Changing the Face of ScienceIdentity Development | Stories | Presentations
Dr. Beverly Tatum, former President of Spelman College, stresses the importance of the ABCs for creating a climate of engagement for the classroom: Affirming students' identities, Building inclusive environments, and Cultivating leadership. To affirm the identities of all the students in our science classroom, it is important that they "see themselves" represented successfully in the STEM fields, especially girls and underrepresented minorities. By affirming students' identities, we validate them, their experiences and their ability to positively contribute. They are then able to confidently work and collaborate in an inclusive environment through a shared sense of community. By intentionally providing students opportunities to learn and engage with others different from themselves, we teach communication and leadership skills for a pluralistic society. In Save Our Science: How to Inspire a New Generation of Scientists, Yale professor Ainissa Ramirez makes an impassioned call for a recommitment to improve science, technology, engineering and math education — often referred to as STEM — in our schools and throughout our society. She describes what habits we need to change to make STEM fun again, as well as a plan for how to increase every child’s participation in these disciplines. Ramirez notes: “The artist Pablo Picasso once said that all children are born artists and that the trick is to stay that way as an adult. I believe that all children have an inner scientist within them, and we need to get them in touch with their inner scientist again.” For this project, students will tell the stories of STEM professionals to see themselves reflected in the vast STEM career options; observe the cyclical learning process, and understand that curiosity, creativity, and the courage to ask and explore numerous questions is the beginning of science; and that resilience and perseverance bridge the challenges to successes that we all face. *This project was adapted from an scientist biography project from Analyzing Exemplary Science Teaching. The framework has been presented at the following conferences: GISA, NSTA, and PoCC. |