In 2021, leading scholars of antiracism in education, science, and public health joined forces with LabXchange to launch the Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Science Education (RDEISE) project. An interdisciplinary collaboration to advance education about racial equity in healthcare and STEM fields, the project set out to develop curricular materials grouped into two learning clusters: “Racism as a Public Health Crisis,” and “Advancing Equity in STEM Through Inclusive Teaching.”
After the first cluster went live earlier this year, LabXchange has now begun publishing the first learning sequences—or "pathways"—that will ultimately compose the full “Advancing Equity in STEM Through Inclusive Teaching'' cluster. Click through to explore the new pathways as they are released:
How does systemic racism affect the experiences of Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous learners in STEM classrooms? Let’s look at how systemic racism works at a societal level, and how different forms of racism become embedded in our educational institutions. Racism creates barriers to learning for Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous students in STEM, but there are strategies that institutions can implement to raise awareness of these issues and address them.
What kinds of barriers do Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous students face in STEM classrooms? First, we’ll review the concepts of stereotype threat, bias, and microaggressions. We’ll explore how educators can be more aware of these phenomena in their teaching practices, and implement strategies to mitigate their impact on racially diverse students.
What approaches can educators take in their teaching and their classrooms to create a more inclusive learning environment? Let’s review the characteristics of an inclusive classroom and explore how inclusive classroom strategies can promote more effective learning in STEM education—particularly for racially marginalized learners.
What factors help racially marginalized learners to overcome systemic barriers and persist in STEM? We’ll review the concept of persistence and explore some of the characteristics, such as science identity and self-efficacy, that promote persistence. The pathway also presents teaching strategies and approaches that educators can use to help instill these characteristics in their learners.
Let’s look at the different mindsets educators can bring with them into the classroom. In particular, we’ll consider growth mindset and metacognitive approaches to teaching and discuss how these approaches create a more effective learning environment for racially marginalized learners in STEM.
What strategies can educators use to teach groups of learners from diverse cultural backgrounds in more effective and inclusive ways? Culturally relevant pedagogy is one approach. We’ll take a look at the benefits of applying culturally relevant teaching strategies in STEM classrooms.
How can educators work to address systemic racism in their teaching contexts? Let’s explore the different strategies individual educators can use to combat systemic racism in their places of work. We’ll also look at how to be an effective ally to Black colleagues, support diversity and representation in staffing, and approach instances of institutional racism when they arise in STEM educational contexts.
For educators, the assets in this cluster can be remixed into your own learning pathways, and used as part of a standard science curriculum. We want to challenge the perception that science is independent of social issues, and foster an interdisciplinary approach to understanding these issues that affect so many learners.
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with the RDEISE project in 2024!
.svg)
.svg)
