2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work-in-progress study analyzes the impact of a Peer-Led Study Group (PLSG) intervention in a required thermodynamics course on pass rates of first generation college students (FGCSs). FGCSs are an especially at-risk group in terms of retention, with research indicating these students are four times more likely to drop out of their program than non-FGCSs [1]. This risk of failure can be attributed to factors such as high school engagement, parent educational attainment and aspirations for their children, socioeconomic status, family support, and aspirations for learning and degree attainment [2, 3]. In short, these students require greater support both academically and socially. To aid in this process, an intervention was conducted that placed FGCSs into PLSGs to receive peer support from fellow students as well as facilitators within a thermodynamics course. With this intervention we asked the following research questions: 1) Does the PLSG intervention promote improvement of FCGS self-efficacy and/or sense of belonging? and 2) In addition to pass-rates, does the PLSG intervention improve FGCS degree retention? Over the Fall 2022 through Fall 2023 semesters, 18% of nearly 1,100 students who enrolled in the thermodynamics course were first generation college students, nearly 40% (77 students) of whom failed or withdrew from the course. In contrast, non-FGCSs within the course only failed or withdrew at a rate of 28%. Course enrolled students selected recitation times, which were randomly selected to be TA-led Recitations (TARs) or PLSGs. TARs involved one TA solving problems in front of a group of about 25-35 students, whereas PLSGs split students into groups of 4-5 students with similar beginning of term GPAs. Rather than the TA leading the session, the PLSG format instead utilized a facilitator to help promote peer interaction and only assisted students if they were pursuing a path that would not lead to a solution.. Results show that during the Fall 2023 semester, FGCSs within TARs failed at a rate of 66%, whereas FGCSs within PLSGs only failed at a rate of 28%. Using pre-/post-course surveys as a collection method, FGCSs self-efficacy, engineering identity, and sense of belonging are compared to non-FGCSs and the impact of PLSG on these outcomes are assessed. Institution provided student data is used to evaluate FGCSs retention rates one year after completing the course.