Changing undergraduate confidence in a large introductory biodiversity course

Background/Question/Methods

Many undergraduates interested in science careers switch majors because they lose confidence in their abilities to succeed in science, and first semester college courses are critical to this transition. We asked whether this phenomenon was occurring at our institution in our first semester biodiversity course (200 students in each of 3 lecture sections plus associated TA-led laboratories). The objective of this study was to track student confidence in their ability to succeed over this semester-long course. Our hypothesis was that undergraduate student confidence would decrease over the semester. Five voluntary online surveys (one every three weeks) were utilized to gather student ratings of their confidence. In survey one, baseline measures of lecture and laboratory confidence and demographic information of the participants was collected. Students also defined the term “success.” Surveys two through four asked students to re-rate their confidence in lecture and laboratory and indicate why they felt this way. In survey five, students once again rated their confidence, selected two factors that most highly impacted their confidence in lecture and laboratory, and re-defined “success.” 

Results/Conclusions

Student response varied by survey, from a low of 116 students to a high of 190 students.  Overall, student definitions of success did not change from the beginning to the end of the semester, with most students defining success as getting a good grade (an A or B), trying hard, or learning. However, students in lecture and lab generally decreased in confidence over the semester, with the specific trend and magnitude varying by instructor. Notably, grades were detracting to student confidence; instructors who were perceived as more difficult or whose course grades were lower had lower trends in student confidence. In lecture, students in all three sections indicated that instructor effectiveness, caring, and fairness increased their confidence; workload impeded confidence in all three sections. Section differences centered on course grades, how clickers were used, and whether the focus was on interest or learning. In lab, teacher effectiveness was negative in two of the three sections, as was grade and fairness; interest, preparation of students, and liking the content were positive for confidence. The findings were that success was a fairly stable construct, meaning that if students did not get a good grade, felt they did not learn from their instructor, or stopped trying, their confidence would decline. Future research will focus on whether changing a student's definition of success could maintain their confidence.