STEM identity, a disciplinary identity that reflects an individual's self-understanding in connection with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), impacts students ' integration into and retention within STEM fields. This study aimed to develop a STEM identity model, called the BioCheM-ID, to measure STEM identity across biology, chemistry, and mathematics among students enrolled in an introductory-level biology course at a large post-secondary public institution in Texas, United States. The study explored how student-centered factors, such as gender, race, student major, and pre-college informal STEM learning experiences, influence STEM identity. Additionally, the study investigated the relationships between students' educational aspirations, expectations, and STEM identity, and the connections between STEM identity and how undergraduates process, use, and interpret the slope-intercept concept of a simple linear graph (y = mx + b). The BioCheM-ID model comprised five latent factors: biology perceived competence and interest, chemistry perceived competence and interest, mathematics perceived competence and interest, biology and chemistry beliefs, and mathematics beliefs. Students' major and pre-college informal STEM learning experiences, particularly mentoring and tutoring, were significant factors of STEM identity. Positive correlations were observed between educational aspirations, expectations, and STEM identity. Students with high STEM identities demonstrated proficiency in providing productive responses regarding the slope-intercept concept of a simple linear graph, showcasing high graphical literacy.

A carefully constructed set of 16 graphical tasks related to key biochemistry concepts was designed and administered to a group of 82 students in their final year of B.Sc. study. The test mean score of 48,3% ( 12,1) was low and characterised by gender and ethnic differences. There was a moderate linear relationship between biochemistry grades obtained by the students over two years of study and their graphical literacy (r = 0,433). The majority of the students exhibited slope/height confusion and only seven students (8,5%) were able to answer the two items corresponding to Kimura‘s Level F, the most complex and difficult level of graphical literacy. Eye tracking data gave valuable insights into different strategies used by students while interpreting graphs and is a valuable tool for assessing graphical literacy. These findings confirmed other studies where researchers have found a widespread lack of graph comprehension among biological science students. / Institute of Science and Technology Education / M. Sc. (Science Education)

A carefully constructed set of 16 graphical tasks related to key biochemistry concepts was designed and administered to a group of 82 students in their final year of B.Sc. study. The test mean score of 48,3% ( 12,1) was low and characterised by gender and ethnic differences. There was a moderate linear relationship between biochemistry grades obtained by the students over two years of study and their graphical literacy (r = 0,433). The majority of the students exhibited slope/height confusion and only seven students (8,5%) were able to answer the two items corresponding to Kimura‘s Level F, the most complex and difficult level of graphical literacy. Eye tracking data gave valuable insights into different strategies used by students while interpreting graphs and is a valuable tool for assessing graphical literacy. These findings confirmed other studies where researchers have found a widespread lack of graph comprehension among biological science students. / Institute of Science and Technology Education / M. Sc. (Science Education)