Strategies for student success in gateway science courses

CHED 14

Ruth E. Riter, rriter@agnesscott.edu, Department of Chemistry, Agnes Scott College, 141 East College Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030
Agnes Scott College is a highly diverse, liberal-arts college for women located in metropolitan Atlanta. The ~1000-member student body represents 41 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and 26 countries with a third of the students ethnically diverse. Approximately twenty-five percent of students arrive on campus with the intention of majoring in math and the physical sciences; however the attrition rates in these disciplines are especially high for minority and first-generation college students. This presentation will focus on presenting strategies for helping students to succeed in these courses. These strategies include (1) a pilot program designed to support incoming students, (2) an expanded Learning Resource Center for Mathematics and Science, and (3) use of an active-learning pedagogy, namely POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning), in general chemistry. Each of these interventions addresses specific student needs, but all work toward building a successful and viable learning community.