Classroom/Course Inclusivity
Social Belonging/Inclusion in intro STEM courses
The overarching goal of this area of study is to create an inclusive learning environment where students from all demographic groups are welcome and equally likely to be successful in STEM disciplines. Drawing on research from social psychology and education science, the project targets psychosocial factors related to inclusion.
Examining the Effects of Inclusivity and Social Belonging in STEM Courses on Performance and Retention
(General Chemistry, Introductory Biology, and Introductory Physics; Current researchers: Utah includes Josh Edwards, Hannah Blomgren, Dasha Walker, and collaborator Ramón Barthelemy (physics); Washington University in St. Louis includes Ali York (CIRCLE), Angela Fink (CIRCLE), and Kathy Miller (biology))
In introductory STEM courses, we are examining students’ course sense of belonging and their self-reported classroom inclusivity and the effect of those responses on their exam performances and persistence in course series. We are examining how these effects differ depending on various subgroups, such as gender, race/ethnicity, first generation, and SES level. We are also qualitatively studying open comments in the surveys to better understand students’ reported reasons for their level of course sense of belonging and classroom inclusivity.
Currently, the study population for this project includes University of Utah students from general physics for STEM majors (PHYS 2210) and general chemistry (CHEM 1210) classes. At Washington University in St. Louis, the study population includes students from general chemistry, introductory biology, and introductory physics.
Examining the Effect of growth mindset on performance in introductory STEM courses and burnout at medical school
(General Chemistry, Introductory Psychology, and Medical School Internal Medicine Residents: Current researchers: Washington University in St. Louis includes Angela Fink (CIRCLE), Patricia Kao (Wash U Medical School); Peninnsula Community College includes Paul Mattson (psychology))
In general chemistry, we examined the effect of a course-based social-psychological intervention (namely, a growth-mindset intervention) on exam performance, especially those who belong to underrepresented groups. Growth-mindset interventions are designed to support students during challenging academic transitions by encouraging them to view intelligence as a flexible characteristic that can be developed through practice, rather than a fixed ability. We implemented a random-assignment classroom experiment in general chemistry, and found that the mindset intervention eliminated a racial achievement gap, after adjusting for variation in academic preparation. We also conducted a qualitative analysis of students’ written reflections from the intervention to deepen our understanding of course mindset effects.
We have extended this intervention to an introductory psychology course at a community college and to medical residents at Washington University in St. Louis.
Faculty Development
Observations with faculty interviews of teaching practices in Introductory STEM courses using the Learning-assistant approach
(Multiple STEM courses in the College of Science: Current researchers: Josh Edwards and Hector Torres, and collaborators in CSME. If you are interested in learning more about the LA program at the University of Utah, please visit https://csme.utah.edu/la/.)
While a model prescription for implementing LAs into classrooms is offered by the international LA community, variations to this model are often necessary to meet the specific needs of an instructor or class. The goal of this study is to survey the landscape of the various modes in which LAs are implemented across STEM classes at the University of Utah. By understanding how LAs operate in various contexts, we hope to provide faculty with a range of options within the broader LA model for implementing LAs into their classrooms in a manner that meets their class’s specific needs. We a re using a mixed-methods approach in this project, in which we are categorizing faculty into different learning-assistant implementation styles based on quantitative observation data (using a modified OPAL tool to include learning-assistant behaviors). We are conducting a survey and follow-up qualitative faculty interviews to further understand why faculty used these styles. This faculty-based project is in close collaboration with the learning-assistant research program described in the Collaborative Learning Approaches Section.
Observation of teaching practices in Introductory STEM courses, specifically the use of active-learning approaches and gender-based participation, to improve classroom inclusivity
(introductory biology, general chemistry, Calculus and introductory physics: Current researchers: Utah includes Josh Edwards; Washington University in St. Louis includes Ali York (CIRCLE) and Angela Fink (CIRCLE))
We use a mixed-methods approach in the overall project, we categorize faculty into different active-learning implementation styles based on quantitative observation data (using the classroom observation protocol called Observation Protocol for Active Learning, or OPAL, (Frey et al., 2016)), and typically conduct qualitative interviews to further understand why faculty used these styles. Currently, we are focusing on large introductory courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics. We have recently expanded this project to including studying inclusivity in the classroom, by examining with individual participation based on different perceived gender participation, and adapting the OPAL tool. Although student participation can be seen in many different ways in the classroom, we are predominately focusing on students who individually contribute to the discussion in the classroom.
Inclusive Teaching in STEM Education for Current and Future Faculty (Collaborative Multi-Institutional NSF grant; Utah – SuYeong Shin)
(Current researchers: Utah includes SuYeong; Researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern University, Boston College, University of Michigan, and University of Georgia)
This project is creating and delivering an online program, with facilitated discussion groups, to improve the awareness, confidence, and ability of current and future faculty to create inclusive STEM learning environments for their students. We plan to build and sustain a diverse network of institutions through learning communities of facilitators that will utilize our content to advance inclusive learning and teaching on their campuses. We will examine the effect of this program on participants as they are taking the course, as they incorporate what they have learned into their courses, and the effect their changes have on their students. The primary research analysis will be contributed to by three of the collaborating institutions, the University of Utah, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Georgia, with the University of Utah being lead research institution.
Collaborative Learning Approaches
How is the Learning-Assistant Approach being implemented into STEM courses, and How is the experience impacting Learning Assistants?
(multiple STEM courses in the College of Science; Current researchers: Josh Edwards and Stella Ray, and collaborators in CSME. If you are interested in learning more about the LA program at the University of Utah, please visit https://csme.utah.edu/la/.)
The Learning Assistant (LA) model is a collaborative learning model in which undergraduates, called LAs, facilitate collaborative, active learning with small groups of students. At the University of Utah, the LA program is centrally operated through the Center for Science and Math Education (CSME) through which LAs receive extensive training in collaborative learning pedagogy. This study seeks to understand how this approach is being implemented into STEM courses (see LA Faculty project under Faculty Development) and how the LA experience impacts learning assistants.
Student Cognition and Metacognition in the Classroom
How do students’ study habits affect their exam performance?
(Introductory biology and Introductory psychology at Washington University in St. Louis: Current researchers: Washington University in St. Louis includes Elise Walck-Shannon (biology) and Shaina Rowell (psychology))
How students study for exams affect their performance on exams and in the class in general. However, we often depend on students to study effectively without explicit instruction. There is a considerable evidence from psychology research that shows students learn more if they use certain study strategies. Using the “desirable difficulties” framework (Bjork, 1994), strategies can be separated into strategies that feel more difficult during study but lead to better long-term learning (i.e., “active”) and strategies that feel easier during study but lead to worse long-term learning (i.e., “passive”). In Introductory Biology and Introductory Psychology, we are examining students’ self-reported study habits and the effect these habits have on exam performance, after controlling for potential confounds, such as academic preparation, self-reported class absences, and self-reported total study time.
This is the first step in a project implementing an exam wrapper, which an exercise where students reflect on their study habits and make plans for how to change them. We are implementing randomized control studies of the effectiveness of exam wrappers to change student study habits and improve student exam performance in a large introductory biology course and a large introductory psychology course.
The effect of students’ concept-building approaches on their exam performance and problem-solving behaviors
(General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry: Current researchers: Washington University in St. Louis includes Mark McDaniel and Mike Cahill (psychology and CIRCLE))
We showed that students’ concept-building approaches, identified a priori using a cognitive psychology laboratory task, extend to learning complex STEM topics. Our prior studies examined student performance in both general and organic chemistry, after accounting for preparation. We found that abstraction learners (defined cognitively as learning the theory underlying related examples) performed higher on course exams than exemplar learners (defined cognitively as learning by memorizing examples). We are extending our project, via think-aloud interviews, to probe the effect these concept-building approaches have on problem-solving behaviors (specifically on average-exam-performing students).