Transcript Peer Tutors for Math Skills and Science Major Retention

Peer Tutors for Math
Skills and Science
Major Retention
Dr. Barbara Reitsma, Assistant Director
Math and Science Skills Center, Kenyon College
Presented at
Enriching the Academic Experience
of College Students
Science Learning Center, U. Michigan, May 22-24, 2007
Math and Science Skills Center
 Funded by a Howard Hughes Medical
Institute grant for retention and recruitment in
the sciences
 Opened Fall 2004
 “Science/Math equivalent” of the Writing
Center
Goals
 to build basic math literacy in all students
 to increase retention of science majors by
improving performance in math-intensive
introductory courses
Math Literacy
 Kenyon’s Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
requirement
 Quantitative-reasoning courses may focus on
the organization, analysis, and
implementation of numerical and graphical
data; or they may involve learning
mathematical ideas, understanding their
application to the world, and employing them
to solve problems.
 Although the subject matter of QR courses
will vary by department and discipline, the
quantitative knowledge and skills developed
will be applicable in a wide variety of settings.
Science Majors
 Some students enter Kenyon with weak math
background
 Ability in math directly correlates to success
in the sciences
 Desire to give entering students support and
encouragement during first science courses
Structure of Center
 Walk-in clinic
 Open five 2-hour sessions throughout the
week
 Supervised peer-tutors
 Easily accessible room in the Science Quad
 Variety of resources available
 Informal, friendly atmosphere
Center Attendance
Spring 2007
Student Visits
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
20
40
Sessions
60
Why students come to the MSSC
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Help with homework problems
Check answers
Questions from past exams
Concept clarification
Pre-lab questions
Lab report calculations and writing
Extra problem practice
Group assignments
Computer use (assigned work and other)
To study for quizzes and exams
Assistance writing papers
Use of reference materials
Review missed questions on exams
Primary Reason for Visit
393 visits over 46 Sessions
Feb - April 2007
Computers
4%
Study
16%
Concepts
1%
Homework
38%
Other
2%
Lab Report
33%
Prelab
6%
Frequency of Student Visits
Students
Chem 124/125/126
10
8
6
4
2
0
1
4
7
10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37
Num ber of visits spring sem ester
Open 69 sessions
2007
Math and Science Skills Center
Attendance
700
Number of Visits
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Fall
2004
Spring
2005
Fall
2005
Spring
2006
Fall
2006
Spring
2007
Center Attendance
100 level
Chemistry
100 level
Chemistry
lab
200 level
Chemistry &
lab
Non-Majors
QR Course
Fall ‘04
78
94
Spring ‘05
93
99
Fall ‘05
28
28
Spring ‘06
237
51
Fall ‘06
155
39
288
85
Spring ‘07
225
189
57
82
1
30
Student Usage of the Center
100 level
Chemistry
Fall ‘04
55%
Spring ‘05
57%
Fall ‘05
68%
Spring ‘06
200 level
Chemistry &
lab
Non-Major
QR course
2%
100%
19%
Fall ‘06
49%
100%
49%
Spring ‘07
83%
52%
57%
Success of the Center
 Cooperation of course instructors
 Quality of peer-tutors
Course Instructors
 Feature MSSC in syllabus and course
website
 Encourage student attendance
 Communication with center director
 Provide answer keys to problem sets, quizzes
and exams
Peer Tutors
Job Description
 Guides students in problem-solving questions
from lecture and laboratory courses. Attends
tutor training and staff meetings. Other duties
as assigned by Director.
 Sophomore standing. Superior performance
in two related 100 or 200 level science
courses. Excellent quantitative reasoning
and communication skills. Recommendation
by course instructor. Familiarity with
Kenyon’s computer network, Microsoft Word
and Excel.
Peer Tutors
 Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors
 Majors:
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Biochemistry/Dance minor
Biochemistry
Mathematics/Economics
Chemistry
English (pre-med)
Chemistry/Physics minor
Molecular Biology/Anthropology (pre-med)
Tutor Training
 Three hours each fall
 Learning styles
 Theories of intelligence
 Question-asking skills
 Interpersonal skills
 Staff meetings mid-semester
Benefits to Tutors
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learning teaching (questioning/explaining) skills
review/reinforcement of material learned
identifying/filling in gaps in learning
experience for resumes and applications
stronger core knowledge helps in upper level
courses
 develop communication skills, people skills, and
relationships
 increased confidence in knowledge possessed
 income
Results
 Very hard to show effect of center
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Data collection
Number of variables
 Statistics by Program Evaluator
 Biology in Science Fiction
 Solar Energy
 Biophysical/Medicinal Chemistry
Statistics by Program Evaluator
 Student surveys from 4 classes from AY
2005-6
 Correlation of grade received with
frequency of visits to the center
Student Survey
Class Valid N/
Q1
Total N
1
14/33
2.07
2
19/25
2.21*
3
7/18
2.86
4
25/32
1.60*
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
2.64
2.58
3.00
2.14
2.26*
2.86
2.64
2.58
3.00
3.28
3.21
3.43
2.16*
1.64*
2.04*
2.76
*mean value significantly different from neutral value of ‘3’ p<.005
Q1 – Helped learn? Q2 – Course interest; Q3 – Improve
Grade? Q4 – Feel involved? Q5 – Encouraged major?
Survey Results by Class and
Question
Evaluations of Math Skills Center by Class and Evaluation Question
Strongly disagree
5
CLASS#:
4.5
4
3.5
neutral
1
2
3
4
3
2.5
2
1.5
Strongly agree
1
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
Q1: helped learn; Q2: made course subject interesting; q3: helped improve my grades
Q1Q4:–helped
Helped
learn?
Q2 – Course
me feel involved;
Q5: encouraged
me to major interest; Q3 – Improve Grade?
Q4 – Feel involved? Q5 – Encouraged major?
Center Visits and Class Grades
Class
N
r
partial r
Visits
Class GPA
1
2
3
4
48
52
46
39
-.17
.15
.20
.48**
-.05
.03
.19
.16**
.4 (1.13)
2.23 (4.39)
4.02 (5.76)
3.49 (2.66)
3.09 (.92)
2.53 (.98)
2.90 (.66)
3.11 (.67)
** p<.01
r relates number of visits to Center in the semester to
semester course grade;
partial r controls for Math SAT in the relationship
between visits and grade
Biology in Science Fiction
(Non-major QR course)
Test Score Change with MSSC Usage
Test 1 score
10
15
20
25
30
35
(Test 2 - Test 1)
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
MSSC 2 or more times
No use of MSSC
40
Solar Energy
(Non-Major QR Course)
Test Score Change with MSSC Usage
Test 1
Test 2 - Test 1
150
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
-30
175
200
No MSSC
MSSC > 2
Biophysical/Medicinal Chemistry
Chem124
40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
Grade earned
F
C-
C
C+
C+
B
B
B
B+
A-
A
A
A
0.0
A+
Numer of visits to MSSC
Center visits and course grade
One Student’s Story
Problems
 Serving only chemistry students
 Resistance from other departments
 Don’t see all the students who could benefit
 Laboratory courses
Surprises
 Large amount of help requested for
laboratory courses
 Attendance varies widely
Successes
 Increase in attendance
 Variety of uses
 Repeat visitors
 Mentioned in campus tours
 Website
 Students use center for multiple classes
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Dance physiology; anthropology; math;
biology
Math and Science Skills Web Site
 http://biology.kenyon.edu/HHMI/math-
science/
Into the Science Quad
Workshops
 The Quad Workshop at Kenyon College is
inspired by the successful Gateway Science
Workshops at Northwestern University.
 Northwestern’s program is modeled after Uri
Treisman’s retention program at Berkeley.
Gateway Science Workshops
 Student Goals
 Improve
overall student performance
 Increase student retention within
individual course sequences
 Increase STEM* majors and students
entering science related careers
 Particularly for underrepresented groups
* Science, technology, engineering and mathematics
Quad Workshops
 A pilot program offered during the spring semester of
2007 available to students in the Biophysical/Medicinal
Chemistry course (Chemistry 124).
 Biweekly workshops in which small groups of students
work as a team on challenging, interesting and
conceptually-based problems that are relevant to the
course curriculum.
 Workshops meet six times during the semester for
1-1.5 hours.
 Led by a peer facilitator who successfully completed
this course last academic year. Questions for
discussion are prepared by the course instructor.
Why would I want to participate?
(How we presented it to the students)
 Better grades: Programs of this kind at other institutions have
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been shown to improve student performance and experience. This
is NOT a remedial program.
Better learning: Research has shown that group problem-solving
such as will be found in the Science Quad Workshops enables
students to learn the subject matter more thoroughly and at a
higher level of learning.
Ownership of subject matter: Anyone who has struggled with
difficult subject material or challenging problems gains not only a
better grasp of the material, but also confidence in their abilities to
continue and excel in that area.
Monetary benefits: Understanding that your time is valuable, a
stipend of $75 will be provided to each student who participates in
all the workshop sessions.
Experience: Being involved in the initial stage of this project will
look great on a resume!
You have to study anyway: Many students find that group
studying is more effective than studying alone. And it’s more fun!
Implementation
 Two sections, eight students per section,
worked in groups of four
 Students were paid for their time
 Problems posed were related to the course,
but not specific course content
 Students were given different roles to play
(leader, scribe, encourager, discourager)
 Sessions met Tuesdays at 8 AM and 9:30 AM
First Quad Exercise
 This Quad Session is divided into two parts:
 Part A:
 Learn how to identify pairs of optical isomers
 Use experimental data to derive an equation that
relates the variables that govern the rotation of plane
polarized light by an optical isomer
 Part B:
 Use experimental data to derive an equation that
describes the optical rotation of mixtures of optical
isomers
 Apply your knowledge to determine the composition of
mixtures of optical isomers.
Part A
I. Identification of Optical Isomers:
 Optical isomers possess an asymmetric center (or center of
chirality). The most common type of asymmetric center is a
tetrahedral carbon bound to four different groups. A molecule
with one such carbon will lack an internal plane of symmetry
and is termed chiral. A molecule that does contain an internal
mirror plane is termed achiral and is never optically active.
 Question 1
 Examples of a few chiral and achiral molecules are given below
(Figure 1). Build a model of each molecule, complete with
hydrogen atoms, and classify each one as chiral or achiral.
Draw an accurate picture of each molecule, including hydrogen
atoms, that clearly illustrates the internal mirror plane if one
exists. It is important to remember that rotation around single
carbon-carbon bonds is possible when looking for internal mirror
planes.
Figure 1. Some chiral and achiral
molecules
CH3
CH3
OH
CH3
Cl
Br
H
H3C
H
Cl
CH3
H
O
H3C
H
OH
OH
Cl
O
H3C
O
Figure 2. Pairs of molecules
.
pair a
pair b
pair c
H
CH3
CH3
Cl
H3C
H
O
OH
CH3
Br
pair d
CH3
H
Cl
H
H3C
OH
OH
O
CH3
CH3
Br
CH3
H3C
Cl
H
H
H3C
CH3
Cl
OH
HO
H
H
OH
Summary of Concepts Developed in
Session 1:
 What is the defining feature of a chiral
molecule?
 Optically active solutions must contain…?
 What are enantiomers?
 What is a racemic mixture?
 Optical purity describes…?
Quad Workshop Results
 Excellent attendance: one absence over
entire semester
 Actively engaged, enjoyed sessions
 Preliminary Results: 9 out of 16 would repeat
 Effect on grades?
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3 A+; 2 A; 1 A-; 5 B; 2 C+; 2 C; 1 D+
 Student survey results
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Many students wanted more tie-in to course
Weaker students did not keep up with group
Future Plans
 Still in pilot stage
 Offer workshops in same course next spring
 Four sections to be offered (up to 32 students
could participate)
 Target B/C students
 Workshops will meet weekly for 12 sessions
 Problems will be a 50/50 mixture of process
oriented problems (POGIL) and challenging
problems
Future of the MSSC
 Increase hours
 Expand subject areas
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Recent overture from Biology department
 Offer Quad Workshops in other courses
 Better service to laboratory students
 Dream of a dedicated facility and office for the
director