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DEI Learning

Promoting Equity and Belonging in Online STEM: Strategies for Culturally Responsive Practices

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The inclusion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in education fosters diversity and provides opportunities for students from various cultural backgrounds to engage in a comprehensive and enriching educational experience.

Culturally responsive teaching is a pedagogical approach that utilizes the cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of diverse students to enhance and personalize their learning experiences (Culturally Responsive STEM Committee, 2021). It goes beyond merely recognizing cultural differences; it actively incorporates these differences into the teaching process to create a classroom environment where all students feel valued, respected, and empowered to participate meaningfully. 

Adopting this approach entails tailoring teaching methods to align with students’ cultural experiences, thereby enhancing the relatability and engagement of the learning content (Thompson & Perez, 2021). Educators are tasked with actively seeking and integrating diverse perspectives into their teaching strategies, fostering an environment where students feel acknowledged and valued. As the educational journey unfolds, continual reflection and adaptation become crucial, ensuring responsiveness to the ever-changing cultural dynamics within the learning environment. 

Promoting Cultural Responsiveness in Online STEM Education

Educators who are committed to fostering an inclusive classroom that celebrates and respects students’ diverse backgrounds can empower all learners to thrive in a transformative academic environment.  Here are some strategies that educators can use to help them do so:  

Make Everyone Feel Welcome: Create a friendly online space where students from divergent backgrounds feel comfortable and respected.  For example, discussion boards where students share their cultural perspectives could foster a positive environment, ensuring everyone feels valued and respected. 

Use Diverse Examples and Culturally Relevant Resources: Include diverse types of resources and examples in your lessons to make sure everyone can relate to the material.   For example, in a history lesson, include narratives in recordings from various regions or cultures, ensuring that the material is relatable and accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. This approach could enhance the learning experience, making it more relevant and engaging for a diverse student body. 

Organize Community Engagement: Connecting students to STEM communities, organizations, and role models from diverse backgrounds is crucial. This could help students to feel a sense of belonging and may encourage them to pursue STEM fields. Educators can actively facilitate these connections by introducing guest speakers presentations, establishing access to field trips (both in-person and virtually), or promoting student participation in relevant organizations on campus. 

Establish Equity and Access: Educators should work to ensure that all students have equal access to educational opportunities. This may involve addressing disparities in access to technology, providing additional support for students with varying language abilities, and accommodating different learning styles and abilities. 

Use Inclusive Language and Explore Different Cultures: Use language that respects and acknowledges unfamiliar cultural perspectives and backgrounds. Avoid assumptions or stereotypes.  

Try learning about diverse cultures while being sensitive to them in your teaching.  For instance, in a lesson on scientific advancements, incorporate case studies highlighting collaborative efforts from scientists across the globe, emphasizing the global nature of STEM research. This approach could underscore cultural sensitivity in STEM learning, illustrating the interconnectedness of scientific achievements across diverse communities and creating an inclusive educational experience. 

Group of graduates, gathering joyfully.

Personalize Student Learning: Understand that each student learns differently and tailor the teaching to their needs.  Acknowledge the individual learning styles of each student and customize your teaching methods accordingly. Ensure fairness by allowing students the freedom to choose how they demonstrate their understanding. For instance, on a science assignment, provide options such as conducting an experiment, building a model, or delivering a brief presentation to display their comprehension. This approach could help to acknowledge diverse learning styles and strengths, creating an inclusive assessment environment. 

Encourage Group Work: Encourage students to work with classmates from divergent backgrounds.   For example, on a group assignment, deliberately pair students from diverse cultural or ethnic backgrounds to encourage a dynamic exchange of ideas. This collaborative method not only develops teamwork skills but could also provides students with valuable insights from various perspectives, creating a more inclusive and culturally diverse learning environment. 

Include Different Perspectives: Diverse cultures bring unique perspectives to STEM, so try showing how unfamiliar cultures think about different STEM topics.   Indigenous cultures often blend science with spirituality, Eastern philosophies emphasize balance, African cultures value community collaboration, Arab/Islamic cultures integrate faith and science, Latin American indigenous communities prioritize nature, and Nordic societies focus on societal impact (Thevenot, 2021). Recognizing these diverse perspectives could enrich the global understanding of STEM. 

These simple changes can help make online STEM courses better for everyone, no matter where they come from.  Culturally responsive teaching in STEM is an ongoing journey that involves a commitment to openness, feedback, and inclusivity. It is about continuously striving to create a learning environment where students from all cultural backgrounds feel valued and empowered to succeed in the STEM fields. 

Adding cultural responsive teaching could further enhance the learning environment for students who may need extra consideration. If you want to explore how to incorporate this type of teaching strategy into your online course, the SCSU Online and Distance Learning team can help.  You can reach out to us via email or through Bookings.

Additional Reading:

For more information on any of the following topics, please check out our previous blog articles.

References: 

Culturally Responsive STEM Committee. (2021, February 10). About the Culturally Responsive STEM Initiative. STEMteachersNYC. https://stemteachersnyc.org/culturally-responsive-stem/ 

Thompson, C. & Perez, R. (2021). Strategies for culturally responsive online teaching in STEM. Online Learning Consortium. https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/webinar/strategies-for-culturally-responsive-online-teaching-in-stem/ 

Thevenot, Y. (2021, July 26). Culturally responsive and sustaining STEM curriculum as a problem-based science approach to supporting student achievement for black and Latinx students. NYU Steinhardt. https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/vue/culturally-responsive-and-sustaining-stem-curriculum-problem-based-science-approach  

Woit, S. (2022). Person Holding Glucose, Medicine Students [Photograph]. SCSU photos. https://stcloudstate.smugmug.com/CastleCampus/i-MGQxHg4 

Woit, S. (2022). Group of graduates, gathering joyfully. [Photograph]. SCSU photos.  https://stcloudstate.smugmug.com/2023EconomicImpact/i-r44z7bp 

 

Monisha Mohannaidu, currently serving as a Graduate Assistant at SCSU, brings three years of valuable experience from her work with advertising agencies around the world. Apart from her professional background, she is an enthusiastic individual who has actively participated in several art workshops and has a proficiency in graphic design. 

DEI Learning

Creating Accessible Content for Equity and Inclusion in the Online Classroom

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Providing learning materials and activities in the online environment, so that all students can learn, is imperative for equity and inclusion within the course. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, all people with disabilities are afforded the “equal opportunity as those without disabilities, no matter the sector (transportation, school, work, etc.)” (United States Department of Justice [DOJ], n.d., para. 1). Only individual students with documented needs are guaranteed specific accommodations under the ADA, to help make learning more accessible. In a higher education setting, these accommodations can be anything from extended time on assessments to screen reading software on their devices. By adding accessibility to the learning materials and activities within the course, faculty can make learning available for those students who may need some assistance but do not have a documented need.  

Unfortunately, adding accessibility to a course is not always considered, which in the end could negatively affect those who need it. There are several reasons this is occurring: 

  1. Faculty do not think about it or simply forget to incorporate it 
  2. Faculty lack proper training on how to properly incorporate it 
  3. Faculty are not interested in taking the necessary steps to incorporate it 
  4. Faculty have a misunderstanding on which materials need accessibility added 

No matter the reason, a helpful solution is providing ample opportunities for faculty to be introduced, re-introduced, reminded, and properly trained by offering accessibility training (webinars, workshops, guides, etc.). By keeping this practice in the forefront of faculty’s minds it can also help to make the enactment occur more readily. This action would fall in line with the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives put forth by the university. 

ADA and the Classroom 

As stated previously, the ADA was added to the category of civil rights laws that attempt to “add equity to spaces without it for people with disabilities, to achieve equality” (DOJ, n.d., para. 1). Equity means that an individual’s needs are recognized and that resources are provided to ensure fairness and equality (Merriam-Webster, n.d.; Morton & Fasching-Varner, 2015). Equality means the same treatment is afforded to everyone as it pertains to “equal access to opportunities and benefits in society” (Anderson, 2022, p. 4).  

This allows for services provided by the law to be used by those who need them but can also be used by all. By doing so, it establishes environments and situations that are inclusive for everyone. For example, ramps for elevated surfaces. These were intended for those in wheelchairs. Ramps could also be helpful for users of assistive equipment (walkers, canes, or clutches), strollers (or other wheeled contraptions), pain sufferers, and those with recent injuries or surgeries.  

Cartoon image of a drawing showcasing the difference between equality (left image) and equity (right image). Scene at a baseball game of 3 people of different heights peering over a fence. the Equality side provides crates of the same height for all to use. In the equity image, crates tall enough for all to see the game are provided.

(Interaction Institute for Social Change & Maguire, 2016) 

Implementing Accessibility 

The D2L Brightspace LMS (Learning Management System) is already accessible, but when it comes to adding accessibility to learning materials and activities, each object has its own set of features to be added. Below are simplistic tables, with the key features, for reference. Notice that objects are separated by “text only” and “others” in the separate tables, to make for easier usage. Microsoft Office applications and Adobe Acrobat have accessibility checkers built into them to identify the issues and information on how to fix them. For further assistance, please reference this website on Tools for Promoting Disability Access and Inclusion.   

 
Object (text only)
Features
How it helps
PowerPoint slides 
  1. Reading order 
  1. Allows screen reading software to read slides in the correct order 
WORD  
  1. Headings 
  2. Sans serif font
  1. Allows screen reading software to pause, which signals a new section 
  2. Allows the visually impaired (or dyslexic) to read the words more clearly 
PDFs  
  1. Language 
  2.  Title 
  3.  Tags 
  4. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) 
  1. Allows screen reading software to read aloud the content correctly   
  2. Allows screen reading software to search and identify documents better 
  3. Allows screen reading software to identify features readily accessible in WORD documents (headings, lists, tables, etc.) 
  4. Allows the document to be searched for specific words, the text to be selected, and the screen reading software to read aloud the content correctly   
Excel Spreadsheets 
  1. Names (cells, ranges, worksheets) 
  2.  A1 cell 
  3.  Simple design 
  1. Allows screen reading software to readily identify the purpose of each 
  2. Signals the screen reading software to begin reading at the A1 cell 
  3. Allows screen reading software to keep up with its location as it reads the document 
Tables  
  1. Headers first row 
  2. Repeat header rows 
  3. Alternative (Alt) text 
  1. Allows screen reading software to identify the information on the top row  
  2. Allows the heading to appear at the top of any rows that spread to subsequent pages 
  3.  Allows the visually impaired and screen reader software to read the title and description of the table’s content 
 
Object (Other)
Features
How it helps
Videos 
  1. Captions 

 

  1. Transcript 
  1. Both allow the hearing impaired (physical or environmental) to read what the speakers are saying 
Images 
  1. Alternative (alt) text 
  1. Allows the visually impaired and screen reader software to read the context of the image (not for images deemed decorative)  
Audio (only) 
  1. Transcript 
  1. Allows the hearing impaired to read what the speakers are saying 
Links (to outside sources) 
  1. Embedding URLs to word(s) within a statement 
  1. Allows screen reading software to easily identify hyperlinked text 
Colors 
  1. High contrast 
  1. Allows the visually impaired (and with neurological conditions) to better read the text  

There are a couple of places that could offer assistance for faculty and staff who need it. The first is the Student Accessibility Services (SAS), which assists students, faculty, and staff with the accommodations they need to be successful.  SCSU Online is also equipped to walk faculty through the processes that make their content more assessable. Lastly, the Minnesota State Network for Educational Development (NED) offers short courses and webinars on accessibility.  

If you want to learn more about adding accessibility to your course, reach out to us via email or through Bookings. The SCSU Online and Distance Learning team can walk you through the process for any of your content.  

Additional Reading:  

For more information on any of the following topics, please check out our previous blog articles. 

References:  

Anderson, N. (2022). Enhancing inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) in open educational resources (OER) – Australian edition. University of Southern Queensland.  

Booth, C. (2020). Girl sitting on a couch using a laptop [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/girl-sitting-on-a-couch-using-a-laptop-4058219/ 

Equity and equality image was created by Angus Maguire and adapted under the public domain from: Interaction Institute for Social Change. (2016). Illustrating equality vs equity. [Joint Photographic Experts Group]. https://www.interactioninstitute.org and https://www.madewithangus.com.  

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Equity. Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved August 15, 2023, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equity  

Microsoft (n.d.). Make your Excel documents accessible to people with disabilities.  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/make-your-excel-documents-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities-6cc05fc5-1314-48b5-8eb3-683e49b3e593#namecells_win 

Morton, B., & Fasching-Varner, K. (2015). Equity (Vol. 1.) (S. Thompson, Ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.  

United States Department of Justice. (n.d.). Introduction to the Americans with disabilities act. Americans with Disabilities Act. https://www.ada.gov/topics/intro-to-ada/