MENTOR SCIENCE IDENTITIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS WITH SCIENCE: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF THE IBEARS PROGRAM

Authors

Melvin Hilson*, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912Follow
Jerin Jamil*, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912Follow
Alex T. St. Louis, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912Follow

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to investigate the individual properties present within the science identities of undergraduate mentors and how these science identities are shared with students in the (virtual) classroom to improve learning in science education and STEM programming. In this study, we used the constant comparison method to identify individual aspects of the science identities of undergraduate mentors participating in the iBEARS program over 15 weeks. Four prevalent themes emerged: a sense of community, being built by intrinsic and extrinsic attitudinal factors, a match between real science and school science, and a perception of science. These themes are broken down further to emphasize the individual properties in our data set. Our results primarily reflect the previous literature on science identities held by students, mentors, and teachers in the classroom. We look to investigate further components of science pedagogy that may explain the relationship between mentor science identity and student reactions

Recommended Citation

Hilson*, Melvin; Jamil*, Jerin; and St. Louis, Alex T. (2023) "MENTOR SCIENCE IDENTITIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS WITH SCIENCE: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF THE IBEARS PROGRAM," Georgia Journal of Science, Vol. 81, No. 1, Article 121.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.gaacademy.org/gjs/vol81/iss1/121