TY - JOUR
T1 - Ask for Help
T2 - Online Help-Seeking and Help-Giving as Indicators of Cognitive and Social Presence for Students Underrepresented in Chemistry
AU - Williams-Dobosz, Destiny
AU - Jeng, Amos
AU - Azevedo, Renato F.L.
AU - Bosch, Nigel
AU - Ray, Christian
AU - Perry, Michelle
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank colleagues from the iLearn research group, whose expertise and collaboration was invaluable to conducting this research. The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education through Grant R305A180211 to the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
PY - 2021/12/14
Y1 - 2021/12/14
N2 - Help-seeking is an essential tool for student success. Still, students, especially those underrepresented in STEM (UR-STEM) and those underrepresented in chemistry (UR-Chem), may be reluctant to employ help-seeking for academic success. Understanding help-seeking in online courses is crucial for developing equitable learning environments where students can engage with a community of inquiry. We analyzed help-seeking behaviors and responses to requests for help in an online college-level chemistry course's discussion forum. We found that requests for help were responded to equally, regardless of how explicitly students appealed for help. Furthermore, we found that UR-Chem students requested and responded to help similarly and received help at greater rates than their non-UR-Chem peers. Results support that productive and substantive help-seeking and help-giving discussions occur in an online discussion forum. Ultimately this work highlights a necessary learning skill, help-seeking, thereby informing chemistry instruction and learning.
AB - Help-seeking is an essential tool for student success. Still, students, especially those underrepresented in STEM (UR-STEM) and those underrepresented in chemistry (UR-Chem), may be reluctant to employ help-seeking for academic success. Understanding help-seeking in online courses is crucial for developing equitable learning environments where students can engage with a community of inquiry. We analyzed help-seeking behaviors and responses to requests for help in an online college-level chemistry course's discussion forum. We found that requests for help were responded to equally, regardless of how explicitly students appealed for help. Furthermore, we found that UR-Chem students requested and responded to help similarly and received help at greater rates than their non-UR-Chem peers. Results support that productive and substantive help-seeking and help-giving discussions occur in an online discussion forum. Ultimately this work highlights a necessary learning skill, help-seeking, thereby informing chemistry instruction and learning.
KW - Chemical Education Research
KW - Collaborative/Cooperative Learning
KW - First-Year Undergraduate/General
KW - Internet/Web-Based Learning
KW - Minorities in Chemistry
KW - Second-Year Undergraduate
KW - Women in Chemistry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120068675&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85120068675&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00839
DO - 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00839
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85120068675
SN - 0021-9584
VL - 98
SP - 3693
EP - 3703
JO - Journal of Chemical Education
JF - Journal of Chemical Education
IS - 12
ER -