Presenters: Emilee Severe, College of Life Sciences, Plant and Wildlife Sciences
Authors: Emilee Severe, Jack Stalnaker, Elizabeth G. Bailey
Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Bailey, College of Life Sciences, Biology
Institution: Brigham Young University
Participation and success in the classroom directly influence a student’s sense of belonging in their field of study. Previous research has shown that equally prepared women and men may not always perform or participate equally in courses, with women commonly underserved in STEM fields. Research suggests that stereotype threat activation, students’ experiences with peers and faculty, availability of helpful role models, and other factors can all influence involvement and achievement, but explanations may vary for different STEM fields and different student populations. Previously, our lab examined participation and performance in bioinformatics classes at a large religious university. Our research found that in-class participation results varied greatly by class, with gender equity in some and large differences by gender in others. Because these results were so class-specific and not easily predicted by obvious classroom characteristics, our study aims to use semi-structured interviews of bioinformatics students to better understand why we observed the participation trends that we did. Interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to discover new ideas about the experiences of women and men bioinformatics students in a conservative, religious population. These results will eventually inform the design and implementation of interventions to increase the success and sense of belonging of both women and men in this interdisciplinary field.