Examining Benefits of Lectures and Inquiry-Based Laboratories for Language-Minority Students in Science Gateway Courses

• In Event: Success in STEM Coursework

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of lecture-based and inquiry-based instruction in supporting learning for language minority (LM) students in college. Utilizing institutional data from seven cohorts of students, we fitted cross-lagged panel designs to model associations between inquiry and traditional lecture-based instruction for both LM and non-LM students in two-course sequences of introductory physics and chemistry. Independent of LM status, student performance in the first inquiry-based lab course was predictive of subsequent achievement in both lecture and laboratory courses for chemistry, but not for physics. Chi-square difference tests revealed that LM status moderated the relationships between instructional format and subsequent course achievement, with prior course achievement being a more robust predictor for LM students.

Authors

• Christian Fischer, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

• Penelope Collins, University of California - Irvine

• Gabriel Estrella, University of California - Irvine