The under-representation of women in undergraduate science courses is well-documented. One significant challenge is that women may both perceive and receive less recognition from their science peers about their abilities as scientists than men. Here we investigate the presence and nature of such gender biases in peer recognition in the discipline…

Although science is practiced globally, science is historically a field dominated by white people. In response, science education has worked to increase equity in science by examining and transforming science learning environments. However, lacking within this work is a direct examination of whiteness. By engaging in autoethnographic storytelling,…

Equal access to an instructor's time and attention can be a barrier experienced by many underrepresented minorities. An instructor's own biases will determine the nature of their interaction with students, and even well-meaning instructors can interact with students in differential ways, which might prevent certain students from having access to…

A large-enrollment, introductory physics laboratory course at the University of Colorado Boulder has undergone a recent transformation to help students' develop lab skills and better align students' views and beliefs about experimental physics with those of expert experimental physicists through engagement with authentic scientific practices. We…

Women's underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) has been documented worldwide. This study investigated the factors underlying women's underrepresentation in STEM in higher education in Tanzania. The study employed a qualitative research approach that was informed by historical design. Data were collected…

The goal of inclusive design to promote participation of marginalised groups in science is ubiquitous across informal science education, and in the growing field of citizen science. Yet the aspiration of equality in the sciences continues to be met with challenges. Despite decades of educational research studying the barriers of participation in…

Graduate student teaching assistants from underrepresented groups may provide salient role models and enhanced instruction to minority students in STEM fields. We explore minority student-TA interactions in an important course in the sciences and STEM -- introductory chemistry labs -- at a large public university. The uncommon assignment method of…

We report the outcomes of a survey of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in life science academic (e.g., faculty) and nonacademic (e.g., research-related) positions seeking to ascertain variables that contribute to their success (e.g., favorable or desired outcome). Given that they had positions in research careers, all respondents were presumed…

Research suggests there are potential benefits to students when taught by instructors who share the same gender and/or race/ethnicity. While underrepresented students have shown increased persistence and academic performance when they were taught by gender- and/or race/ethnicity-congruent faculty, there is little research that has explored the…

This research identifies a problem of practice with standardized science test scores declining over the last eight years. The Sea Turtle Elementary School for the Creative Arts (STESCA; pseudonym) schedule allowed 150 minutes per week for science instruction, compared with 450 minutes per week for mathematics instruction. Science instruction has…

Regenerative medicine is a novel discipline that both excites undergraduates and may be used as a vehicle to expose students to scientific concepts and opportunities. The goal of this article is to describe the implementation of a National Science Foundation-funded Targeted Infusion Project in which underrepresented minority undergraduates are…

Do summer laboratory research apprenticeships during high school have an impact on entry into MD/PhD programs? Apart from the nearly decade-long span of time between high school and matriculation into an MD/PhD program, young people have many life-shaping experiences that presumably impact their education and career trajectories. This quantitative…

People with disabilities are chronically underrepresented in many geoscience departments across the country. There are a number of proposed reasons why this under-representation persists, one of which is lack of instructor training in designing accessible curriculum and making high-quality accommodations. This not only puts students with…

This article analyzes masculinity and experimental practices within three different physics communities. This work is premised on the understanding that the discipline of physics is not only dominated by men, but also is laden with masculine connotations on a symbolical level, and that this limited and limiting construction of physics has made it…

In the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines the laboratory has been the major component for understanding theoretical knowledge. The laboratory is the workplace for scientific research where students develop scientific thinking, conduct scientific investigations, and acquire knowledge of physical principles and…