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FLC DWF Rates in Chemistry

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Several interventions have been applied to decrease the DFW rates in introductory chemistry courses during the past five years. Even though higher student success rates were observed, the DFW rates remain at the same level. Recently it has been noted that a disproportionate amount (approximately half) of the DFW rates is due to student withdrawals. Additionally, data on students who repeat courses indicates that students who have withdrawn from a course once are far more likely to withdraw from a course on their second attempt compared to their peers who received Ds or Fs on their first attempt. To investigate the possible reasons leading to the DFWs, with a particular focus on student withdrawals, we propose to form a faculty learning community composed of members from chemistry discipline, library, and CTE. We plan to 1) develop proper interview/questionnaire protocol, 2) interview students who withdraw from introductory chemistry classes, and 3) compile a list of reasons for withdrawals. Based on the collected data, we would like to recommend practical interventions that can be adopted by the chemistry discipline to decrease DFW rates and improve retentions. Our faculty learning community will not only provide opportunities for members from different areas to collaborate with each other but also serve as a model for future investigation of DFW rates in other disciplines in SST, and potentially across the college.

FLC Meeting minutes 8/8/2018

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  • September 2, 2018 at 11:16 pm #7422
    Ying Guo
    Participant
    1. Two IRBs have been submitted: one for requesting archival data, one for interview questions. We are waiting for the feedback.
    2. Updates on literature review: discuss the papers that should be read by all members, and identify any useful information that can be adapted to interview questions. Ying will have a new post on Academic Commons and the members can post the papers that are recommended to be read by all members.
    3. NVivo training: Chantelle still have the access to training provided by the company. There are also short videos posted by the company on YouTube, and members could refer to these if necessary.
    4. Trial interview: The trial interview went on very well, and it was useful to help modify some of the interview questions. The interview was audio recorded, and Rebecca will figure out how to transfer it into the format that can be listened by other members later. If that is not possible, members could later view the transcription by the research student under the supervision of Rebecca. Rebecca also recommended video recording future interviews as there are some non-verbal body language that would also reflect the emotion of students.
    5. How to identify students to be interviewed? 1) Talk with 1211/1212 instructors and ask them to keep track of the students who withdrew during fall 2018; Tom and Ying will talk to the instructors. 2) based on archival data and send emails to students who withdrew during the past semesters. The drafted emails are already included in the submitted IRB. Chantelle also mentioned using GradesFirst to pull the record of students who withdrew during the past/during the fall 2018. Rebecca will confirm whether GradesFirst will be able to perform the task.
    6. Kevin updated on the DFW rates from other USG institutions, some are comparable to GGC.
    7. FLC website updated. The posting function of public site on Academic Commons has been enabled. Members can add new posts on the website now.
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