First-Year Math and Physics Courses and their Role in Predicting Academic Success in Subsequent Courses

Abstract

This paper builds on the previous literature, primarily studies at large public institutions, by exploring the role that first-year math and physics courses play in the persistence and success of undergraduate engineering students in the context of a small private business, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (BSTEM) only university. Literature has identified math and physics aptitude as predictors of academic success in college. Additional literature has indicated that there is the potential for overload through students taking too many courses in their first year; however the presence of a corequisite calculus and physics requirement provides an opportunity for the transfer of math knowledge to a different context. Findings from logistic regressions and group comparisons on institutional data from engineering students enrolled between 2001 and 2010 indicate that there are no significant differences in course grades between students that took calculus as a prerequisite versus as a corequisite, however students that had lower course loads during the semester they took Calculus I were more likely to graduate with a degree from the university, though not necessarily in engineering. Additionally, Physics I course grades appear to be a predictor of persistence in engineering and subsequent Physics II course and corequisite Calculus I grades. The findings provide information that can be used by other institutions of similar size and scope to examine the structure of their first year courses in engineering, initiate university policies, and develop interventions to support math, physics, and overall graduation success.

Assessing a Summer Engineering Math and Projects Bootcamp to Improve Retention and Graduation Rates in Engineering and Computer Science

“…Each time a student does not pass one of the core calculus courses or the Precalculus courses, the student's graduation date is pushed back by one semester because of the same two reasons -the pre-requisite chain and the inability to accelerate through the programs later in the program because of the lack of upper division ENGR and CS courses offered during the summer semesters. Hence, many students who take significantly longer than four years to graduate have had to retake at least one required mathematics course; some of these students have retaken each of the series of required mathematics courses [3][4] [5]. Thus, student success in these mathematic courses is a major factor in determining time to graduation and failures in these courses are significant contributors to the very low four-year and six-year graduation rates in the ENGR and CS programs.…”

First mathematics course in college and graduating in engineering: Dispelling the myth that beginning in higher‐level mathematics courses is always a good thing

“…In addition, other studies have demonstrated the important role of engineering identification (i.e., the extent to which students value engineering) as a significant predictor of students' intentions to remain in an engineering major and pursue an engineering career (Jones et al, 2014, 2016). Also, multiple studies have shown that indicators of achievement such as students' high school grade point average (GPA), SAT scores, or ACT scores are significant predictors of retention (Honken & Ralston, 2013; Levin & Wyckoff, 1988, 1995; Moller‐Wong & Eide, 1997; Pembridge & Verleger, 2013; Tyson, 2011). Overall, many factors influence students' decisions to persist in engineering.…”

“…Calculus is a required mathematics course for most STEM programs, including engineering (Bressoud et al, 2015; Rasmussen et al, 2019). It typically serves as a gatekeeper to more advanced courses, resulting in many students leaving engineering programs after their first‐year (Bressoud et al, 2015; Geisinger & Raman, 2013; Pembridge & Verleger, 2013; Rasmussen et al, 2019; Van Dyken & Benson, 2019). However, students who begin their study of mathematics in Calculus or higher‐level mathematics courses are more likely to complete a degree in engineering than those who begin in lower‐level mathematics courses (e.g., Bowen et al, 2019; Krause et al, 2015; Van Dyken et al, 2015).…”

“…In sum, there are many factors that relate to student retention and degree completion in engineering programs: student gender, interest, identification, and self‐efficacy (Besterfield‐Sacre et al, 1997; Geisinger & Raman, 2013; Jones et al, 2016; Levin & Wyckoff, 1995); standardized test scores such as SAT and ACT math scores and overall GPA (Honken & Ralston, 2013; Levin & Wyckoff, 1988, 1995; Pembridge & Verleger, 2013; Yoon et al, 2014); and mathematics readiness and preparation (Gardner et al, 2007; Geisinger & Raman, 2013; Redmond‐Sanogo et al, 2016). However, within the research literature, the first mathematics course a student takes as part of their engineering program and the grade they receive in this course seem to have a prominent predictive relationship with retention and degree completion.…”

Personalized Learning Plans for Prerequisite Materials in a Senior-level Traffic Engineering Course

“…Most engineering courses build upon material that students are expected to have learned in previous courses [1]. Prerequisites are used to ensure that students entering a given course are adequately prepared for the material that they will learn in an upcoming course [2], [3]. The use of prerequisites helps to ensure that instructors can focus on new material and build upon a student's existing knowledge base, as opposed to continuing to review material that they should have known.…”