Fostering engagement in the diverse classroom

Adopting an investigative stance

Working with diversity in university science teaching is not something we solve once. To benefit from the many assets of a diverse classroom, we as teachers must maintain ongoing attention to how classroom norms, participation structures, and disciplinary expectations shape students' opportunities to learn.

A useful starting point is adopting what we call an investigative stance. This means staying curious about what is happening in your classroom:

• Who are your students?
• Who participates in discussions?
• Who stays quiet?
• Who takes the lead in practical work?
• And what might explain those patterns?

An investigative stance means taking time to understand who is in the room—their backgrounds and expectations—both before and during class.

Early and ongoing investigation

Short surveys at the beginning of the course can help. Ask questions such as:

• What prior experience do you have with [laboratory work]?
• What do you hope to gain from the course?

Even the best pre-surveys cannot capture everything. Investigating during the course is another useful tool:

• Make midterm evaluations to see how students find the course. Add questions about specific behaviors you're curious about—for example, "What do you think could be done to make more students join peer feedback exercises?"
• Observe participation patterns. Note down who gets plenum time and who does not. Ask yourself regularly, or have a colleague observe your teaching.

For more about gathering and using information on student background, see the spotlight "Why student background matters".

Three strategies for fostering engagement

Beyond staying investigative, there are three concrete, practical strategies you can begin implementing right away to support broader participation, engagement, and belonging in your teaching:

1. Structure your teaching for maximum participation
2. Establish a classroom where a plurality of ideas is welcome
3. Connect your teaching to different student worlds and backgrounds

Structure your teaching and learning activities

One key recommendation in diversity-oriented STEM pedagogy comes from Kimberly Tanner's work on structured versus open processes in biology. Many science-teaching routines are open with questions like "Any questions?" or "Who wants to share?". During unstructured group work students distribute roles themselves.

When processes are open, confident and highly prepared students tend to dominate. Students who need more processing time, who are new to the culture, or who are unsure of expectations often remain silent.

Structured participation, on the other hand, creates clearer, safer entry points for everyone. Examples include:

• Think–pair–share before plenary discussion
• Sentence starters for scientific reasoning
• Rotating roles in groups (for more on this, visit the GATE-project (in Danish))
• Predictable routines for discussion (e.g., each group offers one idea)
• Providing examples of what "good participation" looks like

Structuring interactions can significantly increase participation among students from underrepresented backgrounds, because the rules of engagement become transparent and equitable. 

Establish a classroom with plural ideas

Research on growth mindset, recognition, and identity in science demonstrates that learning improves when students experience their perspectives as legitimate starting points for understanding. A key insight from this work: scientific ability is not an inherent talent but something that develops through practice and deliberate effort, much like strengthening a muscle.

This means:

• Treating student ideas as valuable resources for learning
• Inviting multiple explanations before validating and summarizing the discussion
• Emphasizing that scientific thinking develops through sustained practice, not innate genius
• Highlighting diverse intellectual contributions as part of the scientific process

Such practices help counter the widespread belief that success in science is reserved for students who are "naturally talented," and instead create a culture where all students can grow.

Provide examples from a range of perspectives

Science is not a-cultural. Research shows that the way we organize our teaching - the examples we choose, the contexts we emphasize, the textbooks we rely on, and the evaluation methods we use - can unintentionally advantage some students over others. These choices signal whose experiences and ways of knowing are recognized, and who might struggle to see themselves in the discipline.

If all examples reflect the same cultural background or the same type of scientist, many students will find it harder to imagine themselves as part of the field.

At the teaching level, small but deliberate actions make a difference:

• Select examples that draw on different cultural, societal, or professional contexts
• Use case studies that resonate with varied student interests and experiences
• Highlight diverse scientific careers and multiple pathways into the discipline

These choices help more students connect content to their own backgrounds and begin to see science as a space where they can belong.

At the course leadership level, there are also structural considerations:

• Reviewing textbooks or curriculum materials to ensure they represent a broader set of scientific contributions
• Checking whether the course consistently centres one cultural or disciplinary narrative
• Aligning examples, cases, and assessments with the diversity of students actually enrolled

Not all inequities can be solved through day-to-day teaching alone. But teachers and course leaders each play a role in shaping the cultural messages students receive about who science is for.