Work in Progress: PEER LED COLLABORATIVE COURSES DEVELOP A SENSE OF BELONGING AND COMMUNITY FOR ALL UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS.

Ryan Sauve; Celia Evans; Lisa Schneider-Bentley

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: First-Year Programs Division (FYP) - WIPS 3: Identity & Belonging
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs Division (FYP)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 9
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44324
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/44324
Download Count: 174

I am a STEM educator with a long history as a teaching professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. My expertise is in teaching and learning in STEM, peer education, international programs, assessment, and building networks and collaborations.

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biography

Lisa Schneider-Bentley Cornell University

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Lisa Schneider-Bentley has been the Director of Engineering Learning Initiatives in Cornell Universityâ€™s College of Engineering since 2002. Learning Initiativesâ€™ programs enhance the educational environment of the College by facilitating opportunitie

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Abstract

This work in progress paper will describe our efforts to improve a sense of belonging in 1st and 2nd year engineering students through supplemental, peer led, collaborative learning courses. In recent years, there has been an increased focus on creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment within large STEM courses at colleges and universities across the nation. STEM degree programs themselves have often fostered a culture of all students feeling like they need to prove they belong , and the burden to perform and be successful in STEM programs is exacerbated for underrepresented minorities and women. Students historically marginalized in these STEM programs may try to shoulder the workload individually and study alone. This often leads to greater attrition of women and minorities in the STEM fields. Creating a sense of belonging, however, has been shown to improve retention and learning outcomes for undergraduate students, and one effective strategy to improve belonging has been the utilization of peer educators to support learning.

To this end, the ___ Program at __ University, offers collaborative problem-solving workshops which are supplemental 1-credit courses that parallel challenging introductory courses during the first and second year of the core engineering curriculum and are led by two undergraduate “facilitators”. The mission is to provide a structured, interactive space for students to collaborate and engage with each other while receiving guidance and support from the paired facilitators. These talented facilitators are trained throughout the semester to use evidence-supported, student-centered, active learning pedagogy as they develop and lead their weekly sections. Increasingly, the training workshops stress the importance of building community, structuring inclusion, and providing mentorship for student-centered activities to be most impactful. Previous study has focused on how the process in our training practice transforms these knowledgeable students into effective peer educators and mentors through a cycle of training, observation, reflection and goal setting. In this work, we investigate the degree to which these facilitators have utilized learned tools and skills to foster a sense of belonging for their workshop students. Here we share the analysis of Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 course evaluation data that show that engaging students in peer led, collaborative, credit-bearing workshops that parallel required core introductory math and science primarily in the first year helps to build a feeling of belonging and being respected at the level of the AEW class and to the broader college/university community. For instance, in mid-term evaluations, 90% of students in both Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 reported feelings being a valued and respected member of their workshop. Additionally, 69% of students also reported that the supplemental workshop experience helped them feel more connected to the college and university community. Also, 88% of students who completed the Fall 2022 evaluation reported being mentored by at least one of their facilitators.

While the exact mechanisms that create belonging cannot be gleaned from the current data, outcomes of peer and staff observations of workshop leaders corroborate that the practices modelled in training and used by a high percentage of our educators are in line with students’ feelings of being respected and belonging in the larger community. Given our workshop enrollment demographics include a larger percentage of women and URM compared to their total enrollment in the college, this can serve as a model for institutions seeking to create a more inclusive and supportive first (and second) year program for all STEM students, but especially those who have been historically marginalized.

Citation
Format

Sauve, R., & Evans, C., & Schneider-Bentley, L. (2023, June), Work in Progress: PEER LED COLLABORATIVE COURSES DEVELOP A SENSE OF BELONGING AND COMMUNITY FOR ALL UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS. Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44324

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This work in progress paper will describe our efforts to improve a sense of belonging in 1st and 2nd year engineering students through supplemental, peer led, collaborative learning courses. In recent years, there has been an increased focus on creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment within large STEM courses at colleges and universities across the nation. STEM degree programs themselves have often fostered a culture of all students feeling like they need to prove they belong , and the burden to perform and be successful in STEM programs is exacerbated for underrepresented minorities and women. Students historically marginalized in these STEM programs may try to shoulder the workload individually and study alone. This often leads to greater attrition of women and minorities in the STEM fields. Creating a sense of belonging, however, has been shown to improve retention and learning outcomes for undergraduate students, and one effective strategy to improve belonging has been the utilization of peer educators to support learning. 

To this end, the ___ Program at __ University, offers collaborative problem-solving workshops which are supplemental 1-credit courses that parallel challenging introductory courses during the first and second year of the core engineering curriculum and are led by two undergraduate “facilitators”. The mission is to provide a structured, interactive space for students to collaborate and engage with each other while receiving guidance and support from the paired facilitators. These talented facilitators are trained throughout the semester to use evidence-supported, student-centered, active learning pedagogy as they develop and lead their weekly sections.  Increasingly, the training workshops stress the importance of building community, structuring inclusion, and providing mentorship for student-centered activities to be most impactful. Previous study has focused on how the process in our training practice transforms these knowledgeable students into effective peer educators and mentors through a cycle of training, observation, reflection and goal setting. In this work, we investigate the degree to which these facilitators have utilized learned tools and skills to foster a sense of belonging for their workshop students.
Here we share the analysis of Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 course evaluation data that show that engaging students in peer led, collaborative, credit-bearing workshops that parallel required core introductory math and science primarily in the first year helps to build a feeling of belonging and being respected at the level of the AEW class and to the broader college/university community. For instance, in mid-term evaluations, 90% of students in both Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 reported feelings being a valued and respected member of their workshop. Additionally, 69% of students also reported that the supplemental workshop experience helped them feel more connected to the college and university community. Also, 88% of students who completed the Fall 2022 evaluation reported being mentored by at least one of their facilitators. 

While the exact mechanisms that create belonging cannot be gleaned from the current data, outcomes of peer and staff observations of workshop leaders corroborate that the practices modelled in training and used by a high percentage of our educators are in line with students’ feelings of being respected and belonging in the larger community.  Given our workshop enrollment demographics include a larger percentage of women and URM compared to their total enrollment in the college, this can serve as a model for institutions seeking to create a more inclusive and supportive first (and second) year program for all STEM students, but especially those who have been historically marginalized. 

AU  - Ryan Sauve
AU  - Celia Evans Ph.D.
AU  - Lisa Schneider-Bentley
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Work in Progress: PEER LED COLLABORATIVE COURSES DEVELOP A SENSE OF BELONGING AND COMMUNITY FOR ALL UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS.
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/44324
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--44324
ER  -