While failure and challenge are a natural part of scientific inquiry and education, today’s college level STEM enter higher education ill prepared to effectively cope with academic challenges and failure. And this is rarely a topic of explicit instruction in the classroom. Originally founded to focus solely on students’ approaches to and responses to academic challenges and failures in STEM, the Factors affecting Learning, Attitudes, and Mindsets in Educations network (FLAMEnet) now takes a broader approach by considering a wide range of non-cognitive factors that may influence students and instructors within STEM academic contexts.
This NSF-funded research consortium brings together higher education STEM faculty, education researchers, psychology researchers, and academic leaders to build upon these non-cognitive factors (e.g., mindset, fear of failure, coping, sense of belonging, science identity, etc.) and accomplish the following:
- Gather information about how students and instructors view intrapersonal factors, instructor use of intrapersonal factors, and their efficacy.
- Garner buy-in among instructors to change educational practices
- Support resource development and dissemination that further our understanding of intrapersonal factors and effective educational practice within STEM classrooms
A somewhat larger group gathers outside Atwood Chemistry Center at Emory University for our group photo at FLAMEnet 2019 
Breakout groups at FLAMEnet 2019 spark a lot of excellent conversation 
Erin Whitteck (Chemistry/Learning Innovation Specialist, Missouri-St. Louis) presents successes and trials experienced using FLAMEnet interventions over the 2018-2019 school year during FLAMEnet 2019 
Attendees brainstorm during breakout groups at the FLAMEnet 2019 workshop 
It’s exciting to see how much FLAMEnet has grown as we gather for the opening of FLAMEnet 2019. 
A panel of FLAMEnet members who implemented interventions during 2018-2019 offer feedback and answer questions at FLAMEnet 2019 From left to right: Moderator, Jen Heemstra (Chemistry, Emory); Omar Villanueva (Chemistry, Georgia Gwinnett College); Mary Beth Anzovino (Chemistry, Georgia Gwinnett College); Jordan Gerton (Physics, U of Utah); Erin Whitteck (Chemistry, Missouri-St. Louis); Joe Harsh (Biology, James Madison); Lou Charkoudian (Chemistry, Haverford College) 
Mays Imad (Life & Physical Science, Pima Community College) leads a round table on critical thinking at the 2019 meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER). 
I present work validating FLAMEnet instruments at 2019 annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) 
Joseph Harsh (Biology, James Madison) presents at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) on behalf of himself and Lisa Corwin (Biology, CU-Boulder) 
FLAMEnet representation at the 2018 annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER). From left to right and back to front: Joseph Harsh (Biology, James Madison); Lisa Corwin (Biology, CU Boulder); Meredith Henry (Psychology/STEM Education, Emory); Lisa Limeri (Biology Education; University of Georgia); Shayla Shorter (Immunology/STEM Education; Emory) 
Our founding group of 13 kicks off FLAMEnet 2018! 
Jen Heemstra (Chemistry, Emory) explains the purpose of FLAMEnet and our general organization at FLAMEnet 2018 
Lisa Corwin (Biology, CU Boulder) explains the Carousel Graffiti activity to generate ideas of which types of interventions we should aim to create at FLAMEnet 2018 
Shayla Shorter (FLAMEnet postdoc) describes best practices in educational intervention design at the FLAMEnet 2018 workshop 
FLAMEnet 2018 attendees are really engaged in the intervention planning Carousel Graffiti facilitated by Lisa Corwin (Biology, CU Boulder) 
Lou Charkoudian (Chemistry, Haverford College) presents an example of a mindset-based educational intervention at the FLAMEnet 2018 workshop 
Results of a fruitful Carousel Graffiti session as we narrow in on what our first interventions should look like at FLAMEnet 2018 
I explain various psychological factors, like fear of failure, that may affects undergraduates’ approaches to academic challenges and responses to failures at FLAMEnet 2018 
Celebrating a successful first day of FLAMEnet 2018 with our founding group! 
Name tags ready and waiting for our first FLAMEnet workshop! 
Model of FLAMEnet’s overall organization and main goals 
Jen Heemstra (Chemistry, Emory University) and I are invited to lead a professional development seminar based on FLAMEnet’s work on behalf of the Center for Teaching and Learning at GA Tech. 
Our FLAMEnet PI, Jen Heemstra (Chemistry, Emory University) receives the Leadership in Science award from Women in Chemistry at UPenn 
I present FLAMEnet work at the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology (NITOP), continuing to build bridges between psychologists, education researchers, and STEM instructors. 
Psychology undergrad Jenny Yu makes her research presentation debut at SETOP 2020. 
Chemistry graduate student Misael Romero-Reyes is excited to attend his first education/psychology-based conference. 
Revised FLAMEnet strategic goals 2020 and onward! 
Our three amazing FLAMEnet PI’s (from left to right) Lou Charkoudian (Chemistry, Haverford College), Jen Heemstra (Chemistry, Emory University), and Lisa Corwin (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado-Boulder) kick off an excellent FLAMEnet 2019 workshop
While in pursuit of these strategic goals, we will always strive to a) foster an inclusive, collaborative academic community, b) advance the scholarship of our members, and c) meet the needs of diverse students, instructors, and institutions.
FLAMEnet Research:
Henry, M. A., Shorter, S., Charkoudian, L. K., Heemstra, J. M., & Corwin, L. A. (2019). FAIL is not a four-letter word: A theoretical framework for exploring undergraduate students’ approaches to academic challenge and responses to failure in STEM learning environments. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 18(1), ar1-rm1.
Gerton, J., May, J., de Grandi, C., Corwin, l. A., & Shorter, S. (July, 2019). Exploring mindset and response to failure in reformed IPLS labs. Talk presented at the summer meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Provo, UT.
Henry, M. A., Shorter, S., Charkoudian, L. K., Heemstra, J. M., & Corwin, L. A. (July, 2019). Validating existing assessments of non-cognitive psychological and motivational frameworks for undergraduate STEM populations. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research, Minneapolis, MN.
Henry, M. A., Shorter, S., Charkoudian, L. K., Heemstra, J. M., & Corwin, L. A. (June, 2019). Creating and assessing classroom interventions to improve college-level STEM students’ approaches and reactions to challenges and failure. Poster presented at the Gordon Research Conference on Undergraduate Biology Education Research, Lewiston, ME.
Henry, M. A., Shorter, S., Charkoudian, L. K., Heemstra, J. M., & Corwin, L. A. (June, 2019). Creating and assessing classroom interventions to improve college-level STEM students’ approaches and reactions to challenges and failure. Talk presented at the Gordon Research Symposium on Undergraduate Biology Education Research, Lewiston, ME.
RCN UBE 1919953
Special thanks to all of the students and instructors who participate in our work!
Learn more:
Please visit the official FLAMEnet website or follow us on Twitter for more information and news from our network!
Meredith A. Henry, Ph.D. 