The Impact of an Online Peer Mentoring Program on Stem Students at Two Historically Black Institutions During the COVID 19 Pandemic
University of the District of Columbia
How they used Delve
A researcher at the University of the District of Columbia used Delve to code open-ended interviews and focus groups with mentors and mentees from an online STEM peer-mentoring program (eSTEM) at two historically Black institutions during COVID-19, combining inductive and deductive coding in a qualitative case study.
“Open-ended interviews and focus groups were conducted with participants. Data were collected until saturation was reached and subsequently transcribed for analysis. Using a combination of inductive and deductive coding, the data was coded, and codes were subsequently grouped into themes using Delve software.”
- Field
- STEM education; peer mentoring; HBCUs
- Data
- Open-ended interviews and focus groups, collected to saturation, with participants of the eSTEM program (7 mentors and 22 mentees completed it) at two historically Black institutions
- Approach
- Qualitative case study (Saldaña 2016); inductive and deductive coding grouped into themes
- Data types
- Interviews, Focus groups
Abstract
To address the continuing disparity in the representation of women and racial and ethnically minoritized populations in STEM, an online peer mentoring program, eSTEM, was developed, implemented, and tested among undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs at two historically black institutions. Using a case study design, participants’ experiences in the program were evaluated to determine the degree to which their participation impacted their STEM self-efficacy, sense of community, STEM identity, and intent to persist in STEM. Several themes were identified which demonstrate that the eSTEM program is effective in enhancing students’ feelings of self-efficacy, sense of community and belonging in STEM, STEM identity and understanding of intersecting identities, and in sustaining their intent to persist in STEM degree programs and careers.
Citation
Jillian L. Wendt (2023). The Impact of an Online Peer Mentoring Program on Stem Students at Two Historically Black Institutions During the COVID 19 Pandemic. AIJR Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.21467/proceedings.148.5