Read:
- EQUITY & STEM: AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. GREGORY KING, TUKWILA SCHOOL DISTRICT
- STEM by the Numbers Report
- Embracing the beauty of diversity in STEM education
- STEM Education Data and Trends
In your response this week please remind us of your role within your district, then choose one of the following prompts:
Explore the connection between access to STEM opportunities and equity and social justice. Beyond just the access to careers and the economic opportunities inherent in STEM fields, why does access to STEM matter for every student?
What do schools need to consider in developing systems to provide equitable STEM instruction to each and every student? What do educators need to consider within their own classrooms and professional settings? What barriers have you seen within your own experiences?
Interact: On Monday, read your colleagues' reflections and respond to at least one other post by sharing a comment, insight, or interesting possibility by next Thursday.
Logging you in...
Ashleigh Rocco (TSD) · 181 weeks ago
As the interview with Dr. Gregory King pointed out, many students do not see themselves within these professions, and they are not directly seeing how these skills and pathways will impact their own lives and communities. Currently I am teaching in a high-achieving school district that actually provides a STEM class to students each week. We are located near the city where tech is a bustling profession. However, at title school which I previously taught in a more rural community, the resources and exposure weren’t as readily available. Growing up in the school system in this community, I wasn’t even aware of many of the job opportunities outside of the some more traditional approaches or whatever family members had chosen for their careers.
I believe our school system needs to build programs which directly introduce students to a wide variety of careers outside of what may be present in their households. I know that I would have benefitted from some exposure and job shadowing opportunities to further understand different opportunities available to me. Within my own classroom I am working on diversifying my teaching materials to combat gender and race stereotypes (women are teachers, men are doctors, etc). After reflecting I believe that I would love to begin implementing some education around different careers. Even in second grade kids begin having some big dreams for the future!
Katelyn V. (ISD) 12p · 180 weeks ago
Katelyn V. (ISD) 12p · 180 weeks ago
Schools need to consider the populations within their schools. Teaching using only white people as examples does not allow any children of color to see themselves in their education. This is not beneficial to any of those students. To make it more equitable there should be representation of all races, religions, and genders. In my experience, the biggest barrier I have seen is teachers teaching the same way they were taught, as well as a lack of funding. 20-30 years ago we did not focus on making things equitable. Teachers who have been teaching for that amount of time never had examples of equitable teaching in their own schooling. Funding in Tier 3 schools do not receive as much funding as a higher income school as many of the families within a Tier 3 school do not have a lot of disposable income to pour into a classroom. This leaves teachers with very little money to diversify their classroom.
JanineG (ISD) · 179 weeks ago
I do understand what you're saying that the funding plays a role in this. Districts that don't get the same funding opportunities probably aren't getting as much as others. There lies an issue.
Stephen Elms · 179 weeks ago
JanineG (ISD) · 179 weeks ago
I would like to answer the questions: What do schools need to consider in developing systems to provide equitable STEM instruction to each and every student? What do educators need to consider within their own classrooms and professional settings? What barriers have you seen within your own experiences?
I enjoyed listening to Kelly Santos and her experiences within the opportunity she was given to attend a distinguised summer medical academy. She explained how she felt like an imposter because she was different than others that were there. Yet, soon, as they all began to talk, learn, and grow, they shared their experiences of travling abroad or growing up in Mexico and learned that by learning about their differences they are stronger together.
Kelly said, "What they do not know, they do not know". that really resonated to me. If we don't know something because we don't have the same experiences that others do...we need to LEARN from them....be inclusive to all learners.
Within our own classrooms, educators need to realize all the knowledge the students have that even we, as teachers, might now know. With students from different cultures,we can ALL learn so much about each other. I also loved the quote, "Diversity; the art of thinking independently, together". So true! We each have our own ideas, thoughts, knowledge...which is GREAT....but, we learn so much more by learning from each other!
Meg H · 179 weeks ago
Erin K. (TSD) · 179 weeks ago
Ms. Santos's recollection of her experiences of intimidation at the summer medical academy is one every individual has experienced in various capacities, though we may not always attribute these feelings of "otherization" to the color of our skin or cultural identity. Intimidation takes many forms, namely in social settings where our appearances, attitudes, and demeanor distinguish us from others. As an American student at a university in England, I experienced similar incidents of intimidation as Ms. Santos in my politics courses, though that was my major, an area of study I enjoyed most, and what I felt I was most competent at. Yet, as a non-European, I felt it was not my place to partake in discussions and felt awkward about sharing my own insights. Ms. Santos shared how unusual her apprehension to engage with others was, considering she had the courage to speak at a TED event. I fear that without the opportunity for students to build and maintain confidence in STEM subjects, our students will lack the confidence to engage and problem-solve in the real world. I never want a student to experience feelings of "otherization" to the point that they feel they can no longer be themselves and act on their passions. Promoting STEM as an inclusive field should be the mission of every educator.
Hannah J (ISD) 35p · 178 weeks ago
I agree. I think it is super important to capitalize on student's background knowledge and share amongst each other. I loved that quote too, I think it perfectly captures the thinking behind this week's reading. Working together is super important and something that students need to learn at an early age. Thank you for sharing!
Meg H (svsd) · 179 weeks ago
The article with Dr King struck a cord with me when working on training and education of solar hot water heaters. It resonated on so many levels. It will help our enviroment in an increasingly devastating situation. It is a concrete way to help in the community and brings a feeling of purpose to the individuals involved. I think when you take real world problems and give the tools to help combat them, people go from a feeling of helplessness and inertia to one of a driven purpose.
This quote struck a chord with me too, "Diversity; the art of thinking independently, together".
As the librarian, I try hard to provide books representing different cultural backgrounds and celebrating those diffences. I am lucky to have a budget (althogh it is shrinking) in which to do this and realize not all schools have this support.
Ashleigh Rocco (TSD) · 179 weeks ago
Danielle S. (SVSD) · 179 weeks ago
Megan Mitchell SVSD · 178 weeks ago
Eric Richards · 178 weeks ago
Danielle S. (SVSD) · 179 weeks ago
What was interesting to me was the infographic that showed the amount of STEM related jobs that are considered family sustaining and the gap between the amount of people qualified in our own state. This really highlights the importance of showing STEM related careers as successful opportunities for all students and the importance of opening pathways for them to get there. It also relates to the article from Dr. Gregory King when he states that students don't see themselves in those types of careers because they just don't see people like them doing those types of jobs. This shows how important it is to showcase a diverse set of people doing a diverse set of jobs. The helps show that there are so many opportunities out there and puts them in reach for our students.
Rachael S (ISD) · 173 weeks ago
Erin K. (TSD) · 179 weeks ago
Regarding the first question and the need for equitable access to STEM experiences for every student, it is especially critical the school environment provides quality, continuous exposure to STEM to ensure these areas of study are not absent from any student's childhood experience and their school career altogether. Too often, a student's first encounter with STEM occurs after graduation in an occupational setting and/or in their daily adult lives. In these moments, risk is greater and the availability of support systems is limited. In a STEM classroom, a child is provided the tools, resources, and trust of an educator to explore without limit. How often, as adults, do we enjoy low-risk, highly engaging opportunities to experiment and learn? Such opportunities are far fewer for those of low socioeconomic status or from historically disadvanataged backgrounds. The Washington Stem article highlighted its objectives to "triple the number of students who earn [STEM] credentials" through policy alignment. It is difficult to track and locate those students who tend to cruise beneath the radar, yet those are the students who directly benefit from STEM experiences in school they may otherwise never enjoy as children. We reduce the level of diversity in the STEM field by reducing the number of participants when STEM is not a part of a child's life. Ms. Santos shared in her TEDTalk, "We need people from all walks of life. We need their creativity; we need their ideas." STEM invites the voices of every participant and allows their thinking to shape what is learned, taught, and achieved. We must recognize that schools are the ideal environment for experimentation in that they provide the exposure so crucial to the development of confidence and competency in STEM learning.
Hannah J (ISD) 35p · 179 weeks ago
Megan Mitchell SVSD · 179 weeks ago
Stephen Elms · 179 weeks ago
Because most of my experience comes from the BSD, I think the equity work that was going on in that district will continue to build and provide more opportunities for students to both work in and with STEM as well as the opportunities to see others of color in these fields.
Since we have some HUGE companies in our area (Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, Google) we should really be tapping into these companies, or even figuring out how to "require" them to do some work in THEIR community. That would be wonderful and of course it would serve multiple purposes as these are the companies in our area that may be doing the most work IN STEM.
Another way to do this might be to have some development of the curricula itself to better represent STEM activities that could be accessed within the school and connects to different environments.
flaggna 34p · 178 weeks ago
flaggna 34p · 178 weeks ago
Eric Richards · 178 weeks ago
I am a 4th grade teacher in the Tahoma School District.
I am so incredibly excited that we are talking about STEM thru an equity lens and thinking about how we can make it so much more accessible to everyone, truly everyone. If we don't look at the barriers that exist, the "walls", both figurative and literal, then we will not serve all our students in a way to they deserve.
Why does STEM matter to every student? Many of the future well paying careers are in the STEM fields. Every single one of our students deserves to have the opportunity to "see" themselves in a career of their choosing that will tap their potential. But we need to do more than talk about it. We must show all our students of color people in the fields, bring in guest speakers of color to talk about their journey to their profession, create viable pathways to get into fields, and light the way towards a future some only dream of.
Rachael S (ISD) · 173 weeks ago