This page includes summaries of the research studies that have been conducted as part of the Humanizing Online STEM grant projects.
Research Brief 2
Building on earlier findings, Research Brief 2 summarizes the results from instructor surveys that examine how the Humanizing Academy influenced faculty beliefs and teaching practices, and administrative data to show student-level outcomes of courses taught by Humanizing Academy participants. The findings show significant shifts in how faculty think about teaching and about students, with evidence of growth towards a more equity-focused mindset, as well as changes in teaching practices. The administrative data revealed substantial gains for racially minoritized students, narrowing opportunity gaps in grades, persistence, and pass rates.
Bakersfield College Study
Bakersfield College conducted an independent study that compared success rates of courses taught by 34 faculty before and after they completed the Humanizing Online STEM Academy. While the Academy was designed for asynchronous online courses, Bakersfield looked at the success rates for courses taught by the faculty in all modalities. Overall, student success showed a statistically significant increase from 64% to 68%. An analysis of disaggregated data shows female and Hispanic student s experienced statistically significant increases, moving from 63% to 69% and 61% to 68% respectively. This study adds to additional findings that suggest the Academy positively influences student outcomes in asynchronous online courses, and suggests the professional development has positive impacts on face-to-face teaching, as well. For more information, please download the brief linked below.
Research Brief 1
Research Brief 1 summarizes qualitative data that was collected from STEM faculty who completed the Academy, as well as from students in their humanized online courses. The data shows many important findings about the positive impact of the Humanizing Online STEM Academy on faculty and the impact of humanized online teaching on students in undergraduate online STEM courses. Faculty report being more confident about teaching online, having improved perceptions of the role they play in improving student achievement and on closing equity gaps, being more flexible and aware of students differences, and making more intentional efforts to interact with students. The data shows students in online classes taught by Academy-prepared students experience high rates of belonging online with higher measures reported among Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander students. Racially minoritized students also report higher increases in belonging from week one to the end of the course.