Minority student and teaching assistant interactions in STEM
Daniel Oliver1, Robert Fairlie2,3, Glenn Millhauser4
1Tulane University, New Orleans, USA.
Economics of Education Review
|April 10, 2023
Summary
Minority graduate teaching assistants (TAs) in STEM courses improve outcomes for minority students. Underrepresented minority students are less likely to drop and more likely to pass introductory chemistry labs when taught by minority TAs.
Area of Science:
- STEM Education
- Higher Education Pedagogy
- Chemistry Education
Background:
- Graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) from underrepresented groups can serve as crucial role models and enhance instruction for minority students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
- Introductory chemistry labs at a large public university are a critical course for STEM majors, offering frequent student-TA interactions due to small class sizes, active learning, and mandatory attendance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of minority teaching assistants (TAs) on the academic outcomes of underrepresented minority students in introductory chemistry laboratory courses.
- To determine if assigning students to TAs of similar racial or ethnic backgrounds influences course completion and success rates.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an uncommon student-to-TA assignment method in introductory chemistry labs to mitigate selection bias.
- Analyzed course drop rates and pass rates, focusing on interactions between underrepresented minority students and minority TAs.
- Examined effects on both first-order outcomes (drop/pass rates) and medium-term outcomes, controlling for various factors like enrollment history and TA information.
Main Results:
- Underrepresented minority students assigned to minority TAs demonstrated a significant decrease in course drop rates (5.5 percentage points) and an increase in pass rates (4.8 percentage points).
- Similar positive effects were observed for Latinx students interacting with Latinx TAs.
- No significant effects were found on student grades or medium-term academic outcomes.
Conclusions:
- The study provides evidence that pairing underrepresented minority students with minority TAs in STEM courses positively impacts crucial first-order outcomes like course completion.
- These findings suggest potential benefits for broader diversity initiatives in STEM graduate programs, with positive spillovers for undergraduate students.
- The results underscore the importance of diversity among graduate teaching assistants for supporting minority student success in STEM.
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