Process Skill Student Success Project

In the Process Skill Student Success Project I and my co-researcher, Dr. Heather Wilson-Ashworth, measured process skill development using the SALG survey. Over four semesters we measured process skill acquisition in first semester general chemistry and introductory biology classes. Some sections used active learning methods (POGIL) and some used traditional lecture methods. We explored the relationship between student success and process skill acquisition. This work is contained in a manuscript currently submitted to CBE-Life Sciences Education. The general findings were that (1) process skill acquisition positively correlates with student success regardless of classroom pedagogy and (2) active learning methods positively correlated with process skill acquisition. We used structural equation modelling to develop a model a Process Skill Success (PSS) model. The following undergraduate students contributed to this project: Victor Warr and Caleb Russell.

Dr. Wilson-Ashworth and I are currently setting up a follow-up study to take place at several other campuses across the United States to test the robustness of the PSS Model, pictured below:.

Mindset Success

The Mindset Success Project is headed by my co-researcher Dr. Heather Wilson-Ashworth. In this project we measured various student affects such as faculty-student distance and self-efficacy, and student motivations using the MSLQ survey and the Micari survey. These measurements were made over four semesters in first semester general chemistry classes and introductory biology classes; some sections used active learning methods (POGIL) and some sections used traditional lecture methods. This work is currently being written into a manuscript. A model for student success is being developed.

Science Belonging

The Science Belonging Project explores the relationship between between personal identity and science belonging. The tool being used is a six item Likert survey developed by Fink et al (2020). This work spans across multiple institutions and disciplines with my co-researchers Dr. Olga Glebova, Dr. Charity Lovitt, Dr. Tracey Murray. This work comes from an 2020 NSF Grant to the POGIL Project #1954427 (Building Capacity in STEM Education Research via the POGIL Community).