10/25/2024
By Naomi Wernick-Pfaffmann
Candidate: Tayler Wright
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Time: 9 to 11 a.m.
Location: Olsen 313
Title: Investigating the Impacts of Neurodiversity on Undergraduate Students in an Active Learning STEM Classroom
Committee members:
• Naomi Wernick-Pfaffmann, Teaching Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Teresa Lee, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Ashleigh Hillier, Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Brief Abstract:
Neurodivergent undergraduate STEM students disproportionately face challenges both in their learning and in the classroom. While an active learning environment encompasses classroom aspects that can alleviate emotional distress in this student group, certain aspects also have the potential to exacerbate emotional distress. Using a mixed-methods approach, we examined which classroom experiences alleviated and/or exacerbated emotional distress for neurodivergent students; we further asked students to expand on their experiences and provide insights into ways in which classroom experiences could be improved. Our study found that aspects of active learning like participation and writing papers generally did not induce emotional distress in neurodivergent students, while test taking, group work, and presenting to a class generally did induce emotional distress. Through one-on-one interviews, neurodivergent students suggested classroom improvements related to engagement, flexibility, accessibility, and getting extra help within and outside of the classroom as potentially beneficial. By identifying the factors of active learning that alleviate and/or exacerbate emotional distress in this marginalized student group, as well as gathering student suggestions for classroom improvements, university STEM professors may evolve their classroom structures and teaching styles to be more inclusive of the neurodivergent.