Investigating the impact of peer supplemental instruction on underprepared and historically underserved students in introductory STEM courses

• Main Authors: Chantelle Anfuso (Author), Judy Awong-Taylor (Author), Jamye Curry Savage (Author), Cynthia Johnson (Author), Tirza Leader (Author), Katherine Pinzon (Author), Benjamin Shepler (Author), Cindy Achat-Mendes (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: SpringerOpen, 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.1186/s40594-022-00372-w; 2196-7822
• Keywords: Gateway courses; Supplemental instruction; Academic preparedness; Historically underserved; Equity; Diversity; Education; L; Education (General); L7-991; Special aspects of education; LC8-6691; Theory and practice of education; LB5-3640
• Source: International Journal of STEM Education, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 1-17 (2022)

Abstract Background Supplemental instruction (SI) is a well-established mode of direct academic support, used in a wide variety of courses. Some reports have indicated that SI and similar peer-led academic support models particularly benefit students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups in STEM. However, these studies have not explicitly examined the role of prior academic experiences, an important consideration in college success. We report on the impact of a modified SI model, Peer Supplemental Instruction (PSI), on student success in introductory STEM courses at a diverse access institution. This study focuses on PSI's impact on the academic performance of students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups, while also considering the effects of prior academic experiences. Results Data were aggregated for nine courses over five semesters to produce a robust data set (n = 1789). PSI attendees were representative of the overall student population in terms of previous academic experiences/performance (as determined by high school GPA) and self-identified racial/ethnic demographics. Frequent PSI attendance was correlated with a significant increase in AB rates (average increase of 29.0 percentage points) and reduction in DFW rates (average decrease of 26.1 percentage points) when comparing students who attended 10 + vs. 1-2 PSI sessions. Overall, students identifying as Black/African American received the largest benefit from PSI. These students experienced a significant increase in their final course GPA when attending as few as 3-5 PSI sessions, and exhibited the largest increase in AB rates (from 28.7 to 60.5%) and decrease in DFW rates (from 47.1 to 14.8%) when comparing students who attended 10 + vs. 1-2 sessions. However, students with similar HS GPAs experienced similar benefits from PSI, regardless of self-identified race/ethnicity. Conclusions The data presented here suggest that PSI particularly benefitted underprepared students in their introductory STEM courses. Since students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups have traditionally had inequitable K-12 educational experiences, they enter college less prepared on average, and thus particularly benefit from PSI. PSI, in conjunction with additional strategies, may be a useful tool to help rectify the results of systemic educational inequities for students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups.