An official website of the United States government
To support students’ sense of belonging in science classrooms, K-12 teachers should recognize and appreciate learners’ diverse experiential, cultural, and linguistic repertoires as valuable resources for sensemaking in science. This approach to teaching necessarily entails expanding what has been traditionally considered as ontologically and epistemologically valid and valued in disciplinary learning spaces so that students’ diverse ways of thinking, talking, and feeling are honored and built upon, rather than dismissed. This study explores the emergence of such expansiveness in the context of STEM preservice teacher education. Using preservice teachers (PSTs)’ written reflections and in-class discussions, we identified different ways in which such expansiveness manifested in PSTs’ discourse. We end with some implications for supporting teachers’ expanding conceptions of science teaching and learning.
more »
« less
Engineering Learning among Black and Latinx/e/a/o Students: Considering Language and Culture to Reengineer Learning Environments
This conceptual paper explores language and cultural resources as forms of multicompetence for engaging in engineering epistemologies (what we know) and practices (what we do). The need for a more diverse pool of engineers to tackle the complex challenges facing society is undeniable, but stereotypes about the discipline can create alienation among many students and undermine efforts to build a more inclusive profession. Drawing on scholarship from engineering education, science education, and learning sciences, this paper argues that the resources of Multicompetent Learners (ML), who have acquired valuable experiences and knowledge through social interaction within their communities, are valuable for engineering learning environments. By leveraging the language and cultural resources that students bring with them, engineering education can better prepare learners to develop solutions and knowledge that serve a diverse population. This work underscores the critical role of language and cultural resources in helping students be heard, seen, and understood in engineering and illustrate how these resources can help bridge the gap between students' lives and engineering. The paper further explores the multidimensional nature of language and cultural resources and how students draw on different sets of talk depending on the context, whether near or distal from the activity at hand. It contends that without a deeper understanding of the role of non-dominant ways of speaking in the act of becoming and belonging, efforts to diversify engineering will remain elusive. Ultimately, this paper summarizes these ideas through a conceptual model for engineering learning environments that value and leverage the resources that students bring from their communities. By creating more equitable and socially just solutions, engineering education can better serve the needs of diverse populations and ensure that the profession is truly reflective of the communities it serves.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2239348
- PAR ID:
- 10542218
- Publisher / Repository:
- 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- language and culture engineering learning Black and Latina/o/x communities equity engineering justice multicompetence
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Portland, Oregon
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract We propose a conceptual framework for STEM education that is centered around justice for minoritized groups. Justice‐centered STEM education engages all students in multiple STEM subjects, including data science and computer science, to explain and design solutions to societal challenges disproportionately impacting minoritized groups. We articulate the affordances of justice‐centered STEM education for one minoritized student group that has been traditionally denied meaningful STEM learning: multilingual learners (MLs). Justice‐centered STEM education with MLs leverages the assets they bring to STEM learning, including their transnational experiences and knowledge as well as their rich repertoire of meaning‐making resources. In this position paper, we propose our conceptual framework to chart a new research agenda on justice‐centered STEM education to address societal challenges with all students, especially MLs. Our conceptual framework incorporates four interrelated components by leveraging the convergence of multiple STEM disciplines to promote justice‐centered STEM education with MLs: (a) societal challenges in science education, (b) justice‐centered data science education, (c) justice‐centered computer science education, and (d) justice‐centered engineering education. The article illustrates our conceptual framework using the case of the COVID‐19 pandemic, which has presented an unprecedented societal challenge but also an unprecedented opportunity to cultivate MLs' assets toward promoting justice in STEM education. Finally, we describe how our conceptual framework establishes the foundation for a new research agenda that addresses increasingly complex, prevalent, and intractable societal challenges disproportionately impacting minoritized groups. We also consider broader issues pertinent to our conceptual framework, including the social and emotional impacts of societal challenges; the growth of science denial and misinformation; and factors associated with politics, ideology, and religion. Justice‐centered STEM education contributes to solving societal challenges that K‐12 students currently face while preparing them to shape a more just society.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)When designing learning environments and curricula for diverse populations, it is beneficial to connect with learners’ cultural knowledge, and the related interests, they bring to the learning context. To aid in the design and development of a computing curriculum and identify these areas of personal and cultural connection, we conducted a series of participatory design sessions. The goal of these sessions was to col- lect ideas around ways to make the instructional materials reflect the interests and voices of the learners. In this paper, we examine how the use of participatory design techniques can advance our understanding of the domains influencing today’s youth. Specifically, we examine the ideas generated by youth during these sessions as a means to understand what influences them and their ideas of cultural relevancy. In this work, we identify the resources children draw on across design activities and organize them to extend the Spheres of Influence framework (L. Archer et al., 2014). We identify seven spheres to attend to when designing for learning: Home and Family, School and Work, Hobbies and Leisure, Media, Interests, Peers, and Identity.more » « less
-
The escalating complexity of global challenges demands a collaborative approach in scientific research that leverages diverse expertise, cultural backgrounds, and disciplines. This paper investigates communication barriers within multicultural engineering education research teams, emphasizing competent communication in fostering effective collaboration and innovation. Using Thompson's Collective Communication Competence (CCC) Model, this study explores engineering students’ experiences in a multicultural engineering education research project, aiming to identify specific challenges that hinder competent communication and propose actionable strategies for improvement. Through qualitative interviews and content analysis, the research highlights challenges in comprehensibility, team bonding, and navigating diverse disciplinary languages and cultural norms. The findings advocate for proactive measures such as early training in common language establishment, trust-building activities, and engaged reflexivity to enhance communication dynamics within multicultural research teams.more » « less
-
Defining the purposes of engineering ethics education (EEE) is paramount for the engineering education community, and understanding the purposes of EEE can be a catalyst for actively involving students in the learning process. This chapter presents a conceptual framework for systematically describing and comparing various approaches to the purposes of EEE. Such a framework is inherently embedded with a tension between a normative approach and a pragmatic approach regarding the purposes of EEE. The normative approach focuses on what the purposes of EEE should be, an ‘ideal world’ scenario, given the needs of the engineering profession and of society at large. Conversely, the pragmatic approach starts from the question ‘What can be achieved through educational practice?‘ and results from ‘actual world’ situated outcomes of stakeholder negotiations. The authors’ framework balances these. They – scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds – assert that the purposes of EEE are socially constructed and vary from country to country based on unique historical, political, and cultural contexts. Their framework embraces both the individualistic and holistic aspects of EEE, incorporating perspectives from both Western and non-Western traditions. It identifies six purposes of EEE (knowledge, actions, personal traits, relationships, etc.), aligning these with examples (e.g., moral knowledge, desirable actions, ethical skills or competencies, care ethics, etc.) and theoretical frameworks (moral epistemology, moral psychology, virtue ethics, objects or qualities of relations, etc.). It is problematic and potentially dangerous when engineering educators design ethics-learning activities without critically examining the purposes of these activities and assessing whether these purposes are justified for educating ethically and professionally competent engineers. This chapter provides tools to help avoid such pitfalls.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--47286
