Journal of Science Policy & Governance
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Volume 22, Issue 01 | March 6, 2023
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Policy Position Paper: Disrupting the Status Quo: Using -Ships to Assist Student Navigation of STEM Pathways
Shakiyya Bland (1), Chanda Jefferson (2), Ashley Kearney (3), Selene Y. Willis (4)
Corresponding author: [email protected] |
Keywords: STEM; pathways; partnerships; underrepresented; workforce; redesign
https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG220103
Executive Summary
This article invokes a maritime call to educators and STEM community members, communicating the urgent need for metaphorical waterways as pathways for young people to navigate various -ships (apprenticeships, internships, mentorship, and partnerships) to improve access to future careers in STEM. We call on all education and community members to embrace the concept of inclusive and accessible pathways rather than a restrictive pipeline mindset in designing STEM education, mentorship, and apprenticeship programs. Educators, researchers, policymakers, and STEM community partners can embed experiential learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom through career exploration apprenticeships and internships. The authors offer recommendations for school, industry, and organizational partnerships to maximize student success further and prepare them for STEM careers. Educators and STEM community members can collectively leverage resources designed for students to align the classroom curriculum with high-demand skills and long-term job-producing trajectories. Advancing policies to explore STEM in mutually beneficial and culturally relevant ways for current and future educators acts as a tributary that feeds into a larger river. Exemplifying STEM pathways, the confluence of -ships are intentionally redesigned to advance and support STEM interests for learners underrepresented in STEM.
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Background header image courtesy of The University of Southern Mississippi
Dr. Shakiyya Bland is an equity leader and educator. She is the Founder of STEAM Culture, LLC., which produces culturally responsive professional learning workshops and curricula. Dr. Bland is an educational consultant and Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow Alum who served in the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of the Interior. She has written culturally responsive lessons, strategies, and research in partnership with numerous organizations. Her research focuses on the histories of STEM using Africana, Indigenous, and other culturally responsive ways of contributing to and applying scientific and mathematical literacies. Dr. Bland joined Just Equations as Math Educator in Residence in 2022.
Ashley Kearney is an educator, education advocate, and systems thinker with education coalition and council executive leadership experience. As an award-winning educator, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, Ashley is passionate about math educator effectiveness and educational equity. She participated in a national EdPrepLab working group exploring Reciprocal University and District Partnerships and presented on Improving Mathematics Instruction: Candidate, Practitioner, and Researcher Partnerships at the 2022 We The People- Math Literacy for All National Conference. Ashley currently serves as a K-12 manager, working to develop systems for learning and thriving through whole child and antiracist practices.
Dr. Selene Willis is currently the Deputy Director at The Ingenuity Project, an advanced STEM program for Baltimore City Public School students. She has been a formal science educator and administrator for 15 years in public and independent middle and high schools. During 2021-2022, she completed The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship at NASA, focusing on equity, inclusion, and broadening participation in STEM education for Science Activation projects within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Dr. Willis conducts research examining justice-centered STEM pedagogy and curriculum development in grades 6-12 and serves on equity-centered STEM Education committees at The National Science Teachers Association.
Chanda Jefferson is the Director of Community Engagement & Outreach at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Science in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She oversees STEM education initiatives and programming for K-12 populations, develops culturally responsive STEM experiences, and manages engagement with the Philadelphia community. Chanda is an award-winning educator and speaker with over 15 years of experience in informal and formal educational institutions. She advocates for all students to have access to high-quality and equitable education and trains teacher leaders to advocate for positive education transformation. In 2020, Chanda was named the South Carolina State Teacher of the Year, where she served as an ambassador for over 50,000 teachers. Chanda also served two - terms as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow and policy advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives,
Acknowledgements
I thank God for this opportunity, family, the collective genius of Black STEM educators, and culturally responsive professionals for their love, support, and generosity; my students for sharing their cultural wealth and knowledge; and my colleagues for their unapologetic pursuit to expand access to STEM education and career opportunities for Black, Indigenous, Latine communities.
- Dr. Shakiyya Bland
T’engk’gawd for this opportunity to share ideas that will pave the way for more students of color to pursue careers in STEM. Special thanks to my mom, Martha Jefferson, for igniting my love for science early on and my students, who inspire me to develop memorable, culturally relevant STEM learning experiences. - Chanda Jefferson
Thank you educators for recognizing a mission greater than self and truly seeing our students. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share a topic of many coffee chats with the world. Special thanks to both Carter G. Woodson and Mary McLeod Bethune.
-Ashley Kearney
Ashley Kearney is an educator, education advocate, and systems thinker with education coalition and council executive leadership experience. As an award-winning educator, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, Ashley is passionate about math educator effectiveness and educational equity. She participated in a national EdPrepLab working group exploring Reciprocal University and District Partnerships and presented on Improving Mathematics Instruction: Candidate, Practitioner, and Researcher Partnerships at the 2022 We The People- Math Literacy for All National Conference. Ashley currently serves as a K-12 manager, working to develop systems for learning and thriving through whole child and antiracist practices.
Dr. Selene Willis is currently the Deputy Director at The Ingenuity Project, an advanced STEM program for Baltimore City Public School students. She has been a formal science educator and administrator for 15 years in public and independent middle and high schools. During 2021-2022, she completed The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship at NASA, focusing on equity, inclusion, and broadening participation in STEM education for Science Activation projects within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Dr. Willis conducts research examining justice-centered STEM pedagogy and curriculum development in grades 6-12 and serves on equity-centered STEM Education committees at The National Science Teachers Association.
Chanda Jefferson is the Director of Community Engagement & Outreach at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Science in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She oversees STEM education initiatives and programming for K-12 populations, develops culturally responsive STEM experiences, and manages engagement with the Philadelphia community. Chanda is an award-winning educator and speaker with over 15 years of experience in informal and formal educational institutions. She advocates for all students to have access to high-quality and equitable education and trains teacher leaders to advocate for positive education transformation. In 2020, Chanda was named the South Carolina State Teacher of the Year, where she served as an ambassador for over 50,000 teachers. Chanda also served two - terms as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow and policy advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives,
Acknowledgements
I thank God for this opportunity, family, the collective genius of Black STEM educators, and culturally responsive professionals for their love, support, and generosity; my students for sharing their cultural wealth and knowledge; and my colleagues for their unapologetic pursuit to expand access to STEM education and career opportunities for Black, Indigenous, Latine communities.
- Dr. Shakiyya Bland
T’engk’gawd for this opportunity to share ideas that will pave the way for more students of color to pursue careers in STEM. Special thanks to my mom, Martha Jefferson, for igniting my love for science early on and my students, who inspire me to develop memorable, culturally relevant STEM learning experiences. - Chanda Jefferson
Thank you educators for recognizing a mission greater than self and truly seeing our students. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share a topic of many coffee chats with the world. Special thanks to both Carter G. Woodson and Mary McLeod Bethune.
-Ashley Kearney
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ISSN 2372-2193
ISSN 2372-2193