Feeling a sense of belonging in a learning environment can have positive effects on student success. The impact of this psychosocial variable on undergraduates’ achievement and retention has been demonstrated in STEM disciplines, especially for women within physical sciences where large disparities in gender representation persist. The current study explores the relationship between belonging and student success in undergraduate chemistry, where greater gender parity has recently emerged. In particular, this research investigates the belonging of first-year students enrolled in a two-semester General Chemistry course sequence. The study begins by examining whether students’ early sense of belonging in the course, indexed by two survey measures (perceived belonging, belonging uncertainty) varies depending on their demographics and academic preparation. The belonging measures are then used as predictors of performance in General Chemistry 1 and 2 and attrition from one semester to the next. Paralleling research in other STEM disciplines, the results show that female students, especially those from underrepresented minority groups, reported lower belonging and higher uncertainty than male students within the first weeks of the course. After accounting for demographics, preparation, and participation in a course supplemental program, the belonging measures predicted performance and attrition for all students. These findings suggest that course-level belonging in General Chemistry can have practical consequences for student success, and early disparities in belonging may have downstream effects on the retention of women and other groups underrepresented in STEM. Strategies for creating an inclusive and engaging environment that supports the success of all students are discussed.

Robust evidence shows that Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) improves the academic success of first-year college students in introductory Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses. Less clear is the extent to which this positive PLTL effect varies across different subgroups of the population. The current study aims to deepen our understanding of the overall PLTL effect by extensively evaluating an optional PLTL program associated with General Chemistry I at a private, research university. Using five years of exam data, this study disaggregates the PLTL effect by demographics (sex and race), academic preparation (math skills, chemistry content knowledge, and experience with collegepreparatory coursework), and participation in another curricular innovation (a growth-mindset intervention). Results revealed that the positive effect of PLTL was comparable across demographic identity groups. Thus, the PLTL program benefitted all participants but did not reduce the pre-existing performance disparity between underrepresented minority and white students (no sex-based disparity was observed). In terms of academic preparation, the PLTL effect interacted with students' level of experience with college-preparatory coursework but not with their math or chemistry knowledge. This pattern suggests that PLTL may help develop students' self-management or reasoning skills, without necessarily narrowing knowledge gaps. Finally, PLTL interacted with participation in a growth-mindset intervention: the difference between PLTL participants and nonparticipants was smaller among students who received the mindset intervention. Implications for chemical education researchers and practitioners are discussed, with an eye toward fostering equity in introductory STEM courses.

Introductory psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate courses and often serves as the gateway to choosing psychology as an academic major. However, little research has examined the typical structure of introductory psychology courses. The current study examined student learning objectives (SLOs) and course content in introductory psychology syllabi (N ¼ 158). SLOs were mapped to the APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major. Content analysis was based on the principles for quality undergraduate education promulgated by the American Psychological Association. Over 50% of the syllabi contained objectives specific to the science and application of psychology (knowledge base, research methods, and application). Analysis of content coverage revealed instructors spent significantly more time on topics related to physiological and cognitive psychology and spent significantly less time on topics related to the history and scope of psychology, research methods, and developmental psychology. The current study also explored the influence of instructor specialty area on content coverage.