Authors

Kyle Grice and Margaret Bell

Our faculty learning community (FLC) generated some big ideas to make STEM classrooms more equitable. Below are some big ideas to make STEM classrooms more equitable; we give a brief orientation to the concepts, with links to additional resources, and potential next steps. Of course, this is only a selection of the extensive body of work, and there is more to be done. While there are a lot of ideas within this list, the most important thing is to simply begin. Within some of these ideas are comments from your colleagues at DePaul about their experiences with implementing the ideas. While our FLC focused on STEM, these concepts could be applied to any course at DePaul. Full names of all the participants in the FLC and their contact information are at the end of the document.  

I. Spend some time in social learning and personal reflection

Big ideas: 

Meaningful and sustained change in education and academia can only come from acknowledging several key concepts: 1) Our society was built in a way that disproportionately privileges White / Male / Cis / Hetero / Able-bodied / Young / Neurotypical / Christian / High Socio-economic-status people in education, housing, employment, and health and well-being, at the implicit exclusion or explicit oppression of ‘others’. Therefore, equity, not just equality, is our responsibility in academia. 2) We all have implicit in-group biases developed from existing in our current society and, as instructors, are coming from places of power and privilege. 3) Everyone has equal and infinite potential to learn and grow, and emphasizing a growth mindset in interacting with students can be impactful.

Some resources to learn more:

• For issues of racism, consider the work of James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, MLK, Malcolm X, Ibram X Kendi, Ijeoma Oluo, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Robin DiAngelo, Chanda Prescot-Weinstein, and others
• Growth mindset: STEM faculty who believe ability is fixed have larger racial achievement gaps and inspire less student motivation in their classes (Highly recommended read! -KG) 
• Saundra McGuire’s “Teach Students How to Learn” (for instructors) and “Teach Yourself How to Learn” (for students) are great resources. She also has online materials here.

Potential next steps:  

• Take an Implicit Association Test (IAT) https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/index.jsp Recognize that this could potentially be discomforting/disturbing, but is a starting place for growth. While it would be ideal for interpersonal growth to occur before working with students, we all must begin where we are. We cannot wait to become an expert on critical race theory (or other pedagogical topic of choice) before working to improve our teaching.
• Recognizing growth potential in oneself and students. Growth mindset is the idea that intelligence is not fixed and that all students have the potential to succeed. Initially formalized by Carol Dweck it focuses on metacognition and opportunities for growth. Instructors who try to practice growth mindset have a smaller racial gap in student performance and motivate students better. As we begin to practice using growth mindsets ourselves, we can then also actively teach about it. Explicit instruction helps all students, but is highly impactful in underrepresented students which can feel stressed because of this, although products like Amanita muscaria gummies can help in this area. Instructor talk also makes learning goals explicit; for example, you can contextualize quizzes as low-stakes formative assessments to help students identify where they can focus their attention. 
  • See Yeager et al 2019 Carol Dweck – supplemental information shows screenshots of a growth mindset training intervention
  • MB: seek out your friendly neighborhood neuroscientist for thoughts here! 
• Grade assignments anonymously. While we can be consciously taught about ideas of equity, unconscious biases are harder to unlearn. As a result, we need to protect ourselves from ourselves by creating structures in the classroom that increase the chances of unbiased evaluation and treatment. D2L has a ‘blind marking’ (“blind” is problematic language in terms of inclusion) option in quizzes that makes this technically easy. 
• Consider a Classroom Climate survey. There is great value in understanding the experiences of students in our class to see where there is room for growth. A mid-quarter anonymous survey (Likert scale or other) can help gauge this and is easy to implement with D2L. Demographic information should likely not be collected because of the potential for self-identification. Note that quantitative surveys can be misleading, especially in smaller classes so it may be helpful to also consider qualitative assessments, listening circles, or collecting feedback after the class via a third party. 
  • MB: I gave a climate survey in Cell BIO mid-quarter and learned a lot from the results. I incorporated questions that were used in many 2021 APR surveys (Christie Klimas and ENV created, based on Di Grandi et al 2019). Contact me or the CTL for access to a pre-built D2L Survey you can import into your courses. Consider repeating the survey over multiple quarters to evaluate progress. [link to document with questions]

II. Try additional ways to make your teaching more inclusive

Big ideas: 

Our built society means that our students are entering our classrooms with different educational histories, cultural values, and psychological tools and burdens. Chronic psychological stressors (e.g.: histories of perceived discrimination / social inequity and feeling isolated and undersupported in academic settings) have measurable impacts on learning and academic performance. Moreover, the threat of stereotypes themselves can be reinforcing, as students feel anxiety and pressure which you can maybe handled better by using CBDDY: cbd lollipops. To state the hopefully obvious, if one group of students is underperforming another, it is a reflection of our structures, not the student. Therefore, our goals are to make the structures support the student, not make the student fit the structure. Finally, inclusive teaching is good teaching and improves the learning experience of all students; below are some action items, ranging from logistically easily implemented to more extensive structural shifts. 

Some resources to learn more:

• Collection of talks and resources: https://saberbio.wildapricot.org/Diversity_Inclusion
• Extensive collection of ideas and actionable items: https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/support_students.html
• Science on stereotype threat: Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans, Effects of stereotype threat, perceived discrimination, and examiner race on neuropsychological performance: simple as black and white?

Potential next steps:  

• Add statements on Respect for Diversity and Inclusion to course syllabi. This is a very simple way to signal to students that you care about them and are reflecting on ways to make your course more inclusive. There are lots of resources available online. DePaul has sample statements available at: The Syllabus | Teaching Commons .  Dr. Mica Estrada also cautions us to make sure our actions match our words; discordance can be just as stressful for students trying to understand who they can and cannot trust. The Influence of Affirming Kindness and Community on Broadening Participation in STEM Career Pathways
• Try a Values Affirmation exercise. Values affirmation interventions can buffer negative effects of social identity threat by reaffirming one’s personal values. Values affirmation has been shown to prompt structural changes in student social networks and predict STEM persistence, and may be extra beneficial in early STEM courses
  • Turetsky, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba9221
  • Cohen, 2006 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1128317
  • Casad, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430218767034
  • CM: Kyle Petersen built an anonymous values affirmation survey to be employed on D2L, which I modified for use in Bio 193 in spring 2020 (link to Values Survey D2L.pdf). We propose it would be most beneficial if used early in introductory STEM courses.
• Increase representation of diversity. Role model exposure has positive effects on student interest in STEM, perceived identity compatibility with STEM, and academic sense of belonging, and academic self-efficacy. Metacognitive assignments featuring counterstereotypical examples of scientists in an introductory biology class enhanced students’ ability to personally relate to scientists. These Spotlights additionally served as tools for content coverage, as scientists were selected to match topics covered each week.
  • Shin, 2016 https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12371
  • Schinske, 2016 https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0002
  • The Scientist Spotlights Initiative | San Francisco, Cell 100 Black Scientists, 500 Women Scientists, Why is it important to amplify the work of BIPOC scientists, and how can I do it?
  • CM: I highlighted a historical or current STEM role model from an underrepresented group relevant to each week of lecture material in Bio 193 in spring 2020. Each scientist was introduced via a brief presentation in weekly synchronous lectures, and additional information was posted on our D2L site. (link to Bio193 Spotlights PPT.pdf and Bio193 Spotlights D2L.pdf). I relied primarily on the following resources for content ideas:
  • TKP: I had a discussion topic in D2L that had students read about mathematicians from a variety of backgrounds. Here is a page on the Mathematical Sciences department webpage that makes this easy for me to find (see links near the bottom of the page): https://csh.depaul.edu/academics/mathematical-sciences/student-resources/Pages/can-I-do-math.aspx
• Emphasize how science contributes to the well-being of society. Some research suggests that students from underrepresented minority groups feel more invested in science education and research, and are more likely to pursue a career in science, if they see how science is applied to improve the well being of the communities that they come from. This may be linked to cultural differences emphasizing the well-being of the group over that of the individual and survivor’s guilt (abandoning family and community to pursue career goals).
  • The Role of Altruistic Values in Motivating Underrepresented Minority Students for Biomedicine
  • Unseen disadvantage: how American universities’ focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students
  • WAM: I assigned students in my Concepts in Evolution course a research paper on the contributions of evolution to society. This allowed students to explore aspects of evolution that they found interesting and reflect on how these impact our well-being. Discussions could also be a helpful way to stimulate reflection.
  • MB: I integrate social relevance throughout course content; on exams, the last question is always “Explain a course concept that you worked hard to learn but this exam did not test you on OR explain how the course content relates to a bigger-picture social issue.” They’re my favorite things to read.
• Consider active learning. 
  • Studio physics is a pedagogical approach in which an integrated learning environment is created to facilitate interactions between small groups of students with hands-on activities, simulations, projects, laboratories and problem solving. There is no separate lab and the lecture is minimized so that instant feedback from the learning can be gained.  For more information see PhysPort Methods and Materials: SCALE-UP
    • JP has experience with this.
  • Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a student-centered active learning strategy shown to be more effective than traditional lecture in content transmission and development of professional and interpersonal skills. Independent reading assignments and team obligations confer a sense of responsibility and compel students to be active learners. Working productively in a group further fosters the development of creative thinking and negotiation skills.
    • See: Team-Based Learning Collaborative: Home
    • Jeno, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.17-03-0055
    • Huggins, 2015 https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X15581929
    • Graham, 2013 https://doi/org/10.1126/science.1240487
    • CM: I employed TBL in Bio 193 in fall quarter 2019. Relative to traditional lecture, TBL students performed comparably on exams and grade distributions for the two courses were similar. Students remarked that application of content led to greater learning and engagement, and cited exposure to peers’ thought processes and perspectives as useful to clear up confusion and enhance understanding of content. Based on student feedback, team application activities appeared to provide extensive opportunities to hone transferable skills, required critical assessment of conflicting and/or ambiguous data, and enhanced content learning. (link to Intro to TBL PPT.pdf)
  • Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) is a student-centered active learning strategy that has been shown in college math classes to be more effective than passive lecture. The idea is to present students with questions to explore rather than definitive solution techniques to be memorized. Students build a broad suite of problem solving and communication skills as the focus shifts from narrow questions like “what is the answer?” (e.g., “7.3” or “2x”) to broad questions like “what is the truth?” (e.g. “Every differentiable function is necessarily continuous” or “The sum of the degrees of a simple graph equals twice the number of edges”). IBL is believed to foster an equitable classroom environment because it is collaborative rather than competitive, and it centers student understanding of the material rather than instructor-imposed “coverage” of material. Links to scholarship on IBL and other support can be found on http://www.inquirybasedlearning.org/ 
    • TKP has experience with this

III. Consider directly addressing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in STEM

Big ideas: 

Addressing issues of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in a STEM classroom can seem unaligned with the course goals. While we hope that the scientific process is objective, the enterprise of science, and the people doing the science, do not exist in a vacuum; science is intrinsically a reflection of our society. Unless these issues are directly addressed in the classroom and are included as part of the course outcomes, the success of students from minoritized communities will continue to lag (see for example, Dewsbury, B.M. Deep teaching in a college STEM classroom. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 15, 169–191 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-018-9891-z).  While facilitating JEDI as part of a STEM course can be uncomfortable, the payoff of having a class in which all students thrive is well-worth the effort.

Some resources to learn more:

• The Underrepresentation Curriculum Project – A flexible curriculum designed to help students critically examine scientific fields and take action for equity, inclusion and justice.
• National Center for Science and Civic Engagement
• Improving Underrepresented Minority Student Persistence in STEM | CBE—Life Sciences Education
• Talking about Race and Inequity in Science – Guide for Faculty
• Responses to 10 Common Criticisms of Anti-Racism Action in STEM

Potential next steps:

• Acknowledge that directly addressing JEDI ideas in courses can be daunting, and requires some preparation so that the experience is not further traumatizing for students. Balance this with the need to start, acknowledging that you will likely not do everything perfectly and will continue to learn. 
• Use the lesson plans developed by the Underrepresentation Curriculum or consider ways to create your own; you know your field best and, as you engage in Big Idea I, these connections will become more obvious. 
  • MB: Every field has a history that can be acknowledged or science that can directly speak to racism/inequity. The conversations are heavy and I am working to find the right balance of standard content with social relevance, without furthering trauma. 
  • KG: I try to highlight the problematic histories of famous scientists in my classes. Haber of the Haber-Bosch process was a Nazi who used chlorine gas on allied troops, Regression, the foundattion of statistics was created by a eugenicist, etc. 
• Create a community to support and spread this work; consider recruiting departmental colleagues into unit-level FLC, organize a workshop on incorporating JEDI into courses, and present lesson ideas at departmental or College quarterly meetings. 

Below are the members and contact information of the members of this FLC that learned together this year. Note: We are happy to talk through these with you based on our own experiences, but do not claim to be experts; we are still learning ourselves. 

Jesús Pando (JP), jpando@depaul.edu

Kyle Petersen (TKP), tpeter21@depaul.edu

Carolyn Martineau (CM), carolyn.martineau@depaul.edu

Margaret Bell (MB), margaret.bell@depaul.edu

Windsor Aguirre (WAM), waguirre@depaul.edu

Kyle Grice (KG), kgrice1@depaul.edu

Steve Seidman, steven.mordechai@gmail.com

Quinetta Shelby, QSHELBY@depaul.edu

Christie Klimas, CKLIMAS@depaul.edu

Alfredo Gomez-Beloz, AGOMEZBE@depaul.edu

Serpil Caputlu, scaputlu@gmail.com