TY - JOUR
T1 - Cyber Peer Led Team Learning (cPLTL) Supports Marginalized Groups, Including Women, in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
AU - Maxwell, Mariah C.
AU - Wiles, Jason R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence Grant. We are grateful to the Syracuse University Office of Institutional Research and the Center for Learning and Student Success for their cooperation. We would like to express gratitude to the undergraduate students at the participating university who agreed to participate in this research. We would also like to give a special thanks to Julia Snyder for coordinating the cPLTL leadership training program, Beverly Werner for her assistance in the coordination of student activities and organization of course data, and Takunda Maisva for thoughtful comment. All data were collected under an IRB-approved protocol (IRB#: 20-241).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, Association of College and Univesity Biology Educators. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) is an active learning model that is particularly effective for improving the academic achievement and retention of students who have been marginalized in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), such as women, and members of underrepresented minority groups. Cyber Peer Led Team Learning (cPLTL) is a recently developed variation of PLTL that has been transitioned from a face-to-face environment to a synchronous online setting. Studies have found that PLTL and cPLTL students earned comparable educational outcomes in terms of standardized final exam scores and final course grades. Given the benefits of PLTL for marginalized students and the similarities of cPLTL to PLTL, we were interested in understanding the impact that cPLTL had on marginalized groups, including women, in an introductory biology course at a large, research-intensive institution. We found evidence that participating in cPLTL improves the retention of marginalized groups in STEM, and that student perceptions of cPLTL are generally high, especially for women. Participating in cPLTL may have several additional benefits, such as increased motivation, feelings of belonging, comfort in asking questions, and understanding of course content.
AB - Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) is an active learning model that is particularly effective for improving the academic achievement and retention of students who have been marginalized in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), such as women, and members of underrepresented minority groups. Cyber Peer Led Team Learning (cPLTL) is a recently developed variation of PLTL that has been transitioned from a face-to-face environment to a synchronous online setting. Studies have found that PLTL and cPLTL students earned comparable educational outcomes in terms of standardized final exam scores and final course grades. Given the benefits of PLTL for marginalized students and the similarities of cPLTL to PLTL, we were interested in understanding the impact that cPLTL had on marginalized groups, including women, in an introductory biology course at a large, research-intensive institution. We found evidence that participating in cPLTL improves the retention of marginalized groups in STEM, and that student perceptions of cPLTL are generally high, especially for women. Participating in cPLTL may have several additional benefits, such as increased motivation, feelings of belonging, comfort in asking questions, and understanding of course content.
KW - achievement
KW - BHA student
KW - cyber Peer Led Team Learning
KW - first-generation college student
KW - introductory biology
KW - online learning
KW - Peer led Team Learning
KW - perceptions
KW - retention
KW - STEM
KW - women
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85132544642&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85132544642
SN - 1539-2422
VL - 48
SP - 10
EP - 16
JO - Bioscene
JF - Bioscene
IS - 1
ER -