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Peer led team learning (PLTL) has been shown to lead to better student outcomes in STEM classes. 

During their time in college, many students leave STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects for other fields of study. Research at UNH is seeking to understand why and how undergraduate programs can improve STEM student engagement and retention. Given employer needs for highly skilled and technologically proficient workers in the Granite State and beyond, STEM training that enables students to meet workplace demands is critical to the success of many academic and industrial sectors and students’ careers. 

Melissa Aikens, associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA), studies how to improve undergraduate biology education, analyzing both teaching methods and how students respond. The field, known as discipline-based education research, is relatively new. Discipline-based education researchers leverage their expertise of a discipline to identify and study challenges to teaching and learning in that discipline. 

“Discipline-based education research originated in math but then expanded to physics, chemistry, and, about 20 years ago, biology,” she says. “The field has grown rapidly since, driven by a consensus that we need to change teaching. We need to incorporate evidence-based practices that have been shown to help students.” 

Active learning

As children, we dive into STEM-related activities with enthusiasm and wonder. Whether catching tadpoles, picking flowers, looking at the night sky through a telescope, or delving deep into computer programs, early-in-life STEM means fun and exploration. As students progress through school, however, the teaching of STEM topics changes in significant ways. 

“STEM subjects in earlier grades rely heavily on mixing hands-on activities with verbal teaching to make the concepts more interesting and accessible,” says Aikens. “It seems like there’s an expectation that something shifts when students enter college and that the traditional lecture environment is most effective for their learning, but a lot of data indicate that’s not the case.” 

Melissa Aikens

Gateway courses can be key for STEM student retention, and Aikens puts her own research insights into action when she teaches introductory biology each fall. Group work and peer-led team learning (PLTL) have both been shown to lead to better student outcomes, so she works to incorporate these activities into her introductory class. She uses these activities to foster a sense of community in the class despite its large  size. Peer mentoring by upperclassmen in PLTL benefits freshmen who might be nervous and overwhelmed in their first semester of college while also bolstering the knowledge, confidence, and leadership skills of the more experienced students. 

“We know that group work and peer support tend to lead to better outcomes,” says Aikens. “We now need to do a deeper dive into how and why they do.”

Student PLTL coordinators Carleigh Koopman and Danielle Slater, both juniors, have participated in both sides of PLTL. As freshmen it helped them address STEM challenges, and they are now committed to helping students new to college biology overcome challenges similar to those they so recently faced.

“Students in lecture halls with hundreds of peers are very reluctant to speak up or ask questions,” says Slater. “In the PLTL small group setting, they are much more eager to present their thought processes and hear from others how they think, and it’s helpful for just about everyone.” 

“The structure helps as well,” adds Koopman. “Students are accountable for keeping up with their work and interacting with peers for 80 minutes every week. It makes it difficult to procrastinate, and students tend to retain the material we discuss for their tests.” 

Fine tuning

Aikens’ main research focuses on how to help students apply their quantitative skills in the context of biology classes, such as with mathematical modeling, data analysis, and graph interpretation. Trained as an ecologist, she knows first-hand how important quantitative skills are to the field but how difficult they can be to master. Students may be initially drawn to biology because they like science but do not see themselves as “math people,” so she explores how to increase interest, reduce anxiety, and boost confidence.

Then again, there are always students who do not engage. The biology education field has been successful at detecting different responses between large groups across broad demographics, such as men and women, but it is just beginning to get more granular. Addressing personal needs is something that PLTL already puts into action, and further research into what drives individual responses to biology and other STEM education methods will contribute to more effective teaching methods and better student outcomes. 

“Something I’ve learned is that the student dynamic can be completely different from one semester to the next,” says Slater. “You have to be able to think on the fly and help each student in the way that works best for them. That isn’t possible in big lecture halls.” 

UNH culture

While research can be challenging in what remains a small field, Aikens is quick to praise UNH’s environment and support for her work.

“My colleagues are willing to engage with me, providing access to their classrooms and helping me gather data,” says Aikens. “It’s in keeping with a culture that values teaching and faculty members who are curious about best practices and willing to try new things.” 

UNH students enjoy a variety of life science study options that are relevant to many interests. While Aikens’ research is widely applicable, she also looks to have a direct influence on improving student experience.

“The field’s motto is ‘show me the data,’ as it progresses beyond anecdotal observations in the classroom to showing the mechanisms underlying them,” she says. “I’m looking to bring the latest findings to our own classrooms and teaching practices here at UNH.” 

Aikens looks to the future with her research, but current students at UNH emphasize that she is indeed having a positive effect now.

“It’s impacted me very positively,” says Koopman, an environmental sciences major who is nonetheless doing research with Aikens in the biology department. “In addition to helping with my own studies, I feel like I have closer connections with both my peers and my professors. It’s opened a lot of doors.”