MIU Round: / Round 1
Sponsor(s): / College of Letters and Science
Coordinator(s): / Tony Jacob (Chemistry) and Susan Nossal (Physics)
2014 Contact(s): / Tony Jacob, Susan Nossal, Nancy Westphal Johnson, Karl Scholz
Partner(s): / Department of Chemistry, Department of Physics
Report Date: / Year 1, August 2010; Year 2, July 2011; Year 3, July 2012;
Year 4, July 2013; Year 5, December 2014
Project Specific Goal and Measures
Project Impact Measure(s) / · Chemistry: Increase CLC staff support to cover all sections of Chemistry 103, 104 and 108. This will result in an increase in the number of students served.
· Physics: Increase PLC staff support to Physics 103-104 and continue providing support to students in Physics 207-208. Support to students in 207 and 208 would have been cut without MIU funding. In addition to serving an increased number of students in these courses, Physics intends to use MIU funding to provide more comprehensive support.
Project Impact Data Source(s) / · Number of covered sections in Chemistry will be provided by Tony Jacob.
· Number of students and courses served in AY 2009-10 and beyond will be provided by Susan Nossal.
· Note: The operational definition of a “covered section” is that a staff member attends the course lecture, provides learning center support services to students identified as needing them (approx. 10% of students in course), and coordinates with the course instructor regarding course materials.
Baseline Measure(s) / · CLC: Number of covered sections in AY 2008-09 (9 of 15 sections, 252 students).
· PLC: Number of students served in AY 2008-09 (4 courses, 268 students) and comprehensiveness of student services provided.
General MIU Goals and Measures (applicable to project)
F / Decreased achievement gaps / · One goal of this project is to reduce the gap in the rates of adverse outcomes (D, F, or drop) for underrepresented students including targeted minorities, returning adult students, students with disabilities, and transfer students.
· Continue identifying peer tutors from diverse backgrounds.
Expansion of Services in the Chemistry Learning Center (CLC) and Physics Learning Center (PLC), Page 2
G / Attention to diversity in new hires / · Physics: The Physics Learning Center considers experience teaching diverse populations a priority when hiring new staff. For example, the hiring of a new teaching assistant in Physics was partially made on the basis of the staff member’s experience working with diverse students in the PEOPLE program and on her coursework in multicultural education. We encourage staff to participate in professional development opportunities to increase their awareness and skills for working with diverse student populations. For example, staff have participated in the Division of Student Life’s Student Success Institute and the Delta program’s Closing the Achievement program.Chemistry: The Department states on all PVLs that staff are expected to participate in continued professional development and increase their competency in teaching diverse groups of students.I / Unintended Benefits / Physics: Increased staffing allowed the PLC to enhance the training of undergraduate students pursuing Physics Education (Secondary Education Certification). The School of Education students who were PLC peer mentor tutors gained valuable teaching experience and resources they could use in their own classrooms. These students also assisted in teaching the pre-college Physics courses for summer PEOPLE students. Expanding supplemental support for the calculus-based physics courses identifies a pool of potential peer mentors.
Progress Reports
Year 1, 2009-10 / · Physics: Increase staff member’s appointment from 50% to 100%. Hired a 33% teaching assistant. With increased staffing the PLC was able to provide support for Physics 207 and 208 while maintaining support for Physics 103 and 104. Increased staffing allowed PLC staff to proactively reach out to students experiencing difficulties in supported courses.
· Chemistry: The focus in Spring 2010 was on recruiting, hiring, and training new staff members. At the end of the spring semester, CLC staff increased by .8 FTE (approximately 40% of the approved total increase).
Year 2, 2010-11 / · Physics: Increased staffing in the PLC (TA position increased from 33% to 50% in the second year; an additional 100% FTE staff member was hired starting in Spring 2011; Susan Nossal increased her PLC appointment by 20% with MIU funds to a total of 70% FTE). Increased the number of students served in Physics 207, 208, 103, and 104 (from 251 in 2009-10 to 335 in 2010-11). Increased the number of Peer Mentor Tutors to 19 (and the number from targeted minority groups). Provided increased follow-up to students who were not attending class and pilot tested new interventions (for example, hired a graduate students to run additional sessions for the highest need students in Physics 208). Worked with the First Wave Program to increase the success of students taking Physics 109 (Physics and the Arts) by providing a stipend to a graduate student who met once per week with FW students for reinforcement of key concepts and for practice with problem-solving.
Expansion of Services in the Chemistry Learning Center (CLC) and Physics Learning Center (PLC), Page 3
Year 2, continued / · Chemistry: In 2010-11, staff in the CLC increased by 3.75 over the 2009 base. Increased the percentage of Chemistry 103, 104, and 108 lectures covered/supported to 100%. Expanded capacity (as measured by students enrolled in CLC services) by almost 100% (251 in base year to 479 in 2010-11. Maintained strongly positive students evaluations of the overall CLC services, self-assessment of increased knowledge of Chemistry, confidence that the CLC services would lead to a higher course grades than without the CLC services, and increased enjoyment of their Chemistry courses.Year 3, 2011-12 / · Physics: Continued academic support activities described in Year 2 update. Served 338 students served in Physics 207, 208, 103, and 104 (up from 251 in 2009-10 ). Increased the number of small group supplemental sections to 30 per semester in 2011-12 (capped at 8 students per group). Expanded outreach to the First Wave program through Physics 109 (Physics and the Arts), a course that is part of a first-year interest group (FIG). Increased the number of peer mentors to 22.
· Chemistry: Provided academic support to 7 of 8 sections of Chemistry 103 (202 students), all 7 sections of Chemistry 104 (207 students), and both sections of Chemistry 108 (28 students). This was accomplished despite the loss of .5 FTE and an increase in the number of Chemistry 104 sections. Compared to the pre-MIU baseline, there has been an 86% increase in the number of students served. Surveyed students about their experience with the CLC including the helpfulness of staff, learning gains, confidence in chemistry, and enjoyment of chemistry. The survey had a high response rate and ratings on these measures are consistently above 4.0 on a 5.0 scale.
Year 4, 2012-13 / · Physics: Continued academic support activities described in updates from Years 2 and 3. Served 349 students in Physics 207, 208, 103, and 104 (up from 285 in baseline year) and an additional 260 students who only accessed supplemental course and review materials. Used additional staffing to increase follow-up to students, make referrals to other campus resources, and develop additional pilot interventions such practice test sessions. Increased coordination with University Health Services and the McBurney Disability Resource Center to better support students with disabilities. Selected and trained 22 peer mentor tutors. PLC staff participated in the Delta Program’s Closing the Achievement Gap course during spring 2013.
· Chemistry: Provided academic support to all 17 lectures of Chemistry 103, 104, and 108 (418 students). One measure of effectiveness used by the CLC is the percentage of targeted minority students in the lecture compared to the percentage who use the CLC. This percentage has been steady compared to the baseline, despite the increased number of students and lectures served. The CLC continues to receive high ratings from students using the services and notes that student evaluations have remained high even as the program has grown.
Expansion of Services in the Chemistry Learning Center (CLC) and Physics Learning Center (PLC), Page 4
Year 5, 2013-14 / · Physics: Continued academic support activities described in previous updates. Served 355 students in Physics 103, 104, 207, and 208 (up from 285 in baseline year) and an additional 403 students that only accessed supplemental course and review materials. Used increased staffing to increase follow-up with students, make referrals to other campus resources, and develop additional pilot interventions for students with higher needs. Increased coordination with the McBurney Disability Resource Center and counseling centers to support students with disabilities. Selected and trained 21 peer mentors.· Chemistry: Provided academic support to all 17 lectures of Chemistry 103, 104, and 108 (476 students).
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Project Summary, as of July 2014
Students who are from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, female students, first-generation college students, returning adult students, and students from lower-income circumstances continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. This challenge has been recognized by the University of Wisconsin and the National Science Foundation. The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates (MIU) program awarded funds jointly to the Chemistry Learning Center (CLC) and to the Physics Learning Center (PLC) in 2009 to increase student academic support in STEM fields.
Physics Learning Center
The mission of the Physics Learning Center is both 1) to provide academic support, small-group supplemental instruction, and a supportive learning community for students studying introductory physics, and 2) to provide teaching and leadership experience for Peer Mentor Tutors who receive extensive training and supervision. The MIU funding enabled the Physics Learning Center to continue to provide small-group supplemental instruction for students in four introductory physics courses (103, 104, 207, 208) that satisfy requirements for science, engineering, and pre-health programs. Without MIU funding, the Physics Learning Center would likely have needed to close our calculus-based physics program (207-208) to focus attention on the larger student populations taking the algebra-based physics sequence (103-104).
With the additional staffing afforded by the MIU expansion, the Physics Learning Center increased student participation in our program for all four courses that we serve (103,104, 207, 208). As we expanded, our Center has focused on student retention, in addition to increasing the number of students that we serve. We are able to provide more systematic follow-up for students whose attendance drops, to refer students to other campus programs, to more strategically recruit students, to develop new materials stressing conceptual understanding, and to pilot additional interventions such as practice test sessions for students with higher needs. In addition, the MIU program has enabled us to approximately double the number of undergraduates who can work in our program as Peer Mentor Tutors, including an increased number who were former Learning Center participants. The MIU program has also facilitated our allocation of staff time to develop a small pilot supplemental instruction
Expansion of Services in the Chemistry Learning Center (CLC) and Physics Learning Center (PLC), Page 5
program for the Physics in the Arts course. In sum, the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates program has provided invaluable funding for the Physics Learning Center, enabling it to continue the program for calculus-based physics while increasing student access to supplemental instruction for all of the courses that are served.
Chemistry Learning Center
The CLC’s proposal was to “provide the staff to cover all lecture sections of all three of these gateway chemistry courses [Chemistry 103, 104, and 108].” The additional MIU CLC allocation ($124,000) funded approximately 3.50 new FTE positions (AY F13-S14) and the CLC has now been able to support nearly all lecture sections in Chemistry 103, 104, and 108 during the last four years and underscores the major impact MIU has had.
Increased Capacity and Support: During the last four academic years 97%, 100%, and 100% of the Chemistry 103, 104, and 108 lectures (AY F10-S14), respectively, were supported compared to 73%, 61%, and 0% supported, respectively, in the three years prior to the MIU funding. The total number of students supported annually (Chemistry 103+104+108) increased from an average of 246 (AY F07-S10) to 450 (AY F10-S14), an increase of 83%.
Our Students: The proportion of enrolled targeted minority students in the CLC in the last four years has remained steady when compared to the three years prior to MIU funding. We consider the %group effectiveness to be the ratio of CLC enrolled targeted minority students compared to the total number of targeted students enrolled in the course. The average %group effectiveness was 35% (Chemistry 103+104; F07-S10) while %group effectiveness after MIU funding was 34% (Chemistry 103+104+108; F10-S14). Hence, as we have grown the number of targeted minority students has grown proportionally.
Maintain Strong Student-Staff Relationships: The exceptional quality of our staff and superb student-staff interactions has been maintained as we’ve grown. The average student response was 4.76/5.00 (F13-S14; n = 409) to, “Overall, I found the Chemistry Learning Center to be (circle one): Extremely helpful (5); Very Helpful (4); etc.” The average student response was 4.78/5.00 (F13-S14; n = 409) to, “I learned more chemistry because of my time spent at the Chemistry Learning Center. (5 = strongly agree; 1 = strongly disagree)”. The comments from supported students also draws attention to the strong relationship our program develops with our students:
“CLC was unbelievably helpful. This semester was so much less stressful…”
“Thank you for providing this service. Your energy and enthusiasm never cease to motivate me.”
“Everyone is so welcoming!”
“Phenomenal program! … From F’s to A’s”
“I took this class last semester and failed 2 tests before dropping. With the help of the CLC I have done so much better.”
“Thank you so much, your time and dedication to your students is incredible. I really wish I had a resource like this for my other challenging classes.”