Promoting Inclusive and Culturally Responsive Teaching Using Co-classes for General Chemistry

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 99; no. 1; pp. 162 - 170
• Main Authors: Ortiz-Rodríguez, Jessica C, Brinkman, Hannah, Nglankong, Lea, Enderle, Bryan, Velázquez, Jesús M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc 11.01.2022; Division of Chemical Education, Inc; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Access to education; Chemistry; Classroom Environment; College students; Colleges & universities; Community involvement; Community participation; Community Relations; Cooperative Learning; COVID-19; Creative Teaching; Culturally Relevant Education; Curriculum Development; Curriculum Implementation; Disproportionate Representation; Distance Education; Education; Educational Environment; Electronic Learning; Environmental education; Equal Education; First Generation College Students; Grades (Scholastic); Inclusion; Learning; Low Income Students; Online Courses; Organic Chemistry; Outcomes of Education; Pandemics; School Holding Power; Social Networks; Social support; Social Support Groups; STEM Education; Students; Teaching; Teaching methods; Technical education; Undergraduate Students; California; First-Year Undergraduate/General; Internet/Web-Based Learning; Collaborative/Cooperative Learning; Minorities in Chemistry
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00339

The shift to remote teaching induced by the COVID-19 pandemic has increased pre-existing academic disparities in the student community, augmenting the disadvantages for students who already experience opportunity gaps. This work describes the implementation of an online chemistry co-class focused on providing educational and social support to first-generation, low-income underrepresented students enrolled in a General Chemistry course at the University of California Davis. The co-class offered concurrently with the General Chemistry course aimed to address the academic disparities induced by remote learning and the loss of classroom community during isolation. Students in the co-class were prepared academically in a smaller setup than their General Chemistry course (10–20 vs 500–600 students), which facilitated their engagement and participation in academic and community-building activities. Results from Fall 2020–Spring 2021 quarters show that students who participated in the CHE 98 co-class obtained higher grades in general, where 61% of the students received a C+ or higher in the General Chemistry course, compared to only 47% for the comparison group. Students also identified having a network of support as one of the class’s strengths and had an interest in taking a similar course again. Our results highlight that providing an educational environment that is inclusive, culturally responsive, and supportive could promote equity among the student community and have a positive influence on underrepresented student retention in STEM. Therefore, the strategies discussed herein could be applied to develop analogous courses in remote and in-person teaching environments.