Quantitative Measures of Equity in Small Groups

TL;DR

This study develops and evaluates quantitative methods to measure equity in small student groups, focusing on discourse patterns and their evolution over time in a STEM preparatory program.

Contribution

It introduces three novel quantitative measures of discourse equity and assesses their effectiveness in capturing group dynamics.

Findings

Speaking time distribution varies among students.

Group discourse shows measurable changes over time.

Proposed methods effectively identify equitable and inequitable participation.

Abstract

This project investigates how to quantitatively measure equity in small student groups. We follow several student groups to operationalize how discourse may be equitable or inequitable. The groups came from a two week, pre-college program that prepares first generation and deaf/hard-of-hearing students to major in a STEM field. In the program, students focus on improving their metacognitive skills and cultural preparation for college life within a context of model building. We use three methods to measure equity. First, we look at speaking time: who talks, when, and to whom. Second, we look to segment student discourse by analyzing consistency of group speaking time. Third, we analyze group equality over time changes. We analyze these methods to see how effective they are at capturing equity in group discourse.