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Supplemental instruction: Supporting persistence in barrier courses
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Bronstein, Susan B. |
| Copyright Year | 2007 |
| Abstract | Courses that interfere with undergraduate students’ persistence are barriers that appear all along the undergraduate continuum. Supplemental Instruction (SI) may contribute to students’ achievement in a barrier course and, therefore, to their persistence in their academic program. The purpose of this single-case descriptive study was to explore student and instructor perceptions of SI in an upper-level chemistry course with a reputation for being a barrier to academic success. The case study methodology used included a focus group, one-on-one interviews with instructors and students, document review, and class and SI statistics. Results indicated that faculty and students perceived SI to be a valuable resource in achieving persistence or academic success. Although the number of students enrolling in higher education has increased over the last 30 years, the percentage of students who are retained through graduation has not. According to the Division of Science Resources Statistics of the National Science Foundation, “trends in bachelor’s degrees over the past 20 years...in engineering, physical sciences, and mathematics generally dropped or flattened out, especially since the mid-1990’s” (Science and Engineering Indicators, 2006 page # 1-5). Providing undergraduate students academic resources that support academic achievement of the baccalaureate degree in their chosen field of study was the impetus for this study. The variety of factors that influence a student’s decision to stay in school cannot be underestimated and will no doubt continue to be the subject of significant consideration at institutions of higher education for the foreseeable future. The retention of undergraduate students has been the focus of study and consideration for thirty-plus years (Astin, 1975; Moxley, Najor-Durack, & Dumbrigue, 2001; Seidman, 2005; Volkwein, 1995). Further, the literature on student retention has considered the implications of institutional choice and the students’ comfort at their chosen institution, students’ involvement in academic and social activities, and students’ perception of the value of For further information contact: Susan B. Bronstein | Learning Resource Center | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, MA 01003 | sbronstein@acad.umass.edu 3 | TLAR, Volume 13, Number 1 a college degree coupled with the financial demand of college attendance. Research has also explored the significance of race, gender, and socioeconomic background as they relate to enrollment to degree completion success (Astin, 1975, 1984; Bean, 1980, 1983; Ford, 1996; Milem & Berger, 1997; Panos & Astin, 1968; Seidman, 2005; Tinto, 1975, 1982, 1988). The focus of this paper is academic barriers, specifically those courses that interfere with a student’s successful continuation, persistence, in his or her well-chosen major – the barrier courses. |
| Starting Page | 31 |
| Ending Page | 45 |
| Page Count | 15 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 13 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ818225.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
