Chapter 7: Assessment as Learning: Fostering Belonging of Underrepresented Students in the STEM Content Areas

Feeling like one belongs is a key psychological characteristic for optimal functioning that has significant support throughout the literature (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). In education, belonging has been studied as a key variable that enhances student motivation and academic achievement (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Martin & Dowson, 2009; Thoman et al., 2013). However, too often students do not feel like they belong, especially underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas where there are persistent gender and racial disparities in representation. Partly in response to this state of affairs is the increasing call for culturally relevant pedagogy in the STEM areas (Howard & Rodriguez-Scheel, 2017; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 2016). Relatedly, those same authors have identified a pressing need for culturally relevant assessment practices that are designed to recognize the different ways achievement can be expressed across intersections of gender, race, and class (Howard & Rodriguez-Scheel, 2017; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 2016).