“They
Have Shown Me It Is Possible to Thrive
within STEM”: Incorporating Learning Assistants in General
Chemistry Enhances Student Belonging and Confidence
posted on 2023-11-14, 09:31authored byKatherine
A. Clements, Cristina D. Zepeda, Allison Leich Hilbun, Tara Todd, Thomas P. Clements, Heather J. Johnson, Jessica Watkins, Katherine L. Friedman, Cynthia J. Brame
Students often experience social and psychological barriers
to
success in General Chemistry, which is a key gateway to many students’
science pathways. Learning assistants (LAs) have the potential to
reduce these barriers and to strengthen students’ sense of
belonging in General Chemistry and STEM more broadly. Here, we used
a 17-item Likert scale to determine whether incorporating LAs into
General Chemistry I and II enhances students’ sense of belonging
in these courses. The incorporation of LAs into General Chemistry
I had a significant positive effect and a medium to large effect size
for students in all student groups examined: women and men; students
in both racially and ethnically underrepresented and well-represented
groups; first- and continuing-generation students. In General Chemistry
II, similar results were observed for women and men; students in well-represented
racial and ethnic groups; continuing-generation students. Further,
we asked students to reflect on the impact that working with LAs had
on their sense of belonging in STEM and confidence in talking about
science. Sixty percent of students indicated that working with LAs
had a positive impact on their STEM belonging, with five themes describing
LA impacts: reducing isolation, serving as inspirational role models,
providing mentoring, increasing opportunities for engagement and confidence
building, and serving as accessible and approachable sources of support.
Sixty-one percent of students also indicated that working with LAs
increased their confidence in talking about science, with three themes
emerging: fostering an environment with a lower risk of negative judgment,
providing increased opportunities for feedback, and supporting students
as they practiced their growing skills. Together, these results indicate
that LAs can be an important means to reduce social and psychological
barriers for students in gateway science courses, increasing their
sense that they belong to the class and STEM more broadly.