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1. Vision in, of, and for Ambitious Science Teaching

   Tekkumru-Kisa, M.; Jaber, L. Z; & Akcil-Okan, O. (January 2021, Annual meeting program American Educational Research Association)

   null (Ed.)

   Fundamental to the recent reform vision for science education (NRC, 2012) are ambitious forms of teaching, such as facilitating productive discussions, that capitalize on students’ ideas and experiences to support students’ sensemaking (Kloser, 2014; Windschitl & Calabrese- Barton, 2012). This type of teaching, however, is not a natural act for many teachers; they need support to appropriate a vision of such teaching. This study seeks to understand teachers’ vision in practice (i.e., professional vision) and its relation to their vision of ambitious teaching after their involvement in a two-year professional learning program centered on facilitating productive science discussions aligned to reform vision. 

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2. Ten simple rules for building an antiracist lab

   https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008210  

   Chaudhary, VB; Berhe, AA (October 2020, PLoS computational biology)

   null (Ed.)

   Demographics of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce and student body in the US and Europe continue to show severe underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Among the documented causes of the persistent lack of diversity in STEM are bias, discrimination, and harassment of members of underrepresented minority groups (URMs). These issues persist due to continued marginalization, power imbalances, and lack of adequate policies against misconduct in academic and other scientific institutions. All scientists can play important roles in reversing this trend by shifting the culture of academic workplaces to intentionally implement equitable and inclusive policies, set norms for acceptable workplace conduct, and provide opportunities for mentorship and networking. As scientists are increasingly acknowledging the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in science, there is a need for clear direction on how to take antiracist action. Here we present 10 rules to help labs develop antiracists policies and action in an effort to promote racial and ethnic diversity, equity, and inclusion in science. 

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3. Leveraging Cultural Wealth, Identities and Motivation: How Diverse Intersectional Groups of Low-Income Undergraduate STEM Students Persist in Collegiate STEM Environments

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090888  

   Davis, Raeshan D; Wilson-Kennedy, Zakiya (September 2023, Education Sciences)

   Grounded in a conceptual framework incorporating intersectionality, motivation, self-determination, and self-efficacy, this empirical study investigated how individuals’ identities, mindsets, and resources in educational environments intentionally cultivated to support their decision-making, development, and connections in the science community, can significantly increase the recruitment, persistence, and success of low-income, academically talented science students from diverse backgrounds. Several factors—academic performance in coursework, self-image, self-agency, financial support, and social integration in the science culture—continue to significantly impact student retention and persistence in STEM disciplines. Many of these factors are negatively affected based on a students’ intersecting identities, which can be detrimental to their academic success if not addressed. We found that additional considerations to factor in concerning low-income students from diverse backgrounds that is pertinent to supporting their persistence and success in the postsecondary STEM educational context. 

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4. Productive Learning Through Labs: Data Laboratories and Their Value in Undergraduate Education and Scholarly Research

   https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096523000276  

   Gade, Emily K; Wallace, Geoffrey PR (October 2023, PS: Political Science & Politics)

   Data Laboratories (Data Labs)—by which we mean a collaborative, group-based research program that can be conducted inside and/or outside of the classroom and is designed to generate observational datasets—have numerous advantages for undergraduate learning and scholarly research. Undergraduate researchers in Data Labs learn about the actual process of collecting and constructing research-quality data—a skillset that is relevant for both academic and workplace opportunities but otherwise under-covered in most undergraduate political science degrees. This article discusses our experiences in founding and running Data Labs, general guidelines for effective lab structure, positive impacts on undergraduate learning and research output, and challenges to consider. 

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5. Establishing a Pathway to Completion for Pursuing Engineering and Engineering Technology Degrees through a Scholarship Program at Old Dominion University

   Jovanovic, Vukica; Dean, Anthony; Sibson, Kim; Tomovic, Cynthia; Landaeta, Rafael (January 2019, ASEE annual conference & exposition proceedings)

   There are various barriers facing adult students and veterans completing engineering degrees. Many of these student’s work part- or full-time while in college. In order to help these students, enable high retention rates, and decrease time to graduation require an in-depth understanding of specific student populations, especially ones classified as underrepresented. This paper provides an initial look into the first year of a scholarship program, funded by the National Science Foundation, and student success activities designed to support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need pursuing bachelor's degrees in engineering and engineering technology. Support services and scholarships are for veterans who have exhausted their GI Bill Benefits, but have not yet graduated. This paper will give an overview of current academic and mentoring support to increase academic success and workplace readiness, ensuring these students are ready to meet the demands of government, industry, and business. 

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