“It made me feel like a bigger part of the STEM community”: Incorporation of Learning Assistants Enhances Students’ Sense of Belonging in a Large Introductory Biology Course

Abstract

Incorporation of undergraduate learning assistants (LAas) increased students’ sense of belonging in an introductory biology course, promoting engagement, allowing more use of active learning, and reducing feelings of isolation. These findings demonstrate that LAs can contribute to multiple elements of inclusive STEM teaching.

Peer-Modeled Mindsets: An Approach to Customizing Life Sciences Studying Interventions

“…The present findings therefore indicate that peer-modeled mindset interventions hold promise for broadening participation in the STEM fields. They also point to the power of drawing on the experiences of former students to help a wide variety of incoming students adjust to introductory courses at the transition to college (for related research incorporating learning assistants in an introductory biology course, see Clements et al. , 2022 ).…”

Mixed-methods exploration of students’ written belonging explanations from general chemistry at a selective institution

“…They suggest relationshipbuilding strategies that may already be familiar, including thinkpair-share activities, as well as novel ideas like having students create an online classroom presence (e.g., using tools like Padlet). Students can also benefit from relationships with upper-year Learning Assistants (LAs) or other peer leaders; one recent study in introductory biology showed the presence of LAs increased students' belonging and confidence and decreased feelings of isolation (Clements et al, 2022). Explicitly creating opportunities for students from all identity groups and academic backgrounds to connect and learn together may convey to marginalized students that belonging in STEM, at least in this general chemistry course, does not necessarily require assimilation or conformity to one mode of success.…”

Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study on PLTL Leaders’ Perceptions of their Group-Inclusion Skills in General Chemistry

“…This literature has also shown that group work can be noninclusive for some students, resulting in unequal participation in the discourse. − ,, Having leaders focus on creating inclusive discussions and group environments may help in alleviating anxiety and encourage student–student discussion during problem solving; thereby improving learning. In our study, some leaders reported gaining inclusive group-work skills from their leader experiences and pedagogy course.…”

“…Hence, social-belonging training is a research area for peer-leader training. 19,69 Finding 2: PLTL leaders report gaining inclusion skills in Collaboration, Environment, and Group Awareness.…”

“…While there is literature about how peer leaders can encourage participation and discussion, there have been only a few studies discussing how peer leaders can promote an inclusive group. 7,15,19 In this exploratory study, we surveyed, via Likert-scale and open-ended response questions, PLTL peer leaders in general chemistry about their confidence in their group inclusivity skills and their self-reported gains in fostering an inclusive group. We compared peer-leader responses to PLTL student responses from an evaluation survey of their leader.…”