Book Review: Horowitz, G. Teaching STEM to First Generation College Students: A Guidebook for Faculty & Future Faculty

In her new book, Teaching STEM to First Generation College Students: A Guidebook for Faculty & Future Faculty, Gail Horowitz offers practical methods for teaching STEM students the value of efficient studying strategies beneficial for first-generation college students. Horowitz received her Ph.D. in science education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and has taught a wide selection of chemistry courses for over 30 years in the East coast, exposing Horowitz to a diverse population of students including low-income, minority, and first-generation students. Horowitz has taught at a small private university, a mid-sized urban college, and currently resides at Bard High School Early College where she conducts research focusing on pedagogies related to selfregulated learning (SRL) in chemistry students. The book displays a unique ability to connect decades of instructional experience in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), classroom observations in student learning patterns, and current literature in higher education. Horowitz extensive teaching experience allows her book to connect teaching techniques for STEM students with self-regulated learning skills for first-generation college students. Horowitz immediately establishes a connection between the reader and firstgeneration students through the reading of student’s personal stories and experiences. She defines the designation of first-generation students and describes the empirical research conceptualization of their learning in higher education. For example, in discussing theoretical approaches to understanding the college success of first-generation students, Horowitz argues a need for faculty to recognize the mechanisms that drive successful outcomes of first-generation students as it relates to cultural capital. Elsewhere, she highlights the work of Perna and Thomas (2008) and their comparison of Yosso’s (2005) Cultural Wealth Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice