RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Intersections of Active Learning and Instructor Care: Undergraduate Women’s Perspectives on Their Instructor’s Role in Supporting Their Sense of Belonging in Calculus
Page: 90
One’s sense of belonging, or their sense of feeling like an accepted member of an academic community, has been identified as a major contributor to women’s decisions to stick with or leave their STEM major. Prior work has examined ways in which pedagogical practices such as providing opportunities for students to engage in active learning in undergraduate courses might influence women’s sense of belonging in STEM. However, the focus had been on students’ perceptions of the practices themselves rather than the person enacting those practices – the instructor. With this study, I explore ways in which women describe the role their instructor plays in supporting their sense of belonging in an active learning Calculus course. Women’s survey responses suggest several ways in which their instructor supported their sense of belonging by portraying care both through their enactment of active learning as well as other pedagogical and personal attributes.