Teaching and Science Outreach
I have always known I wanted a career in STEM education. I was given the amazing opportunity early on to give a lecture that I designed myself in an upper division Evolution class as an undergraduate at CSULB and my dream was set in place. I also taught the introductory ecology and physiology course supplemental instruction class as an undergraduate there for three semesters. These formative experiences gave me the ability to hit the ground running as a teaching assistant at UCSC. Since then the many courses I have taken on STEM pedagogy and diversity, equity and inclusion in the classroom have given me ample time to reflect on and modify my teaching techniques and style over the past eight years, while giving me the tools and inspiration to better cater to the diverse needs of students in my teaching.
I've put together below some teaching and outreach resources that have been incredibly useful in my career thus far. I highlight sources that show where we stand in STEM education today exhibiting why hands-on science education and outreach is critical to students developing their science identity and increasing retention of URM students in STEM fields.
K-12 STEAM Outreach Activites & Resources
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Vanderbilt University's Center for Science Outreach has put together a wonderful list of hands-on activities in a variety of subjects with lesson plans to go with them and can be found here: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/cso/Kit-lessons.php
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This website encompasses a wide range of science-related activities while also providing links to science blogs and other resources: https://imagineupstate.org/stem-activities/
College Level Pedagogy
Reads & Resources
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Kimberly Tanner puts together a great list of easy to do active-learning activities that can be used in the classroom in this paper: Structure Matters
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Brielle Harbin. 2016. “Teaching Beyond the Gender Binary in the University Classroom.” Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. A great resource to helping make your classroom a more inclusive environment when it comes to addressing gender https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teaching-beyond-the-gender-binary-in-the-university-classroom/
"...as Americans look back on their own K-12 experiences, three-quarters (75%) report that they generally liked science classes. Science labs and hands-on learning experiences stand out as a key appeal among those who liked science classes."
There are a variety of reasons people claim that take the focus away from the importance of inclusive teaching in higher-ed as it relates to URM retention rates like enrollment, interest, and preparation but the numbers say otherwise:
https://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/dbassesite/documents/webpage/dbasse_088834.pdf