Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference

nsf-logo[1]

Support Needs in Teaching General Biology with Integration of Mathematics

Faculty #50
Discipline: Mathematics & Statistics
Subcategory: STEM Science and Mathematics Education
- Fisk University
Co-Author(s): Tomas Gross, Western Kentucky University, KY


STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics ) retention is a major problem in most colleges and universities, especially HBCUs. A broad model of support systems that includes psychological factors is adopted to address retention in biology and mathematics. The purpose of our study was to develop an instrument to identify the support needs of college students registered in College Algebra and General Biology. We adapted the theoretical model of the performance pyramid to create a 70-item measure called the Student Support Needs Scale, which resulted in a robust 35-item, seven-factor solution. We examined the psychometric properties of our scale, established the reliability and validity of the resulting instrument. This instrument could potentially help our institutional programs to make informed decisions about resource allocation based on students’ needs.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF-HBCU-UP Broadening Participation Research Project with grant number: 1719262

Faculty Advisor: None Listed,

nsf-logo[1]

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.