Addressing Equity Asymmetries in General Chemistry Outcomes Through an Asset-Based Supplemental Course

Undergraduate first-semester general chemistry (GC1) functions as a gatekeeper to STEM degrees, asymmetrically impacting students who are nonwhite, from lower socioeconomic groups, non-native English speakers, two-year college transfers, and first-generation in college. Nationally, just under 30% of students earn grades of D, F, or withdraw (termed DFW) in GC1; however, DFW rates are much higher for subgroups underrepresented in STEM occupations. Socioeconomic inequalities tend to increase over an individual’s lifetime due to the magnification of cumulative disadvantage. Because undergraduate degrees correlate with higher employment and STEM occupations correlate with higher earnings, GC1 represents a critical path point where disparities can be interrupted. The most common strategy employed for GC1 is deficit remediation for students determined to be at risk of DFW. Unfortunately, extensive evidence demonstrates that the use of remediation strategies for GC1 does not sustain benefits for students. In this work, an asset-based approach, less prevalent in higher education than preuniversity, was employed to stress test theories about interrupting disparities in STEM education. This causal-comparative study involving 1,807 observations reports on a 1-credit asset-based supplemental course in which DFW-potential students at a minority-serving institution coenrolled during six semesters. The study outlines this intervention, its impact on GC1 outcomes, and its potential residual impact on progression to the next course in the general chemistry sequence (GC2). Descriptive and hierarchical inferential analysis of the data revealed socially important patterns. The asset-based intervention successfully attracted students with greater cumulative disadvantage. The intervention closed asymmetries between students identified as DFW-potential and ABC-potential in GC1 when a nontraditional curriculum was used but not when a traditional curriculum was used. Mixed results and contingent effects were found for the intervention’s impact on subsequent course outcomes. Taking at least 11 credits in the semester of taking GC1 provided an inoculate for participants in the asset-based intervention, increasing the likelihood of passing GC2.

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