Starting the Conversation: Initial Listening and Identity Approaches to Community Cultural Wellness,

Abstract

Inclusion of multiple viewpoints increases when teams are diverse and provides value in scientific communication and discovery. To promote retention and raise the critical mass of underrepresented persons in science, all voices must be heard "at the table" to include "ways of knowing" outside the dominant institutional culture. These community-based inclusive concepts promote hearing all diverse perspectives for inclusive recognition of deeper socio-historical cultural wealth-collectively termed cultural wellness. When undergraduates and graduates in active-learning groups in class, or faculty collaborative teams on campus, start a project too quickly on task, opportunities are missed to be inclusive. While beginning a larger science project, we, student and faculty co-authors, first addressed this challenge-the need for greater inclusion of diverse perspectives-by starting a conversation. Here, we share ideas from our inclusive process. Based on social constructivist theories of co-constructing learning interpersonally, we co-mentored each other, learning from one another in community. We experientially considered how to inclusively collaborate across a demographically, geographically, and structurally heterogeneous group including multiple academic tiers from multiple ethnic backgrounds, cultural experiences, and institutions. Through an asset-based process grounded in several frameworks, we documented our introduction process of listening deeply, being mindful of identities including invisible cultural identities, recognizing each other with mutual respect, applying inclusive practices, and developing mutual trust and understanding. Building community takes time. Initial conversations can, and should, go deeper than mere introductions to build trust beyond social norms for relationships promoting cultural wellness.

Verbal behaviour as an indicator of personnel wellbeing

“…It allowed us to understand the real wellbeing perception of this cate gory of employees, to describe a typical higher educational language trainer and understand his present wellbeing status and its subjective perception, and to analyse different verbal ways and means he makes use of to describe his wellbeing status perception. Taking into account numerous research which show the impact of cultural diversity on effective communication and discovery [Smith-Keiling et al, 2020] it seems interesting to look at specific features of wellbeing perception and verbal means of expressing it in multicultural groups.…”

Assessing motivations and barriers to science outreach within academic science research settings: A mixed-methods survey

“…We must align our efforts with those calling for inclusive science communication and engagement, an approach that demands more focus and attention be paid toward communitycentric, bottom-up approaches to public outreach that tear down silos preventing collaboration and communication across various sectors and groups (Canfield et al, 2020). Such efforts must include principles and best practices around active listening, relationship building, and community organizing (Christens, 2010;Smith-Keiling et al, 2020). Universities, who are often at the industrial center of their respective geographic communities, in particular have an obligation to utilize this community-centric approach.…”

Chronicling the Journey of the Society for the Advancement in Biology Education Research (SABER) in its Effort to Become Antiracist: From Acknowledgement to Action

“…We tried to identify people who contributed in specific ways to these 12 actions and invited them as authors. Our team cannot speak about the experiences or perceptions of all SABER members, but the authors identify as white, Latinx, Black, Southeast Asian, East Asian, South Asian, multiracial, Immigrant American, women, men, non-binary, genderqueer, LGBTQ+, first-generation college graduate, continuing generation college graduate, non-traditional student, parent, caregiver, chronically ill, living with a disability, religious, non-religious, and associated with the military (Smith-Keiling et al, 2020). We represent graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, university staff, tenure-track faculty, tenured faculty, and non-tenure-track faculty including lecturers.…”