2023 Inclusive Teaching  Symposium

Inclusive Teaching Symposium: Applying ethics of care and community cultural wealth to improve STEM teaching

Thursday, March 2, 2023
4:00PM - 6:00PM ET
Free Online Event

Presentations for the 3rd Annual NABT Inclusive Teaching Symposium were accepted through a double-blind peer-review process that was open to biology educators and researchers at all levels.

We extend a special thank you to our reviewers for their time and detailed feedback.

A recording of the symposium is available at 2023 NABT Inclusive Teaching Symposium.

2023 Presentations

Translating Research to Practice: Enacting Ethics of Care and Community Cultural Wealth in the Biology Classroom

Sarita Shukla, University of Washington - Bothell, Bothell, WA and Elli Theobald University of Washington - Seattle, Seattle, WA

ABSTRACT: The term “achievement gap” has a negative and racialized history, and using the term reinforces a deficit mindset that is ingrained in U.S. educational systems. In this essay, we review the literature that demonstrates why “achievement gap” reflects deficit thinking. We explain why biology education researchers should avoid using the phrase and also caution that changing vocabulary alone will not suffice. Instead, we suggest that researchers explicitly apply frameworks that are supportive, name racially systemic inequities and embrace student identity. We review four such frameworks—opportunity gaps, educational debt, community cultural wealth, and ethics of care—and reinterpret salient examples from biology education research as an example of each framework. Although not exhaustive, these descriptions form a starting place for biology education researchers to explicitly name systems-level and asset-based frameworks as they work to end educational inequities.

Disabilities and the Life Sciences: Equity, Inclusion, and Universal Design

Tara Jo Holmberg, Northwestern Connecticut Community College, Winsted, CT 

ABSTRACT: Universal Design is a collection of equity-driven strategies, techniques, and practices that assist educators in providing inclusive opportunities to diverse learners in the classroom, including disabled students. Resources are listed at Disabilities & STEM Resources List.

Curriculum Intervention for Anti-Racism in Biology

Melissa Haswell, Delta College, University Center, MI; Tess Killpack, Salem State University, Salam, MA; Bryan Dewsbury, Florida International University, Miami, FL; Lisa Urry, Mills College at Northeastern University, Oakland, CA); Stephanie Blumer, Oakton Community College, De Plaines, IL

ABSTRACT: Science faculty and departments have the responsibility to engage in equity-based interventions to create a culture of inclusive diversity that acknowledges social systems and identities and leverages student community cultural wealth to support all students interested in pursuing science and to avoid perpetuating inequities. STEM equity efforts can be targeted at curriculum modifications to STEM courses to meaningfully integrate connections between science, social structures, and racial inequity. Our project “Impact of Anti-Racist Practices in Gateway Biology Courses” aimed to develop and pilot a model for curriculum intervention in undergraduate biology that meaningfully integrates historical and contemporary connections between science, social structures, and racial inequity. A team of undergraduate Biology instructors from various institutional and geographical contexts designed course-specific teaching materials to explicitly address equity-related issues in science practices and applications that connect to their specific course topics. Data will be collected to examine the extent to which the course modifications implemented in introductory biology influence student learning and attitudes toward science and towards the intersection of science with social issues and inequities. Lesson plans and instructor guides will be prepared for publication to disseminate the curricular framework and materials for implementation by other college educators interested in the approach.

Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Implementation of Inclusive Teaching in Life Sciences

Ethan B. Strange, Caroline Zawadi Muteti, Amber Manning-Ouellete, Donald French, and Jacinta Mutambuki, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 

ABSTRACT: Concerted efforts have called for adoption of inclusive teaching, “instructional approaches that provide equitable learning outcomes for all students.” However, very few studies have investigated undergraduate students’ perceptions of inclusive teaching, especially in Life Sciences. The current study investigated variations in the students’ perceived instructor use of inclusive teaching between lower and upper course levels in Life Science, and perceived instructor use of inclusive teaching across demographic groups, such as gender, race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and sexual orientation status. Data were collected through a 5-point Likert-scaled inclusive learning survey developed by the researchers. One-way multivariate analysis of variance results showed low mean rating scores on perceived implementation of inclusive teaching practices in Life Sciences. Multivariate and between-subjects analysis indicated no statistically significant differences on the reported perceptions based on course level, gender, and sexual orientation. Between-subjects analysis revealed significant mean differences between minority and majority, with the minority reporting higher mean rating scores than majority. Descriptive statistics revealed “rare” implementation of practices related to curriculum and inclusive learning environments (CLE), whereas practices related to inclusive pedagogy (IP) and interpersonal awareness (IA) were reported to be “sometimes” employed. The results imply the need for integration of inclusive teaching practices in Life Sciences.