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Authentic Research Experiences: A Pathway to STEM Identity, STEM Positionality, and a Sense of Belonging
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
The knowledge and use of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills are essential for thriving in the STEM community. However, the professional STEM community does not accurately represent the community of students present in STEM classes today. Many students, from populations that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM, lack a positive STEM identity, STEM positionality or sense of belonging in STEM classes. Some students do not thrive when it comes to traditional STEM classes in schools in the United States and therefore do not go on to join the STEM community. The overall purpose of this study was to investigate how Authentic Research Experiences (ARE) can be used to disrupt the narrative in the science classroom of what it means to do science and what it means to be a doer of science for students traditionally underrepresented in STEM.

In an effort to disrupt the narrative of traditional science education, this multiple case study determined how Authentic Research Experiences (ARE) influence student STEM identity, STEM positionality and sense of belonging in 6th grade students at one K-12 independent school in the United States. ARE incorporate discovery, original data and information, engagement with research practices and techniques, encourage collaboration, utilize iterative design and process skills, and incorporate mentors and expert knowledge (Burmeister et al., 2021; Gentile et al., 2017). ARE provide authentic opportunities for teachers to empower students and change the narrative on how students learn science. This could lead to an altering of the STEM pipeline in ways that are more inclusive and socially just. In this study, students were observed, surveyed, and interviewed to determine how ARE influence how students perceive themselves as a participant in the STEM classroom or are recognized as a STEM person (STEM identity), how experiences influence a students’ STEM positionality (all of the aspects that position a student as an insider or outsider in STEM), and how these experiences influence a student’s sense of belonging in science courses.
Speakers
avatar for Christine Pickett

Christine Pickett

Upper School Science Teacher, Mary Institute and Country Day School
Christine Pickett is an Upper School Science teacher at Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School as well as a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education at Saint Louis University. Her dissertation research is titled Authentic Research Experiences... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
  1-Hour Session

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