2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Theory to Practice: Faculty Professional Development to integrate Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Practices in STEM Education to Improve Success of Underserved Students in STEM.

Presented at STEM Education at the Two-Year College

The Hispanic Serving Institution Advanced Technological Education Hub 2 (HSI ATE Hub 2) is a three-year collaborative research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that builds upon the successful outcomes of two mentoring and professional development (PD) programs in a pilot that translates foundational theory related to culturally responsive pedagogy into practice using a 3-tier scaffolded faculty PD model. The goal of HSI ATE Hub 2 is to improve outcomes for Latinx students in technician education programs through design, development, pilot, optimization, and dissemination of this model at 2-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).

The tiered PD model has been tested by two faculty cohorts at Westchester Community College (WCC), an HSI in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. In year one, Cohort A piloted the PD modules in Tier 1 which featured reflective exercises and small culturally responsive activities to try with their STEM students. In year two, Cohort A piloted the PD modules in Tier 2 and peer-mentored Cohort B as they piloted optimizations introduced to Tier 1 from Cohort A feedback. Three types of optimizations came from faculty feedback. The first considered feedback regarding delivery and/or nature of the content that influenced a subsequent module. The second involved making changes to a particular module before it was delivered to another faculty cohort. The third takes into account what worked and what didn’t to decide which content to bring into virtual webinars for the broader advanced technician education community. Dissemination of the tiered PD model has been achieved in annual webinars with the broader ATE community and at conferences for advanced technician educators to achieve broader impacts in the ATE Community. Longer term, providing professional development in culturally responsive pedagogy and practices can help existing and future faculty learn to productively engage their students in more inclusive ways. As faculty mindsets shift to asset-based thinking and a climate of mutual respect is developed, the learning environment for all students in technician education programs will improve. When students learn in a supportive environment, their chances for success increase. The professional development provided in the HSI ATE Hub 2 project will lead to longer term improvements in four ways: 1) Retainment of Culturally responsive practices by those directly engaged after the project ends; 2) Inserting top activities from the PD into national webinars to extend the reach of the training; 3) Strengthening grant proposals as faculty integrate culturally responsive strategies, knowledge and experience within their ATE proposals to the NSF; and 4) Meeting industry demand for a diverse technician workforce.

This second paper in a three-part series describes ongoing progress and lessons learned in developing and piloting the 3-Tier PD model with two Cohorts of STEM faculty at a 2-year HSI.

Authors

Cynthia Kay Pickering http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8148-098X Arizona State University [biography]

Cynthia Pickering is a PhD Candidate and Researcher for the Center for Broadening Participation in STEM at Arizona State University. Cynthia has 35 years of experience working in industry with demonstrated technical leadership in software development, artificial intelligence, information technology architecture / engineering, and collaboration systems research. Cynthia is currently studying Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society in ASU’s College of Global Futures. She practices Socio-technical Integration Research as an embedded social scientist who collaboratively works with technologists (STEM students, STEM faculty, and Tech Companies) to increase reflexive learning during technology development and implementation to pro-actively consider the impact of technology decisions on local communities and society at large. This work creates spaces and processes to explore technology innovation and its consequences in an open, inclusive and timely way.
Mara Lopez Arizona State University [biography]

Dr. Mara Lopez is a full-time Research Program Manager working at the Center for Broadening Participation in STEM at ASU. In her work at the Center, she works to develop culturally responsive practices and increase the intentionality with which institutions work with Latinx students in STEM. She has taught First-Year Success courses at ASU since 2019. She recently graduated with her Doctorate in Education from ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College with an emphasis in Leadership and Innovation. Her research is centered on curriculum redesign, career decision-making self-efficacy, equity in education, social justice in education, and culturally responsive pedagogy. Through her research she has developed a Curriculum Interrogation Checklist through a Culturally Responsive Lens, Culturally Responsive Recruitment and Retention Framework and a Culturally Responsive Curriculum Evaluation Framework. She has presented at several conferences, spoken on several podcasts and written several papers all related to these research topics. She has worked in research for over 14 years on NIH, NSF, DoD, and DoE grants. She earned her BA in Psychology from San Diego State University and an MA in Organizational Leadership from Point Loma Nazarene University. She hopes to continue to affect change within institutions of higher education, provide mentorship for students who have been historically marginalized in academia and use research to be an agent of change.
Ms. Elaine L. Craft Florence-Darlington Technical College [biography]

Elaine L. Craft (Florence-Darlington Technical College, Florence, SC-retired) holds a baccalaureate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Mississippi and a MBA from the University of South Carolina with additional graduate studies in mathe
Sarah Belknap Westchester Community College
Caroline VanIngen-Dunn Arizona State University [biography]

Caroline VanIngen-Dunn is Director of the Center for Broadening Participation in STEM at Arizona State University where she is leading the Center’s effort to create inclusive STEM environments for students who use the community college system and to provide access along their pathway to achieving their credentials, degrees, and jobs. She is Principal Investigator of a $10M NSF INCLUDES Alliance to Accelerate Latinx Representation in STEM Education (ALRISE) with institutional intentionality and capacity building for experiential learning. She serves on the University of Iowa College of Engineering Advisory Board, and on several Workforce Development and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committees.
Laurie S. Miller McNeill Westchester Community College
Juan R. Rodriguez Westchester Community College

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