- Year 2024
- NSF Noyce Award # 1758478
- First Name Zachary
- Last Name Cue
- Institution UCLA Science Project
- Role/Position Lecturer & Science Coach
- Proposal Type Workshop
- 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
Goals
The workshop will provide intentional space and opportunities for participants to: a) Develop empathy through the exploration of historical events that have accumulated generational mistrust of STEM communities; b) Acknowledge and validate students’ personal experiences even when it might be divergent from our own personal experiences or larger data sets; and c) Explore the impact of the objectivity myth perpetuated within STEM educational spaces
Evidence
The disparity in academic achievement between racial/ethnic minority and white students has been a significant issue within the United States educational system. In particular, the opportunity and achievement gaps between Black students and their counterparts of other racial/ethnic identities, including white students, have been historically persistent at every scale that we examine Black students’ achievement in school (Howard, 2010; Li & Hasan, 2010; Logan et al., 2012). While Black students are not the only student demographic to experience the inequities that might be influencing the disparities in achievement, unfortunately, their data continues to be amongst the lowest. Nevertheless, all students, particularly Black students, deserve to learn in educational spaces that are inclusive of their personal and lived experiences.Therefore, at the UCLA Science Project, we continually reflect on our positionalities (e.g., race, gender, orientation, and experience) and how they influence our interactions with each other, students, teachers and other members within the school community. Our goal is to provide a safe space for all to dialogue and discuss the topics of equity and social justice in science communities as a foundation for creating safe and inclusive science classrooms for all students (Rutledge, 2011). So we intentionally offer professional learning around teaching that affirms teachers’ and students’ cultural and linguistic identities. ‘Culturally relevant’ and ‘culturally responsive’ are two common terms used to describe pedagogical approaches aimed at accomplishing that.In defining culturally relevant teaching, Ladson-Billings (1995) frames three tenets: 1) High expectations for academic success; 2) Fostering a positive cultural identity; and 3) Establishing a critical consciousness to critique social inequities. Similarly, Gay (2018) describes culturally responsive teaching as validating, inclusive, transformative, and humanizing, all of which are anchored to four practices: a) teacher attitudes and expectations, b) cultural communication in the classroom, c) culturally diverse content in the curriculum, and d) culturally congruent instructional strategies. Additionally, Hammond (2015) urges that culturally responsive teaching is a way of thinking and being; teachers immerse themselves in persistent reflection on the barriers that might impede their constructive response to students. However, as Gay (2018) points out, an understanding of culturally responsive practices alone can not resolve the disparities in achievement for marginalized students. Indeed, much of the research around culturally relevant and responsive teaching urges educators to espouse these pedagogies to dismantle the threads of racism and anti-blackness that pervade the United States educational system, starting with their own classrooms and school communities. Unfortunately, there exists a tension between attuning STEM lessons to culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy and aligning with standards for content learning. Fortunately, approaches to three-dimensional science learning, such as storylining (Ambitious Science Teaching, 2018), afford opportunities for teachers to balance affirming their students’ cultural identities with meeting the content standards (e.g., Next Generation Science Standards).
Proposal
In this session, we will continue to reach the goal of Science for All outlined in the K12 National Framework. Participants will engage in learning and dialogue about historical injustices that have contributed to a collective mistrust of STEM within marginalized communities, particularly within the health and science fields. Participants will explore narratives and primary sources as well as summary data representations to uncover patterns of abuses within various STEM disciplines. These abuses and injustices continue to have negative consequences for many communities, especially those who identify as LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and women. Participants will receive a sample lesson helping them to include these experiences, beliefs, and topics in their instructional practices.
