Oluwatobi (Tobi) Odeleye Univ. of Oklahoma
Towards Equity in STEM fields: What role does general chemistry play?
Host: Greg Dudley
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
The University of Oklahoma
Even though individuals minoritized due to race/ethnicity and gender continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, continuing efforts are being made to increase the representation of these individuals. There are many ways through which we can seek to increase representation in STEM fields, and one of those ways is by focusing on the affective domain (i.e. feelings and attitudes). The first part of this presentation will focus on attitudes and perceptions of students towards online homework systems used in a General Chemistry course and their perceptions of the benefits and downsides of completing homework assignments. The second part of the presentation will focus on how first-year students’ attitudes towards science, and specifically chemistry, evolve over the course of a semester in a general chemistry course. Implications of these findings will be discussed.