PME-NA

Gateway or Gatekeeper?: How Instruction Shapes Mathematics Identity Among Black and Latin* Undergraduates in Calculus

• In Event: Gateway or Gatekeeper?: How Instruction Shapes Mathematics Identity Among Black and Latin* Undergraduates in Calculus

Description

Undergraduate calculus is a critical juncture at which many students, disproportionately Black and Latin* students, leave STEM majors. However, movements to improve calculus instruction often background Black and Latin* students experiences. Informed by critical race theory, this study analytically foregrounds Black and Latin* students’ calculus experiences, triangulating with classroom observations and instructors’ teaching philosophies across three sections with different instructional practices. Findings illuminate two aspects of instruction that aligned with trends in mathematics identity and STEM persistence. Implications address cross-institutional research and instructional strategies to support Black and Latin* students’ STEM persistence.

Author

• Reagin Taylor McNeill, Michigan State University