Classroom/Course Inclusivity - Department of Chemistry

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.