My Educational Research to Practice.

S.T.E.M. careers have become quite prominent. The number of unique career paths in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics are growing with each new generation. “Employment in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations has grown 79% since 1990, from 9.7 million to 17.3 million, outpacing overall U.S. job growth. ” (Pew Research Center) As a result more students are entering college with the goal of joining this evolving STEM workforce. With that being said, STEM careers are not immune to diversity gaps that are seen in other career paths. From gender to race to ethnicity, one can see the lack of representation in STEM careers.

“Women make up only 28% of the workforce in [STEM] and men vastly outnumber women majoring in most STEM fields in college.” (AAUW) This gender gap is high in some of the highest paying jobs such as computer science and engineering. There are several key factors to look at when evaluating why there are so few women pursuing STEM careers. Gender roles and lack of role models are some of the well known reasons but there are so many more. As a teacher, it is important to keep these factor in mind as to not discourage our kiddos from achieving a STEM career. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) delve much deeper into this topic than I could after do within this one blog post. I will be linking their website below. They have tons of research that help answer the question of “Why so few?” as well as resources to can be used to solve the gender gap.

Racial and ethnic diversity in STEM careers is as much of an issue of gender diversity. Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics “are all much less likely than whites in such jobs to believe that members of their own racial or ethnic group are usually treated fairly, particularly when it comes to opportunities for promotion and advancement.” (PEW Research Center) Similar to the gender gap, the factors for the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in STEM includes the deprivation of role models and opportunities as well as low self-confidence. Above is graph that compares the prominence of several factors across races and ethnicities. You are able to see the significant difference in numbers between the various groups. Looking toward a solution, there are several resources available to us that can be a tool to inspire. One of these tools is a database I found that was created by TriCollege Libraries Research Guides. They have complied a collection of national organizations, literature, journals, and other online resources. These resources are categorized by race and ethnicity such as Black, Latinx, Native American, and more! I found this website to be extremely helpful in looking for academic resources created by individuals in that group.  The link for this website will be below.

Some common factors between the lack of gender and racial diversity in STEM are the lack of role models and lack of encouragement. Teachers have the power to reverse these factor and inspire children to pursue a career in STEM. Show your students people who have made a name for themselves in STEM. Show them how people who look like them can change the world. Here are a few individuals in these minority groups who have impacted the world of STEM in our past, present, and future.

Rosalind Franklin

Rosalind Franklin was an english chemist who did a lot of work with x-rays and molecules. Her work also lead to the understanding of molecular structure of DNA. Franklin’s work was shared with James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins without her permission. The three men received a Nobel Prize, and her key role in the discovery was ignored for years.

 

Chien-Shiung Wu

Chien-Shiung Wu was an Chinese-American physicist whose work lead to several advancements in nuclear physics. Along with working in The Manhattan Project, Wu’s experiments in radioactive cobalt lead to the disproved the law of conservation of parity. The male physicists who asked her to conduct the experiment for them won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics, and Wu, well, was snubbed.

 

Marie Maynard Daly

Marie Maynard Daly was an African- American biochemist. She was to first black woman in America to receive a Ph.d in chemistry. During the 50s, Daly’s work focused on the contributing factors of heart disease such as connections to cholesterol levels. Her work laid the foundation for modern understanding of the effects of sugar and cholesterol consumption on the human heart. Later, she did additional work on the effect smoking had on the lungs. This idea was very ahead of her time.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an African-American astrophysicist and planetary scientist. Over the course of his career, Tyson has written several books, hosted science based TV shows such as Cosmos, and became the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York where he still works to this day. In the early 2000s, Tyson and his team made the shocking announcement that Pluto was in fact a dwarf planet. Despite the negative public response, International Astronomical Union followed Tyson’s claims and demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet in 2006.

Jonathan C. Hall

Jonathan C. Hall is an African-American ecologist and writer among other things. He was first black man to graduate with a Ph.D in ecology from Ohio State University. “[Hall’s] dissertation research focused on the intersection of culture, primarily the Bishnoi people, and non-human species conservation in rural Rajasthan, India.”(jonathonchall.com) He was featured for his work with condors in the podcast Oligies with Alie Ward.(I highly recommend this to anyone.)

Juita Martinez

Juita Martinez is an African-American woman who has a Bacholers of Science in Zoology. She is also a 3rd year PhD student Louisiana State University. She is currently studying the changing coastlines in Louisiana and its affects on the brown pelican. Along with that work, she also researches the impact humans have on this species.  She was featured on the podcast Oligies with Alie Ward for her work with brown pelicans and just overall coolness.

 

Stem Careers are the future. “65% of the children entering elementary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that have not been envisioned.” As teachers, we need to ready our students for the ever changing world. They are our future innovators and leaders. We need to encourage them. Teachers need to be the ones to say that “Yes! You can pursue these careers! It doesn’t matter what you look like or where you come from. You have the power to do this!” It is time to inspire the next generation.

 

Featured Resources (in order as mentioned):

6 facts about America’s STEM workforce and those training for it

Black and Hispanic workers remain underrepresented in STEM jobs compared with their share of the U.S. workforce.

Home

AAUW’s virtual parallel event moderated by Gloria L. Blackwell, featured a panel of four outstanding AAUW fellowships & grants alumnae – Catherine Adelman, Dr. Christine Marizzi, Dr. Rachel Marra, and Yamilée Toussaint. Panelists discussed the critical need for strategies that inspire and educate girls to choose STEM careers and how to remove barriers to increase the participation and empowerment of women across these underrepresented fields.

4. Blacks in STEM jobs are especially concerned about diversity and discrimination in the workplace

Blacks and Hispanics are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math jobs, relative to their presence in the overall U.S. workforce,

https://guides.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/c.php?g=285559&p=1901688

7 Hidden Figures of STEM | InHerSight

We’re not waiting for the next movie for another burst of inspiration

Bio – Jonathan C. Hall

I am an ecologist, geographer, educator, writer, and outdoors enthusiast. All of what I do centers around good (sustainable) relations with others (humans & non-humans). My academic work: My non-academic work:

https://juitamartinez.com/

As a future educator it is hard not to realize the impact I will have on future generations. To be honest, that is terrifying to me. I feel this way for many reasons but primarily because I remember how my past education has impacted me and how I viewed the world for most of my adolescence as a result. I was raised catholic. I went to church every week and attend a catholic school from 1st-8th grade. It is obvious that LGBT+ history and acceptance was rarely mentioned let alone discussed during my time at that school. Despite the lack of LGBT+ representation in my grade school, my high school was a safe space for people (students and faculty) to express who they are. That is where I found the language to put how I felt. However, it would still come as a surprise to my mom when I came out as bisexual in my freshman year of college. If I had the language sooner, I probably would have accepted this part of myself much sooner.

Sadly, there are many stories where people don’t have the language nor the safe space to express who they are. As teachers, we should aspire to have an inclusive space where differences like race, gender, or sexual orientation are highlighted in positive ways and accepted. This practice can widen a child’s perspective on the world and develop empathy for those who are different from them.

You may be asking me through your screen, “Well what does the inclusion of LGBT+ representation look like in a early childhood classroom? or How am I suppose to make time to talk about the inclusion of gender and LGBT+ history when I have to teach all of this curriculum? Well, I am going to break down how you can incorporate these topics into your classroom and not adding much additional time to your planning while still follow the standards.

ELA: There is an ever growing list of amazing picture books what are written by LGBT+ authors or discuss themes related to LGBT+ topics. Some connections are more subtle than other if you don’t want to be as obvious. I’ll include a list of some books to add to your Amazon wishlist!

History: In every historical event dating back to beginning of time, LGBT+ individuals have been there and made impacts that often go uncredited. Too often we are finding out about LGBT+ figures who had a hand in a major historical events (Molly Dewson, Harvey Milk) long after we’ve graduated school or we have been learning about these people but there LGBT+ identity has been erased to be more appealing to the masses (Alexander Hamilton). I recommend featuring key figures like these into your next history lesson. Students will now be able to see the whole picture of these events.

STEM: This maybe obvious to some but LGBT+ people exist in the world. We are in all kinds of careers and have many passions just like anyone else. With that being said, there are many LGBT+ individuals involved in STEM fields. (shocking I know…) During your next engineering design challenge, give student resources that involve these individuals to guide their research process. I also recommend a podcast called Ologies with Alie Ward. She often features people of color and LBGT+ individuals who are experts in their field.

General Points: For units on families, this is the perfect opportunity to open young children up to the idea that a family can have 2 dads or 2 moms on top of the plethora of other familial combinations. In play areas, it is inevitable that a child will come to you saying, “I can’t play with that! That’s for girls! (or for boys)”. That gives you the chance to start the conversation of boy vs. girl toys and how there is no set of toys for a particular person. Children can play with whatever toys they want. All that matters is that they are having fun!

As said before the inclusion of LGBT+ topics in early childhood is long over due. Yes, it may add a few minutes to your planning time. However, the impact it will have on your kiddos will be amazing. They will gain a new perspective on families and relationships and gender roles. This new perspective will allow for inclusion and empathy that will benefit them as they step out of your classroom into the world. Trust me, it is better to have the language that inclusion supplies from a young age than to have to change your views of the world as an adult.

 

Resources:

30 Children’s Books With LGBTQ+ Characters

In honor of Pride Month and the wonderfully diverse students in our classrooms, here are 30 of our favorite children’s books with LGBTQ+ characters.

How Queer Women Powered the Suffrage Movement (Published 2020)

For many suffragists, scholars have found, the freedom to choose whom and how they loved was tied deeply to the idea of voting rights.

Ologies Episodes – alie ward

Listen to Ologies on Stitcher, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts.

When asked, “Hey, did you have a favorite teacher from when you were a kid?”, the majority would be able to talk about at least one teacher they had that helped them become a better person. Maybe they would talk about how that teacher inspired them to become one as well. Well, I’m in the minority. I didn’t have that stand out teacher that I could give that give that shining medal to. For the most part, my teachers were old white women who have been teaching the same content in the same way for years. I was just a drop in the bucket to them. I didn’t see the great potential any teacher has until I hit high school. My high school was unconventional and it made up for my rigid, traditional schooling I received from grades 1st-8th.

I don’t pity myself anymore for the experiences I never got. I came to the realization that I needed to have those experiences to be the person I am now. However, this does mean I need to draw my inspiration for my education pedagogy from other sources.

This is a picture on me in Kindergarten (03′-04′) & me my senior year of high school (15′-16′).

 

 

My Education Guru is not something I’ve taken time to analyze until recently. However, after a time of reflection on what I’ve been learning in my college courses and the experiences I had in my own early childhood schooling, I came to the realization that I wanted to give my future students the schooling experiences that I never got. I want my student to explore the world through hands-on activities. I also want to expose them to a the value of STEM and have these ideas integrated through out all the content areas.

After doing some research, I discovered that what I want for my students match a lot of the ideologies of John Dewey(1859-1952). He was a philosopher and educator who helped found pragmatism.  Pragmatism focus on the practical application of theories and belief and in education there is a focus on life and growth of the students. Dewey believed in the the effectiveness of learning through doing. By applying the content to real life scenarios and projects, students can evaluate the application of what they are learning. Educators are also bringing in relevance into the classroom to show the students that the content does apply to and affect them and their community. John Dewey also is known for bringing inquiry-based learning to America. This child-centered practice connects seamlessly with Dewey’s hands-on approach.

Children are naturally curious. As soon as they develop their language, they start to ask questions. When they enter school, they are still asking questions. These questions can easily guide the class through new content. Asking questions should be something that is embraced and encouraged. Integrated STEM education of one way of addressing this natural curiosity. Incorporating STEM into your classroom isn’t always easy. However, the research backs up the benefits of this practice. I have found a few article that evaluate to positive effects that STEM education can have in early childhood education. I will cite these article below. I encourage you to give them a read.

All I want is for my student to have a love and appreciation for learning and as their teacher I can provide a safe and positive environment where they can explore and discover. After this time of research and reflection, I am confident that I am on the right path to a successful classroom.

 

For more information on John Dewey:

https://www.biography.com/scholar/john-dewey

The Pedagogy Of John Dewey: A Summary – TeachThought

Dewey believed that learning was socially constructed and that brain-based pedagogy should emphasize active, experiential learning.

Article Citations:

Brenneman, K., Lange, A., & Nayfeld, I. (2019). Integrating STEM into Preschool Education; Designing a Professional Development Model in Diverse Settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(1), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-018-0912-z

McClure, E. R., Guernsey, L., Clements, D. H., Bales, S. N., Nichols, J., Kendall-Taylor, N., & Levine, M. H. (2017). STEM Starts Early. Education Digest, 86(4), 43–51.

 

Welcome to my blog for the course ERCH 496: Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment. My name is Erin Hinchey and I am a teacher candidate for Early Childhood Education (PreK-4th) at Millersville University. I am also in the ISEM(Integrative STEM Education Methods) minor program.

Even though the current purpose of this blog is for a course assignment, I hope to continue to use this blog to document future experiences I will have in my student teaching.

Have a Great Day!