A Strengths-Based Intervention and Evaluation of Supportive Practices for Black Men in Calculus I

This article describes a strengths-based intervention and evaluation plan from a multi-institutional effort to identify practices that effectively support Black males in Calculus I at four public universities. The article focuses on ways in which early formative evaluation findings can be used to improve and shape a complex project. Evaluation and intervention plans follow best practices for equitable assessment by capitalizing on existing strengths in Black male college students and by triangulating validated measures including class observations, document review, grades, and changes in content knowledge, sense of belonging, goal orientation, content relevance, self-efficacy, and growth mindset. These measures are used to evaluate early implementation fidelity and to identify student strengths. The intervention and evaluation plans described in this paper can serve as a model for others interested in pursuing strengths-based interventions and evaluations in higher education settings.