RISE Center webinar series: How to make undergraduate science more inclusive for students with depression and students with disabilities

Tasneem Mohammed: The process of conducting research has been shown to impact depression among undergraduate and graduate students in the sciences. While prior work has established that experiencing failure, negative social interactions, and insufficient guidance in research experiences can exacerbate students’ depressive symptoms, why these stressors in research worsen depressive symptoms has not been examined. We found that the Hopelessness Theory of Depression helps explain why particular stressors in research can lead to worsening symptoms of depression among undergraduate and graduate researchers. This work serves as a proof of concept for the Hopelessness Theory of Depression in the context of U.S. undergraduate and graduate scientific research experiences.

Poorvi Datta: Retention of students with disabilities (SWD) in STEM majors remains a critical equity issue. This talk will share findings from interviews with 25 SWD in STEM majors, exploring how captions in recorded lectures—both automatic and edited—impact accessibility and learning outcomes. While captions can provide multimodal support and fill gaps in knowledge for SWD, errors in automatic captions often create unique barriers, particularly for technical jargon. Edited captions were overwhelmingly preferred by students as a tool to reduce anxiety, improve perceived retention, and provide equitable access to course content. This talk will conclude with recommendations for implementing effective captioning practices to create more inclusive and supportive STEM learning environments.

In partnership with the School of Life Sciences (SOLS).