Embedded Peer Coach Pedagogy to Improve Undergraduate Research in STEM Students
Track
Research Project / Learning Theories and Pedagogy
Abstract
This study assesses the effectiveness of student coaches in improving students’ research experience, skills, and confidence in conducting undergraduate research. Research coach pedagogy is based on a model developed at the University of North Carolina (Pukkila, Arnold, Li, & Bickford 2013). In this study faculty recruited and trained peer research coaches from within their disciplines. The study is one-group (23 students) pretest and posttest (14 students) design. During the study, participants taking a first-year composition research course (ENC 1102) were required to meet the research coach twice per month. Results of dependent – t test for paired samples indicate that participants had statistically significantly more research experience, higher research skills, and more confidence in their research ability at the end of the intervention. After controlling for the effect of pre-intervention research experience, participants’ research experience, research skills and their confidence in their research ability was still significantly higher at the post-test as compared to the pre-test. Limitations exist with the internal and external validity of research findings in this study. However, this study supports the efficacy of research coach pedagogy, which could be extended to large introductory STEM classes where the differences before and after the intervention promise to be advantageous.
Session Format
Presentation Session
Location
Room 217
Recommended Citation
Xu, Lihua Ph.D.; Tripp, Mary Ph.D.; and Chumbimuni-Torres, Karin Ph.D., "Embedded Peer Coach Pedagogy to Improve Undergraduate Research in STEM Students" (2016). SoTL Commons Conference. 35.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2016/35
Embedded Peer Coach Pedagogy to Improve Undergraduate Research in STEM Students
Room 217
This study assesses the effectiveness of student coaches in improving students’ research experience, skills, and confidence in conducting undergraduate research. Research coach pedagogy is based on a model developed at the University of North Carolina (Pukkila, Arnold, Li, & Bickford 2013). In this study faculty recruited and trained peer research coaches from within their disciplines. The study is one-group (23 students) pretest and posttest (14 students) design. During the study, participants taking a first-year composition research course (ENC 1102) were required to meet the research coach twice per month. Results of dependent – t test for paired samples indicate that participants had statistically significantly more research experience, higher research skills, and more confidence in their research ability at the end of the intervention. After controlling for the effect of pre-intervention research experience, participants’ research experience, research skills and their confidence in their research ability was still significantly higher at the post-test as compared to the pre-test. Limitations exist with the internal and external validity of research findings in this study. However, this study supports the efficacy of research coach pedagogy, which could be extended to large introductory STEM classes where the differences before and after the intervention promise to be advantageous.
