Classroom Community amid Covid-19: A Mixed-Methods Study of Undergraduate Students in Introductory Mathematics and Statistics

Abstract

A strong sense of classroom community is associated with many positive learning outcomes and is a critical contributor to undergraduate students' persistence in STEM, particularly for women and students of color. This manuscript describes a mixed-methods investigation into the relationship between classroom community and course attributes in introductory undergraduate mathematics and statistics courses, mediated by student demographics. The primary quantitative instrument is the validated Classroom Community Scale - Short Form survey. Data were collected from online courses in the 2020-21 academic year along with hybrid and in-person courses in Fall 2021 and analyzed using structural equation modeling. These quantitative results are complemented and contextualized by thematic and textual analyses of focus group data gathered using a newly developed protocol piloted at the close of Fall 2021 All data come from a highly selective private university in the United States. While the study was conducted amidst the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, potential ramifications extend more broadly. These preliminary practical implications of the study include the value of synchronous participation in fostering connectedness and the importance of attending to students' personal identities in understanding their experiences of belonging.