Title: Integrating Multicultural Education in the STEM Disciplines at the University Level
In this interactive presentation, I will briefly discuss multicultural education, equality, equity, and social justice. This aspect of the presentation will focus upon What are multicultural education, equality, equity, and social justice and what do they have to do with STEM courses in higher education? However, the major feature of the presentation is to provide an opportunity for faculty members to be engaged in activities demonstrating the integration of multicultural education, equity, and social justice into STEM disciplines. One activity will focus on diversity and what does a student different from the teacher of the course might mean to everyone in the classroom. The audience will then break up into small groups to work together to discuss scenarios about incidents that happen in STEM classrooms and how faculty members might use diversity to enhance their STEM teaching, curricula, assessment, and learning. Groups must be willing to briefly share their discussions of the various scenarios. These activities might require both minor and major changes in the thinking and practices within the classroom, the department, and the university.
Biosketch:
Dr. Atwater received her Ph. D in Science Education with a minor in Chemistry from North Carolina State University. Her dissertation examined the influence of cognitive and affective variables on the success of Black undergraduate students in science and engineering curricula at a predominately White university. Her current research interests include socio-cultural-political influences on science learning and teaching, multicultural science teacher education, and chemical education. One of her publications, “Multicultural Science Education,” has been recognized as “One of the Most Significant Manuscripts Published from the 1980s to the mid-1990s” in The Science Teacher. Her chapters, Closing: The Cycle is Complete, But Can It Begin Again? in K. C. Wieseman and M. Weinburg’s 2009 edited book, Women’s experiences in leadership in K-16 science education communities: Becoming and being, and her co-authored chapter with Regina Suriel, Science Curricular Materials through the Lens of Social Justice: Research Findings in T. K. Chapman and N. Hobbel’s edited book, Social justice pedagogy across the curriculum: The practice of freedom to be released in 2010 are ones that faculty members may want to read as they look at multicultural education within two different arenas in higher education.