Strategies To Support Female And Students Of Color To Engage In STEM
Constructivism sees learners as unique humans who are not uniform in any dimension of self. Therefore, teaching and instruction must be constructed in a way that serves the individual’s educational purpose with the consideration of personal, environmental, and cultural factors that have influenced them. Alexander Allison (2019) discusses the fact that the course materials, the teaching methods and how we as educators ask the students to demonstrate their learning could be discriminated some student's demographic. Hence, we must ensure that teaching is inclusive and just. And that the purpose of teaching STEM to all students is to ensure that their interactions with peers, educators, other supports, learning material must be equity. Always investigate students’ interests, aptitudes, and challenges across the entire spectrum of their lives, before trying to understand why they are failing to achieve within the narrow range of skills that can be nurtured, measured, and mastered within the present model of mass education.
One of the important aspects come to mind when discussing about equity is looking into the curricular’s intentions and ask questions if the curriculum in which we teach is inclusivity. Vitello & Mithaug (1998) insist that “the aim of inclusive education is to eliminate social exclusion which is a consequence of attitudes and responses to diversity in race, social class, ethnicity, religion, gender, and ability (as cited in Alexander, 2019, p. 1995).
Thus, Hyslop-Margison & Strobel, (2008); Simpson, (2002) asserts that “constructivism is not a theory but rather an epistemology, or philosophical explanation about the nature of learning” (as cited in Schunk, 2012a, p.230). Social cognitive theory assumes that human learning and performance occur by “the reciprocal interactions among persons, behaviors, and environments” (Schunk, 2012b, p.119). These factors generate learner’s beliefs about self-efficacy. By providing alternative approaches to frustrating subjects, can “boost one's beliefs in self-efficacy, while anxiety can undermine it. A certain level of emotional stimulation can create an energizing feeling that can contribute to strong performances” (Margolis and McCabe, 2006, as cited in Kirk, n.d, p. 6). In other words, success leads to success. Experiencing our own competency and capability in one area can allow us the confidence to pursue, persist and succeed in any number of endeavors throughout the course of life
One of the great examples for nurturing this self-efficacy was the MathROOTs program at MIT. This program is launched in 2015 by MIT’s Program for Research in Math, Engineering and Science. It is an after-school program for high schoolers. The program mainly serves minority students and females who are advanced in Math at their schools come in to develop their Math skill at MIT. (Schroeder, 2015)
In my own milieu, the majority of instructional approaches and strategies are created to purposely teach students convergent thinking which is “the ability to use logical and evaluative thinking to critique and narrow ideas to ones best suited for given situations, or set criteria” (Fry, 2007, p.4). In other words, teaching students the characteristics of fast and efficient decision-making. But, is being fast and efficient consistent with the deep-thinking mindset we must cultivate in those tasked with answering the fundamental conceptual questions that govern the future? Long-standing and as yet-to-be imagined problems must be understood and answered if we are to effectively steer an exponentially complexifying world.
Linear retrieval of amassed data is a task where computer chips have long exceeded their human creators. But within living memory, a computer was a literal occupational title, for someone who performed rote mathematical calculations. Hence, should our mindset focus on teaching a “single, best, ‘correct’ answer to a standard problem in the shortest time”? (Fry, 2007, p.4). Especially in the field of technology, engineering, and Math on which depends our future economic trajectory, do we not need to combine the qualitative, non-linear approach of the arts and humanities, if we are to wisely deploy STEM resources for the good of society? Fry (2007) explains convergent thinking “emphasizes the personal characteristics of speed, accuracy, logic” (p.4) which is at odds with the divergent patterns that allow the brain to arrive at new insights, according to the field of creativity research. Because Beck (2019) insists on the true meaning of creativity is “never right or wrong, rather it is constantly breaking with habits of thought. And this makes creativity the natural enemy of efficiency” (p.238).
References
Alexander, A. (2019). Inclusive curriculum design. Ontario Tech University. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert-Power-7/publication/340456118_Technology_and_the_Curriculum_Summer_2019/links/5e8b1ab7299bf13079805910/Technology-and-the-Curriculum-Summer-2019.pdf#page201
Beck, H. (2019, October 8). Scatter Brain. How the mind's mistakes make humans creative, innovative, and successful. Greystone Books. Vancouver/Berkeley
Fry, R. (2007). Convergent/Divergent creativity. Working With Different Modes of Creative Thought in Interdisciplinary Settings. American Society for Engineering Education. file:///home/chronos/u-51f43586c0dc04b21a2f86808936bc1e50560fd4/MyFiles/Downloads/convergent-divergent-creativity.pdf
Kirk, K. (n.d). Self-efficacy: Helping students believe in themselves. Teach the earth. https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/efficacy.html
Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id=53ad2847cf57d75c068b45c5&assetKey=AS%3A273549456019456%401442230680395
Schroeder, B. (2015). High school students find their MathROOTS at MIT. School of Science. https://news.mit.edu/2015/high-school-students-mathroots-0708