Mentoring at-risk students in large enrollment General Chemistry 1

Martina T. Sumner

University of Florida

A four-semester trial of mentoring at-risk students in large enrollment General Chemistry 1 (chm2045).  Is a mentoring program successful in reducing the DFW (D/fail/withdraw) rate in chm2045? How were students identified? Are mentored students more likely to complete the class? The time and effort of mentoring at-risk students is it beneficial? How were mentor/mentee pairs chosen? Criteria for selecting students was modified each semester to select students more likely to benefit from the mentoring program. It was also found that pairing mentor/mentees based on their availability was more beneficial than pairing them based on other criteria.  Having a mentoring program can be beneficial to the students but is the time to benefit ratio acceptable?

Oral presentation of mentoring at-risk students taking General Chemistry 1 at the University of Floria.