What a Professor Learned by Being a Student Again: An Immersive Study of Introductory STEM Courses

Alo Basu

College of the Holy Cross

Worcester, MA

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** This session will be recorded. **

Who am I?

• A person of color
• A cis woman
• A neurobiologist
• An educator
• A graduate of elite universities
• A 3^rd generation Ph.D.

What is happening in the STEM curriculum?

• Curriculum mapping project with 100-level STEM courses at Holy Cross
• Audited 4 courses I last took in AY 1993-94*
• MATH 135: Calculus 1
• PHYS 116: Introductory Physics 2
• BIOL 161: Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology
• CHEM 181: Atoms & Molecules
• Attended almost all lectures; completed problem sets, quizzes and exams
• Felt like I was going to die pretty much the whole time

What did I find out?

• Curriculum mapping is useful.
• Foundational concepts are presented differently in different disciplines.
• There are social barriers to integration in the classroom.
• Exam performance has socioemotional determinants.
• Grades are related to study time and quality of effort.

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OBVIOUS stuff at this point.

Curriculum Mapping*

• Analyzing content for curriculum review/transition
• Analyzing content for curriculum sequencing
• Coordinating content for purposes of coverage
• Coordinating content for purposes of integration of multiple courses
• Creating content to address gaps in curriculum
• Creating content for integrative courses
• Creating bridge courses

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What is covered before the first exam?

• Syllabus-level concepts and skills
• Various measures of “emphasis”
• Depth according to Bloom’s taxonomy
• Underlying concepts and skills

13 Exponents/Logs

11 Periodic-table

9 Algebra

9 Ratios

7 Mass

5 Charge

4 Graphing

4 Atom

3 Elements

3 Matter

Underlying Concepts and Skills

Introductory Biology, Chemistry, Calculus

“STEM Scandals”

• Dipoles and dipole moments

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• Reaction rates and equilibrium

Social Barriers and Social Integration

• Where to sit
• Getting a smile
• Think-pair-share
• Study groups

Exams*

• Figuring out what you missed
• Time pressure and strategy
• Racing thoughts
• Physiological sensations
• Wobbly tables and writing implements
• Language processing demands
• Getting back the marked exam

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Grades

Dipoles: The Points that Got Away

What did I find out?

• Curriculum mapping is useful.
• Foundational concepts are presented differently in different disciplines.
• There are social barriers to integration in the classroom.
• Exam performance has socioemotional determinants.
• Grades are related to study time and quality of effort.
• People care a lot about STEM culture.

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Holland, D. G. (2019) Chapter 9: The Struggle to Belong and Thrive. In E. Seymour and A. Hunter (Eds.). Talking About Leaving Revisited: Persistence, Relocation, and Loss in STEM Education Springer Nature Switzerland AG, (excerpt on Belonging, Institutional Climate, and STEM Persistence), pp. 300-318. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-030-25304-2.

Who am I?

• A person of color
• A cis woman
• A neurobiologist
• An educator
• A graduate of elite universities
• A 3^rd generation Ph.D.
• A person who feels excluded by STEM culture at my institution
• An interdisciplinary scholar

What am I doing?

• Learning
• Learning about teaching
• Learning about learning
• Trying to build relationships and understanding
• Something like auto-ethnography or critical ethnography
• Trying to fit in

Creating Integrative STEM Learning Opportunities

Holy Cross Neuroscience Core Curriculum - Graphic generated by R. Mruczek

Relationships for change

Faculty Participation in Holy Cross Neuroscience Curriculum Development - Graphic generated by R. Mruczek

Please prepare to fill out the FIRST event survey

(click on the link in the chat)

Recommendations: Low-hanging fruit

• Reduce exam stress.
• Reduce language that reinforces deficit thinking.
• Reduce language that reinforces disciplinary identity.
• Take a student’s view of the curriculum and communicate across disciplines about foundational concepts and skills.

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Patton Davis, L. and Museus, S. (2019). What Is Deficit Thinking? An Analysis of Conceptualizations of Deficit Thinking and Implications for Scholarly Research. Currents, 1(1), 117-130. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/currents.17387731.0001.110.

Recommendations: Tougher nuts to crack

• Spend time with STEM-interested students who have not approached or succeeded in 100-level STEM courses.
• Communicate with colleagues who teach and advise STEM-interested students who have not approached or succeeded in 100-level STEM courses.
• Find ways to learn about the learning environment that are not extractive toward students.
• Let instructors try out new methods, even at the cost of standardization.

Recommendations: Long-term aspirations

• Identify deficit thinking and foster anti-deficit thinking in faculty culture.
• Create a locus of accountability for equity and inclusion within the institution and the faculty.
• Reduce disciplinary boundaries.
• Visualize and destigmatize inclusion.

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Further Reading

• Basu AC, Hill AS, Isaacs AK, Mondoux MA, Mruczek REB, Narita T (2020) Integrative STEM education for Undergraduate Neuroscience: Design and Implementation. Neuroscience Letters, invited manuscript, in revision.
• Basu AC, Mondoux MA, Whitt JL, Isaacs AK, Narita T (2017) An Integrative Approach to STEM Concepts in an Introductory Neuroscience Course: Gains in Interdisciplinary Awareness. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 16(1):A102–A111. https://www.funjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/june-16-102.pdf.
• Bruner, Jerome S (1977) The Process of Education (2e). Harvard University Press.
• Cohen, G.L., Garcia, J., Apfel, N., and Master, A. (2006) Reducing the racial achievement gap: a social-psychological intervention. Science, 313(5791):1307-10. 10.1126/science.1128317.
• Elmore, R. F. (2010) “I Used to Think…and Now I Think…” Reflections on the work of school reform. Harvard Education Letter, 26(1).
• Florian, L. (2015), Conceptualising Inclusive Pedagogy: The Inclusive Pedagogical Approach in Action.  In JM Deppeler, T Loreman, R Smith & L Florian (Eds.) Inclusive Pedagogy Across the Curriculum (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 11-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620150000007001.
• Riegle-Crumb, C., King, B., and Irizarry, Y. (2019). Does STEM stand out? Examining racial/ethnic gaps in persistence across postsecondary fields. Educational Researcher, 48 (3), 133-144.  https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19831006, Corrigendum https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19849410.
• Rincon-Gallardo (2016) Large scale pedagogical transformation as widespread cultural change in Mexican public schools. J Educ Change, 17:411-436.

THANK YOU to my Holy Cross Colleagues

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Neuroscience Curriculum Development

• Alexis Hill (Biology/Neuroscience)
• Ryan Mruczek (Psychology/Neuroscience)
• Tomohiko Narita (Physics)
• Michelle Mondoux (Biology)
• Stanzi Royden (Computer Science/Neuroscience)
• André Isaacs (Chemistry)

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Broader Perspectives

• Kelly Saintelus (Academic Services & Learning Resources)
• Ann Marie Leshkowich (Sociology & Anthropology)
• Lauren Capotosto (Education)

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Curriculum Mapping & Applications

• Tomohiko Narita (Physics)
• Amber Hupp (Chemistry)
• Ann Sheehy (Biology)
• Alisa DeStefano (Mathematics)
• André Isaacs (Chemistry)
• Andrew Hwang (Mathematics)
• Richard Lent (Educational Technology)

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Administration

• Margaret Freije (Provost, Mathematics)

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THANK YOU to Davidson FIRST

for the opportunity to synthesize and share my experiences and ideas.

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Your feedback and questions are greatly appreciated!

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abasu@holycross.edu