Community, Belonging, and Peer-Engagement: Participant Experiences Reflect Consistency of Facilitation Practices in Inclusive STEM Teaching Learning Communities

A primary reason for the persistent underrepresentation of minoritized people in STEM careers are their marginalizing experiences in STEM courses, which has spurred efforts to prepare STEM faculty to implement inclusive teaching practices. The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project (ISTP) addresses this nationwide challenge by providing STEM faculty a free, online course and associated learning communities (LCs) led by project-trained facilitators. ISTP centers identity, power, privilege and positionality and has successfully shifted educators mindsets and abilities. A central question is whether local LCs across contexts maintain equity-minded core practices and achieve inclusive, reflective practitioner outcomes. Our mixed methods analysis of LC participant (n = 165) and facilitator (n = 83) matching survey data spanning five course offerings over two years directly explores the relationship between the learning environments created by facilitators and their participant experiences. Findings demonstrate high fidelity of implementation to training by facilitators that resulted in consistent LC experiences of participants, especially around building a community, sense of belonging and positive peer engagement. Participants overall speak to the importance of facilitated LCs as an inclusive space where they can critically engage with one another as they reflect on, discuss, and ultimately improve their inclusive teaching practices.