Centering Equity to Humanize the Process of Coming Back Together

I have the fortune of being a part of the CSU Robert Noyce Scholarship program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Noyce program encourages talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors to become teachers in high-needs school districts. Every year the NSF hosts a summit for the Noyce programs across the country. The theme this year focused on centering equity in STEM. As so many things are this year, the 2020 Noyce Summit went virtual.

This year’s summit is relevant to the times we’re living in now during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Our need for centering equity in STEM has only been amplified these past months. The need for remote schooling compound Issues of access and inclusivity. Added to that are much-needed conversations and actions around anti-racism. We have an opportunity to think about and plan for how we will improve education for all when this is all over. This summit provides some excellent resources to start the process.

Learn from the Summit

I love attending the summit in person, but there is are some advantages to it going online. One of the biggest of those is that now anyone can access the 2020 Virtual Noyce Summit! So, you can learn from the excellent presentations that are now available. Go to the summit website and see all the amazing topics. When you’ve done that, I encourage you to watch the presentations and take notes. Then, think about how you can incorporate what you’ve learned in your work and your life.

If you do only one thing, though, watch Dr. David E. Kirkland’s opening plenary, How to Center Equity and Humanize the Process of Coming Back Together: A Focus on Joy and Justice in STEM Education. When you’ve done that, read the follow-up blog post. I am already thinking about how we will use these ideas to improve our own CSU Noyce professional development.

What are some of your biggest takeaways about centering equity in STEM from the summit? We’ve opened up the comments to start a discussion around this topic.

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Dr. Laura B. Sample McMeeking

Director – STEM Center

Dr. Sample McMeeking is the Director of the STEM Center. Her primary research focuses on STEM professional development at multiple levels, including preservice and inservice teachers, university undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty. As part of her work, she collaborates with faculty and staff at CSU and others outside of CSU to develop and implement high-quality research and evaluation in STEM education.