Instructors’ Interpretations of Social Exclusion in Undergraduate STEM Course

Exclusionary dynamics can occur among undergraduate STEM students, with certain types of individuals being systematically isolated. Instructors often fail to notice or address these issues, which can result in student attrition. One of the goals of inclusive teaching practices is to help all students feel welcomed and supported. The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project is a six-week online professional development course designed to strengthen instructors’ beliefs and practices related to inclusive teaching. I interviewed 17 STEM instructors who completed this course to understand their perspective about two scenarios where students face exclusion in a STEM classroom. In this talk, I will present preliminary results about how these instructors interpret exclusionary events. Additionally, I will discuss the instructors’ beliefs about their responsibility to develop structures to reduce the likelihood of exclusionary behaviors and to intervene when exclusionary behaviors arise.