Steminist Blog
STEM Windows and Mirrors
Guest Blogger: Angeline Sauer
The science classroom as a window and a mirror for future STEM professionals
“I had a totally different reason for accepting a position at Bell Labs, and that was I saw people there that looked like me that I wanted to be when I grew up.” - James West, scientist and inventor
“I think Black and brown kids are taught that we're strong. We're tough. We can overcome, you know, hardship, which is - which are all true things. But we're also curious. We're also creative. We're also excited about learning, you know, how the world works around us... And I wanted to really highlight that… I don't focus, at least at this point in the series, a lot on the kids' races... I don't want that - necessarily that to be the topic of conversation, per se. I just want them to be them, to be carefree, to be out there just doing and loving science. And this isn't..., just for young kids of color to see. I think this is also important for white children to see, the fact that there are kids of color who are also just carefree and doing science. I think representation matters for everyone.” - Theanne Griffith, neuroscientist and children’s book author
I have always loved science. As a little girl my favorite things to do were nature walks with my dad. He could name all the wildflowers in the woods. It was like a special kind of magic to find these beautiful plants he loved. In school, I never questioned that I was good at science. I believe that’s part of the privilege of growing up in a solidly middle class white family where everyone believes the children can do anything they want. At this point in my life, I’ve spent the better part of two decades teaching science, mostly high school biology and chemistry, at various schools around the world. And throughout my career I have seen over and over again that the privilege I had of always knowing I could do science is not the experience of all of my students.
For that reason, I think a lot about my role in enabling each of my students, regardless of who they are or where they come from, to have the opportunity to experience the world as a scientist or engineer, and to see themselves as possible future STEM professionals. In my mind, there are two important ways teachers can offer this opportunity: 1) by using materials that normalize scientists as people of all genders and racial and ethnic backgrounds, and 2) by ensuring an inquiry-based classroom.
Much has been written about the need for curriculum to be both a mirror and a window for students. This idea was introduced by Emily Style at the National SEED Project. She writes that the curriculum must “function both as window and as mirror, in order to reflect and reveal most accurately both a multicultural world and the student herself or himself”. This idea has been implemented especially in literacy classes, where education professionals have recognized the need for a diversity of stories. In the science classroom, students need to see themselves in the mirror when they look at professionals in the field. They need a window that shows them what a diverse professional landscape looks like for their discipline. This is one aspect of teaching for diversity and social justice that I find myself considering often, and I continue to challenge myself to find and use better resources.
Like many people, after the pandemic started and we found ourselves confined to our house, my husband and I bought a treadmill. With the rise of my treadmill use came a major uptick in my podcast listening. I’m always on the lookout for entertaining science programs, so one of the podcasts I have on regular rotation is Short Wave from NPR.
For those who aren’t familiar with it, Short Wave bills itself as “science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor”. It is short, easy to listen to highlights of current research findings, important science news, and science-related social issues. What I didn’t realize before I started listening is that scientists it features are often women and/or people of color. The hosts are women.
Short Wave is an exemplar of what I’ve been seeing lately, which is resources that feature a diversity of peoples without being like, “here’s this women/person of color/nonbinary person” who will talk about this. This diversity of people are just normal people who are scientists. Resources like this, when used in classrooms, offer windows and mirrors for students. The voices of female scientists they interview enable little girls to see themselves as professionals in STEM fields, and normalize a gender-diverse world of science for all students. The people being interviewed are there because the program is highlighting their research. They are not token representatives of their gender/race who are only there to talk about that part of their lives (though the podcast does have some episodes about diversity in science, engineering, and mathematics).
I love this new development. As a woman, I have always struggled with the ideas that there were so few of us represented as the “typical” scientist. Now, I come across resource after resource where we are just part of the usual team. For example, while looking for updates for my class on the Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity Helicopter, I found the “Meet the Martians” part of NASA’s project website. The “martians” include both men and women, and if you click on one of them it brings you to a page where you can learn about that person’s contributions to the project, as well as some personal information and their advice for students who want to pursue that field. During research for this post, I found the If/Then Collection, which, according to its “about” section is, “the largest free resource of its kind dedicated to increasing access to authentic and relatable images of real women in STEM.”
These new resources support me as an educator. Through materials like these, I can ensure that what I offer to students represents a diversity of views as a routine part of life, rather than as a special event.
The other part of teaching for diversity in STEM fields that I feel even more strongly about is inquiry-based teaching. I plan units around the science and engineering practices and how students will use those practices to pursue their own questions about phenomena. During lessons, students experience the world as scientists and engineers do. They try out being a STEM professional, and can begin to see themselves as that person. Inquiry-based teaching is teaching for diversity and justice because it places importance in students’ questions and their interpretations of the evidence they collect. It creates a space where students take on the role of a possible future self.
In the last few years, the biggest resource for me for this kind of teaching has been the NGSS Standards. This set of standards for science teaching K-12 weaves together science and engineering content to be learned with science practices and cross-cutting concepts from all sciences. To use the standards correctly, every day students must use science practices like asking questions, planning and carrying out investigations, creating and revising models, and engaging in scientific argument. Every day I consider what students will DO with a science practice. Students in my class are always thinking and acting like scientists.
Doing science in science class is another way of offering students a mirror to see themselves as a scientist or engineer. As they learn each day, they become better at the science practices. They experience what it might be like to work in those fields as an adult. As they get better at the skills and learn more science, they consider those fields as a possibility, because they already know what they are like, and whether or not they might be something they are interested in.
Although I never questioned that I could do science, I reflect now on how great it would have been for that long ago me to see myself reflected in a mirror as an engineer, mathematician, or research scientist. How fantastic it would have been to look through a window that showed a community of people of all backgrounds and identities working together in science. How much I would have gotten out of practicing my life as a STEM professional in class each day. This is the vision I have in mind for my classroom. I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it.
Sources:
1: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/9701590132
2: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/966993846333
3: https://nationalseedproject.org/Key-SEED-Texts/curriculum-as-window-and-mirror
4: https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/the-importance-of-windows-and-mirrors-in-stories
5: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#People-Profiles
