Math skills vary greatly among students enrolled in introductory chemistry courses. Students with weak math skills (algebra and below) tend to perform poorly in introductory chemistry courses, which is correlated with increased attrition rates. Previous research has shown that retention of main ideas in a peer learning environment is greater when partners have dissimilar abilities. Therefore, in an effort to improve student learning outcomes, we implemented peer learning interventions in our introductory chemistry laboratories to determine if math skills were enhanced when partners differed in math ability. Student performance and attitudes were analyzed in laboratory sections consisting of instructor-assigned partners who differed in math ability, compared to sections where students self-selected a partner. Students who were assigned math partners of different ability showed an 8% improvement in chemistry math concepts compared to no improvement among those who self-selected a partner, as assessed using pre- and post-math tests. Mathematical learning gains were particularly large (16%) for those students in the 50th percentile of math performance. Students also reported a significantly more positive attitude change about working with others compared to students who self-selected a partner. In addition, assigned students demonstrated a more positive shift in self-concepts such as chemistry knowledge and laboratory skills. This study illustrates that peer learning can serve as a useful and easy-to-implement tool to strengthen math skills and improve student attitudes in introductory chemistry laboratories.

中文翻译：

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在化学入门实验室中，将同伴学习作为增强数学技能的工具†

在化学入门课程中，学生的数学技能差异很大。数学技能较弱的学生（代数及以下）在化学入门课程中表现较差，这与损耗率增加相关。以前的研究表明，当合作伙伴具有不同的能力时，主要思想在同伴学习环境中的保留会更大。因此，为了提高学生的学习成绩，我们在化学入门实验室中实施了同伴学习干预措施，以确定当合作伙伴的数学能力有所不同时，数学技能是否得到了提高。与由学生自行选择合作伙伴的部分相比，在数学能力各异的讲师分配的合作伙伴组成的实验室部分中分析了学生的表现和态度。通过数学前和数学后测验，被分配了不同能力的数学伙伴的学生在化学数学概念上的表现比未选择自我伙伴的学生提高了8％。对于那些数学成绩排名第50％的学生，数学学习收益特别大（16％）。与自选伴侣的学生相比，学生还报告了与他人合作时态度明显更积极的变化。此外，被分配的学生在诸如化学知识和实验室技能等自我概念上表现出了更为积极的转变。这项研究表明，在化学入门实验室中，同伴学习可以用作增强数学技能和改善学生态度的有用且易于实施的工具。