Data-driven and instructor-engaged: Enhancing equity in Canadian STEM courses

Abstract

Panelists from the Canadian Consortium of Science Equity Scholars (CCSES)—a group of educators and researchers dedicated to enhancing equity in post-secondary science at the course level—will describe the approach and progress of the CCSES in collecting data and engaging instructors from across Canadian institutions. Small group discussions will allow the audience to engage with questions related to this large, collaborative, equity project and identify the opportunities and challenges of such a project. The CCSES builds on an emerging body of literature demonstrating the need to attend to affective dimensions of the classroom (Trujillo & Tanner, 2014; Eddy & Brownell, 2016) in creating an inclusive and equitable environment (Dewsbury & Brame, 2019; Theobald et al., 2020). The research goals of the CCSES include examining how the instructor-created classroom climate impacts students’ sense of belonging across science courses, institutions, and demographic groups, and identifying the inclusive teaching practices that help address inequities. In our work we seek to apply critical methodologies to reframe “achievement gaps” as “systemic and structural barriers” (Nissen, Her Many Horses, & Van Dusen, 2021). Since 2022, the CCSES has collected over 30,000 data points from tens of university STEM courses across 12 campuses. Each instructor receives a course report with summaries of the demographic makeup of their students and disaggregated information about student experience and outcomes. On the research side, our group is working on validating our measures and statistically modelling relationships. The project also includes qualitative sub-projects to help us understand the breadth of student experience. This research has been approved by ethics boards at all sites. References: Dewsbury, B., & Brame, C. J. (2019). Inclusive Teaching. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 18(2), fe2. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-01-0021 Eddy, S. L., & Brownell, S. E. (2016). Beneath the numbers: A review of gender disparities in undergraduate education across science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 12(2), 020106. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.12.020106 Nissen, J. M., Her Many Horses, I., & Dusen, B. Van. (2021). Investigating society ’ s educational debts due to racism and sexism in student attitudes about physics using quantitative critical race theory. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 17(1), 10116. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.17.010116 Theobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E., Agrawal, S., Nicole Arroyo, E., Behling, S., Chambwe, N., Cintrón, D. L., Cooper, J. D., Dunster, G., Grummer, J. A., Hennessey, K., Hsiao, J., Iranon, N., Jones, L., Jordt, H., Keller, M., Lacey, M. E., Littlefield, C. E., … Freeman, S. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(12), 6476–6483. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916903117 Trujillo, G., & Tanner, K. D. (2014). Considering the Role of Affect in Learning: Monitoring Students’ Self-Efficacy, Sense of Belonging, and Science Identity. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 13(1), 6–15. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.13-12-024