Abstract:Given the growing global environmental threats, shifts to increasingly binary thinking that isolate and polarize discourse, and the erosion of caring for each other and our places, the authors believe it is imperative that we change the way science and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education connect with communities and are taught in school. As part of the larger study, this paper explores how the integration of STEMS2 Pedagogy with community based problem solving (re)shapes two case‐study … Show more
“…The programmatic structures supported PSTs in learning a culture unfamiliar to them from the youth and other Sorrus community members as well as local places, helping them center this culture in their instruction. Adopting the learner role before the teacher role required PSTs to adopt a sense of cultural humility that is necessary if, as O'Neill et al (2023) argue, science learning is to “move beyond building new doorways to old knowledge systems.” These authors argue for driving the culture of STEM education to focus on(1) strengthening teachers' and students' sense of belonging by building a connection to place(s) that tethers them to the ‘āina [land/earth]], (2) developing a sense of humility that enables participants to elevate the knowledge of the place and its people first, and (3) empowering learners to engage in real‐world problems solving as a reciprocal rather than transactional process (p. 1781).Some of the programmatic structures outlined in Table 1 emerged as much more important than others for these three teams. Specifically, the advisory panel of diverse Sorrus stakeholders, as well as the time spent in the places and with the people of Sorrus during Summer A, allowed PSTs to develop social‐ and place‐based networks that they were able to honor, sustain, and draw on for resources and expertise during camp.…”
We find ourselves at a time when the need for transformation in science education is aligning with opportunity. Significant science education resources, namely the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) framework, need an intentional aim of centering social justice for minoritized communities and youth as well as practices to enact it. While NGSS and AST provide concrete guidelines to support deep learning, revisions are needed to explicitly promote social justice. In this study, we sought to understand how a commitment to social justice, operationalized through culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, Culturally sustaining pedagogies and our futures. The Educational Forum, 2021; 85, pp. 364–376), might shape the AST framework to promote more critical versions of teaching science for equity. Through a qualitative multi‐case study, we observed three preservice teacher teams engaged in planning, teaching, and debriefing a 6‐day summer camp in a rural community. Findings showed that teachers shaped the AST sets of practices in ways that sustained local culture and addressed equity aims: anchoring scientific study in phenomena important to community stakeholders; using legitimizing students' stories by both using them to plan the following lessons and as data for scientific argumentation; introducing local community members as scientific experts, ultimately supporting a new sense of pride and advocacy for their community; and supporting students in publicly communicating their developing scientific expertise to community stakeholders. In shaping the AST framework through culturally sustaining pedagogy, teachers made notable investments: developing local networks; learning about local geography, history, and culture; building relationships with students; adapting lessons to incorporate students' ideas; connecting with community stakeholders to build scientific collaborations; and preparing to share their work publicly with the community. Using these findings, we offer a justice‐centered ambitious science teaching (JuST) framework that can deliver the benefits of a framework of practices while also engaging in the necessarily more critical elements of equity work.
“…The programmatic structures supported PSTs in learning a culture unfamiliar to them from the youth and other Sorrus community members as well as local places, helping them center this culture in their instruction. Adopting the learner role before the teacher role required PSTs to adopt a sense of cultural humility that is necessary if, as O'Neill et al (2023) argue, science learning is to “move beyond building new doorways to old knowledge systems.” These authors argue for driving the culture of STEM education to focus on(1) strengthening teachers' and students' sense of belonging by building a connection to place(s) that tethers them to the ‘āina [land/earth]], (2) developing a sense of humility that enables participants to elevate the knowledge of the place and its people first, and (3) empowering learners to engage in real‐world problems solving as a reciprocal rather than transactional process (p. 1781).Some of the programmatic structures outlined in Table 1 emerged as much more important than others for these three teams. Specifically, the advisory panel of diverse Sorrus stakeholders, as well as the time spent in the places and with the people of Sorrus during Summer A, allowed PSTs to develop social‐ and place‐based networks that they were able to honor, sustain, and draw on for resources and expertise during camp.…”
We find ourselves at a time when the need for transformation in science education is aligning with opportunity. Significant science education resources, namely the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) framework, need an intentional aim of centering social justice for minoritized communities and youth as well as practices to enact it. While NGSS and AST provide concrete guidelines to support deep learning, revisions are needed to explicitly promote social justice. In this study, we sought to understand how a commitment to social justice, operationalized through culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, Culturally sustaining pedagogies and our futures. The Educational Forum, 2021; 85, pp. 364–376), might shape the AST framework to promote more critical versions of teaching science for equity. Through a qualitative multi‐case study, we observed three preservice teacher teams engaged in planning, teaching, and debriefing a 6‐day summer camp in a rural community. Findings showed that teachers shaped the AST sets of practices in ways that sustained local culture and addressed equity aims: anchoring scientific study in phenomena important to community stakeholders; using legitimizing students' stories by both using them to plan the following lessons and as data for scientific argumentation; introducing local community members as scientific experts, ultimately supporting a new sense of pride and advocacy for their community; and supporting students in publicly communicating their developing scientific expertise to community stakeholders. In shaping the AST framework through culturally sustaining pedagogy, teachers made notable investments: developing local networks; learning about local geography, history, and culture; building relationships with students; adapting lessons to incorporate students' ideas; connecting with community stakeholders to build scientific collaborations; and preparing to share their work publicly with the community. Using these findings, we offer a justice‐centered ambitious science teaching (JuST) framework that can deliver the benefits of a framework of practices while also engaging in the necessarily more critical elements of equity work.
“…While this can provide a safe low-stakes environment in which students can explore their identities, it can also make it more challenging for students to develop a sense of place and belonging in the local area. Many studies have shown that developing a strong sense of place can promote stewardship and emotional investment into the betterment of a place, − leading into future discussions of chemistry as an agent of positive change in the Connecticut Valley. We endeavored to address themes 2 and 3 by sharing weekly modules centered on the global and local impacts of the popularization of a particular class of functional (macro)molecules (i.e., chemical tools): pharmaceuticals, industrially relevant molecules, explosives, and inorganic pollutants.…”
Section: “Chemistry In Society”: a New Chemistry Department
Course Fu...mentioning
This paper describes the formation and ongoing efforts
of a collaborative
partnership between students, faculty, and staff within the Chemistry
department at Amherst College. Formation of the group was inspired
by calls for structural, inclusive, change from students, faculty,
and alumni. There are many benefits to collaborating across traditional
academic hierarchies, and this report aims to show that these partnerships
can help identify avenues for the implementation of inclusive change
in STEM departments. The Amherst College Chemistry community agrees
that graduates of the Chemistry department should leave the College
with a critical understanding of the implications of systemic discrimination
as they pertain to chemical research and education; this paper shares
organizational methods and strengths, as well as limitations and holistic
reflections, of creating spaces for student, staff, and faculty partnership
to shape a STEM educational community. A specific outcome of this
committee was the creation of a diversity-equity-inclusion (DEI) requirement
in the major. We share how CARAC helped the department arrive at this
decision and discuss the departmental course, Chemistry in Society,
that was developed in response.
Systemic equity challenges in K‐12 STEM education place students from minoritized groups on an uneven footing, restricting access and opportunity for the diverse students who make up the majority population in US public schools. Teachers play a key role in advocating for equity and justice in STEM education. In positioning themselves as agents of change, they have the power to impact their classrooms, schools, and communities. Using a collaborative coding process informed by dominant and critical framings of equity in STEM education, we analyzed equity research presentations and final written reflections from a graduate course for practicing teachers (n = 23) focused on STEM integration. Teacher participants demonstrated one of four advocacy orientations: (a) equity in classroom teaching, (b) STEM education, (c) equity in STEM education, or (d) neither equity nor STEM. Our analysis of teachers' final course reflections led us to develop a rubric using principles of grammar to evaluate the levels of agency evident in teachers' statements. Most teachers were at least minimally agentic for STEM, but fewer teachers were agentic for equity. Only four of 23 teachers were highly agentic for equity in STEM education. We identify a need for more purposeful scaffolding in professional learning to build teacher advocacy and agency for equity in STEM education. Future research should explore the high‐leverage practices in STEM teacher education that foster advocacy and agency.
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