PROGRAM | Education

By: Casey Griffin Chair: Dawn Berk

ABSTRACT

Women continue to be underrepresented in undergraduate STEM majors. Prior studies identify women’s sense of belonging, or the extent to which one feels like an accepted member of an academic community, as a key contributor to their decisions to stick with or leave their STEM majors. Women’s social connectedness and perceived competence have been found to be two key contributors to their sense of belonging. Prior studies suggest that providing active learning opportunities may also support women’s sense of belonging. However, there lacks consensus on the particular types of active learning opportunities that best support students. This mixed methods dissertation investigates women’s sense of belonging in a two-semester undergraduate Calculus course designed to provide frequent opportunities for students to engage in active learning. Calculus is a good context in which to investigate women’s sense of belonging because it can serve as a gatekeeper course for STEM majors and can be an especially critical leak in the STEM pipeline. In Chapter 1, I explore changes in women’s sense of belonging and factors that contribute to their sense of belonging, such as social connectedness, perceived competence, and the features of the learning environment. Findings indicate that women’s sense of belonging, social connectedness, and perceived competence increased significantly in the first semester of the course. Higher levels of sense of belonging and social connectedness were maintained for the remainder of the year, but this was not the case for perceived
competence. Quantitative and qualitative results suggest that the relative influence of social connectedness and perceived competence changed over time, with social connectedness having a greater influence on sense of belonging by Week 7 of the course. Women consistently reported that their social connectedness with classmates was a top contributor to their sense of belonging. Features of the learning environment (i.e., classroom climate and learning opportunities) were not as likely to be reported as top contributors to women’s sense of belonging. However, women who did describe the impact of features of the learning environment on their sense of belonging noted ways that these features impacted their sense of belonging both directly and indirectly via their social connectedness and/or perceived competence. Further, without prompting, they identified specific learning opportunities such as group work and interactive lecture as particularly impactful. In Chapter 2, I dig deeper into women’s perspectives on what instructors can do to support their sense of belonging, specifically through the learning opportunities instructors provide (i.e., group work, interactive lecture, individual work, and traditional lecture) and the ways instructors convey care. Findings indicate that while women described benefits of all four learning opportunities on their perceived competence, they were much more likely to attribute their sense of belonging and social connectedness to interactive learning opportunities like group work and interactive lecture. Further, in their descriptions of ways the instructor supported their sense of belonging, women identified ways the instructors showed care through the ways they facilitated the learning opportunities. Findings from these two papers highlight the importance of providing opportunities for women to develop social connectedness with their classmates and instructor, particularly in times when their perceived competence may be vulnerable. I conclude with areas for future work and implications for Calculus instructors interested in retaining women in STEM majors.

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