Social Network Analysis: List of Notation

Racial discrimination and student–faculty interaction in STEM: Probing the mechanisms influencing inequality.

Institutions across the world transitioned abruptly to remote learning in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This rapid transition to remote learning has generally been predicted to negatively affect students, particularly those marginalized due to their race, socioeconomic class, or gender identity. In this study, we examined the impact of this transition in the Spring 2020 semester on the grades of students enrolled in the in-person biology program at a large university in Southwestern United States as compared to the grades earned by students in the fully online biology program at the same institution. We also surveyed in-person instructors to understand changes in assessment practices as a result of the transition to remote learning during the pandemic. Finally, we surveyed students in the in-person program to learn about their perceptions of the impacts of this transition. We found that both online and in-person students received a similar small increase in grades in Spring 2020 compared to Spring 2018 and 2019. We also found no evidence of disproportionately negative impacts on grades received by students marginalized due to their race, socioeconomic class, or gender in either modality. Focusing on in-person courses, we documented that instructors made changes to their courses when they transitioned to remote learning, which may have offset some of the potential negative impacts on course grades. However, despite receiving higher grades, in-person students reported negative impacts on their learning, interactions with peers and instructors, feeling part of the campus community, and career preparation. Women reported a more negative impact on their learning and career preparation compared to men. This work provides insights into students’ perceptions of how they were disadvantaged as a result of the transition to remote instruction and illuminates potential actions that instructors can take to create more inclusive education moving forward. © Copyright © 2021 Supriya, Mead, Anbar, Caulkins, Collins, Cooper, LePore, Lewis, Pate, Scott and Brownell.

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Undergraduate Biology Students Received Higher Grades During COVID-19 but Perceived Negative Effects on Learning

Increasing diversity in developmental cognitive neuroscience: A roadmap for increasing representation in pediatric neuroimaging research

Abstract Background Repeated calls to diversify the population of students earning undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have noted the greater diversity of community college students and their potential to thus have an impact on the racial/ethnic composition of 4-year degree earners. In this paper, we investigate barriers and supports to Black women’s success in STEM, using longitudinal interview data with seven Black women who were enrolled at community colleges and stated an interest in majoring in STEM at 4-year institutions. Results Our findings highlight a contrast between community colleges and universities. At community colleges, Black women were able to form supportive relationships with professors and peers, downplayed the potential of racism and sexism to derail their STEM ambitions, and saw little to no impact of bias on their educational experiences. Those students who transferred characterized university climates very differently, as they struggled to form supportive relationships and experienced racism and sexism from professors and peers. Conclusions We conclude using Patricia Hill Collins’ Domains of Power framework to categorize students’ experiences, then end with recommendations for change that will result in less alienating experiences for Black women, among other minoritized students. 

/pdf/racism-sexism-and-disconnection-contrasting-experiences-of-2yikd350.pdf

Racism, sexism and disconnection: contrasting experiences of Black women in STEM before and after transfer from community college

Previous studies have documented student–faculty interaction in STEM, but fewer studies have specifically studied negative forms of interaction such as discrimination from faculty. Using a sample of 562 STEM undergraduates from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, we use hierarchical generalized linear modeling to investigate various types of student–faculty interaction in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and in particular, the link between discrimination from faculty and retention in STEM. While Black students interacted more frequently with faculty, they were also most likely to report experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination. Overall, female, Black, and Latinx students were more likely to leave STEM by the fourth year of college than male, White, and Asian American peers. Feeling that professors made a student feel uncomfortable due to race/ethnicity was negatively linked with STEM retention. None of the traditional forms of student–faculty interaction (i.e., non-discriminatory) predicted retention. Variation in patterns by race, gender, and income are discussed, as well as implications for research, policy, and practice.

Student–Faculty Interaction and Discrimination from Faculty in STEM: The Link with Retention

“I feel like I have to be the whitest version of myself”: Experiences of early career Latina higher education administrators.

Scholarship on undocumented college students has been growing for the past 10 years; yet, the engagement of students without documentation in the research process is typically limited to the role o...

Participatory action research with and for undocumented college students: Ethical challenges and methodological opportunities:

This article focuses on the process of establishing, defining, and making sense of relationships with undocumented college students as co-researchers in participatory action research (PAR). Using m...

Cinthya Salazar

Papers

Student–Faculty Interaction and Discrimination from Faculty in STEM: The Link with Retention

Racial discrimination and student–faculty interaction in STEM: Probing the mechanisms influencing inequality.

“I feel like I have to be the whitest version of myself”: Experiences of early career Latina higher education administrators.

Participatory action research with and for undocumented college students: Ethical challenges and methodological opportunities:

We are friends? Navigating relationships with undocumented college students as co-researchers in participatory action research