Workshop Program

9:00-9:30 AM Coffee and Registration

9:30-9:45 AM Overview of Day and Introductions

Promoting a Sense of Belonging

9:45-10:15 AM Building trust, growth mindset, and spotlights on diverse scientists

How can students learn when they feel they fundamentally differ from those who do scientific research? How can students succeed when they believe the instructor lacks faith in them? How can we help students who feel they will always do poorly in science classes? In this session we will review methods that will help all students feel comfortable and confident in the classroom.

10:15-11:00 AM Process/Concept maps and student teaching

How can we get students to deduce the true complexity and interconnections of nature? How can we demonstrate to students that they can think like scientific researchers? We will explore the method of process/concept mapping that can allow students to see connections between concepts, make scientific predictions, appreciate the complexity of nature, and be creative.

Saundra Yancey McGuire, author of Teach Students How to Learn, the definitive text on metacognition, emphasized the importance of students gaining practice in explaining concepts out loud, even if no one else is around. This approach of the student teaching concepts to another student, a child, or even a fish can dramatically improve student understanding and recall of scientific content. We will explore ideas for enticing students to engage in this beneficial practice.

11:00-11:15 AM Break

11:15 AM-12 PM Inclusiveness, fairness, and equity in the classroom

Unstructured learning environments can lead to feelings of exclusion. How can we cultivate equitable classroom environments? Attendees will participate in a brief activity that will highlight the equity of range of student entering our classrooms.

12:00-12:45 PM LUNCH

Sharing Classroom Activities and Strategies that Promote a Sense of Belonging

12:45-1:45 PM Participants share and discuss methods and ideas

We will have a round-robin sharing of activities by workshop participants of activities or strategies used in their classrooms that provide students with a sense of belonging.