Overview
The central activity of the proposed project is a year-long series of meetings and events to support the work and goals of the SELCs. Our objective is to foster impactful approaches for engaging faculty, department leaders, and undergraduate students in equity-minded discussions of their STEM courses. It is not enough to present evidence of inequities via course equity data. This data must be supplemented by facilitated discussions, one-on-one consultations, and other resources for individuals to recognize these inequities as due to systemic problems.
The SELC Project Leadership Team will host a Public Talk Series during the 2023-2024 academic year. This talk series will continue conversations that arose in the SELC meetings and connect their work to the larger SEISMIC community. There will be six total public talks. Starting in October 2023, meetings will be held monthly (no meeting in December). Meetings will be virtual.
Public Talk Schedule
| Talk # | Date/Time | Speaker | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
October 27th, 2023 12 – 1 pm ET |
Dr. Natasha Turman Director of the Women in Science and Engineering Residence Program (WISE RP) University of Michigan |
Topic: Addressing Student-Deficit Mindsets Talk Title: Our students ARE the capital: Leveraging Community Cultural Wealth to Address Student-deficit mindsets in teaching and learning. Talk Abstract: Student deficit mindsets in education manifest when the dominant culture associates minoritized students’ learning difficulties with the learner’s lived experience, background, and potential lack of preparation (i.e., social and cultural capital). Instead of acknowledging and addressing the structural and systemic barriers that minoritized students navigate daily, an educator operating with this perspective attempts to ‘fix’ the student. A deficit mindset perpetuates stereotypes, causes othering, isolates learners, and widens inequity in the learning environment. Drawing from the work of critical scholar Tara J. Yosso’s (2006) acclaimed research on community cultural wealth (CCW) as a critical race theory (CRT), this talk will discuss the powerful benefits of infusing a critical perspective to teaching and learning. Empowering students to leverage the various forms of capital (i.e., aspirational, navigational, social, linguistic, familial and resistant capital, Yosso, 2006) that emerges from their lived experiences, shifts agency back to the learner. Both educators and learners benefit from this critical approach, facilitating a more impactful and growth-centric learning experience for all. |
| 2 |
December 1st, 2023 2 – 3 pm ET |
Dr. W. Carson Byrd Associate Research Scientist in the Center for the Study of Higher & Postsecondary Education University of Michigan |
Topic: Equity measurements we should be making Talk Title: Data about Equity, Data for Equity: Extending Connections Between Institutional Data and Equity Efforts
|
| 3 |
January 12th, 2024 12 – 1 pm ET |
Marco Molinaro (University of Maryland), Matt Steinwachs (University of California Davis), Chad Brassil (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), and Jeff Gold |
Topic: Exploration of equity reports and tools |
| 4 |
February 23rd, 2024 12 – 1 pm ET |
Joshua Kuntzman is the Assessment Coordinator and Nate Emery is the STEM Education Coordinator in the Center for Innovative Teaching, Research, and Learning at UC Santa Barbara. |
Topic: “So you want to talk about equity” In this public talk, we will discuss steps and strategies for communicating with peers, colleagues, and academic leadership about equity in higher education.
|
| 5 |
May 30-31, 2024 |
Dr. Russo-Tait is an Assistant Professor in the Cellular Biology department at the University of Georgia, where she leads the ACCESS Lab (Advancing Critical Consciousness, Equity, and Social Justice in STEM). Her research currently involves three strands: STEM faculty beliefs and practices; the experiences of students from minoritized backgrounds in STEM learning environments; and science and social justice curriculum and instruction. |
Topic: Developing equity-mindedness
|
| 6 |
May 30-31, 2024 |
Tim McKay |
Topic: SELCs as a tool for campus change
|
