Conceptualization and Enactment of Equity in Active Learning: STEM Instructors’ Perspectives

Abstract Minoritized students’ experiences in undergraduate introductory STEM courses impact whether they continue on as STEM majors. Instructors can have a major influence on these students’ experiences. Some instructors employ active learning to address the needs of minoritized students, but active learning is not inherently inclusive. We examined the relationship between active learning and inclusive teaching through interviews with 14 experienced STEM instructors employing active learning in their teaching. We analyzed the interviews and arrived at four composite narratives showcasing the following four approaches to equity: increasing opportunity and access by supplementing what students may lack; increasing opportunity and access by claiming instructor responsibility; emphasizing increased achievement, representations, and identification with STEM; and expanding what constitutes STEM while seeing STEM as a part of justice movements. Through composite narratives, we describe how instructors’ personal background and work context influenced their equity approaches. We found active learning and inclusive teaching can work in concert in several ways, yet instructors also reported being inadequately supported to enact their equity conceptualizations. Departmental and institutional training and support, as well as shifts in STEM disciplinary culture, are necessary for instructors to effectively and consistently offer active learning that address the needs of minoritized students.