Predicting Academic Performance in First-Year STEM Courses: How a Peer Collaboration Space Informs Strategies for Student Success

The Office of Science Education at McGill University launched the SciLearn Peer Collaboration in Fall 2021 to provide students with a collaborative learning environment including support from course staff. This project aims to evaluate how peer learning impacts student performance through its effect on cognitive load. In Fall 2023, we collected qualitative and quantitative data of students’ experiences at the Peer Collaboration space, including engagement and attendance metrics, field notes observations, interviews, and survey responses.