ABSTRACT
Women continue to leave science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors at a higher proportion than men. Prior studies identified low sense of belonging as a key contributor to women’s decisions to leave. Calculus is an especially critical leak in the STEM pipeline and thus a key junction at which students, especially women, decide whether to persist in STEM. Historically, calculus instruction has been primarily lecture based, though recently, efforts have shifted toward incorporating opportunities for students to engage in active learning. Research suggests that pedagogical approaches that support active learning might benefit students’ sense of belonging, especially for women. This chapter discusses how women enrolled in two types of calculus courses – a standard lecture-based course and an active learning course – talk about their sense of belonging. While women in the active learning course reported a higher sense of belonging than women in the standard course, women in both courses attributed their sense of belonging to the learning environment and to opportunities to interact with classmates and the instructor. The chapter closes with tips for calculus instructors for supporting women’s sense of belonging based on these findings.
