Small fish in a small pond: the impact of collaborative learning on academic success for less-prepared students in a highly selective STEM environment

ABSTRACT

This study examines academic outcomes for university students engaged in a supplemental peer learning program in a selective institution. Using a matched sample of 1266 students, half enrolled in the supplemental program and half not enrolled, we find that participating students on average earned higher grades in linked courses. Using a subsample of students in a chemistry course sequence, we find program participants were more likely to remain in the sequence than non-participants, and that the impact was greater for students with lower levels of preparation.     

#Resilience is not enough for Black women in STEM: Counterstories of two young Black women becoming a STEM person

Both K-12 schools and STEM disciplines are embedded in White supremacy and exclusion, making it that much harder for Black women to maintain an interest and sense of belonging in STEM. Through a Critical Race Feminism methodology, we tell the counterstories of our two co-authors, two Black women, over the course of their lives. Through these counterstories (stories that run counter to normative stories of STEM as male and White), Kelli and Samantha show us how they negotiated and maintained a sense of belonging in STEM even through moments of self-doubt in their STEM trajectory. These negotiations allowed them to carve a space for themselves within STEM. A key finding from these counterstories was the resilience both women developed through their participation in counterspaces and support from family and teachers that helped them develop pride in their STEM identity trajectories. Our study adds to the research on Black women's journeys in STEM by describing resilience strategies that our authors were forced to develop in response to White supremacy and how they were able to maintain their STEM identity by creating a counterstory that allowed them to maintain their sense of belonging within STEM. And yet, we conclude by asking if resilience is enough since both women questioned their authentic and valued place in their respective STEM disciplines because of the dominant storyline of STEM as White and male. Their stories reveal the deeper truth that change is needed in STEM to empower students of color to see themselves as not just tolerated but valued members of the discipline.     

Mentor-shape: exploring the mentoring relationships of Black women in doctoral programs

Using a Black Feminist Thought framework, this phenomenological study focused on lived experiences with mentoring relationships among 38 Black women in doctoral programs in multiple disciplines across universities in the United States. Although emerging studies on Black women in academia acknowledge the significance of mentorship and the reality of discrimination at the intersection of race and gender, the literature lacks empirical support pertaining to the formation and outcomes of mentoring relationships, specifically for Black women in doctoral education. Findings from this study suggested four central themes in the mentoring relationships among Black women in doctoral programs: (a) organic evolvement, (b) shared identity/mutual interest, (c) personal transformation and (d) increase in access and opportunity. Implications for future research, policy, practice and education across disciplines are offered.     

Curriculum homeplacing as complicated conversation: (re)narrating the mentoring of Black women doctoral students

ABSTRACT

Through personal and dialogical narratives, we explore the ways Black women mentors (do not) reveal to their mentees their lived-experiences and the personal pain associated with the pursuit of careers in higher education; how and why their narratives of pain and pursuit are negotiated, sanctioned, and/or strategically altered; and the impact these decisions have on the development of Black women graduate students. Drawing on hooks’ notions of ‘imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy’ (2015), ‘radical honesty’ (2004), and ‘homeplace’ (1990), we deploy the concept of curriculum homeplacing to more critically examine Black women’s mentoring relationships.     

Pedagogy for partisanship: research training for Black graduate students in the Black intellectual tradition

Current and former students of two professors in a southern research university and a community educator, all participants in an African-centered research collaborative/apprenticeship, describe what and how we study together and our struggle to use our knowledge and research in service to our community. We uplift the works of key Pan-African/Black/Africana Studies/Nile Valley scholars to illustrate the African epistemic foundation of our collaborative/apprenticeship. We describe how we utilized the methodology of narrative inquiry to explore our experiences as participants in the HeKA (Heritage Knowledge in Action) research collaborative and how HeKA has provided ways of knowing and being centered in our culture and heritage. We present our findings, which include some of the dilemmas of Black doctoral students and emerging scholars engaged in HeKA and how this collaborative/apprenticeship serves as an emancipatory praxis to enable the next generation to realize their goals of partisan research and pedagogy in higher education.     

Black doctoral student research participants: A mixed-method systematic literature review

In this study, we use a mixed-method systematic literature review of articles that include African American counselor education doctoral student participants in the research. From this corpus of inquiry, we provide an opportunity for counselor education researchers to lead the way with inclusive scholarship and the use of strengths-based frameworks. We examine how to conceptualize research particularly for African American doctoral student participants and offer suggestions on how to write the discussion and implication sections in a way to promote innovation and excellence.     

Tools for reflection on the academic identities of doctoral students

In this paper, we explore the usefulness of three different approaches to facilitating reflexivity and a critical awareness of emerging academic identities for doctoral students. This paper stems from a longitudinal research project entitled The Next Generation of Social Scientists, which was conducted across three research-intensive British universities and based at the University of Oxford. The research examined how doctoral students in a range of social science disciplines develop (or do not develop) notions of ‘academic’ identity as they move along the doctoral trajectory and into academic positions. In what follows we describe how three different data collection tools – weekly logs, interviews and a card-sorting activity – were used to encourage doctoral students to consider the process of constructing academic identities more actively and self-reflectively. We then consider how the use of these tools at two workshops further revealed how they can be utilised by academic developers to explore the needs of doctoral students and improve the support in place for this student group.     

Three constructs of institutional identity among international doctoral students in Australia

Postmodern institutional interactions in Australian universities, among students and staff, entail negotiation of identity, legitimacy, and ‘social capital’. For many international students, this happens in an additional language and culture, in English. The case study presented here profiles four international non-English speaking background Ph.D. students in an Australian university, observes their out-of classroom departmental interactions, and uses a sociocultural perspective of second language in use to map their approaches to the negotiation of institutional identity. Two focus group interviews with the participants illustrated how, despite similarities among the participants in the beginning as newcomers to a Western university, students chose different pathways for integration, engagement in institutional interactions, and identity construction. The discussions highlight the role of agency and intentionality in participation and learning through interaction which leads to a critique of the ‘international student' as a label that underplays student agency.     

Isolation,resilience, and faith: Experiences of Black Christian students in biology graduate programs

To increase participation of students of color in science graduate programs, research has focused on illuminating student experiences to inform ways to improve them. In biology, Black students are vastly underrepresented, and while religion has been shown to be a particularly important form of cultural wealth for Black students, Christianity is stigmatized in biology. Very few studies have explored the intersection of race/ethnicity and Christianity for Black students in biology where there is high documented tension between religion and science. Since graduate school is important for socialization and Black students are likely to experience stigmatization of their racial and religious identity, it is important to understand their experiences and how we might be able to improve them. Thus, we interviewed 13 Black Christian students enrolled in biology graduate programs and explored their experiences using the theoretical lens of stigmatized identities. Through thematic content analysis, we revealed that students negotiated experiences of cultural isolation, devaluation of intelligence, and acts of bias like other racially minoritized students in science. However, by examining these experiences at the intersection of race/ethnicity and religion, we shed light on interactions students have had with faculty and peers within the biology community that cultivated perceptions of mistrust, conflict, and stigma. Our study also revealed ways in which students' religious/spiritual capital has positively supported their navigation through biology graduate school. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of why Black Christian graduate students are more likely to leave or not pursue advanced degrees in biology with implications for research and practice that help facilitate their success.     

Peer to peer support: the disappearing work in the doctoral student experience

This paper reflects on the importance of study groups in contributing to a positive postgraduate experience and explores specific concepts, such as ‘disappearing behaviours’ in contrasting the ‘official’ languages of universities with the beneficial behaviours found through study groups. Additionally the paper advocates the systematic inclusion of strategies such as study groups in the postgraduate experience. Funding arrangements and research frameworks for higher education in Australia focus on student progress and completion, as well as comparison of research quality within and between universities. As a result, there is a significant emphasis on timely completion of postgraduate degrees. This paper posits that there is an apparent contradiction between the indicators of success in this area, such as completion rates and annual progress reports and the positive contribution that study groups can make to the doctoral student experience.     

Black girls speak STEM: Counterstories of informal and formal learning experiences

This study presents the interpretations and perceptions of Black girls who participated in I AM STEM—a community-based informal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program. Using narrative inquiry, participants generated detailed accounts of their informal and formal STEM learning experiences. Critical race methodology informed this research to portray the dynamic and complex experiences of girls of color, whose stories have historically been silenced and misrepresented. The data sources for this qualitative study included individual interviews, student reflection journals, samples of student work, and researcher memos, which were triangulated to produce six robust counterstories. Excerpts of the counterstories are presented in this article. The major findings of this research revealed that I AM STEM ignited an interest in STEM learning through field trips and direct engagement in scientific phenomena that allowed the girls to become agentic in continuing their engagement in STEM activities throughout the year. This call to awaken the voices of Black girls to speak casts light on their experiences and challenges as STEM learners—from their perspectives. The findings confirm that when credence and counterspaces are given to Black girls, they are poised to reveal their luster toward STEM learning. This study provided a space for Black girls to reflect on their STEM learning experiences, formulate new understandings, and make connections between the informal and formal learning environments within the context of their everyday lives, thus offering a more holistic approach to STEM learning that occurs across settings and over a lifetime.     

Leveraging the power of peer-led learning: investigating effects on STEM performance in urban high schools

The Peer Enabled Restructured Classroom (PERC) is an instructional innovation developed to address gaps in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in urban high schools. The PERC model changes instruction from teacher led to peer led by bringing peer students into the classroom to lead small-group work. Our study sought to provide empirical evidence in support of the peer-led model as a means of improving STEM learning for tutored students in urban schools. We used propensity score matching to evaluate the innovation's impact on students’ achievement on standardized end-of-course tests in two 9th-grade courses – Integrated Algebra and Biology. Results suggest that by the 2nd year of implementation, enrolment in PERC Biology increased the likelihood of passing. Similar effects were not observed for PERC Integrated Algebra, but when comparing cohorts, we found that the 2nd year was twice as likely to pass as the 1st year. We discuss implications for programme improvement.     

Undocumented Latino students pursuing degrees in STEM disciplines: Attitudes,perceptions, teacher support,and future views

If classrooms are being filled with undocumented Latino students, it is essential that teachers are trained on how to better serve this population, placing a particular focus on those students who have a passion for STEM disciplines, because the U.S. deserves a group of multilingual and multicultural student workers who will help America compete with innovators throughout the world. This mixed-methods convergent parallel study examined the primary variables that undocumented Latino students attending a DC public charter school face when choosing STEM studies or degrees. Data were obtained in order to further understand student attitudes towards STEM, positive and negative perceptions about life, support from teachers, and views of the future. Through this study, educators will be able to better assist undocumented Latino students in their pursuit of a STEM discipline.     

Departmental academic support for doctoral students in Russia: Categorisation and effects

Departmental academic support plays an important role in a doctoral journey. However, different types of support may be related to different outcomes. This paper aims to provide a categorisation of types of departmental academic support and analyse the relationship between these different categories of support and doctoral students' confidence that they will complete their dissertations. The empirical base for the research is data from a cross-institutional survey of doctoral students at six Russian universities. Based on the results of latent class analysis (LCA), we distinguished six types of departmental academic support depending on the functions performed by supervisors, other faculty members and department heads. Consistent with previous research, we found that departmental academic support plays a crucial role in doctoral students' experiences and outcomes, while lack of support is related to a lower level of confidence about completing a dissertation. At the same time, our results provide evidence that excessive collective engagement in doctoral students' work from departmental staff may be less effective than the strong engagement of a supervisor, assisted by informational support from other staff members.     

Year-Long Peer Mentoring Activity to Enhance the Retention of Freshmen STEM Students in a NSF Scholarship Program

The last year of a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded scholarship program was used to provide pseudo-formal peer mentoring activities to engineering, mathematics, and science undergraduates. A one-credit class was used to afford time for peer mentors and mentees to interact. During the fall semester, seniors augmented each week’s topics with personal experiences as to how they used the skill/topic that they had learned in their freshmen class in a future sophomore, junior or senior level course or on their co-op assignment. The last 10 min of every class were used for the seniors and freshmen to have an informal discussion. During the spring semester, the seniors served as an additional technical resource for the freshmen as they completed their class project. All participants found the one-credit class, project and peer mentoring activities beneficial to their education and would highly recommend the experience to incoming students.     

We can Achieve if We Receive: Examining the Effects of Out-of-School Time Activities on Black Student Achievement in Mathematics

Using policy discourse analysis, the author analyzed 21 diversity action plans issued at 20 U.S. land-grant universities over a five-year period to identify images of diversity and the problems and solutions represented in diversity action plans. Discourses of marketplace, excellence, managerialism, and democracy emerged and served to construct images of the diverse individual as a commodity, entrepreneur, and change agent. These findings suggest that the dominance of the marketplace discourse may situate the diverse individual as a resource to be exploited and inspire entrepreneurial endeavors rather than change-making activism. Diversity action plans in their current form may unintentionally undermine the achievement of their equity goals.