Do you want to make your classroom more inclusive? Do you feel like you might need to learn more about what inequities might even exist in the classroom? The ASU Research for Inclusive STEM Education (RISE) Center is sponsoring a virtual seminar series this semester focused on inclusive STEM education! Building off of a successful seminar series last year that attracted between 200-1000 people at each talk, there will be three seminars this fall term. All of the events are free, no registration is required, and online ! Just click the zoom links below to join the Zoom webinar! For more information (or to check out past recorded seminars), visit the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research  (SABER) website on diversity and inclusion efforts . Upcoming Events Understanding oppression faced by Asian Americans Thursday, September 16th, 9am PT Sapna Cheryan, University of Washington Zoom link:  https://asu.zoom.us/j/85307613286 The meaning beyond the words: Ho...

Inclusive Teaching. The literature is clear: creating classroom spaces, virtual or in-person, where students feel like they belong is an important step to ensuring students are retained and progress to graduation. Amy Pate , Associate Director for Faculty Support within SOLS, and I ran a session recently, co-hosted by the RISE Center for Research in Inclusive STEM Education , that focused on the frameworks that educators use to evaluate whether a given course or curriculum is designed to create such inclusive spaces. The recording of that session can be found here . The session was well attended and interactive, but perhaps you were not able to attend or you are only now hearing about this topic. Below are the highlights of the ideas presented and the questions we grappled with. We need to start with some definitions Inclusive Pedagogy: A student-centered approach to teaching where instructors create an inviting and engaging learning environment for ALL students with diverse background...

The Black Lives Matter movement and protests in Summer 2020 after the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade, have prompted many educators and researchers to reflect upon racism in the spaces we occupy. As copies of “How to be an anti-racist” by Ibram X. Kendi flew off the shelves in bookstores, we at the Research for Inclusive STEM Education (RISE) center found ourselves wondering what an anti-racist biology curriculum might look like and what steps we could take to re-imagine the curriculum. In response, we organized a workshop in Fall 2020 where graduate students, instructors, faculty, instructional developers, and other staff members came together to begin to address this question. Here, we share some of the ideas that emerged from those discussions in the hopes that we can continue the dialogue on these critical issues. What are some ways in which racism exists in biology curricula and classrooms? In order to dismantle racism in institutional str...

The ASU RISE Center is hosting a  series of events this term focused on racial justice to find ways in which the School of Life Sciences (SOLS) can be inclusive and anti-racist. On September 2nd, we had 19 students of color attend a listening session to discuss problems and challenges for students of color in SOLS. SOLS PhD student Miranda Bernard facilitated the session. Thirteen faculty/staff attended this session and listened silently. We report here on the issues and challenges that emerged from this discussion. Note: these are experiences and perspectives of the individual students who attended the session and they do not represent the perspectives of all students of color. Lack of community and support in SOLS for people of color Many students echoed this theme where they did not feel like there was a sense of community in SOLS generally, but more specifically for students of color. Students highlighted that they often felt as though their own experience was...

We are excited to announce 16 events this term that all focus on racial justice in biology. These events are open to the School of Life Sciences (SOLS) community.  Please join our suite of virtual workshops, seminars, and discussions to learn and become more self-aware of how we can become more inclusive.  The sessions are for faculty, staff, and students – all of the seminars will be recorded and posted on the  RISE Center website  for viewing afterwards.  For a full description of the events, click the links below: SABER events An initiative sponsored by the Society for the Advancement in Biology Education Research (SABER) focused on promoting awareness, understanding, and commitment to change academic biology environments to be more inclusive and strive for racial justice in STEM Education.  RISE Up events An initiative sponsored by ASU’s Research for Inclusive STEM Education (RISE) Center focused on enhancing awareness, understanding, and commitment to...