ERIC Number: EJ1400313
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1935-7877
EISSN: EISSN-1935-7885
Relative Impact of Values-Oriented and Mindset-Oriented Interventions on Academic Success of Introductory Biology Students Attending 2-Year or 4-Year Institutions
Rollwagen-Bollens, Gretchen; Kibota, Travis; Crosby, Catherine
Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, v23 n3 2022
Diversifying the STEM workforce is a national priority, yet white males continue to dominate the ranks of professional scientists and engineers in the United States. This is partly due to disparities in academic success for women and minoritized students in prerequisite introductory STEM courses, leading to higher attrition from B.S. degree programs. Past research has demonstrated that when social-psychological interventions targeting "stereotype threat" or "fixed" mindsets are implemented in STEM courses, equity gaps may be significantly reduced. We incorporated two such interventions into introductory biology courses for life science B.S. majors and Associate's degree allied health students taught at a regional research university and a community college. We observed no significant effects of the values-affirmation interventions on grade outcomes for students in any of the courses, regardless of students' gender identity, race/ethnicity, or first-generation status, suggesting that students, on average, were not experiencing stereotype threat on either campus. We found a significant positive association between completing more weekly reflective journal entries and higher mean content-based grades for students in the university majors course overall, especially first-generation students, although the association was significantly negative for women. Our results confirm that context matters when implementing interventions aimed at reducing achievement gaps, and we propose that educators assess their students' social-psychological characteristics and then select interventions accordingly.
Descriptors: Biology, Science Education, STEM Education, Equal Education, Introductory Courses, Undergraduate Students, Females, Gender Differences, Minority Group Students, Intervention, Stereotypes, Associate Degrees, Community College Students, Majors (Students), Allied Health Occupations Education, Grades (Scholastic), Ethnicity, First Generation College Students, Race, Correlation, Journal Writing, Science Achievement, Achievement Gap, Student Characteristics, Research Universities
American Society for Microbiology. 1752 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-737-3600; e-mail: journals@asmusa.org; Web site: https://journals.asm.org/journal/jmbe
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A