Despite growing diversity among Asian Americans, little attention has been given to the diverse experiences and outcomes of Asian American subgroups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Using a nationally representative data set, High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), this study examines Asian American students' various pathways of entrance into STEM majors by college selectivity. Results show different patterns of STEM major selection among Asian ethnic subgroups that are not uniformly applied to all types of college selectivity, thereby revealing the heterogeneity within Asian American populations and suggesting the peril of the monolithic stereotype of Asian American students in STEM fields. Analyses further disclose that disparities of STEM major selection among Asian ethnic subgroups can be partially but not fully explained by high school math achievement.

The rapid spread of online classes in higher education during and after the COVID-19 pandemic has created a growing need for research that explores the issue of student disengagement in online courses. In this regard, the present study suggests a Peer-Tutoring Online Discussion (POD) class model to increase student engagement in online courses among undergraduate students with diverse sociocultural backgrounds and college majors. The study also examines the impact of the POD approach by exploring the experiences of undergraduate students who took online liberal arts courses that employed the POD model during the 2020 spring semester. Qualitative analysis of discussion data from students indicates that the POD class model includes characteristics that can be especially significant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as opportunities for relationship-building, self-directed learning based on establishing a rapport, and discussion management that considers time limits.

With regard to the innovation of the general education at the level of higher education in Korea based on the approach of competency-based education, researchers have predominantly focused on the individual development of key competencies and skills. However, little attention has been paid to one of the main axes of the key competency, the experience of cooperation among students. Drawing on the interview data with undergraduate students who participated in online general education courses which were based on the ‘Peer-tutoring Online Discussion (POD)’ class model, this study explores modalities and significance of their cooperation experiences in the courses. Findings suggest that the experience of cooperation based on the POD class model has several differences from traditional classes and that these features contribute to unique characteristics of the cooperation experience in the POD class model. Through their experience of cooperation in the general education courses based on the POD class model, students were able to feel a sense of achievement that they had never felt before in other classes, and also able to realize the growth of their team members as well as themselves. Moreover, respondents also explained that their experience of cooperation through the POD class model actually enabled them to foster positivity, broad perspective, leadership and collaborative skills.

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