Developing an observation protocol for online STEM courses.

The use of online instruction for undergraduate STEM courses is growing rapidly. While researchers and practitioners have access to validated instruments for studying the practice of teaching in face-to-face classrooms, analogous tools do not yet exist for online instruction. These tools are needed for quality design and control purposes. To meet this need, this project developed an observational protocol that can be used to collect non-evaluative data for the description, study, and improvement of online, undergraduate STEM courses. The development of this instrument used a sequential exploratory mixed methods approach to the research, design, pilot-testing, refinement and implementation of the protocol. Pairs of researchers tested the final version of this instrument, observing completed online undergraduate STEM courses. Across 2,394 pairs of observations, the observers recorded the same indication (yes or no to the presence of some course element) 1,853 times for an agreement rate of 77.4%, falling above the 75% threshold for an acceptable level of agreement. There was a wide range in the inter-rater reliability rates among items and further revisions were made to the instrument. This foundational work-in-progress instrument should be further developed and used by practitioners who are interested in learning about and reflecting on their online teaching practice.

LGBTQ+ Science Students' Experiences, Perceptions, and Feelings of Discrimination in Their Science Departments.

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study is to better understand the climate for LGBTQ+ science major undergraduates in their departments through a transformative queer theory lens with intersectionality. Prior research demonstrates inclusion issues continue to persist for LGBTQ+ individuals in STEM. One such issue is discrimination in the form of microaggressions, which have been demonstrated to cause physical, mental, and academic harm. In the literature, there is limited information on how microaggressions impact students in particular STEM subfields. LGBTQ+ science undergraduates from public colleges and universities in one US Midwestern state were recruited via e-mail to participate in semi-structured interviews to learn about their experiences with and perspectives on microaggressions. Participants completed a first interview to learn more about their experiences, an online training related specifically to LGBTQ+ microaggressions, and a second interview. Emergent coding was utilized to capture the full perspectives of participants to follow themes related to the research questions and that the participants brought to the conversation. The study demonstrated LGBTQ+ science students are aware of potential issues, but many struggle to articulate the issues in ways they find meaningful. This paper explores the experiences LGBTQ+ science students described in their departments and other science spaces.

Development of a self-report instrument for measuring online teaching practices and discussion facilitation.

Online learning in higher education has been increasing for many years. This is happening across all of higher education and it is happening more specifically within STEM fields. The growth of online learning has significantly accelerated the past couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic as colleges and universities have sought ways to continue educating students while also keeping students, faculty and staff safe. As result, many college faculty and instructors across all fields of study including STEM fields have made and continue to make the transition to teaching online for the first time. Teaching in an online environment is different from traditional classroom teaching in many ways and presents a unique set of challenges to college instructors. This study documents the development of an instrument used for instructors to self-report their instructional techniques and practices. Data from 251 instructors is also used to examine how this instrument can be used to better understand particular practices, with a focus in this study on discussion facilitation. The results align with the Community of Inquiry framework, including indicating that teaching through discussion forums involves direct contribution and/or facilitation.