- Year 2023
- NSF Noyce Award # 1852889
- First Name Nicholas
- Last Name Collins
- Institution Georgia State University
- Role/Position Noyce Fellow
- Workshop Category Track 2: Teaching Fellowships
- Workshop Disciplines Audience STEM Education (general)
- Target Audience Noyce Master Teachers, Noyce Teaching Fellows, Undergraduate and/or Graduate Noyce Scholars
- Topics Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Resources for Teachers, STEM Content Area and/or Convergent Description Skills Development
- Session Length 45 minutes minutes
Goals
Goals are to (1) define “asset perspective” in the context of STEM education to reflect on and refine instructional practices, (2) identify strategies that build student capacity and enhance students’ ability to “S.E.A.” (skills, efficacy, and advocacy) themselves, and (3) discuss instructional strategies that will enhance student engagement in Science classrooms and improve standardized test scores.
Evidence
This presentation is supported by performance data from the statewide Biology End-of-Course assessment. A change and commitment to the classroom strategies identified in this session surrounding “asset perspective” led to double digit gains in Biology test scores from SY21-22 to SY22-23 in an urban classroom comprised of 97% Black students with a schoolwide economically disadvantaged rating of 63%. This work is also supported by the abolitionist teaching framework developed by Dr. Bettina Love and her detailed account of teaching in her book “We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom.”
Proposal
Addressing the needs of students and high-stakes testing are concerns for educators everywhere. Above S.E.A. Level: Conquering the Deficit Perspective and Increasing Student Achievement is about reimagining classrooms in the face of mental health challenges, the ever-changing learning environment, and the stresses of education from school-based and district leadership. This session emphasizes how educators view students’ ability to improve their own Skills, Efficacy, and Achievement in engaging with STEAM education and accessing STEAM-related opportunities and reflecting on the expectations educators have set for their students. In creating an environment where scholars are challenged and supported through STEAM education, educators cancel the notions that “students can’t” and “students won’t,” which often goes beyond what educators can “SEA.” This session will uncover the impacts that conquering the deficit perspective has on making learning accessible for all students, setting high expectations for students, and student achievement outcomes on standardized testing.
