Utility Value Intervention Study in Postsecondary Gateway Science Courses, United States, 2017-2021

The Utility Value Intervention (UVI) Study in Postsecondary Gateway Science Courses, funded by Institute of Education Sciences (IES) as a large-scale intervention study, aimed to assess the effectiveness of the utility value intervention in enhancing students' academic progress (reflected in course grades) and persistence (continued enrollment in science courses and sustained interest). Specifically, the study sought to determine whether the intervention had the greatest positive impact on first-generation college students (FG), underrepresented minority students (URM), first-generation underrepresented minority students (FG-URM), and students with multiple high-risk identities.
This research was conducted within physics and chemistry courses and implemented as a multi-cohort double-blind randomized controlled trial, involving a total of 7,863 undergraduate participants across six different student cohorts and two science departments. Upon entry into the study, all students were randomly assigned to either the UVI treatment group or a control group. Randomization was stratified based on underrepresented ethnic minority status, first-generation college status, and gender to ensure balanced representation of these subgroups in both treatment and control conditions.
Students remained in their assigned condition throughout the study, even if they enrolled in both physics and chemistry courses. The number of cohorts was determined to ensure an adequate sample size for assessing the intervention's effectiveness across various student subgroups with diverse socio-demographic characteristics. Given the study's implementation within the quarter system, Cohorts 1, 3, and 5 commenced in the fall quarter, while Cohorts 0, 2, and 4 began in the winter quarter.

由教育科学研究所（Institute of Education Sciences, IES）资助的高等教育入门科学课程效用价值干预（Utility Value Intervention, UVI）研究，是一项大规模干预研究，旨在评估效用价值干预对提升学生学业进展（体现为课程成绩）及坚持性（持续选修科学课程并保持兴趣）的有效性。具体而言，该研究旨在明确该干预是否对第一代大学生（first-generation college students, FG）、代表性不足的少数族裔学生（underrepresented minority students, URM）、第一代代表性不足的少数族裔学生（first-generation underrepresented minority students, FG-URM）及具有多重高风险身份的学生产生最大积极影响。
本研究在物理与化学课程中开展，采用多队列双盲随机对照试验（multi-cohort double-blind randomized controlled trial）设计，共纳入来自6个不同学生队列及2个科学系的7863名本科生参与者。所有学生在纳入研究时被随机分配至UVI干预组或对照组。随机化采用分层设计（stratified design），依据代表性不足的少数族裔身份、第一代大学生身份及性别进行分组，以确保这些亚组在干预组与对照组中均具有均衡代表性。
在整个研究期间，学生保持其分配的组别不变，即使他们同时选修物理与化学课程。队列数量的确定旨在确保样本量充足，以评估该干预对具有不同社会人口统计学特征（socio-demographic characteristics）的各类学生亚组的有效性。鉴于研究在学季制（quarter system）下实施，队列1、3、5于秋季学季启动，而队列0、2、4则于冬季学季启动。