Enhancing the transition? – effects of a tertiary bridging course in chemistry

Abstract

Preparatory or bridging courses are widespread and have a long tradition at universities. They are designed to increase students’ academic success – in particular of students with low prior knowledge – and to reduce dropout rates. However, critics of these short and compact bridging courses complain that preparatory courses are not able to fill in content gaps sufficiently in a few weeks. Despite the high prevalence of university bridging courses, little is currently known about the sustainable learning efficacy of these courses. The aim of this study was to examine the short- and long-term effects of a traditional chemistry bridging course on students’ success in the end of the semester examination of first-year chemistry students. For this purpose, students’ learning outcomes were analyzed at the end of the two-week bridging course of students with different prior knowledge. Furthermore, it was investigated in an intervention-reference-group design whether students’ exam results at the end of the first semester differ from participants of the bridging course and students who did not participate in the course. The results of the study reveal that students with low prior knowledge manage to close their content gaps in just a few weeks and to adjust differences in prior knowledge before starting their studies. At the end of the first semester, bridging course participants achieve significantly better exam results than their fellow students who did not enroll in the bridging course. However, mainly students with high prior knowledge seem to benefit from participating in the longer term. In the case of students with low prior knowledge, participation do not lead to better exam results compared to students without participation. Findings of the study can provide a basis for university teachers as well as university development experts to establish university bridging courses as well as to optimize existing offers.

Effect of a Concurrent Enrollment Preparatory Course on Student Achievement and Persistence in General Chemistry

“…Solving placement inefficiencies is not the only concern. Preparatory courses do not perform as expected and students would be better served by entering directly into college courses. ,,− In addition to the lack of performance increase, students who take preparatory courses are less likely to graduate within six years . In an attempt to counteract this, California State University enacted Early Start, a program requiring students who needed preparatory courses to enroll in courses prior to their freshmen year.…”

Efficacy of an Asynchronous Online Preparatory Chemistry Course: An Observational Study

“…Justification for offering preparatory courses or summer bridge programs is rooted in the chemical education literature, which suggests that students who participate in these types of programs perform better, on average, in subsequent chemistry courses than students who do not receive this additional preparation. ,, Eitemüller and Habig report that a two week in-person bridge course led to short-term improvements in content knowledge for students with low prior chemistry knowledge, whereas students with high prior content knowledge appeared to make longer-term performance gains in the subsequent general chemistry course . Botch and co-workers report that an optional 20 h online bridge course helped self-selected high achieving students achieve improved performance in general chemistry relative to nonparticipants; however, it is noted less-prepared students did not opt into the program at significant levels .…”

“…1,5,6 Eitemuller and Habig report that a two week in-person bridge course led to short-term improvements in content knowledge for students with low prior chemistry knowledge, whereas students with high prior content knowledge appeared to make longer-term performance gains in the subsequent general chemistry course. 5 Botch and co-workers report that an optional 20 h online bridge course helped selfselected high achieving students achieve improved performance in general chemistry relative to nonparticipants; however, it is noted less-prepared students did not opt into the program at significant levels. 1 Though the positive impact to performance in general chemistry for specific types of students appears to be clearly evidenced, the benefits of these preparatory experiences are counterbalanced by the fact they require additional departmental resources, and academic-year prep courses can lead to "off sequence" populations of students who are less likely to persist in their STEM major if these courses are offered in the fall term.…”

Efficacy of an Asynchronous Online Preparatory Chemistry Course: A Post-hoc Analysis

“…Justification for offering preparatory courses or summer bridge programs is rooted in the chemical education literature, which suggests that students who participate in these types of programs perform better, on average, in subsequent chemistry courses than students who do not receive this additional preparation. 1,5,6 Eitemüller and Habig report that a two-week in-person bridge course led to short-term improvements in content knowledge for students with low prior chemistry knowledge, whereas students with high prior content knowledge appeared to make longer-term performance gains in the subsequent general chemistry course. 5 Botch and coworkers report that an optional 20-hour online bridge course helped self-selected high achieving students achieve improved performance in general chemistry relative to non-participants, however it is noted less-prepared students did not opt into the program at significant levels.…”

“…1,5,6 Eitemüller and Habig report that a two-week in-person bridge course led to short-term improvements in content knowledge for students with low prior chemistry knowledge, whereas students with high prior content knowledge appeared to make longer-term performance gains in the subsequent general chemistry course. 5 Botch and coworkers report that an optional 20-hour online bridge course helped self-selected high achieving students achieve improved performance in general chemistry relative to non-participants, however it is noted less-prepared students did not opt into the program at significant levels. 1 Though the positive impact to performance in general chemistry for specific types of students appear to be clearly evidenced, the benefits of these preparatory experiences are counterbalanced by the fact they require additional departmental resources, and academic-year prep courses can lead to "off sequence" populations of students who are less likely to persist in their STEM major if these courses are offered in the fall term.…”