The Effect of Perceived Classroom Fear Tactics on STEM Students

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In today's education system fear is a common and complex problem found at all levels. It is unknown what effect fear has, specifically, on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math students) students at the college level. The objective of this study is to determine what students perceive as Fear Tactics and which specific Fear Tactics had a positive, motivating effect, versus a negative, demotivating, effect on the STEM students. The researchers performed semi‐structured interviews (n=51) using inductive coding to identify specific student perceived Fear Tactics and sorted them into three different categories on why the Fear Tactics worked: Motivation, Guidance, and Fear of Failure. The researchers identified three categories of positively motivating Fear Tactics (Motivating, Provided Guidance, and Addressed Fear of Failure) and three categories of negative Fear Tactics (Good luck passing, Amount of study time, and Heavily weighted assignments). Specific tactics such as “Good luck passing” were indicated by students to be a harmful tactic and “This is going to be hard/this is serious” were indicated by students to be a helpful tactic. By accumulating a specific list of harmful Fear Tactics we can help eliminate these tactics in the classroom and replace them with positive tactics to help create a positive learning environment with the goal of reducing attrition in STEM fields.