The Influence of Motivational Climate on Students’ Learning and Motivation in College STEM Lab Courses

Abstract Recruiting and retaining science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college students is essential given the rising demand for professionals in these fields. Motivational climates in STEM labs, specifically caring and task-involving environments, may positively impact students’ college experiences. This study investigated whether perceptions of the motivational climate in biology labs impacted factors including students’ eagerness to attend lab, excitement for their major, preparation for future courses, belief in instructor support, and peer relationships. A total of 894 students completed end-of-semester surveys measuring their perceptions of their biology lab motivational climate and learner-related motivational outcomes. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare caring versus non-caring and task-involving versus non-task-involving lab climates at individual and group levels. Most students reported moderately high caring and high task-involving climates and neutral adaptive learning responses. Individually, students perceiving both a caring and task-involving climate scored significantly higher across all outcomes. When grouped by section, outcome variables showed higher trends and some significant differences for the caring and task-involving groups. Findings highlight that perceptions of a caring, task-involving lab climate may enhance students’ learning experiences, potentially improving retention and graduation rates. Instructors play a pivotal role in fostering such climates, which can enhance STEM educational outcomes.