Post 2 - Whole Group Discussion

Briefly share one new thing you learned, one insight, or a key finding from your exploration of one of the resources listed in Task 2 or 3. Your post should be written for others who might not have read or viewed that resource - it would be helpful if you could include the resource or the topic at the beginning of your post.


« Activity 7 Discussions

Post 2 - Whole Group Discussion  

One thing I would like to try is the SELF AFFIRMATION exercise at the beginning and maybe end of class. I have to get students to think about themselves, WHY they are in this class and get their values on paper-- that way they will approach the class with their values in mind. If a student hands in crummy work I say to myself, you wouldn't hand this to your employer? Why are you handing in this??? This may get students to keep their values in mind in class.
Another thing I HAVE to do better at is getting the real world situations (which are very applicable to geology) and cultural relations of geoscience into my course. Maybe also incorporate service learning.

14265:43541

Share edittextuser=9712 post_id=43541 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

This post was edited by Scott Mandia on Mar, 2020
Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students
Corinne A. Moss-Racusina, John F. Dovidio , Victoria L. Brescoll , Mark J. Grahama, and Jo Handelsmana

This paper highlights the problem of gender bias displayed by faculty toward female students. The bias is not just from male faculty. Both male and female faculty have a similar bias against female students who have identical applications for a lab manager position. The study was double-blind so gender was unknown to those reviewing applicants and to the researchers conducting the study.

I am not surprised there is gender bias because I see it all the time. What did surprise me was that female faculty were just as biased as male faculty toward female applicants. I was also surprised to learn that because scientists are trained to be so objective, they may actually fall victim to bias more often because they are less on guard for it believing they are so objective.

There were four hypothesis tested:

1) Male students would be viewed as having higher competence and hirability, should be granted higher salaries, and faculty would be more willing to mentor.
2) Faculty gender would not influence (1) above
3) Females would be offered fewer jobs due to the faculty member’s implicit bias that women are less competent
4) Implicit bias against women would negatively impact chances of women getting the job but male implicit bias would not.

All four hypotheses were supported by the data. There were no obvious overt attempts to diminish a woman’s chances but that these results were more likely due to widespread cultural stereotypes. Because of this, the strong push for more women entering STEM fields may not result in more women being hired in STEM careers post-graduation.

To summarize: This really sucks. So unfair.

14265:43542

Share edittextuser=46736 post_id=43542 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

WHY IS CLASSROOM CLIMATE IMPORTANT?

The climate in a given classroom (i.e. the social and emotional dynamics) can influence student performance, as climate:
-Regulates the circulation and construction of knowledge
-Engenders emotions that impact learning
-Can channel energies away from learning or toward it
-Impacts student persistence

Several strategies were offered to help in developing a classroom climate that fosters diversity, inclusion, and equity. The following are some of the strategies that I found particularly interesting and would like to try and incorporate in my own classroom:
-With regards to class discussions, they suggest establishing guidelines for interactions among students and not allowing one individual to speak for the group. While I currently include a section in my syllabus for discussion etiquette, I have found myself allowing one person to be the voice of their group. In the future, I would like to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity for their voices to be heard.
-Illustrate concepts with diverse examples: I think it would be a great idea to do a "Scientist Spotlight" during my lectures to highlight the work and accomplishments of URM that have made significant contributions to the topics we are covering.

14265:43545

Share edittextuser=137819 post_id=43545 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

"LGBT+ Climate in Physics"

1. Ensure a safe and welcoming environment at APS meetings.
2. Address the need to systematically accommodate name changes in publication records.
3. Develop advocacy efforts that support LGBT+ equity and inclusion.
4. Promote LGBT+-inclusive practices in academia, national labs, and industry.
5. Implement LGBT+-inclusive mentoring programs.
6. Support the establishment of a Forum on Diversity and Inclusion.

Many students, and also work colleagues, feel threatened because they cannot be who they really are for fear of retaliation and harassment. It is important to foster a community of respect and self-assurance.

The biggest takeaway for me is #4 - promoting LGBT+ inclusive practices in academia, national labs, and industry. In many states, it is still LEGAL to fire someone based on one's sexual orientation and gender identity. So, reaching out and standing up for students, work colleagues, and the like is vital for a healthy, stable, and friendly environment for everyone. In the future, a major insight could be to establish a task force at my college to ensure there is representation in the science department for LGBT+ people (for instructors and students).

14265:43548

Share edittextuser=112367 post_id=43548 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

In many states, it is still LEGAL to fire someone based on one's sexual orientation and gender identity.

It is a shame that this country has not progressed nearly as much as I had hoped. The great news is that I find the current generation of students "get it" and they will shape the future.

14265:43550

Share edittextuser=46736 post_id=43550 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

This post was edited by Melanie Will-Cole on Mar, 2020
M. Will-Cole (CNM) post #2 on learning/key finding from task 2 or 3:

I read the articles on gender bias. I especially liked the article “Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students” as it presented the details and experimental methods used in their study. The articles focused on an experiment whereby science faculty were asked to evaluate credentials for the hiring for a lab technician position from equally qualified undergraduate male and female student applicants. The results demonstrated that science faculty members rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hirable than the female applicant. The results showed that the selection committee also designated a higher starting salary and offered more career mentoring to the male applicant vs. the female applicant. The study determined that the hiring selectivity of the male applicant over the female applicant was not due to a conscious hostility towards women by the hiring committee, but instead due to their implicit bias or cultural stereotypes suggestive of women’s lack of science competence.

I was not surprised that the hiring committee selected the male applicant for the lab manager position, nor was I surprised that they gaged the male applicant to be worth a higher salary and to be a more meritable time investment (i.e. worth their mentorship-time) than the female applicant. You see, during my many years as a senior research scientist in a prominent government research lab I have not only witness such actions but I have experienced them. For example, when I was hired I was offered a lower salary than my equivalent (same education and research experience) male scientist counterparts. Another notable citation occurred when a female post doc, who had worked in my colleague’s lab for several years hence had a proven track record for success in research, was applying for a job in our lab. At that time a recent PhD (a male in the same field as this female post doc, i.e., materials physics) was in the application pool. Although both applicants were offered research positions, the female post doc received a significantly lower salary offer. The hiring committee (all males) did not discuss the reasons for the salary differential, hence I attributed their actions as “blatant unfairness” towards females in the physical sciences and engineering disciplines, after all there were so few of us in the lab.

What I found most interesting when comparing my personal experiences with those of this article’s research study was the composition of the hiring committee. In my experiences the hiring committee's were composed of 5-7 white middle aged males with expertise in physics and electrical engineering while those in the research study were a more diverse set of individuals (i.e. included male and female faculty, across an array of age groups with expertise in a variety of fields to include biology, chemistry and physics). As I stated above, my initial thoughts with respect to my personal experiences were that management-level male physical scientists/electrical engineers simply do not desire women in the physical science/engineering disciplines and I believed them to be consciously unfair/hostile towards women scientists applying for jobs within our lab. After reading the article what I learned is that such situations/outcomes are largely due to implicit bias, hence not expressed by specifics such as gender, age group or scientific expertise, instead the culprit, which is suggestive of women’s lack of science competence, is our cultural stereotypes. After reading the article I reflected on how societal views have been in-grained in us, suggesting that men are clearly better at the physical sciences than women. Whether it be that our culture views women as having less of an aptitude for math and science than men or whether our culture perceives women as preferring the non-science “easier” disciplines really does not matter. What matters is that we need to mitigate these cultural stereotypes.

After reading these articles the question to be raised is: “Are these implicit biases affecting the attraction and retention of women in the physical science and engineering fields?”. If, as shown in this study, that the college faculty participants indeed possessed and acted on their implicit biases then how can we be sure that female students are treated fairly by their instructors in their college-level STEM classes. Unfair treatment usually causes individuals to remove themselves from such biased situations, in this instance, abandoning the STEM disciplines. I fear that until we suppress these stereotypes many women will indeed be treated unfairly throughout their educational science experiences and they will ultimately “opt out” of the STEM fields. Although this treatment is not intentional or mean spirited, the result is still caustic in the sense that the Leakey STEM pipeline will continue to remove women from STEM undergraduate and graduate educational commmunities and ultimately from STEM careers. It is not easy to remove cultural stereotypes, perhaps education is the first step, then comes corrective practice, more corrective practice, more corrective practice…….and then hopefully a positive outcome for women in STEM.

14265:43552

Share edittextuser=44378 post_id=43552 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Since several already summarized the gender bias article (and very nicely, I may add...I agree with all points made), I will summarize and react to the Classroom Climate link in Task 2.

Why is classroom climate important? It affects how students learn material, how they can feel positively about what they have learned and accomplished in the classroom, how comfortable they are in engaging other students and the instructor as they learn, and how they persist in the course amidst any difficulties they may have. There was also a list of inclusive teaching strategies presented, including setting clear expectations in a course, not asking one student to represent an entire group, acknowledging conflict when it arises, making content that aligns with a diversity of learners, illustrating concepts with multiple and diverse examples, promoting a growth mindset and including a diversity statement on syllabae.

One new thing I learned from reading this is why illustrating concepts with multiple and diverse examples is important. I feel like I have not considered this as much in my teaching, and see how doing so can better connect with all of my students. I will consider from here on in.

One other note---to respond to Robby, I am proud that the AACC science department has several outstanding LBGT+ faculty, but much does need to be done for them to be fully comfortable on campus, as I have observed instances of utter disrespect and callous behavior, and I agree that a task force for the entire campus is important to establish for both faculty and students in this group.

14265:43554

Share edittextuser=23788 post_id=43554 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Why is classroom climate important?, a resource from the Carnegie Mellon University Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning Innovation that includes links to strategies for inclusive teaching

This resource discusses the role we play as instructors in facilitating student learning by making the classroom an inclusive environment: “…in an inclusive climate all students are more likely to volunteer different perspectives and thus enrich discussions; conversely, if some students or groups feel that their contributions are not as valued as those of others, they will withdraw from the conversation.”

One new thing I learned (and plan to incorporate in my courses) is to include students in establishing guidelines for interaction on the first day of class. The article encourages the instructor to “ask the students to think about the best and worst group discussions they have been a part of and reflect on what made the discussions so satisfying or unsatisfying”. After their reflection, the students generate a list of guidelines for adding structure to discussion and set the tone for how to talk to each other. The list is eventually officially added to the syllabus and/or course site. By making this process more student-driven and transparent, I think the students will be more willing to encourage and learn from each other, help them consider new points of view, and prevent conflict.

14265:43558

Share edittextuser=129206 post_id=43558 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

This post was edited by Miguel Vasquez on Mar, 2020
How Diversity Makes Us Smarter

This article was a remarkable finding as diversity has always been a direction we are working towards when it comes to equity and inclusion, but the fact that scientific data has shown that diversity can also make working groups smarter and more innovative is something I didn't expect. Although it does make sense that a group of diverse backgrounds and experiences can come up with more innovative solutions and are better prepared and more willing to accept alternative approaches as well. Reaching a consensus in a homogeneous group may come easier, however, those in a diverse group expect to make more of an effort in order to reach a common consensus and for that reason more thought is put into each decision. Homogeneous groups are less likely to catch an issue that may be pointed out by someone from a completely different background.

14265:43559

Share edittextuser=46688 post_id=43559 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

One new idea I learned was about multicontext theory and context diversity from the webinar (https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/workshops/webinars/2018_2019/beyond_teach... ). The theory compares low context to high context patterns of thinking and knowing such as being task oriented rather than process oriented. The dominant culture uses low context forms of communication and learning modalities such as individual work, logical reasoning, and direct communication. A high context environment would use stories as part of the communication process, concept mapping as a way to understand themes (rather than a linear pattern), and group work. Decades ago, I worked with diversity training and portions of this model were shared such as different cultural norms about verbal and non-verbal communication. However, I was not aware of an integrated model like this at that time. I appreciate the specific statements that compared low and high context examples from an institutional level. The context diversity matrix offers examples at more of the personal and classroom level. As a person who tends to be more task oriented and one who chose a career in the sciences, there is quite a bit of reflection here. At our school, we discuss the non-systemically dominant culture and this is the best resource I have seen to capture what that means on a variety of levels. Although my classes have a variety of group activities, they are still task driven. I will intentionally need to incorporate different ways of learning and demonstrating understanding based on this model. Thank you for sharing it.

14265:43560

Share edittextuser=138539 post_id=43560 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

In searching for articles relating equity and inclusion to chemistry (VERY brief search) I came across this article

http://teach.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ARP_DiversityInclusionCultura...

Literature Overview:Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Awareness for Classroom and Outreach Education

A lot of the material presented was similar to what had already been presented, however one paragraph in particular stood out to me. Specifically, it spoke about engaging students in interdependent group activities ("jigsaw") in which each member of the group has a piece of information that one or more of the other members need to complete the task. I thought this might be a great idea even for a mathematical type problem, where one person knows the concentration, another knows the values of the constant, etc. Just another way to get more voices in the room.

14265:43562

Share edittextuser=135881 post_id=43562 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I reviewed the article titled "Science faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students". This has already been well summarized by previous posts, so I won't go into any details. I was surprised this piece of research found that both male and female faculty had a preferential bias toward male applicants. Prior to reading this I would have assumed female faculty would not be negatively biased toward female students. We certainly have a long way to go.

On a related note, I have noticed most of my post baccalaureate degree students enrolled in my geospatial technology certificate program are female. This could be a symptom, or result, of preferential hiring of men over women in the workforce. Female graduates may find the need to continue to strengthen their credentials in order to give themselves a competitive advantage over their male counterparts. This is completely speculative on my part as this program has only been around for three years with small student numbers. Even though it is a band aid to a greater problem, perhaps community colleges can increase post baccalaureate opportunities to promote competitive advantages of women in the workforce. Just a thought.

14265:43566

Share edittextuser=137814 post_id=43566 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Attract diverse students to STEM (WEBPAGE), How Diversity makes us smarter (ARTICLE), and Context Diversity (VIDEO)

I found the materials very interesting and relatable. It is always fascinating to see how students and faculty bring their cultural uniqueness to the table when they collaborate. Of course our culture is part of who we are and how we see the world and it will always be embedded into our personality but as the sciences move more towards inclusivity, environmental justice and service learning to name a few initiatives, it becomes more important to recognize these differences and draw from our unique strengths to connect with each other and the communities we serve. Diversity is important to the growth of the individual and the institution but also to the growth and success of the scientific growth and acceptance in our communities. This must occur not as an assimilation that diminishes the cultural value of different perspectives and ideas but as a holistic approach that is open to new ways of working and communication and ultimately creating and understanding.

14265:43567

Share edittextuser=8999 post_id=43567 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

As a number of our students are first generation, I read: Strategies for First-Generation Student Success. https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/firstgen/index.html?
The first part of the resource talks about building career connections into course topics. Basically saying that first generation students are more likely to be looking toward their future career rather than just talking a class to take it. They are wanting to see how these topics would pertain to financial stability and a future job. It also explains that first generation students are looking for validation- a feeling of belonging and Self-efficiency- the feeling of they are doing it correctly. They also are not well practiced in how to learn or meta cognition techniques. Ways we can help is to develop cultural competency, help them build a sense of community, and help them to mitigate the impacts of stereotype threats and solo status, and be aware of English language learners struggles.

14265:43569

Share edittextuser=51888 post_id=43569 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

It is very important to create a supportive classroom environment. Without such an environment the learning process cannot be fully accomplished. All students need to feel their opinion is important, so they feel confident in sharing their opinions. Students should not view the classroom as a place where they can get ridiculed for expressing their opinion or asking a question. The classroom should be considered an inclusive environment where ideas and opinions can be shared freely.

14265:43576

Share edittextuser=122556 post_id=43576 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I am responding to the article called Why is classroom climate important?, a resource from the Carnegie Mellon University Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning Innovation that includes links to strategies for inclusive teaching.

From reading the various strategies provided by this article I found two quick and easy changes I will implement in my classes this spring.

1. A diversity statement in my syllabus which will show explicitly that I am actively promoting an inclusive class environment. Before the students even interact with me they will be able to see that I value diversity and want to foster respect for all in my classroom. This is a very basic first step in an inclusive classroom.

2. That other strategy I plan to implement is the early feedback report at the end of week 2 or beginning of week 3 of my classes so students give feedback to me on how the class is being taught and how I might improve the class to help them succeed. This reading even had a sample sheet to work from as a template and some strategies on how to think about the responses and show students that I am hearing them and making changes where I can. Where I cannot make changes, I can at least let them know the thinking behind the methods. I usually get this kind of information at the end of a class which doesn't help the class that I just taught. Often students have good suggestions that I have implemented. One concern I have about doing this is that I will dwell too much on any negative feedback but hopefully I can focus on the trends and make some productive changes as this article suggests. I'm open to seeing how this works for me.

These are two simple take-aways that I can implement immediately.

14265:43577

Share edittextuser=138540 post_id=43577 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

How Diversity Makes Us Smarter

I really enjoyed this article because it paralleled the discussion I have with my students regarding "sexual reproduction: diversity really is the spice of life." We discuss how the evolutionary advantage of sexual reproduction is that there is a shuffling of alleles in the next generation that leads to better survival of the population. The same is apparently true of groups attempting to solve a problem or come to an understanding. While this inherently makes sense, I was surprised to read that people who work in diverse groups expect the differences of perspective to cause issues in solving the problem. While this may seem like an issue, it turns out that the expectation for conflict causes everyone in the group to prepare their perspectives on the issue in more detail and this leads to a better group discussion which can lead to better decision making. The diversity of ideas is truly a benefit towards decision making.

14265:43579

Share edittextuser=137828 post_id=43579 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Support First-Generation Students at Two-Year Colleges -> Who are First-Generation 2YC Students?

Hello & Good Day!

I found the article on the Support First-Generation Students to be enlightening to me. I had never really thought about the various challenges and potential obstacles of being a first-generation college student. Now that I think back to my previous classes, I see that many of my students were first-generation college students (a number of them I didn’t realize till I saw them right after their graduation ceremony, and they enthusiastically introduced me to their parents who were so beaming with pride of their son’s and/or daughter’s accomplishments!).

This has made me realize that I should include my personal situation to my students in class of being a first-generation college student, and on top of that a community college graduate. That is now part of one of the significant topics I need to include in my classes within the early portions of the course.

Thanks!
-Dan-

14265:43581

Share edittextuser=52284 post_id=43581 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

How diversity makes us smarter

This article for me is extremely valuable and it comes at a perfect time; I am an immigrant in a country that recently established an “office of denaturalization”, which, in turn, pretty much means that I’ll never have the same rights as an American Citizen:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-creates-section-dedicated-d...

It feels good to have another article that shows proof that having diversity in a team is beneficial. The article goes deeper than the obvious “people with different backgrounds bring new information”; it explains that a diverse group might face “discomfort, rougher interactions, a lack of trust, greater perceived interpersonal conflict, lower communication, less cohesion, more concern about disrespect, and other problems “, but it is proven that simply facing these challenges leads to creativity, better decision making, and problem solving.

So, yes, the Italian guy in this group speaks funny, “stole” an American job, is currently whining about denaturalization, and his ideas are not any better than anyone else’s, but they are diverse, which means that together we are more productive than a flawlessly homogeneous, conflict-free group of straight Caucasian males that speak perfect English.

14265:43584

Share edittextuser=137821 post_id=43584 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Originally Posted by Michelle Harris


As a number of our students are first generation, I read: Strategies for First-Generation Student Success. https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/firstgen/index.html?
The first part of the resource talks about building career connections into course topics. Basically saying that first generation students are more likely to be looking toward their future career rather than just talking a class to take it. They are wanting to see how these topics would pertain to financial stability and a future job. It also explains that first generation students are looking for validation- a feeling of belonging and Self-efficiency- the feeling of they are doing it correctly. They also are not well practiced in how to learn or meta cognition techniques. Ways we can help is to develop cultural competency, help them build a sense of community, and help them to mitigate the impacts of stereotype threats and solo status, and be aware of English language learners struggles.



This resource tracked with my experience of first-generation college students- often they are interested in classes that they can see leading to a specific career that they are familiar with. During the course of exploring this resource, I arrived at a section on supporting students with disabilities. This was of interest, because my first full time semester, I had a blind student take my class. It made me realize how much of the way I talk about science presupposes the ability to see. I had to think through more effective ways to describe things for this student.

https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/disabilities/index.html

There was a section on who the students with disabilities are (about 12% of the undergraduate enrollment in community colleges) and types of disabilities. There was also a section on faculty's legal obligations. This also included the distinction that in order to receive accommodations, students must disclose their disability to the college and be judged eligible. There was a section on the challenges students face, including physical, emotional, and hearing challenges. The final section was on how to design and adapt your instruction to make courses accessible. The blind student I mentioned earlier used a program that would read web pages to her, but some web pages didn't work with her reader. The accessibility section gave a links to tutorials on how to make lectures and webpages accessible.

14265:43585

Share edittextuser=65085 post_id=43585 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I read information about supporting students with disabilities at 2YCs, because that's one of the areas in which I think I have a lot of room to grow. I've been trying to incorporate accessible practices into my course materials, but clicking through that page and finding the Universal Design for Learning guidelines was pretty great--and the extension of them into the Inclusive Design for Learning guidelines. They're a set of ideas on how to make your materials more accessible, and I'm excited to think about how to modify my courses using the guidance.

http://theiagd.org/forums/topic/inclusive-design-for-learning-idl/

14265:43588

Share edittextuser=81317 post_id=43588 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I explored “Why is classroom climate important?” and looked over the InTeGrate resources on environmental justice. The web page on classroom climate included most of the ideas in the diversity and inclusion posters, and one takeaway for me is that courses should be infused with societally and culturally relevant topics—case studies and scientist spotlights again, which I mentioned in my other post—and multiple and diverse perspectives. These are why I was also interested in the environmental justice resources.

The InTeGrate module by Perez et al. “Environmental Justice and Freshwater Resources” introduces students to the water cycle and connects it to the basic need of all humans for equal access to clean freshwater. It also introduces students to environmental justice (EJ) as defined by the EPA: “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies”. The module is appropriate for introductory geoscience courses and may be completed in 2-3 weeks. Units include overviews of EJ, the water cycle and freshwater resources and units that present case studies on water availability (in Maui, on the lives of women in a number of countries, in the American Southwest) and hazardous waste pollution (Love Canal). The module works in a class that includes lecture as well as lab. The instructor stories about using the module in a variety of courses include a unit-by-unit breakdown of how it was taught. These stories convinced me that I could incorporate this module fairly easily into my introductory geology course (although some of the case study units might be omitted due to time restraints). It appears to be a well-written, -tested and engaging module, and I hope to use it myself.

14265:43590

Share edittextuser=11048 post_id=43590 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

The resources on Context Diversity/Multicontext Theory were useful in providing somewhat of an explanation for why URM struggle in certain course and settings in academia in general. "Low context" teaching and learning of academia (especially sciences) tend to be directed, individualized, task-oriented, linear, etc. "High context" teaching and learning tends to connect more with cultural norms for certain groups and include more process-oriented, holistic, collaborative practices. This conflict between the two tends to cause dissonance (as the resources described) that results in struggles for URM.

14265:43592

Share edittextuser=69051 post_id=43592 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

MULTICONTEXT PATH

Hello everyone!

There were so many resources available for this activity that I was overwhelmed and I had to set myself a limit as to how much time I spent perusing these resources! One resource that really resonated with me this week was the paper written by Weissmann, Ibarra, Howland-Davis, and Lammey (2019), "The multicontext path to redefining how we access and think about diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM." This paper can be found in the Task 3 options.

This paper outlined the concept of low-context and high-context academic cultures. Low-context academic cultures are those much like those adopted in the modern Western academic system, and includes such practices as linear thinking, unembellished and direct communication, and a focus on schedules and deadlines. High-context practices, as may be found in other cultures, include nonlinear thinking, embellishment in stories, and is less focused on deadlines. These are just a few characteristics of these academic cultures outlined in this paper. I found that the low-context academic culture practices show some striking similarities to the characteristics that have been described as those of a white supremacy culture. Here is an article listing and explaining these characteristics: https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture-characteris... . I think this makes sense, as the low-context academic culture has western European origins.

I have no idea at this moment how I will be able to infuse a combination of high-context and low-context practices in my courses, but I am committed to digging into these ideas and making some changes in my courses accordingly.

Thanks for reading!

-Michelle

14265:43596

Share edittextuser=25762 post_id=43596 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Classroom Climate Resource

I really resonated with the resource on classroom climate. In reviewing this resource, I was reminded that learning is fundamentally a social act. This makes perfect sense given our evolutionary history. Having literally become human in small groups, our ability to learn is affected by all sorts of group dynamics we might not even be explicitly aware of. What I appreciated about the classroom climate resource is that it laid out numerous, specific benefits to promoting a positive classroom environment, including (1) cultivating positive emotions among students--emotions that prime our brains for learning, and (2) the simple fact that we learn better in small groups than on our own. The resource also offered up a warning of sorts: that a negative classroom climate not only doesn't facilitate effective learning but actually inhibits it.

I'll end with a quick personal story...In my freshman year of college, I took a statistics class. The first day, the professor told us he was visiting from another institution, and that the only reason he was teaching the class is that none of his colleagues wanted to! Not exactly an opening statement that promoted a positive classroom climate. When I visited the professor during office hours to ask a question about a formula, he simply pointed me back to the formula, saying, "It's right there. What's not to understand?" I quit going to class after the first week, showed up for the final, and promptly earned an F in the course. Hmmm...I learned a couple of lessons from that experience, including that going to class matters (imagine that!) and that a negative classroom climate can indeed hinder learning.

14265:43597

Share edittextuser=51098 post_id=43597 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Class Climate

First, I would like to focus on "Climate can channel energies away from learning or toward it." In essence, this resources discusses creating a classroom climate that is welcoming to all students. If the classroom is not welcoming, it is likely/possible not all students will engage in the class activities, therefore hindering their learning of the course material. I have recognized not all students engage in course materials and have been attempting to improve the climate of my classroom. I wish to truly engage all students in my courses. At Yakima Valley College, we have been discussing inclusivity and diversity for a few years. One of the most recent division discussions was about personal pronouns; beginning by sharing your pronouns (as the faculty) and asking your students (in a survey only the faculty will see) to share their pronouns and ask whether or not the faculty can use their preferred pronouns in class.

Second, I would like to focus on "Climate impacts student persistence," with a personal experience. As an undergraduate, I was fascinated by tornadoes and had a career goal of a mesocyclone researcher. During my first term meteorology courses, I found that students and faculty treated me differently. Students (mostly male) wanted to copy my notes and faculty (male) discouraged me from research. My faculty advisors encouraged me to take the "broadcast route" for meteorology. Because of the lack of faculty support, I left the university after the term ended. This is just one way to look at how classroom climate can impact students education and career persistence.

14265:43600

Share edittextuser=33144 post_id=43600 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

One new thing that I learned was about the topic of “Context Diversity”. Gary Weismann and Roberto Ibarra explored the context diversity and its implications in higher education. Specifically, the authors focused on the impact of context diversity in inclusion of underrepresented minorities (women, ethnicity, veterans, etc.) in higher education. The authors explained how there are two different contexts that are associated with different cultures: low context in European races, and high context in other non-European races (Latin America, Afro American, Asian, etc.). These two contexts represent different and completely opposite perspectives about space, world understanding, physical contact, time perception, etc. The consequence of these two different types of contexts is that usually higher education institutions offer a more low context perception so minorities may feel not so identified and welcomed. After reading this information, I realized that one of my goals as instructor in a diverse classroom will be to practice multicontextual teaching, researching, and mentoring activities that are framed between low and high context perception so students will be able to experience all type of cultural circumstances.

14265:43602

Share edittextuser=137820 post_id=43602 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I read about "Mitigating the Impacts of Stereotype Threat and Solo Status". I admit, part of what made me curious about this article is that I didn't know what "solo status" meant. It refers to a situation in which the individual is the only representative of their community. Whether that is referring to sex, race, religion, etc., the individual tends to feel stress or pressure as if they alone are representing their entire community. That's such a burden to carry and I can imagine it would lead to issues in the classroom. Ways to mitigate solo status and stereotype threat include self-affirmations, in which the students free write about themselves, particularly about their own personal characteristics or strengths that they find valuable. I've actually heard about a version of this before. I read an article about an instructor who had their students write down everything that was causing them anxiety before they began an examination. Then they were to throw this paper away (symbolic of getting rid of stress) and the instructor found that this seemed to correlate with increased test scores, so it has been something I've wanted to try. I will admit that I like the idea of writing affirmations better though, thus focusing on the positive.

14265:43607

Share edittextuser=137829 post_id=43607 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I watched the webinar on Context Diversity by Gary Weissmann and Roberto Ibarra. Context diversity, and the idea of low vs high context learning is something I have been hearing about for awhile now, but have never received any formal training in or exposure to. 

After watching the webinar, I have a much better sense of how context diversity fits into higher education, and am now trying to analyze my own techniques through this lens. The realization I am coming to is that while my classroom is fairly multi-contextual (focus on interconnections between disciplines, emphasis on group activities, interactivity, place-based, etc.), my class itself is very low context (linear, scheduled, deadlines, direct communication, individual grades, etc). That seems like quite a disconnect, and so I'll be trying to think of ways to make the course structure itself more multi-contextual, rather than just focusing on changes to instructional techniques. 

14265:43614

Share edittextuser=21316 post_id=43614 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Hi Everyone,
I found my self gravitating towards materials about supporting 2YC students with disabilities. I already have an interest in this area because my son has autism, and the advisors at my campus tend to shuttle some to the more "difficult" students to me because they know I understand.

There is a page in the SAGE materials about making your course accessible (https://serc.carleton.edu/dev/sage2yc/disabilities/design.html) that includes a lot of great material. One thing we need to realize is that accessibility isn't just for students with disabilities. We ALL benefit from strategies that help those particular students. Captions on videos are so helpful that I usually leave the captioning on my own TV now. I do not have a hearing problem, but I still benefit from seeing the text. If I show a video in class, I automatically turn the captioning on.

There is also a great section about Universal Design and scaffolding the content so that students can benefit from taking in smaller chunks of content at a time. I have seen the benefits of this first hand in the redesign of some of my lab materials. In labs where some students would just give up in the past, they are at least making more significant attempts to so some of the chunks of content leading up to the more difficult parts. This is helping students to have some success even in topics that are a serious challenge for them. Seeing MASTERY of some part of the content seems to be important in helping them to keep trying on later sections. This was initially aimed at students with disabilities, but it is helpful to ALL of our students.

These kinds of strategies actually reduce some of the need for special accommodations, or at least makes the course accessible to students in a way that keeps them from needing additional accommodations. If everyone is getting the benefit of the accessibility strategies, no student has to feel like they are LESS able to "do science."

I use examples of different types of people who are scientists, and in that I also include those with disabilities. We all have strengths and weaknesses. It is important to find the strengths.

14265:43616

Share edittextuser=1053 post_id=43616 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Taking Equity-Minded Action to Close Equity Gaps

This article states that "equity-mindedness encompasses being (1) race conscious, (2) institutionally focused, (3) evidence based, (4) systemically aware, and (5) action oriented (Bensimon and Malcom 2012; Center for Urban Education; n.d.; Dowd and Bensimon 2015)".

As for equity-mindedness, I found it helpful to be reminded that although "both race- and class-based inequities in outcomes exist, and some students experience them in combination, they are not the same thing." In my experience, this makes it very difficult to compile data that shows that a provided resource is closing the gap. In reality, inequities are complicated and hard to isolate.

Racial and ethnic inequalities did not happen over night. Because the problem happened over many generations, we must understand that there are issues within the structures, policies, and practices that are currently in place.

"Rather than attribute inequities in outcomes to student deficits, being equity-minded involves interpreting inequitable outcomes as a signal that practices are not working as intended". So for example, instead of trying to motivate or create incentive for a disadvantaged group of students to use the tutoring center, take a closer look at the tutoring center and see if it is meeting the needs of all students.

When using evidence to understand the practice- and policy-related factors that contribute to inequalities, both quantitative, and qualitative data should be used.

There are times when using one's authority is required to implement change. It could be changes in policy, how courses are reviewed, hiring processes, etc.

14265:43618

Share edittextuser=137822 post_id=43618 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

How Diversity Makes Us Smarter

It was interesting to see that in companies where innovation is important, increased racial diversity leads to increased financial performance. And where women were included (gender diversity) companies had better than average performance. For groups that value innovation and new ideas, diversity helps.

It was also interesting where people of different political parties were told that their partner disagreed with them on something but that they had to come to an agreement. Well, the diversity of political opinion jolted people into "cognitive action" and helped people be better prepared for discussions. So relating this to science, diversity seems to lead to higher quality scientific research. And papers written by diverse groups of researchers receive more citations and have higher impact factors than papers written by people from a single ethnic group. This is amazing to learn about. Diversity works by promoting hard work and creativity, by encouraging the consideration of alternative ideas. even before any interpersonal interaction takes place. Fabulous to learn about these sorts of things that I never would have considered.

14265:43621

Share edittextuser=1197 post_id=43621 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

This post was edited by Tina Carrick on Mar, 2020
The paper "Science faculty's subtle gender bias favor male students" by Moss-Racusin et al....

What an interesting paper. To be honest I was taken back a bit. I agree with Scott, second post in the series: this really sucks!. He has done a great job laying out the situation/paper goal.

Briefly - Unknowingly, 127 faculty members were assigned a specific job application for the hiring of a lab manager position. The only difference between the application was the name: John or Jennifer.

Results - Although SUBTLE there was bias to hire the male - and keep in mind the job applications were identical except for the name. Another: salary....there was a higher salary range recommendations for the male.

I have mixed feelings. I am sure some will probably get a bit upset but I believe men are men and woman are woman. We are different. There will always be subtle differences. Are these subtle differences what impedes equality fro all?

All of this has been an eye opener. Almost unbelievable. I highly recommend the paper.

14265:43622

Share edittextuser=18318 post_id=43622 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Hi all, my apologies, this is not so "brief." I read the Physics Today article and PDF summary of the new report "The Time Is Now: Systemic Changes to Increase African Americans with Bachelor's Degrees in Physics and Astronomy," by the American Institute of Physics (AIP). The full report is 186 pages and its main recommendation is to read the full report. So I have work to do!

Here's a summary, and my synopsis of what this report means for my Change Agent work.

Summary:

- Need: African American students are earning a decreasing share of all physics degrees. This is a diversity crisis.
- Goal: By 2030, double the amount of physics and astronomy bachelor's degrees earned by African American students
- Strategies: 1) Change department cultures, by fostering a sense of belonging, physics identity, academic support, personal support, and leadership. 2) Provide direct financial support, by funding a million endowment. Endowment interest would be split in half. The first half would help departments develop the strategies they need to increase degree numbers. The other half would benefit African American students directly: 00 in unmet needs per year for 150 students. Why 150? That's how many more students would graduate with physics degrees annually if physics degree growth over the last 20 years at HBCUs matched other campuses.

What does this mean for me, a physics and astronomy teacher at Lane CC?

According to the other resources I explored in Task 2, I can use the principles of equity-mindedness and the concept of Context Diversity to improve the climate for African American students in my department and my classes. How?

1. Equity-mindedness means using data, and being action-oriented. For example, I can collect data about the numbers of African American students who have graduated in physics and astronomy classes in our department over the years. I can collect qualitative data about how welcoming the faculty and tutoring centers are to African American students, and collect quantitative data about the racial makeup of faculty and tutors compared to the student body. Then I can make concrete recommendations from these data (targeting recruitment of African American tutors, for example).

2. Equity-mindedness means raising awareness. I can share my findings with other faculty in my department, and also reach out across disciplines to understand how racial disparities in achievement do or do not affect physics and astronomy compared to other disciplines - that is, is there something unique to the approach of physics and astronomy that excludes African American students?

Context Diversity seems to be a very good tool for re-thinking how to teach physics and astronomy to diverse learners. Physics is an extremely structured (Low Context) discipline that values problem-solving over connection to people. How do I meet the needs of High Context or Multi-context learners (which includes many Latinx and African American students)? How do I build connections between people in classroom activities? How can I use more storytelling, culturally-relevant or locally-relevant examples to build more cultural and situational context into my curriculum? How do I highlight the attributes of systems instead of treating problems in isolation? (Example: a ball with mass M launched with initial velocity v0... low-context and I know for a fact my African American students were not interested in this problem, but a pitcher serving a fastball with mass M and initial velocity v0 was a much better hook!).

TL;DR:
In my own classes, my NP/Fail/Incomplete rate is higher for my African American students. To do my part, can I double the success rate (pass rate) of African American students in physics and astronomy classes at Lane CC, and especially in my own classes? Institutions often try to implement "best practices," but off-the-shelf solutions have not proven to work to increase the diversity of physics degree earners. Instead, we can become "best practitioners" by using data, increasing cultural awareness and race consciousness, finding (using evidence) specific, systemic institutional problems, and acting on them. I'd be interested to hear from others who are considering or have engaged in similar work.

14265:43629

Share edittextuser=137827 post_id=43629 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I looked at the InTeGrate module Environmental Justice in the Context of Sustainability

https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/themes/societal_justic...

I think the point I liked the best was the emphasis on interdisciplinary learning (the combination of many disciplines to understand an environmental justice problem) and the emphasis on linking the issue of sustainability and environmental justice back to your own community. Many ideas were discussed on how one could go about doing this. Community partnerships were discussed as good ways to get students involved in their communities on environmental justice issues. Service-learning opportunities, socioscientific issues, and using a systems approach were all discussed as ways to address the complex physical and social systems involved.

Many environmental issues are surrounded in controversy, pre-conceived notions, and bias and therefore include some sort of tension in a classroom. There was a good resource about teaching controversial topics from On the Cutting Edge. https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/controversial.html

Many of the posts on this thread reflect on how diversity makes us stronger and better able to come up with unique situations to problems. I believe this could also be extrapolated to diversity in disciplines working on the same environmental problem that will create stronger and better solutions.

As a natural resource instructor, I already bring local environmental issues into my classroom but I am going to put even more emphasis on this in the future.

As a comment to earlier posts, it is so disappointing that there is still gender bias in STEM fields. I know in the 1980’s I wanted to major in Microbiology as an undergraduate and was told by my male advisor that women didn’t really major in microbiology. I did it anyway. Then in my doctorate, I was told by my male advisor that he had to be twice as hard on me as the other male doctoral students because I was a female and I would have a rougher time in this field. I was the only female Ph.D. produced from his lab out of 42. Sigh…

14265:43631

Share edittextuser=137825 post_id=43631 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

“Why does John get the STEM job rather than Jennifer” and “Science Faculty subtle gender bias favors male students”

I know that males are chosen more frequently and paid at a higher rate than females. I’ve struggled with this at my job. However, I was surprised that female faculty favored the male applicant over the female applicant with the same exact qualifications. This lead me to ask myself “Do I unknowingly have these same gender biases?” “Had the female faculty made their decisions based on history/culture for fear of standing out amongst male colleagues?” Often times we only repeat or make decisions based on what we have observed, although aware of other equally available options.

I decided to take the Implicit Association Test titled Gender-Science IAT. I was slightly surprised at my results because some of the preliminary questions I answered based on what I know to be the statistics and history of Science. (This can possibly explain why the female faculty choose the male over the female.) When it came to the timed response section of the test, I answered with greater than 85% accuracy of categorizing the gender and subject. My test results ranked with only 6% of other test takers. My result was described as: Slightly automatic association for male with liberal arts and female with science. I am proud of my test results. I assumed that I would fall closer to the neutral zone and have no gender preference for either subject area or I would have a preference for male with science. I know that females are equally capable as males, but sometimes culture is hard to escape. I will continue my work of being visible and available as I mentor other minority women in science.

14265:43633

Share edittextuser=137818 post_id=43633 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students
Corinne A. Moss-Racusina, John F. Dovidio , Victoria L. Brescoll , Mark J. Grahama, and Jo Handelsmana

This is an interesting article which resonated with me. I have witnessed blatant gender bias - from students, postdocs, and faculty - in the work place so the article did not surprise me one bit. This is especially a problem in Physics. However, on a more encouraging note, I was present at a lunch meeting one time when a student 'came out'. The fact that the student felt comfortable and accepted to trust those around them was a joy to see. I now work in a much more diverse climate. From my experience, I sense 4YC are still far behind the times.

14265:43646

Share edittextuser=147223 post_id=43646 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I reviewed the content in Supporting First Generation College students. As I was a first gen college student, I would have really appreciated the extra focus on success for the first-gen student.

It is really important to develop the community structure and sense of belonging needed to succeed the college setting, especially in first-gen families where the expectation and allocation of time of the college student may be much different than it was in high-school. The expectation to drop everything to attend to the family needs or the idea that the student is now a adult, family support, financial contributions and assistance may be not be available or offered may become burdensome on the first-gen student, especially if they don't have a social safety net where they can discuss their concern. Resources for talking points and discussion with family members may be helpful to these students.

Career research (ie, looking into job opportunities in chosen field of study, earning potential in field, experience needed for first jobs, etc) can be a way to help first-gen students branch out from the more common career fields; in Biological sciences, 90% of our students sign up as Pre-Med their first semester, yet >50% of those students don't make the grades needed to qualify for post-graduate education. Assisting students in discovery of lesser know, but necessary, career choices can improve engagement and retention of students in programs. This may also relieve some of the family pressure to find gainful employment within their career paths, especially since the family focus on 'good jobs' may be quite narrow.

Additionally, assisting first-gens with soft skills, like resume building, networking, and interview skills may improve their success in going on to 4YC or land fruitful employment opportunities when graduating from their 2YC.

The 4YC where I also work has implemented a mentoring program focused on retention of African-American males in our programs. A mentoring program for first-gen students would help to alleviate the nervousness and uncertainty that comes with starting something unfamiliar. If family can't help you, at least you'll have a mentor who had a similar experience help you with navigating the road to success.

14265:43666

Share edittextuser=137826 post_id=43666 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

I read the article "No Progress On Diversity in 40 Years" by Rachel E. Bernard and Emily H. G. Cooperdock from Nature Geosciences 2018. What struck me most strongly was how depressing that sounded. With all the research that has been taking place on the subject, and interest in increasing the participation by Underrepresented Minorities in the Geosciences since the 1980's, that there are still so few URM students that are finding the geosciences worthwhile to pursue a degree in. Thinking about this, and considering some of the material presented in the various tasks of this activity, I am coming to the conclusion that we (I ) need to do a better job of making the climate welcoming and inclusive to all the students who find their way into our classrooms. I think the material from the posters in Task 1 really highlight this issue of needing to make our courses culturally relevant and showing students how they fit into the geosciences. It seems so obvious to me how what happens on Planet Earth affects all of us, and how we all play a role. But I had not been consciously aware of how I might project the idea of "how obvious is this!" to my students - many of whom may have never thought of themselves and their lives in the context of "Planet Earth" before. I also took a look at the Classroom Climate material, and that made so much more sense to me when I thought of it in light of Bernard & Cooperdock's article. I think I definitely need to work more at making my classrooms more welcoming and inclusive.

14265:43669

Share edittextuser=17143 post_id=43669 initial_post_id=0 thread_id=14265

Join the Discussion


Log in to reply

« Activity 7 Discussions