Design of an Intensive Study Session for “At-Risk” Students in Chemistry
Track
Research Project / Assessment of Student Learning
Abstract
Numerous studies on predictors for "at-risk" students in general chemistry have suggested that effective intervention programs can assist "at-risk" students to successfully complete the courses. For the last three years, the Chemistry Department at Georgia Southern University has offered an intervention program in the form of a large intensive study session for all Principles of Chemistry I students (approximately 850 students) led by as many as a dozen chemistry faculty volunteers with a large number of chemistry majors volunteering as assistants. The intense study session is offered one week before the drop deadline and is designed to catch students up with material and encourage them to keep the class instead of withdrawing. Faculty and student volunteers use mini lectures, hands on demonstrations, and worksheets to intensively tutor students on the topics that students sign-up for prior to the study session. Research is in progress to study the effectiveness of the intervention program using statistical relationships between first exam grades, student perceived learning gains from a survey, and the final course grades. The presentation will focus on the study session format, research design, challenges in implementation and initial results.
Session Format
Poster Session
Location
Room 113
Recommended Citation
Narendrapurapu, Beulah S. and Orvis, Jessica, "Design of an Intensive Study Session for “At-Risk” Students in Chemistry" (2016). SoTL Commons Conference. 34.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2016/34
Design of an Intensive Study Session for “At-Risk” Students in Chemistry
Room 113
Numerous studies on predictors for "at-risk" students in general chemistry have suggested that effective intervention programs can assist "at-risk" students to successfully complete the courses. For the last three years, the Chemistry Department at Georgia Southern University has offered an intervention program in the form of a large intensive study session for all Principles of Chemistry I students (approximately 850 students) led by as many as a dozen chemistry faculty volunteers with a large number of chemistry majors volunteering as assistants. The intense study session is offered one week before the drop deadline and is designed to catch students up with material and encourage them to keep the class instead of withdrawing. Faculty and student volunteers use mini lectures, hands on demonstrations, and worksheets to intensively tutor students on the topics that students sign-up for prior to the study session. Research is in progress to study the effectiveness of the intervention program using statistical relationships between first exam grades, student perceived learning gains from a survey, and the final course grades. The presentation will focus on the study session format, research design, challenges in implementation and initial results.
