While much of the research in CER has focused on students’ understanding of particular concepts, integration of knowledge, and sophistication of explanations of phenomena, there is another side to students that needs to be addressed. As highlighted by the DBER report and others, students’ beliefs, attitudes, and expectations toward the subject (i.e., the affective domain) can influence their success and persistence in their courses and potentially in their future career field. Further, with the increased emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR) initiatives, understanding how our students negotiate situations in and out of our classrooms is paramount. While a students’ full identity is a complex interweaving of all of their unique facets not to be untangled, the goal of our research is to understand how these intersecting identities complement each other or work in opposition with the identity as a “chemistry person.” Developing and maintaining a particular identity can be influenced by numerous factors, including the students’ own beliefs, attitudes toward the subject, race/ethnicity, gender, and presence/absence of support in the classroom. This presentation will provide a discussion of analyses of recent quantitative and qualitative data collected on identity development in both general and organic chemistry. Factors investigated include gender identity, the presence and use of learning assistants (LAs) in the classroom, English Language Learner (ELL) status.

Investigating the development of chemistry identity in general and organic chemistry at a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI)

ACS Spring 2022

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