Resumen de Chemistry for Everyone: An Inclusive Approach to Teaching General Chemistry at Xavier University of Louisiana
Asem I. Abdulahad, Janet A. Privett, Michael R. Adams
For many years, Xavier University of Louisiana (Xavier) has been a leader in educating underrepresented minority students who successfully transition into postgraduate degree programs in STEM and eventually into STEM-based careers in research, healthcare, and beyond. Striving to meet the needs of women and minority students who continue to be underrepresented in STEM careers, the two-semester General Chemistry course at Xavier has been structured to incorporate elements of inclusive teaching that help students build self-efficacy in the sciences. Specifically, these elements include (i) course coordination that is guided by a customized text, (ii) a drill system that incorporates student collaboration and near-peer mentorship, (iii) peer tutoring, and (iv) intentional faculty advising with early academic alerts. While the course demands a high academic standard, General Chemistry at Xavier also incorporates sympathetic formative assessments that allow students to remediate errors in a peer-led environment. This paper details the inclusive approach of General Chemistry at Xavier and how the course helps students persist in the sciences through purposefully facilitating the construction of a community support network around all students in science.
