Oral Reviews: Retaining STEM Majors

Do Biology Majors Really Differ from Non–STEM Majors?

Recent calls to action urge sweeping reform in science education, advocating for improved learning for all students-including those majoring in fields beyond the sciences. However, little work has been done to characterize the differences-if any exist-between students planning a career in science and those studying other disciplines. We describe an attempt to clarify, in broad terms, how non-ST...

Retaining Women in STEM Careers:

Discussing parasites over dinner requires particular company – like the “Parasite Ladies,” our circle of six female graduate students. Since discovering our mutual interest in disease ecology, we have supported each other’s research endeavors during weekly dinners. While we plan to sustain our support through lifelong research careers, current trends predict that 2 of the 6 of us will leave sci...

Understanding Stem Majors’ Intent to Study Abroad

The Contradictory Roles of Institutional Status in Retaining Underrepresented Students in Biomedical adn Behavioral Science Majors

This study drew from a national longitudinal dataset to statistically model students’ background, first-year college experience, and institutional characteristics that contribute to the chances of persisting in a biomedical or behavioral science major through the first-year of college. Of particular interest was the extent to which institutional status affects those chances for underrepresented...

Required peer-cooperative learning improves retention of STEM majors

Background: Peer-cooperative learning has been shown in the literature to improve student success in gateway science and mathematics courses. Such studies typically demonstrate the impact of students’ attending peer-led learning sessions on their learning or grades in an individual course. In this article, we examine the effects of introducing a required, comprehensive peer-cooperative learning...