

scholarly journals The Flip Classroom Learning on Design Student's Performance: An Analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 87-94
Author(s):  
Mahesh Chandra Babu Jampala
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
New Media ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Flipped Learning ◽  
Classroom Learning ◽  
Media Technology ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The University

Objective- The objective of this research paper is to examine whether flipped learning would improve the performance of the 3rd year undergraduate design students compared to the traditional classroom learning. Methodology/Technique- The performance of the students was assessed based on the parameters: communication skills, understanding of the concepts, teamwork, critical thinking, sharing the data, exploration of concepts, creative outcomes and engaging the problems. Students were provided different tools, case studies, video presentations and foundational concepts. The experimentation was conducted before and after implementation of flipped classroom. Findings - The study revealed that final marks were gradually increased and nearly 80% students were satisfied with this way of learning. It was also observed that 82% students improved the communication skills, improved the critical thinking and helps to solve problems by themselves and started exploring new concepts. The study also focuses on the challenges on the adaptation of flipped learning among students and teachers. Novelty - The use of the flipped classroom is one of the most emerging new media technology in the university. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords - New Media Technology, Flipped learning, Performance, Self-learning, Classroom teaching.

scholarly journals It’s Critical

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 173-189
Author(s):  
Esther K Cho ◽  
Karly V. Jerman ◽  
Kameron J. LaCalli ◽  
Sabrina E. Lucero ◽  
Victoria S. Maraga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Mental Process ◽  
Engineering Student ◽  
Engineering Profession ◽  
Analysis And Evaluation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Thinking Process ◽  
Evaluation Of Evidence ◽  
The University

Critical thinking is an essential skill for achievement as an engineering student and for success in the engineering profession. Critical thinking can be defined as a mental process to responsibly form an unbiased conclusion that includes identification, skillful analysis, and evaluation of evidence to guide decision-making. This article evaluates a research project undertaken by students at the University of San Diego. In the investigators’ work, they analyzed the definitions of critical thinking and bias, what tools could be used to help in the critical thinking process, and how concepts such as bias and critical thinking affect engineers in their occupations. The team then presented this information to several introductory engineering classes in the form of a lecture and asked the students to assess their knowledge and understanding of critical thinking concepts before and after the presentation. The investigators evaluated the surveys and discovered that most students improved their definitions of bias and critical thinking after the lecture. The students also generally improved their self-rating of understanding critical thinking concepts.

scholarly journals How Well Do Undergraduate Research Programs Promote Engagement and Success of Students?

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Fechheimer ◽  
Karen Webber ◽  
Pamela B. Kleiber
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
University Of Georgia ◽  
Institutional Data ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Assessment of undergraduate research (UR) programs using participant surveys has produced a wealth of information about design, implementation, and perceived benefits of UR programs. However, measurement of student participation university wide, and the potential contribution of research experience to student success, also require the study of extrinsic measures. In this essay, institutional data on student credit-hour generation and grade point average (GPA) from the University of Georgia are used to approach these questions. Institutional data provide a measure of annual enrollment in UR classes in diverse disciplines. This operational definition allows accurate and retrospective analysis, but does not measure all modes of engagement in UR. Cumulative GPA is proposed as a quantitative extrinsic measure of student success. Initial results show that extended participation in research for more than a single semester is correlated with an increase in GPA, even after using SAT to control for the initial ability level of the students. While the authors acknowledge that correlation does not prove causality, continued efforts to measure the impact of UR programs on student outcomes using GPA or an alternate extrinsic measure is needed for development of evidence-based programmatic recommendations.

The Effects of Affirmative Action Programs: Evidence From the University of California at San Diego

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Rose
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Graduation Rates ◽  
San Diego ◽  
Academic Preparation ◽  
Grade Point Averages ◽  
University Of California ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The University

Using administrative data from the University of California at San Diego, the author explicitly identifies and studies students admitted under affirmative action programs. On average, these students earned grade point averages (GPAs) 0.30 points lower than those of nonaffirmative students. The difference in graduation rates is larger, with 57% of affirmative action students graduating compared to 73% of their nonaffirmative action peers. When compared to students just above the regular admissions cutoff, the differences are smaller—the difference in graduation rates is only 8 percentage points, and the difference in GPAs is only 0.20 points. A student’s family, school, and neighborhood characteristics can explain a small part of these differences, but academic preparation explains most of the difference.

scholarly journals First semester academic performance: The importance of early indicators of non-engagement

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Van der Meer ◽  
Stephen Scott ◽  
Keryn Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Grade Point Average ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Retention Strategy ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
The University

Success, progression and retention of students are goals of many university strategic directions and policies. For many decades it has been recognised that the greatest focus in any retention strategy should be on first-year students. University of Otago too has goals around student success. The Strategic Plan of the institution also identified that in the context of a fiscally constrained environment, all of our activities and processes need to be assessed for efficiency and effectiveness.  To this end, a pilot was undertaken in one area of the university to identify possible indicators of first-year students’ non-engagement in the first semester and their possible impact on the first semester academic performance. The findings suggest that there are indeed some indicators that predict Grade Point Average at the end of the first semester.

scholarly journals Performance of FCAE diploma holders at USP

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
U J Dixit ◽  
V U Dixit ◽  
M V Reddy
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Grade Point Averages ◽  
First Year ◽  
The South ◽  
Similar Nature ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Advanced Education ◽  
Study Programme ◽  
The University

The University of the South Pacific (USP is currently attracting many students who have completed a Diploma at the Fiji College of Advanced Education (FCAE) into its study programmes. These students are not required to do certain courses, mostly those at the first year level, as they had done courses of a similar nature at FCAE and hence these are cross-credited towards their study programme as USP. In order to ensure that the granting of cross-credits for these FCAE courses is justified, USP needs to study the performance of these students. In this paper, we have carried out a statistical analysis using the Cumulative Grade Point Averages (CGPA) of all 67 such students. Results of the analysis indicate that the performance of these students justifies the granting of cross-credits.

scholarly journals The Large Lecture Course Redesign Project: Pedagogical Goals And Assessment Results

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman D. Aitken
Keyword(s):  
Grade Point Averages ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Traditional Course ◽  
Course Redesign ◽  
Large Lecture ◽  
University Of Massachusetts ◽  
The University ◽  
Pedagogical Goals ◽  
Total Enrollment

An analysis and assessment of the Course Redesign Project, which used technology to improve student learning and course satisfaction in large lecture courses at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Six disciplinary-diverse departments participated in the project. Technology was selected for the purpose of introducing active learning into lecture halls and providing frequent feedback to students on their individual learning progress. The assessment methodology compares traditionally taught sections with redesigned sections, holding constant (where possible) such potential confounding factors as student academic ability, professor, textbook, day and time of class and the number, type and difficulty of exams and other graded assignments. The assessment of the project produced strong and significant statistical results that indicate that students across the broad spectrum of redesigned courses learned more and achieved higher grades than students in traditional sections. This occurred despite the fact that students in traditional sections had either the same or higher high school-grade point averages and SAT scores compared to students in the redesigned sections. The project included 12 traditional course sections with a total enrollment of 2,456 and 13 redesigned courses sections with a total enrollment of 3,101. The project was supported by a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation.

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